F321 Atomic Structure

Atomic Structure
Candidates should be able to: (a) describe protons, neutrons and electrons in terms of relative charge and relative mass; (b) describe the distribution of mass and charge within an atom; (c) describe the contribution of protons and neutrons to the nucleus of an atom, in terms of atomic (proton) number and mass (nucleon) number; (d) deduce the numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons in: (i) an atom given its atomic and mass number, (ii) an ion given its atomic number, mass number and ionic charge; (e) explain the term isotopes as atoms of an element with different numbers of neutrons and different masses; (f) state that 12C is used as the standard measurement of relative masses; (g) define the terms relative isotopic mass and relative atomic mass, based on the 12C scale; (h) calculate the relative atomic mass of an element given the relative abundances of its isotopes; (i) use the terms relative molecular mass and relative formula mass and calculate values from relative atomic masses.

The particles from which atoms are made are protons, neutrons and electrons. Properties: Particle electron proton neutron Mass 1/2000th unit 1 unit 1 unit Charge -1 +1 0

The nucleus of an atom contains the protons and neutrons. The number of protons gives the atom its identity - any atom with 3 protons is a lithium atom; any atom with 16 protons is a sulphur atom. We call the number of protons the atomic number the smaller of the two numbers shown in the Periodic Table, indeed the modern Periodic Table presents the elements in Atomic Number order. Because it has no overall charge, an atom must have the same number of electrons as protons. e.g. chlorine atoms have 17 protons (and therefore 17 electrons) There can be a varying number of neutrons, giving rise to isotopes: Definition: Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons (and therefore different mass). e.g. 75% of all chlorine atoms have 18 neutrons, and the remaining 25% have 20 neutrons.

Definition: The relative isotopic mass is the mass of a specific isotope of an element, on a scale where the isotope carbon-12 is given a mass of 12 units. Since electron masses are negligible, the mass of an atom is approximately the mass of its protons and neutrons.

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F321 Atomic Structure e.g. The chlorine isotope which has 18 neutrons and 17 protons has a relative isotopic mass of 35, and the chlorine isotope with 20 neutrons and 17 protons has a relative isotopic mass of 37. We refer to these two isotopes as chlorine-35 and chlorine-37 (sometimes written 35Cl and 37Cl).

The relative atomic mass is the other number shown for each element in the periodic table. This is an average mass for an atom of that element, taking into account all the naturally occurring isotopes and how abundant they are. Definition: relative atomic mass is the weighted average mass of an atom of an element, taking into account all the naturally occurring isotopes, measured on a scale where the carbon-12 isotope, given a mass of exactly 12. e.g. 75% of chlorine is 35Cl and 25% is 37Cl We can calculate the relative atomic mass: 75 x 35 + 25 x 37 = 35.5 (as shown in Periodic Table) 100 100

Check your understanding: i) The table below shows the isotopes of magnesium and their natural abundances. Show that the relative atomic mass of magnesium is 24.3, as indicated in the periodic table. Isotope: Relative isotopic mass % abundance
24

Mg 24.00 78.6

25

Mg 25.00 10.1

26

Mg 26.00 11.3

Charge distribution: The nucleus (protons & neutrons) has an overall positive charge, and the electrons orbiting around it are negatively charged, so an atom has charge distribution positive in the middle and negative surrounding this region. Mass distribution: The protons, neutrons and electrons are all tiny compared with the size of an atom most of an atom is empty space. The nucleus is tiny compared to the orbits (shells) of the electrons. However, as we have seen, almost all the mass is in the nucleus. Ions: Simple ions are atoms which have given away or gained electrons usually to obtain a more stable electron configuration, as part of bonding. The nucleus of an ion is exactly the same as that of the parent atom (same numbers of protons and neutrons). Neutral atoms: Scandium Iodine Isotope
45 127

Protons 21 53

Neutrons 24 74

electrons 21 53 Page 2

Sc I

F321 Atomic Structure When an atom loses electrons it forms a positive ion (number of electrons decreases) When an atom gains electrons it forms a negative ion (number of electrons increases) Atoms can lose electron(s) to form a positively charged ion e.g. Sc Sc+ + eSc atom loses an electron to form a Sc+ ion

or can gain electron(s) to form negatively charged ions e.g. I + e- II gains an electron to form an I- ion Ions: scandium ion iodide ion Ion 45 Sc+ 127 I Protons 21 53 Neutrons 24 74 electrons 20 54

Check your understanding: Write down the numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons in ii) a K+ ion, iii) a chloride ion (from the chlorine-37 isotope), iv) hydrogen (H+) ion, v) hydride (H-) ion. We also get compound ions, which are covalently bonded groups of atoms which have collectively gained or lost electrons to become charged: e.g. ammonium sulphate manganate(VII) NH4+ SO42MnO4-

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F321 Atomic Structure

Answers to 'Check your understanding' questions

i) Calculate the relative atomic mass of magnesium, given the isotopic abundances: relative atomic mass = (78.6 x 24) + (10.1 x 25) + (11.3 x 26) = 24.3 100 100 100 Write down the numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons in: ii) a K+ ion, iii) a chloride ion (from the chlorine-37 isotope), iv) hydrogen (H+) ion, v) hydride (H-) ion. protons neutron s 19 20 17 20 1 0 1 0 electrons 18 18 0 2

K+ ClH+ H-

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