STRUCTURE OF AN ATOM

Faraday showed that the flow of electricity is due to the flow of charged particles.
G. J Stoney first suggested the name electron for the fundamental electrical
particle.

J. J Thomson showed the existence of electrons.

When electrical discharge is passed through gases at very low pressures, cathode rays (streams of negatively
charged particles having very small mass) are produced.

Goldstein discovered the presence of new radiations in a gas discharge and called them canal rays. These rays
were positively charged radiations .It was given the name of proton.

Characteristics of Electrons
1
1. Mass of an electron is about 1840 that of hydrogen atom. i.e 9.108 X 10-31 Kg. The mass of an electron is

considered as neglisible.
2. An electron carries negative charge.
3. It is represented as ‘e’

Characteristics of protons
1. The mass of a proton is equal to that of a hydrogen atom. Its mass is about 1840 times that of an
electron. i,e 1.676 X 10-27 Kg.
2. A proton carries a charge equal in magnitude of that of an electron but opposite in sign
3. It is represented as ‘p’

Chadwick discovered Neutrons.

1. The mass of neutron is equal to the mass of proton. i,e 1.676 X 10-27 Kg.
2. Neutrons do not carry any electrical charge.
3. Neutrons are present in the nucleus of all atoms, except hydrogen.
4. It is represented as ‘n’.

The mass of an atom is therefore given by the sum of the masses of protons and neutrons present in the
nucleus.

J. J Thomson’s model of an atom

1. An atom is considered to be a sphere of uniform positive charge, and electrons are embedded into it like
raisins in a plum pudding.
2. In an atom, total positive charge is equal to the total negative charge due to the electrons.
3. Mass of the atom is considered to be uniformly distributed.
Limitations: 1. This model did not explain the arrangement of electrons within an atom.

Rutherford’s α particle scattering experiment

He bombarded a thin sheet of gold foil with alpha particles in an evacuated chamber.

Observations of this expt-

1. Most of the α particles passed through the foil straight without any change in their direction.
Conclusion – This showed that most of the space inside the atom is hollow.

2. A small fraction of α particles deflected through small angles and a few through larger angles.
Conclusion – Positive charge of an atom occupies very little space.

3. One particle in 10,000 returned back.

Conclusion - All the positive charge and the mass of the gold atom were concentrated in a very
small volume.

Rutherford’s nuclear model of an atom

1. An atom consists of a positively charged nucleus, which is surrounded by electrons moving around it.
2. The electrons revolve around the nucleus in well defined orbits.
3. The size of the nucleus is very small as compared to the size of the atom.
4. Almost the entire mass of an atom is concentrated in its nucleus.
5. Atom, as a whole, is electrically neutral

Drawbacks: The revolution of the electron in a circular orbit is not expected to be stable. Any particle in a
circular orbit would undergo acceleration. During acceleration charged particles would radiate energy. Thus the
revolving electrons would lose energy and finally fall into the nucleus. If this were so, the atom should be
highly unstable and hence matter would not exist in the form that we know, because atoms are quite stable. This
model did not explain the arrangement of electrons in an atom.

Bohr’s model of an atom

1. In an atom , the electrons revolve around the nucleus in certain definite circular paths called orbits or
shells.
2. While revolving in discrete orbits the electrons do not radiate energy.
3. Each shell corresponds to a definite energy. These are called as energy shells.
4. These shells are represented by the letters K, L, M, N… or the numbers, n = 1,2,3,4….
5. Electrons in an atom can have only certain permissible energies.
Arrangements of electrons in an atom-
1. The maximum number of electrons which can be accommodated in a given orbit is given by the formula
2n2, where n is the quantum number of the orbit.
n Designation of the Maximum number of
orbit electrons(2n2)
1 K 2X12 = 2
2 L 2X22 =8
3 M 2X32 =18
4 N 2X42 =32

2. The outermost orbit can have at the most 8 electrons.

3. The shells are filled in a step- wise manner.

Electronic configuration of 18 Elements

Element Symbol Atomic No. of No. of No. of Distribution of Valency
no protons neutrons electrons electrons
K L M N
Hydrogen H 1 1 0 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
Argon Ar 18 18 22 18 2 8 8 - 0

Atomic structure of Elements

Atomic Number – (Z) - The atomic number of an element is equal to the nuclear charge.
Atomic number = Number of protons = Number of electrons

Mass number (A) – The mass number of an element is equal to the sum of the number of protons(p) and the
number of Neutrons. A = Z + N
14
Mass number eg N7
Symbol of
element
Atomic number
Number of protons = Number of electrons = Atomic number
Mass number = Number of protons + Number of neutrons
Number of Neutrons = Mass Number – Number of protons
Valence Electrons --- The electrons in the outermost shell of an atom are called its valence electrons.
Number of valence electrons in Sodium is one
Number of valence electrons in Chlorine are 7

Valency – The number of valence electrons of an element which actually take part in chemical reaction is called
the valency of that element.
Valency of an element = Number of valence electrons / 8- Number of valence electrons
The elements containing only one, or seven electrons in their outermost shell show very high chemical
reactivity.

Isotopes – Atoms of the same element, having the same atomic number, but different mass numbers are called
isotopes of that element. (same number of protons but different number of neutrons)

Isotopes of hydrogen Isotopes of Uranium Isotopes of Chlorine

1 2 3 235 238 35 37
H H H U U Cl Cl
1 1 1 92 92 17 17
Protium Deuterium Tritium 17 protons 17 protons
Isotopes of Carbon
1 proton 1 proton 1 proton 17 electrons 17 electrons
12 13 14
0 neutron 1 neutron 2 neutron C C C 18 neutrons 20 neutrons
6 6 6

Many elements consists of a mixture of isotopes.

Each isotope of an element is a pure substance.
The chemical properties of isotopes are similar but their physical properties are different.
Chlorine occurs in nature in two isotopic forms with masses 35u and 37u in the ratio of 3: 1.
75 25 105 37
The average atomic mass of Chlorine atom = (35 X 100 + 37 X 100 ) = + = 35.5u
4 4

Applications - 1. An isotope of uranium is used as a fuel in nuclear reactors.

2. An isotope of cobalt is used in the treatment of cancer.
3. An isotope of iodine is used in the treatment of goitre.
4. Radiocarbon is used for estimating the age of old archeological samples.
5. Tritium is used for estimating the age of glaciers.

Isobars – The atoms of different element which have different atomic numbers but same mass number are
called isobars.
Eg . Calcium – atomic number is 20, mass number is 40 Argon – atomic number is 18, mass number is 40

Isotones – Two nuclides are isotones if they have same neutron number, but different proton number.
Eg Chlorine (isotope) and Argon – 20 neutrons Carbon (isotope) and Boron – 7 neutrons