Atomic Structure

Properties of subatomic particles

Proton

Neutron
-27

1.675 x 10

Electron
-27

9.109 x 10-31

Actual mass

1.673 x 10

Relative mass

1/1840

Charge

+1.602 x 10-19

-1.602 x 10-19

Relative charge

+1

-1

Location within atom

In nucleus

In nucleus

Around nucleus

Definitions

Angle of deflection = charge/mass

o Heavier particles have more kinetic energy, hence deflected to smaller extent
o Particles with higher charge have greater attractive force exerted on them by oppositely-charged plate, therefore
they deflect to a greater extent
Isotopes: atoms of same element with same number of protons but different number of neutrons
o Same chemical properties, different physical properties
Isoelectronic: same number of valence electrons/electronic configuration
Isotonic: same number of neutrons
Relative masses of an element (NO UNITS)
o Relative isotopic mass: mass of one atom of isotope of the element relative to 1/12 of mass of 1 atom of 12C
o Relative atomic mass: weighted average mass of one atom of element relative to 1/12 of mass of 1 atom of 12C
o Relative molecular mass: average mass of one molecule of substance relative to 1/12 of mass of 1 atom of 12C
o Relative formula mass: average mass of one formula unit of substance relative to 1/12 of mass of 1 atom of 12C
Principal Quantum Number (n)
o Average distance of orbitals from nucleus, higher = further = electrons have higher energy
o Contains subshells, which contain orbitals, which contain electrons
o As n increases, orbitals become more diffuse, have lower charge density

Electronic configuration and orbitals

Orbitals
o s orbital spherical shape
Only orbitals that can form a bond (single bond), along with sp hybridised orbitals
o p orbital dumbbell shape, 3 degenerate orbitals, 1/3 size of s orbital
Form a bond (double bond consists of 1 and 1 bond), seen in resonance structures
o d orbital shaped like a 4 petal flower, 5 degenerate orbitals, 1/5 size of s orbital
Electronic configuration
o When adding electrons, add in order of energy level
o When removing electrons, remove from highest Principal Quantum Shell first
o Hunds Rule of Multiplicity: inter-electronic repulsion between electrons in same orbital, so by occupying
different orbitals electrons can minimize this repulsion
o Once orbital directly before another in a higher PQS is filled, electrons (e.g. in 3d) are from an orbital that is closer
to the nucleus than in 4s, hence they repel 4s electrons and cause 4s electrons to be at a higher energy level
compared to 3d. Thus, 4s electrons are removed BEFORE 3d electrons.

Ionisation energies

First ionisation energy: energy required to remove 1 mol of electrons from 1 mol of gaseous atoms in the ground
state to form 1 mole of gaseous singly-charged cations
Second ionisation energy: energy required to remove 1 mol of electrons from 1 mol of gaseous singly-charged
cations to form 1 mol of gaseous doubly-charged cations

Factors affecting ionisation energy (model answers)

Effective nuclear charge
No. of protons (nuclear charge) - number of inner core electrons
Increases across a period, decreases down a group
1. State I.E. of elements
2. A has a larger number of protons than B and hence higher nuclear charge.
3. However, they experience approximately the same shielding by the inner shells as they are both found in the
same Principal Quantum Shell.
4. As a result, effective nuclear charge experienced by valence electrons in A is higher than that of B resulting in
stronger electrostatic forces of attraction between the nucleus and the valence electrons in A compared to B.
5. Hence, the first ionisation energy of A is higher than that of B.
Inter-electronic repulsion between electrons in same orbital
Only applies to elements with ns2 np4 and ns2 np3 configuration
1. State I.E. of elements
2. In a p4 configuration, the 2 paired electrons in the same orbital experience inter-electronic repulsion.
3. An electron from this orbital is more easily removed compared to an electron in a singlyfilled orbital and hence
requires less energy for ionisation.
4. Hence I.E. of ___ is lower than I.E. of ___
Orbital electron is removed from
Only applies to elements with ns2np1 and ns2 configuration
1. State I.E. of elements
2. In A, electron to be removed is found in a 2s orbital while in B, the electron to be removed is found in a 2p orbital.
An electron in a 2p subshell is at a higher energy level (further away from the nucleus) than an electron in a 2s
subshell. Hence the 2p electron is easier to be removed than the 2s electron, thus I.E. of B is lower than A.
Distance between valence electron and nucleus
1. Although the valence electrons of A experience greater nuclear charge
2. They are found in a higher Principal Quantum Shell which is further away from the nucleus
3. This results in the valence electrons of A experiencing weaker attractive force, and hence a lower IE as less energy is
required to remove the electron.
Charge of cation
1. The energy required to remove (n+1)th electron of A is larger than that to remove nth electron as nuclear charge
remains the same but inter-electronic repulsion decreases with a decreasing number of electrons in the species.
Thus, there is an increase in net attractive force and more energy is required to remove the next electron.
2. Hence subsequent I.E.s will increase.
Deducing group
1. There is a large jump/increase between the (n-1)th and nth ionisation energy.
2. This indicates that the nth electron to be removed comes from an inner Principal Quantum Shell which has lower
energy and is closer to the nucleus. Thus more energy is required to remove the nth electron.
3. Hence X has (n-1) valence electrons and belongs to Group (n-1).