Lecture 3

Modern Atomic Theory

ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

ATOMIC THEORY OF MATTER:

Throughout history, man has searched for
the ultimate substance of which matter is
created. From time to time of the early
Greeks up to the present man has not
stopped searching for the ultimate particle.
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

1.Aristotle ( 4th century BC) - rejected the idea of the atomism

of matter. He believed that matter is continuous and can be
divided into smaller particles.
2.Leucippus (5th century BC) - A Greek philosopher conceived
the idea of indivisible units called atoms ( meaning uncut)
Democritus - believed that matter consisted of tiny particles
called ATOMOS(uncut) and that the infinite variety of
observable things could be explained by the combinations of
different sizes and shapes of these particles
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

John Dalton’ Atomic Theory (1803- 1807):

- He pictured the atom as a tiny indestructible sphere with
mass
1. All matter is made up of tiny indestructible unit particles
called atoms.
2. All atoms of a given element are alike.
3. During chemical reactions, atoms may combine or
combination of atoms may break apart but the atoms
remain unchanged.
4. When atoms from molecules, they unite in small whole
numbered ratios such as 1:1,1:3,2:3, etc.
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

ATOM- smallest particle in an element that is

electrically neutral that has a positive core and 1 or
more electrons that are relatively outside the
nucleus.

NUCLEUS - positively charged core of the atom.

- contains the protons and neutrons
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

Fundamental Particles of an Atom:

Experiments by several scientists in the middle of
the 19th century led to the conclusion that the
atom is made up of smaller particles. With the use
of a tube it was possible to learn more about
atoms. In each end of the tube there is a metal
piece called an electrode.
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

1. The Electron ( Cathode rays)

Attempts to pass an electric current
through a vacuum led to the discovery
of cathode rays by Julius Plucker in
1859. Two electrodes are sealed in a
glass tube from which air is almost
completely removed. When high voltage
is impressed across these electrodes,
rays stream from the negative electrode
called the cathode. The following are
characteristic properties of cathode
rays:
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

1. They travel in straight lines away from the negative

electrode unless acted upon by an outside force.
2. They are negatively charged.
3. They consist of particles of definite mass, 1/1837 times as
much as the lightest known atom.
4. The nature of cathode rays are the same irrespective of:
a. the material of which the cathode is made
b. the type of residual gas present in the evacuated tube
c. the kind of metal wires used to conduct current to the
cathode
d. the materials used to produce the current
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

John Joseph Thomson, an

English physicist, determined the
value of e/m for the electron by
studying the deflections of
cathode rays in electric and
magnetic fields. He was later
hailed as the discoverer of the first
subatomic particle. The value of
e/m was derived by Thomson is
-1.7588 x 10 8 coulombs / g.
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

Robert Millikan, an American physicist, obtained the

first accurate measurement of an electron’s charge by
performing the Oil Drop Experiment. In this experiment,
the electrons were produced by the action of x-rays on
the molecules of which air is composed. Very small drops
of oil pick up the electrons and acquire electric charges.
The oil drops are allowed to settle between two
horizontal plates and the mass of a single drop is
determined by measuring its rate of fall. The charge of a
single electron was determined to be -1.6022 x 10 -19
coulombs
m = -1.6022 x 10-19C / -1.7588 x 108 = 9.1096 X 10 -28 g
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

2. The Proton
Eugen Goldstein, a German physicist
known for his work on electrical
phenomena on gases discovered new
particles which he called canal rays. The
name arose from the fact that the rays are
attracted to the cathode (-) and pass
through the holes or “canals” in the
cathode.
e/m = + 9.5791 x 104 C / g
m = 1.6022 x 10-19C / 9.5791x104C/g
= 1.6726x10-24g
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

1.The Neutron
Ernest Rutherford, since an atom
is electrically neutral, a given atom
must contain as many electrons as
protons, to account for the total
mass of atoms he postulated the
existence of the uncharged particle.
Since the particle is uncharged, it is
difficult to detect and characterize.
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

James Chadwick -
published the result of his
work which established the
existence of the neutron. He
was also able to calculate the
mass of the neutron from data
on certain nuclear reactions in
which neutrons are produced.
m = 1.6749 x 10-24g
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

B. Fundamental Particles of an Atom:

ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

MODELS OF THE ATOM:

Dalton’s Concept: he
pictures the elements as
spheres with distinguishing
marks.
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

Thomson’s
Concept: An atom is
made up of positively
charge sphere in
which electrons are
loosely embedded on
the surface.
“Raisin Bread”
model
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

Rutherford’s Concept:
The new structure of the
atom has a positive
nucleus containing the
positively charged protons
around which at relatively
great distance revolve the
electrons.
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

Bohr’s Concept: Electron’s in

the outer region of the atom
must be moving in simple
circular orbit or shell around the
nucleus. The atom has a
number of principal energy
levels, which are separated from
each other by considerable
distance.
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

ISOTOPES, ATOMIC NUMBERS, AND

MASS NUMBERS
Numbers to identify an atom:
1. atomic number, Z
– the number of unit positive charges on
the nucleus
- number of protons in the nucleus
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

2. mass number, A – the number of protons

and neutrons in the nucleus
number of neutrons
= mass number - atomic number
= A - charge of the ion = number of protons –
number of electrons
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

What is the composition of

a) 39K b) 27 Al +3 c) 32 S -2
a. no. of protons = 19
no. of electrons = 19
no. of neutrons = 39 – 19 = 20
b. no. of protons = 13
no. of electrons = no. of protons – charge of the ion = 13 – (+3)
= 10
no. of neutrons = 27 -13 = 14
c. no. of protons = 16
no. of electrons = 16 – (-2) = 18
no. of neutrons = 32- 16 = 16
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

ISOTOPES: atoms of the same element of the same

atomic number but different mass
numbers
atomic number- no. of protons = no. of electrons
mass number – no. of protons + no. of neutrons of
an atom
- whole number value closest to the exact atomic
weight of an element
atomic weight – average relative weight of an
element referred to 6C12
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE

isotopes- atoms of the same element of the same

atomic number but differ in mass no.

isobars- atoms of different elements of the same

mass no. but differ ion atomic no.

isotones- atoms of different elements having the

same no. of neurons
ATOMIC
STRUCTURE
Atomic
Theory

• To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a

Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And
Eternity in an hour
William Blake Auguries of Innocence
• Thus, the task is not so much to see what
no one has yet seen, but to think what
nobody has yet thought, about that which
everybody sees.
Erwin Schrodinger
Atomic
Theory

QUANTUM NUMBERS: used to describe the energy

states of an electron.

1. PRINCIPAL QUANTUM NO. (n)

 main energy level, shell or orbit where the electron is
found.
n = 1 1st main E level
n = 2 2nd main E level
n = 3
n = 4
maximum n = 7
Atomic
Theory

2. SUBSIDIARY or AZIMUTHAL QUANTUM NO. (l)

 sublevel, subshell or suborbit where the electron is found
 determines the shape of the orbital where the electron is found
 value for l: l = 0 → n – 1
eg: n = 1 l=0
n=2 l=1
Main E level no.of sublevel
sublevel
1 1 0
2 2 0,1
3 3 0,1,2
4 4 0,1,2,3
Atomic
Theory

3. MAGNETIC QUANTUM NO. ( ml)

 indicates the region is space where a maximum of 2 electrons are likely
to be found.
 Value for ml = +l → 0 → -l

Sublevel(l) magnetic q.n. no. of orbitals

0- s 0 1
1–p +1,0,-1 3
2–d +2,+1, 0, -1,-2 5
3- f +3,+2,+1,0,-1,-2,-3 7
Atomic
Theory

4. SPIN QUANTUM NO.(ms)

 shows the direction of motion of
the electron
 values for ms = +1/2 , -1/2
Atomic
Theory
Atomic
Theory

SUMMARY:
1. n - main E level = relative distance b/n
the nucleus and electron
2. l - sublevel = shape of orbital
3. ml - orbital = orientation in space
4. ms- spin = direction of motion
of the electron
Atomic
Theory

ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION -
imaginary way of expressing the
location of electrons

nlx where: n = main E level

l = sublevel letter (s,p,d,f)
x = no. of e- / sublevel
Atomic
Theory

Rules governing Electronic Configuration:

1. AUFBAU PRINCIPLE
 arrangement of electrons is according to increasing E
 (1s being of lowest E)
 Mnemonic Device:
1s 2s 3s 4s 5s 6s 7s
2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p
3d 4d 5d 6d 7d
4f 5f 6f 7f
Atomic
Theory

2. PAULI’S EXCLUSION
PRINCIPLE
 no more than 2
electrons can occupy
an orbital
 or no 2 electrons can
have exactly the
same set of quantum
numbers
Atomic
Theory

3. HUND’S RULE OF MAXIMUM MILTIPLICITY

 electrons occupy orbitals singly first before pairing up
Wave Character
of the Electron

• Just as the intensity of the movement of a

guitar string can vary, so can the intensity
of the negative charge of the electron vary
at different positions outside the nucleus.
• The variation in the intensity of the electron
charge can be described in terms of a
three-dimensional standing wave like the
standing wave of the guitar string.
Wave Character
of the Electron

• Although both the electron and the

guitar string can have an infinite
number of possible waveforms, only
certain waveforms are possible.
• We can focus our attention on the
waveform of varying charge intensity
without having to think about the
actual physical nature of the electron.
Waveform for
1s Electron
Other Allowed
Waveforms
1s Orbital
Particle Interpretation
of 1s Orbital
2s Orbital

• The 2s orbital for a hydrogen atom

is larger than the 1s orbital and has
a node, which is a region within the
orbital where the charge intensity
decreases to zero.
Cutaway of 1s
and 2s Orbitals
Ground State and
Excited State

• Hydrogen atoms with their electron

in the 1s orbital are said to be in
their ground state.
• A hydrogen atom with its electron
in the 2s orbital is in an excited
state.
Realistic and
Stylized 2py Orbital
2px, 2py, and 2pz
Orbitals
3d Orbitals
Other Allowed
Waveforms
Sublevels

• Orbitals that have the same

potential energy, the same size,
and the same shape are in the
same sublevel.
• The sublevels are sometimes
called subshells.
Orbitals for Ground States
of Known Elements
Electron
Spin
Pauli Exclusion
Principle

• No two electrons in an atom can be the

same in all ways.
• There are four ways that electrons can be
the same:
 Electrons can be in the same principal
energy level.
 They can be in the same sublevel.
 They can be in the same orbital.
 They can have the same spin.
Ways to Describe
Electrons in Atoms

• Arrows are added to an orbital diagram to show

the distribution of electrons in the possible orbitals
and the relative spin of each electron. The following
is an orbital diagram for a nitrogen atom.

• The information in orbital diagrams is often

described in a shorthand notation called an
electron configuration.
1s2 2s2 2p3
Electron
Configurations

• The sublevels are filled in such a way as to yield

the lowest overall potential energy for the atom.
• No two electrons in an atom can be the same in
all ways. This is one statement of the Pauli
Exclusion Principle.
• When electrons are filling orbitals of the same
energy, they prefer to enter empty orbitals first,
and all electrons in half-filled orbitals have the
same spin. This is called Hund’s Rule.
Electron
Configurations (cont.)
Order of
Orbital Filling

1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s 4d 5p 6s 4f 5d 6p 7s 5f 6d 7p
Second Period
Electron
Configurations
Writing Electron
Configurations

• Determine the number of electrons in the

atom from its atomic number.
• Add electrons to the sublevels in the
correct order of filling.
• Add two electrons to each s sublevel, 6 to
each p sublevel, 10 to each d sublevel,
and 14 to each f sublevel.
• To check your complete electron
configuration, look to see whether the
location of the last electron added
corresponds to the element’s position on
the periodic table.
Order of Filling from
the Periodic Table
Long Periodic
Table
Drawing Orbital
Diagrams

• Draw a line for each orbital of each sublevel

mentioned in the complete electron
configuration. Draw one line for each s
sublevel, three lines for each p sublevel, five
lines for each d sublevel, and seven lines for
each f sublevel.
• Label each sublevel.
• For orbitals containing two electrons, draw
one arrow up and one arrow down to indicate
the electrons’ opposite spin.
• For unfilled sublevels, follow Hund’s Rule.
Abbreviated Electron
Configurations

• The highest energy electron are most

important for chemical bonding.
• The noble gas configurations of electrons are
especially stable and, therefore, not important
for chemical bonding.
• We often describe electron configurations to
reflect this representing the noble gas
electrons with a noble gas symbol in brackets.
• For example, for sodium
1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1 goes to [Ne] 3s1
Writing Abbreviated
Electron Configurations

• Find the symbol for the element on a

periodic table.
• Write the symbol in brackets for the noble
gas located at the far right of the preceding
horizontal row on the table.
• Move back down a row (to the row
containing the element you wish to
describe) and to the far left. Following the
elements in the row from left to right, write
the outer-electron configuration associated
with each column until you reach the
element you are describing.
Abbreviated Electron
Configurations – Optional
Step

•Rewrite the abbreviated electron

configuration, listing the sublevels in
the order of increasing principal
energy level (all of the 3’s before the
4’s, all of the 4’s before the 5’s,
etc.)
Group 1 Abbreviated
Electron
Configurations
Abbreviated Electron
Configuration Steps
for Zinc
Common Mistakes

• Complete electron configurations – miscounting electrons (Use

the periodic table to determine order of filling.)
• Orbital diagrams – forgetting to leave electrons unpaired with the
same spin when adding electrons to the p, d, or f sublevels
(Hund’s Rule)
• Abbreviated electron configurations
– Forgetting to put 4f14 after [Xe]
– Forgetting to list sublevels in the order of increasing principal
energy level
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xazQRcSCRaY&t=16s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQP4UJhNn0I
End of Lecture 3