CHAPTER - 4

STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM

CLASS :- IX
1a) Charged particles in matter :-
Atoms have three types of sub atomic particles. They are electrons,
protons and neutrons.
Electrons are negatively charged (e-), protons are positively
charged (p+) and neutrons have no charge (n).
The mass of an electron is 1/2000 the mass of a hydrogen atom. The
mass of a proton is equal to the mass of a hydrogen atom and is taken
as 1 unit. The mass of a neutron is equal to the mass of a hydrogen
atom and is and is taken as 1 unit.

b) Discovery of sub atomic particles :-

In 1900, J.J.Thomson discovered the presence of the negatively
charged particles called electrons in the atom.
In 1886, E.Goldstein discovered new radiations in gas discharge and
called them canal rays. These rays were positively charged. This later
led to the discovery of the positively charged particles called protons in
the atom.
In 1932 Chadwick discovered the presence of particles having no
charge in the atom called neutrons.
2) Structure of an atom :-
a) Thomson’s model of an atom :-
According to Thomson an atom is similar to a Christmas pudding.
The pudding had positive charge and the electrons having negative
charge were like plums on the pudding.
He proposed that :-
i) An atom consists of a positively charged sphere and the electrons are
embedded in it.
ii) The negative and positive charges are equal in magnitude So the
atom as a whole is electrically neutral.
b) Rutherford’s model of an atom :-
Rutherford’s alpha scattering experiment :-
Rutherford allowed a beam of fast moving alpha particles ( α –
particles) having positive charge to fall on a thin gold foil. He observed
that :-
i) Most of the α – particles passed straight through the gold foil.
ii) Some of the α – particles were slightly deflected by small angles.
iii) Very few α – particles appeared to rebound.
 Conclusions from Rutherford’s alpha scattering
experiment :-
i) Most of the space inside an atom is empty. (because most of the α
–
particles passed straight through the gold foil.)
ii) The atom had a small nucleus having positive charge. ( because
some of the α – particles having positive charge were slightly
deflected by small angles.)
iii) The size of the nucleus is very small compared to the size of the
atom. (because very few α – particles appeared to rebound and
most of the positive charge and mass of the atom is in the nucleus.)
Rutherford’s model of an atom :-
i) An atom has a positively charged nucleus at its centre and most of
the mass of the atom is in the nucleus.
ii) The electrons revolve around the nucleus.
iii) The size of the nucleus is very small compared to the size of the
atom.
 Defects of Rutherford’s model of the atom :-
Any particle in a circular orbit would undergo acceleration
and during acceleration the charged particle would radiate
energy. So the revolving electrons would lose energy and
fall into the nucleus and the atom would be unstable. We
know that atoms are stable.
Rutherford’s model
of an atom
Negatively charged
electron
- -
Negatively charged
electrons in orbits
around the nucleus

+
-
Very small positively Positively charged
charged nucleus nucleus
c) Bohr’s model of an atom :-
i) An atom has a positively charged nucleus at its centre and most of
the mass of the atom is in the nucleus.
ii) The electrons revolve around the nucleus in special orbits called
discrete orbits.
iii) These orbits are called shells or energy levels and are represented
by the letters K, L, M, N etc. or numbered as 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
iv) While revolving in the discrete orbits the electrons do not radiate
energy. Shells or energy levels in an atom
3) Distribution of electrons in different shells :-
The distribution of electrons in the different shells was
suggested by Bohr and Bury. The following are the rules for
filling electrons in the different shells.
i) The maximum number of electrons in a shell is given by
the formula 2n2 where n is the number of the shell 1, 2, 3
etc.
First shell or K shell can have = 2n2 = 2 x 12 = 2x1x1 = 2 electrons

Second shell or L shell can have = 2n2 = 2 x 22 = 2x2x2 = 8 electrons

Third shell or M shell can have = 2n2 = 2 x 32 = 2x3x3 = 18 electrons
Fourth shell or N shell can have = 2n2 = 2 x 42 = 2x4x4 = 32 electrons
and so on.
ii) The maximum number of electrons that can be filled in
the outermost shell is 8.
iii) Electrons cannot be filled in a shell unless the inner
shells are filled.
Composition of the atoms of the first eighteen elements :-
Name of Symbol Atomic Number of Number of Number of Distribution Valency
element Number Protons Neutrons Electrons Of Electrons
K L M N
Hydrogen H 1 1 - 1 1 - - - 1
Helium He 2 2 2 2 2 - - - 0
Lithium Li 3 3 4 3 2 1 - - 1

Beryllium Be 4 4 5 4 2 2 - - 2
Boron B 5 5 6 5 2 3 - - 3
Carbon C 6 6 6 6 2 4 - - 4
Nitrogen N 7 7 7 7 2 5 - - 3
Oxygen O 8 8 8 8 2 6 - - 2
Fluorine F 9 9 10 9 2 7 - - 1
Neon Ne 10 10 10 10 2 8 - - 0
Sodium Na 11 11 12 11 2 8 1 - 1
Magnesium Mg 12 12 12 12 2 8 2 - 2
Aluminium Al 13 13 14 13 2 8 3 - 3
Silicon Si 14 14 14 14 2 8 4 - 4
Phosphorus P 15 15 16 15 2 8 5 - 3,5
Sulphur S 16 16 16 16 2 8 6 - 2
Chlorine Cl 17 17 18 17 2 8 7 - 1
Atomic structure of the first eighteen elements :-

H He

Li Be B C N O F Ne

Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
4) Valency :-
Valency is the combining capacity of an atom of an element.
The electrons present in the outermost shell of an atom are called
valence electrons.
If an atom’s outermost shell is completely filled, they are inert or
least reactive and their combining capacity or valency is zero.
Of the inert elements Helium atom has 2 electrons in the outermost
shell and the atoms of other elements have 8 electrons in their
outermost shell. Atoms having 8 electrons in their outermost shell is
having octet configuration and are stable.
If an atom’s outermost shell is not completely filled it is not stable. It
will try to attain stability by losing, gaining or sharing electrons with
other atoms to attain octet configuration.
The number of electrons lost, gained or shared by an atom to attain
octet configuration is the combining capacity or valency of the element
Eg :- Hydrogen, Lithium, Sodium atoms can easily lose 1 electron
and become stable. So their valency is 1. Magnesium can easily lose 2
electrons. So its valency is 2. Aluminiun can easily lose 3 electrons. So
its valency is 3. Carbon shares 4 electrons. So its valency is 4.
Fluorine can easily gain 1 electron and become stable. So its
valency is 1. Oxygen can easily gain 2 electrons. So its valency is 2.
Nitrogen can easily gain 3 electrons. So its valency is 3.
5) Atomic number and Mass number :-
a) Atomic number (Z) :-
The atomic number of an element is the number of protons present in the
nucleus of the atom of the element.
All the atoms of an element have the same atomic number.
Eg :- Hydrogen – Atomic number = 1 (1 proton)
Helium - Atomic number = 2 (2 protons)
Lithium - Atomic number = 3 (3 protons)
b) Mass number (A) :-
The mass number of an element is the sum of the number of protons and
neutrons (nucleons) present in the nucleus of an atom of the element.
The mass of an atom is mainly the mass of the protons and neutrons in the
nucleus of the atom.
Eg :- Carbon – Mass number = 12 (6 protons + 6 neutrons) Mass = 12u
Aluminium – Mass number = 27 (13 protons + 14 neutrons) Mass = 27u
Sulphur – Mass number = 32 (16 protons + 16 neutrons) Mass = 32u

In the notation of an atom the Mass number

Symbol of 14
atomic number and mass number element Eg :- 7 N
are written as :- Atomic number
5) Isotopes :-
Isotopes are atoms of the same element having the
same atomic numbers but different mass numbers.
Eg :- Hydrogen has three isotopes. They are Protium,
Deuterium (D) and Tritium (T).
1 2 3
1
H 1
H 1
H
Protium Deuterium Tritium
Carbon has two isotopes. They are :-
12 14
6
C 6
C
Chlorine has two isotopes They are :-
35 37
17 Cl 17 Cl
6) Isobars :-
Isobars are atoms of different elements having different
atomic numbers but same mass numbers.
These pairs of elements have the same number of
nucleons.
Eg :- Calcium (Ca) – atomic number - 20 and Argon (Ar)
– atomic number 18 have different atomic numbers but
have the same mass numbers – 40.
40 40
20
Ca 18
Ar
Iron (Fe) and Nickel (Ni) have different atomic
numbers but have the same atomic mass numbers – 58.
58 58
26
Fe 27
Ni
Answer the following questions:
• Atomic number of Aluminium is 13 and
mass number is 27. calculate the number
of electrons, protons and neutrons in the
ion formed. Represent the ion. What will
be its valency?
• An ion X2- contains 10 electrons and 8
neutrons. What are the atomic number
and mass number of this element? Name
the element.
Answer the following questions:
• If Bromine atom is available in the form of
two isotopes 79 35 Br (49.7%) and 81 35
Br (50.3%), calculate the average atomic
mass of bromine atom.

• The average atomic mass of a sample of

element X is 16.2u. What are the
percentages of isotopes 16 8 X and 18 8 X
in the sample?
Answer the following questions:
• What are the applications of Isotopes?
• 1. As a nuclear fuel – U-235
• 2. In medical field- Co-60 for treatment of
cancer
• I-131 for treatment of thyroid disorders.
• 3. some isotopes are used as tracers to
detect presence of tumor or blood clots in
the human body. Eg- Na-24 and Ar- 74
• 4. In carbon dating- C-14
• 5. In industry- to detect leakage in
underground oil pipes, gas pipes
 Answer the following questions
• On the basis of Thomson’s model of an
atom, explain how an atom is neutral?
• Name the sub- atomic particles of an atom.
• Helium atom has an atomic mass of 4u and
two protons in its nucleus. How many
neutrons does it have?
• If K and L shells of an atom are full, what
would be the total number of electrons in the
atom?
 Answer the following questions
• Find the valency of chlorine, sulphur and
magnesium.
• What is the didference between isotopes
and isobars?
• What are the limitations of the Rutherford’s
model of atom?
• An ion X2- contains 10 electrons and 8
neutrons. What are the atomic number and
mass number of this element? Name the
element.
• Electrons with X = 8
• No of neutrons =8
• No of Protons = 8
• At no = 8, mass no = (p+n)=16
• Name- Oxygen
 Debate
• Veer Bal Diwas
• Class 9