Atomic Theory

John Dalton (1766-1844) is the scientist credited for proposing the atomic theory. This theory explains several
concepts that are relevant in our world today. This includes what a pure gold necklace is made of, what makes the
pure gold necklace different than a pure silver necklace, and what occurs when pure gold is mixed with copper.
After reading this text you will know the answers to all of those questions. Before discussing the Atomic Theory we
will explain the theories that Dalton used as a basis for his theory: the law of conservation of mass and the law of
constant composition.
1. Law of Conservation of mass: (1766-1844)
2. Law of Constant Composition
3. Dalton's Atomic Theory
4. Discovering Electrons:
5. The Plum Pudding Model:
6. Discovery of the Proton
7. The Discovery of the Neutron:
8. Example Problems
9. Outside links
10. References
Law of Conservation of mass: (1766-1844)
The law of conservation of mass states that the total mass present before a chemical reaction is the same as the total
mass present after the chemical reaction; thus, mass is conserved. The law of conservation of mass was formulated
by Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794). This law was a result of his combustion experiment where he observed that the
mass of his original substance a glass vessel, tin, and the air in the sealed vessel- was equal to the mass of the
produced substance- the glass vessel, tin calx, and the remaining air.
Historically, this was a difficult concept for scientists to grasp. If this law was true then how was it that a large piece
of wood was reduced to a small pile of ashes. Obviously the wood has a greater mass than the ashes. From this
observation scientists concluded that mass had been lost. However, the illustration below depicts the fact that the
burning of word does follow the law of conservation of mass. Scientists did not take into account the gases that play
a critical role in this reaction.


Law of Constant Composition
Joseph Proust (1754-1826) came up with the law of constant composition (also called the law of definite
proportions). This law states that if a compound is broken down into its constituent elements, the masses of the
constituents will always have the same proportions, regardless of the quantity or source of the original substance.
Joseph Proust based this law primarily on his experiments with basic copper carbonate. The illustration below
depicts this law; 31 grams of H
2
O and 8 grams of H2O are made up of the same percent of Hydrogen and Oxygen.



Dulton's Atomlc Theory
1. Euch chemlcul element ls composed of extremely smull purtlcles thut ure lndlvlslble und cunnot be seen by
the nuked eye, culled utoms. Atoms cun nelther be creuted nor destroyed. Plctured below ls u Hellum utom.
The purple und red dots represent the neutrons und protons ln the nucleus. The bluck ureu uround the nucleus
represent the electron cloud. In the followlng sectlons we wlll dlscusslon thls further.


2. All utoms of un element ure ullke ln muss (welght) und other propertles, but the utoms of one element dlffer
from ull other elements. For exumple, gold und sllver huve dlffernt utomlc musses und dlffernt propertles.

*old Sllver
Atomlc Muss: 196.97 Atomlc Muss: 107.87
3. For euch compound, dlfferent elements comblne ln u slmple numerlcul rutlo.
The lllustrutlon below descrlbes thls rule. The second equutlon for the reuctlon ls lncorrect becuuse thelr
cunnot be hulf of un utom.

:e cun use the utomlc theory to unswers the questlons presented ubove. A pure gold neckluce ls mude up of
utoms. A pure gold neckluce und u pure sllver neckluce ure dlfferent becuuse they huve dlfferent utoms. :hen
we mlx pure gold wlth pure copper we get rose gold. Thls ls slmply the gold und copper comblnlng ln u slmple
numerlcul rutlo.
Dulton's theory hus not proven to be one hundred percent correct. The flrst rule wus proven to be lnncorect
when sclentlst were uble to dlvlde utoms ln u process culled nucleur flsslon. The second rule wus proven to be
lncorect by the dlscovery thut not ull utoms of the sume element huve the sume muss, there ure lsotopes.
However, these fullures should not cuuse us to throw uwuy the utomlc theory. It correctly explulns the luw of
conservutlon of muss: lf utoms of un element ure lndestructlble, then the sume utom must be present ufter u
chemlcul reuctlon us before und thelr muss remulns constunt. Dultons utomlc theory ulso explulns the luw of
constunt composltlon: lf ull the utoms of un element ure ullke ln muss und lf utoms unlte ln flxed numerlcul
rutlos, the percent composltlon of u compound must huve u unlque vulue wlthout regurds to the sumple
unulyzed. The utomlc theory led to the creutlon of the luw of multlple proportlons.
Luw of Multlple Proportlons
The luw of multlple proportlons stutes thut lf two elements form more thun one compound between them, the
musses of one element comblned wlth u flxed muss of the second element form ln rutlos of smull lntegers. The
lllustrutlon of the thlrd rule of the utomlc theory correctly deplcts thls luw.


Dlscoverlng Electrons:
The flrst cuthode-ruy tube (CRT) wus lnvented by Mlcheul Furuduy (1791-1867). Cuthode ruys ure u type of
rudlutlon emltted by the negutlve termlnul, the cuthode, und wus dlscovered by pusslng electrlclty through
gluss tubes from whlch the ulr wus mostly evucuuted. The rudlutlon crossed the evucuuted tube to the posltlve
termlnul, the unode. Cuthode ruys produced by the CRT ure lnvlslble und cun only be detected by llght emltted
by the muterluls thut they strlke, culled phosphors. Phosphorous ure pulnted ut the end of the CRT to reveul the
puth of the cuthode ruys. Through thls lt wus dlscovered thut cuthode ruys truvel ln strulght llnes und huve
propertles lndependent of the cuthode muterlul (whether lt ls gold, sllver, ect.). Another slgnlflcunt property of
cuthode ruys ls thut they ure deflected by mugnetlc und electrlc flelds ln u munner thut ls ldentlcul to negutlvely
churged muterlul. Due to theses observutlons J.J. Thompson(1856-1940) concluded thut cuthode ruys ure
negutlvely churged purtlcles thut ure locuted ln ull utoms. It wus *eorge Stoney thut flrst guve the term
electrons to the cuthode ruys. The below flgures deplct the wuy thut the cuthode ruy ls effected by mugnetlcs.
The cuthode ruy wlll ulwuys be uttructed by the postlve mugnetlc und deflected by the negutlve mugnets.





The Plum Puddlng Model:
After Thomson's discovery of the electron, Thompson proposed the plum pudding model of an
atom that stated that the electrons float in material that is positively charged. This model was
named after the plum-pudding dessert.

Discovery of the Proton
In 1909, Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) performed a series of experiment studying the inner
structure of atoms. Using the plum-pudding model for reference, Rutherford predicted that
particles in an alpha beam would pass through matter unaffected with a tiny amount of particles
slightly deflected. The particles would only be deflected if they happen to come into contact with
electrons. According to the plum pudding model, this occurrence would be very unlikely. In order
to test his hypothesis, Rutherford shot a beam of alpha particles at a thin foil of gold. Around the
gold foil Rutherford placed sheets of zinc sulfide. These sheets produced a flash of light when
struck by an alpha particle. However, this experiment produced results that contradicted
Rutherford's hypothesis. Rutherford observed that a great majority of the alpha particles went
through the foil, some particles were slightly deflected,a small amount were greatly deflected,
and another small amount were thrown back in the same direction that they had came. Figure 10
shows Rutherfords prediction based off of the plum-pudding model (pink) and the observations
he observed of the large deflections of the alpha particles (gold).

To account for these observations Rutherford came up with a model called the nuclear atom. In
this model the positive charge is held in the nucleus, located in the middle of the atom. Outside
of the nucleus the atom is largely composed of empty space. This model stated that there was
positive particles within the nucleus but failed to define what these particles were. It was
Rutherford that discovered these particles in 1919. Rutherford conducted an experiment that
scattered alpha particles against nitrogen atoms. When the alpha particles and nitrogen atoms
collided protons were released.
The Discovery of the Neutron:
In 1933, James Chadwick (1891-1974) discovered a new type of radiation that consisted of
neutral particles. It was discovered that these neutral atoms came from the nuclei of the atom.
This last discovery completed the atomic model.