Chapter 1

 Dalton’s atomic theory:

 All matter is made up of atoms which are small indivisible, indestructible particles
 Atoms of the same element are identical i.e. have the same chemical and physical properties
 Atoms can combine chemically in simple whole number ratios to form compounds
 Different elements have different mass and atomic numbers i.e. have different chemical and physical properties
 Atoms can combine in different simple whole number ratios
 This was proven wrong:
 Isotopes: atoms of the same element which have same atomic number but different mass number
 Subatomic particles: atoms can be further subdivided into protons, neutrons and electrons
 Atomic number: number of protons=number of electrons
 Mass number: number of protons + number of neutrons
 In isotopes since the atomic number is the same, isotopes of the same element have similar chemical properties but different
physical properties due to different mass number
 The proportion of each isotope in a given element is called the relative abundance
 The relative abundance is the ratio/percentages of the isotopes in which they exist in the real world
 Relative atomic mass: the average mass of an atom of an element when compared to one twelfth the mass of carbon 12
 Relative isotopic mass: the average mass of one isotope of an element when compared to one twelfth the mass of carbon 12
 As the number of protons increase, the positive charge in the nucleus increases, hence the repulsive forces increase and the
number of neutrons increases in order to maintain the stability of the nucleus
 However, nuclei with 84 or more protons are unstable even with an increasing number of neutrons
 Th unstable nuclei are called radioactive isotopes. The radioactive isotopes can become stable by spontaneously ejecting
radioactive particles: α, β, ϒ
 The emission of α, β, ϒ particles change the number of protons in the nucleus so that a different atom is produced
 Alpha particles: helium nuclei
 Beta particles: formed when a neutron disintegrates to form a proton and electron
 Gamma rays1: electromagnetic waves of short wavelength. Emission of alpha and beta particles are often accompanied with
the emission of gamma rays

1
When particles are emitted, the atomic nucleus becomes excited and the excess energy is released as gamma radiation so the nucleus can return to a more
stable energy level
 Band of stability:
 Repulsion of positive charges in the proton is minimized by the presence of neutrons in the nucleus
 As the atomic number increases, the neutron proton ratio increases to help keep the nucleus together
 Nuclei above the band of stability which have a high neutron to proton ration can move towards the band of stability by
emitting beta particles i.e. increasing the number of protons in the nucleus
 Heavy nuclei which have an atomic number greater than 84 undergo alpha emission which decreases both neutron and proton
number moving the nucleus closer to the band of stability
Uses of radio-isotopes:
1. Cobalt 60- kills cancer cells and controls cancerous growth
2. Technetium-99 is used for bone imaging which is good for patients with arthritis
3. Iodine-131used to monitor the functioning of the thyroid gland
4. Carbon 14:
When an organism dies, it has a specific ration of carbon-12 to carbon-14. No new carbon-14 molecules are metabolized
after death hence the ratio begins to decrease since carbon-14 is decreasing at a constant rate

Atomic spectra:
 An atomic spectrum is formed when electromagnetic radiation is absorbed or emitted by an element
 E = hv
 A continuous spectrum has no distinct divisions between the colors, they al blend in from one another. This occurs when a
beam of white light is passed through a spectrum
 If white light passes through a substance, the atoms can absorb light of a specific wavelength and dark lines appear in the
spectrum. This is called a discontinuous/absorption spectrum
 The wavelengths of the dark lines in the spectrum is the wavelength of the light absorbed by the atoms
 An emission spectrum shows colored lines on a dark background. This occurs when atoms are supplied with heat and
electrical energy to high enough temperatures, they emit energies of certain wavelengths as excited atoms return to the ground
state
 According to Bohr, when energy is added to atoms, electrons in the ground state can absorb a quantum of energy and move to
an orbit with a higher energy level which is further form the nucleus. This excited electron in the higher energy level cannot
 maintain this position for a long time and hence falls back to a lower energy level emitting a quantum of energy which is
equivalent to the difference between the energy levels. The greater the difference, the higher the frequency of light emitted
 The emission spectrum of hydrogen consists of several series of lines which arise from the transition of elements from an orbit
of a higher quantum number to an orbit of a lower quantum number:
1. Lyman: transition from higher energy levels to principle quantum number of 1
2. Balmer: transition from higher energy levels to principle quantum number of 2
3. Paschen: transition of elements from higher energy levels to principle quantum number 3
4. Brackett: transition of elements of higher energy levels to principle quantum number of 4
5. Pfund: transition of elements from higher energy level to principle quantum number of 5
Quantum numbers:
 Orbital: the region/volume of space in which there is a high probability of finding an electron
 Principal quantum number, n: describes the energy levels of the electrons
 Angular quantum number: describes the sublevels in n and the shape of the orbitals. Each energy level has n sublevels
o N = 1 has 1 sublevel, 1s
o N = 2 has 2 sublevels, 2s and 2p
o N = 3 has 3 sublevels, 3s, 3p, 3d
o N = 4 has 4 sublevels, 4s, 4p, 4d, 4f
 The magnetic quantum number: describes the number of orbitals within a sublevel
o s – 1 orbital, 2 electrons’
o p – 3 orbitals, 6 electrons
o d – 5 orbitals, 10 electrons
o f – 7 orbitals, 14 electrons
 A fourth quantum number, s, is used to describe the spin of the electron. According to the Pauli exclusion principle, only 2
electrons can occupy an orbital and the 2 electrons occupying the same orbital must have opposite spin
Shape of orbitals:
 S orbitals
o The shape is spherical, the 1s orbital has 0 electron density and a node at the center of the nucleus
  P orbitals
o Each energy level has 3 degenerate p orbitals, which are lobed shaped
o A node exists between each lobe of the orbital
Electronic configuration:
 The relative energies of atomic orbitals: the s orbital will have a slightly lower energy than the p orbitals at the same energy
level, hence it always fills with electrons before the corresponding p orbitals
 The 3d orbitals have slightly more energy than the 4s orbitals hence the 4s orbitals always fill with electrons before its
corresponding 4d orbitals
 Aufbau principle: electrons are added to atom, one at a time, starting at the lowest energy orbital
 Pauli exclusion principle: no more than electrons can occupy an orbital
 Hund’s rule: electrons fill degenerate orbitals one at a time with parallel spin before a second electron is added with opposite
spin
Factors influencing ionization energy:
1. Atomic radius: as the distance between the outer electron and nucleus increases, the nuclear force of attraction increase, hence
the ionization energy decreases
2. Screening/shielding effect: electrons being attracted to the nucleus also experience electron repulsion from other electrons. The
outer electrons are shielded from the nuclear attraction by the repelling effect of inner electrons
The screening effect of electrons in lower energy levels is more effective than those in higher energy levels
3. Size of nuclear charge: as the size of nuclei increases, the nuclear force of attraction for the valence electrons increase and
ionization energy increases
Evidence for energy levels:
 Successive ionization energies usually increase, however an unusually large increase in the sequence occurs when all the
electrons in one shell is removed and an electron from an inner shell is now being removed
Evidence for subshells:
 The first ionization energy of boron is smaller than beryllium and the first ionization energy of oxygen is smaller than nitrogen
 The first ionization energy of boron is smaller than beryllium since less energy is required to remove the first electron from the
2p orbital than one from the filled 2s orbital (which is stable)
 In the case of nitrogen, 3 electrons in the 2p orbitals have the same spin however in oxygen, the 4th electron is paired in one of
the 2p orbitals. This causes electron pair repulsion to occur in the paired p orbital making it easier to remove an electron from
oxygen than nitrogen i.e. the first ionization energy of oxygen is less than nitrogen