5.

1
The nuclear model of
the atom
The structure of the atom
ELECTRON –
negative, mass
nearly nothing

PROTON – positive,
same mass as
neutron (“1”)

NEUTRON – neutral,
same mass as proton
(“1”)
How do atoms form ions?
• An atom which loses electron has more positive charges- positive ion.
• An atom which gain electron has more negative charges- negative ion.
Geiger & Marsden’s alpha particle
scattering experiment

In 1909 Hans Geiger and Ernest

Marsden performed an
experiment that involved firing
alpha particles onto a very thin
foil of gold.

Geiger and Marsden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHaR2rsFNhg
 The experiment
lead container The apparatus is contained
containing an very thin in an evacuated container
alpha source gold foil otherwise the alpha
particles would not be able
to reach the gold foil and
θ the zinc sulphide coating.
The alpha particles cause
the zinc sulphide detector to
evacuated vacuum emit a flash of light.
container
Geiger and Marsden noted
the distribution of the angles
inner zinc of deflection, θ of the alpha
sulphide particles.
coating
What was observed
alpha thin metal foil
source

1. Virtually all of the alpha particles went straight through the metal foil.
2. A few alpha particles were deflected through a small angle.
3. About 1 in 10 000 were deflected backwards.
 How the results can be explained
atom
1. A very small nucleus surrounded by
mostly empty space (almost all the
alpha particles go right through)

2. A nucleus containing most of the

mass of the atom (an electron has a
very small mass)

3. A nucleus that is positively charged

(positively charged alpha particles nucleus (highly enlarged)
are repelled)
Group 1
Lisann, Diya, Sheshang, Tejas

Group 2
Saksham, Aanya, Sharvari,, Mokshith

Group 3
Devadath, Siya, Anika, Rutva

Group 4
Raj, Sarah, Prisha, Ritvik

Group 5
Kushagra, Aryam, Ansh
Atomic and mass number
The atomic number (or
proton number) of an protons = 3
atom is equal to the
neutrons = 4
number of protons in its
electrons = 3
nucleus.

The mass number (or This Lithium atom has:

nucleon number) of an atomic number = 3
atom is equal to the mass number = 7
number of protons plus
neutrons in its nucleus.
Properties of protons, neutrons and
electrons
Position in Relative Relative
the atom mass electric
charge

PROTON nucleus 1 +1

NEUTRON nucleus 1 0
outside
ELECTRON
nucleus 0.00 -1
5
Nuclear notation
An isotope of carbon consists of 6 protons and 8 neutrons.
This can be written as:

carbon 14 Number of protons

PLUS
neutrons(nucleon
OR: number/ mass
number)
14
C
Number of protons Chemical
(Atomic number) symbol
6
Isotopes
The atoms of an element always have the same number of
protons.

Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different numbers

of neutrons.
The three isotopes of hydrogen neutrons

hydrogen 1 hydrogen 2 hydrogen 3

(deuterium) (tritium)

Note: The number after ‘hydrogen’ is the mass number of the isotope.
Question 1
An isotope of uranium (chemical symbol U)
consists of 92 protons and 143 neutrons. Give
the two different ways of notating this isotope.

The mass number of the Uranium isotope:

= 92 + 143 = 235

235
uranium 235 AND
92
U
Question 2
Determine the number of protons and neutrons in
the isotopes notated below:

(a) 13 protons = 7 (b) 60 p = 27

N neutrons = 6 Co n = 33
7 27

(c) 197 p = 79 (d) 239 p = 94

Au n = 118 Pu n = 145
79 94
Note: Apart from the smallest atoms, most nuclei
have more neutrons than protons.
Learning objectives
1.Explain what is meant by an isotope and state that an
element may have more than one isotope.

2.Describe the processes of nuclear fission and nuclear

fusion as the splitting or joining of nuclei, to include the
nuclide equation and qualitative description of mass
and energy changes without values
Isotopes
The atoms of an element always have the same number of
protons.

Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different numbers

of neutrons.
The three isotopes of hydrogen neutrons

hydrogen 1 hydrogen 2 hydrogen 3

(deuterium) (tritium)

Note: The number after ‘hydrogen’ is the mass number of the isotope.
 Nuclear fission
Nuclear fission is the splitting of
an atomic nucleus to two lighter
nucleus and releases a huge
amount of energy.

The process of nuclear fission was

discovered in 1938 by Lise Meitner,
Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann. Lise Meitner Otto Hahn
1878-1968 1879-1968

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=mBdVK4cqiFs
Nuclear Fission
 Fissile materials
A fissile material easily undergoes fission.

The mostly commonly used fissile material is

uranium-235.

When this undergoes fission two daughter

nuclei are produced that are called fission
fragments.

The process also produces neutrons, gamma

radiation and a considerable amount of kinetic
energy.
The fission of uranium-235
The fission of a nucleus uranium-235 can be initiated by its
absorption of a slow-moving neutron.
235 1 236
U + n U
92 0 92
Uranium-236 is very unstable and splits apart.

236 144 89 1 0
U Ba + Kr + 3 n + γ
92 56 36 0 0
fission fragments
barium-144 and krypton-89
Other fission examples
Other fission products can be produced. Their masses usually
have a roughly 3:2 ratio.

236 134 90 1 0
U Xe + Sr + 2 n + γ
92 54 38 0 0
fission products = xenon-134 and strontium-90

Plutonium-239 is also fissile.

239 137 89 1 0
Pu Cs + Y +3 n + γ
94 55 39 0 0
fission products = caesium-137 and yttrium-89
Fission equation questions
Complete the equations below:

236 143 91 1 0
U Cs + Rb + 2A n + γ
92 55 37
B Rubidium 0 0
239 145 92
C 1 0
Pu Ba + Sr + 2 n + γ
94 56 38
D 0 0
235
E 131 91 1 0
U I + Y +3 n + γ
92 53
F Iodine 39 0 0
This last example combines the uranium-235 neutron absorption
with the fission of uranium-236
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the joining of two atomic nuclei to form a larger
atomic nucleus, releasing a huge amount of energy.

Hydrogen nuclei undergo fusion in stars to

make helium nuclei

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb8NX3HiS4U
Nuclear fusion
Energy from fusion
Nuclear fusion is the It is also the energy source
process by which energy is of the hydrogen bomb.
released in the Sun and
other stars.
Why high temperature is needed in
nuclear fusion of hydrogen 2 and
hydrogen 3?