Concepts to Learn

• What are the ideas of the Greeks on the atom?

• How did Dalton contribute to the concept of the atom?

• What is an atom and what does it look like?

How did we come to the idea that the smallest particle of any matter is an atom?

ORIGIN OF THE CONCEPT OF THE ATOM

Greek Concepts of the Atom

Modern Development of the

Concept of the Atom

Greek Origins of the Atomic Idea

Leucippus

Democritus

Democritus

• All matter is composed of atom.

• Atoms cannot be divided further into smaller portions.

ource: http://www.chemteam.info/AtomicStructure/Greeks.html)

Greek followers’ Idea on the Atom

• Atoms are small, and cannot be seen.

• Atoms are always moving and can be combined.

• Atoms are solid and hard. • Atoms are homogenous (made of the same material) • Atoms have different sizes, and shapes. • Atoms are infinite in numbers

Modern Development of the Idea of the

Dalton’sAtom

Atomic Theory

Dalton’s Ideas on the Atom

• 1. Chemical elements are composed of

atoms.

• 2. Atoms of an element were identical in

weight

• 3. Atoms of different elements had

different weights.

• 4. Atoms combined only in small whole-

number ratios to form compounds.

• 5. Atoms either combine, separate or re-

arrange in a chemical reaction.

How did the scientists know the physical structure of the atom?

Physical Structure of an Atom

Atoms are the smallest particle of an element that retains the characteristics of the element.

Atomic Structure

Development of the Atomic Models

John Dalton JJ Thomson Ernest Rutherford Niels Bohr Wave Model

John Dalton

•	1803
•	An atom is hard and spherical in its physical appearance.
•	It is the smallest, indivisible particle of matter.

JJ Thomson

• 1897 • “Plum-pudding Model”

•

An atom is a positively charged sphere studded with negatively charged electrons.

• Cathode-ray Tube Experiment

• Discovered the electrons

Ernest Rutherford

• 1908 • “Nuclear Model”

• The atom is mostly empty space that has a dense positively charged center which repels the positively charged alpha particles.

• Gold Foil Experiment • Discovered the “nucleus”

Niels Bohr

• 1913 • “Planetary Model”

• Electrons move around in specific orbits (energy levels) that are placed at specific distances from the nucleus of an atom.

• Discovered the Energy Levels of the atom

Wave Model (Schroedinger)

• 1926

• Electron Cloud Model/Wave Model

• Electrons can only exist at specific energy states.

• Orbitals – the region around the nucleus where the electrons can be found

Learning Check

• Discuss the 2 concepts of the atom according to Democritus.

• Discuss the Greek followers’ (alchemists) ideas on the atom. • Explain Dalton’s 5 postulates on the atom. • Describe an atom and its parts.

• Draw on the board the atomic models of the following scientists: JJ Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, Niels Bohr, Erwin Schroedinger