ATOMIC

STRUCTURE
A guide for A level students

2015
KNOCKHARDY PUBLISHING SPECIFICATION
S
 ATOMIC STRUCTURE
INTRODUCTION
This Powerpoint show is one of several produced to help students
understand selected topics at AS and A2 level Chemistry. It is based on
the requirements of the AQA and OCR specifications but is suitable for
other examination boards.
Individual students may use the material at home for revision purposes
or it may be used for classroom teaching if an interactive white board is
available.
Accompanying notes on this, and the full range of AS and A2 topics, are
available from the KNOCKHARDY SCIENCE WEBSITE at...
www.knockhardy.org.uk/sci.htm
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 THE STRUCTURE OF ATOMS

Atoms consist of a number of fundamental

particles,
the most important are ...
Relativ
Charge / Relative
Mass / kg e
C mass
charge
PROTON
NEUTRON
ELECTRO
N
 THE STRUCTURE OF ATOMS

Atoms consist of a number of fundamental

particles,
the most important are ...
Relativ
Charge / Relative
Mass / kg e
C mass1
1.672 x 1.602 x +
charge
10-27 10-19
PROTON 1
1.675 x 0 1 0
NEUTRON 10-27
1
ELECTRO 9.109 x 1.602 x
1836 -1
10-31 10-19
N
 THE STRUCTURE OF ATOMS

Atoms consist of a number of fundamental

particles,
the most important are ...
Relativ
Charge / Relative
Mass / kg e
C mass1
1.672 x 1.602 x +
charge
10-27 10-19
PROTON 1
1.675 x 0 1 0
NEUTRON 10-27
1
ELECTRO 9.109 x 1.602 x
1836 -1
10-31 10-19
N
Calculate the mass of a carbon-12 atom; it has 6 protons, 6 neutrons and
6 electrons
 THE STRUCTURE OF ATOMS

Atoms consist of a number of fundamental

particles,
the most important are ...
Relativ
Charge / Relative
Mass / kg e
C mass1
1.672 x 1.602 x +
charge
10-27 10-19
PROTON 1
1.675 x 0 1 0
NEUTRON 10-27
1
ELECTRO 9.109 x 1.602 x
1836 -1
10-31 10-19
N
Calculate the mass of a carbon-12 atom; it has 6 protons, 6 neutrons and
6 electrons
6 x 1.672 x 10-27 + 6 x 1.675 x 10-27 + 6 x 9.109 x 10-31 =
 THE STRUCTURE OF ATOMS

Atoms consist of a number of fundamental

particles,
the most important are ...
Relativ
Charge / Relative
Mass / kg e
C mass1
1.672 x 1.602 x +
charge
10-27 10-19
PROTON 1
1.675 x 0 1 0
NEUTRON 10-27
1
ELECTRO 9.109 x 1.602 x
1836 -1
10-31 10-19
N
Calculate the mass of a carbon-12 atom; it has 6 protons, 6 neutrons and
6 electrons
6 x 1.672 x 10-27 + 6 x 1.675 x 10-27 + 6 x 9.109 x 10-31 =
2.0089 x 10-26 kg
 MASS NUMBER AND ATOMIC NUMBER

Atomic Number (Z) Number of protons in the nucleus of an

atom
Mass Number (A) Sum of the protons and neutrons in the
nucleus
 MASS NUMBER AND ATOMIC NUMBER

Atomic Number (Z) Number of protons in the nucleus of an

atom
Mass Number (A) Sum of the protons and neutrons in the
nucleus
Mass Number (A)
PROTONS +
NEUTRONS
23
N
11
Atomic Number
a
(Z)
PROTONS
 MASS NUMBER AND ATOMIC NUMBER

Atomic Number (Z) Number of protons in the nucleus of an

atom
Mass Number (A) Sum of the protons and neutrons in the
nucleus
Mass Number (A)
PROTONS +
NEUTRONS
23
N
11
Atomic Number
a THESE ALWAYS GO
TOGETHER –
(Z) ANYTHING WITH 11
PROTONS PROTONS MUST BE
SODIUM
 MASS NUMBER AND ATOMIC NUMBER

Atomic Number (Z) Number of protons in the nucleus of an

atom
Mass Number (A) Sum of the protons and neutrons in the
nucleus
Mass Number (A)
PROTONS +
NEUTRONS
23
N
11
Atomic Number
a
(Z)
PROTONS
 MASS NUMBER AND ATOMIC NUMBER

Atomic Number (Z) Number of protons in the nucleus of an

atom
Mass Number (A) Sum of the protons and neutrons in the
nucleus
Mass Number (A) THERE WILL BE 12
PROTONS + NEUTRONS IN THE
NEUTRONS NUCLEUS
23 – 11 = 12
23
N
11
Atomic Number
a
(Z)
PROTONS
 MASS NUMBER AND ATOMIC NUMBER

Atomic Number (Z) Number of protons in the nucleus of an

atom
Mass Number (A) Sum of the protons and neutrons in the
nucleus
Mass Number (A)
PROTONS +
NEUTRONS
23
N
11
Atomic Number
a
(Z)
PROTONS
 MASS NUMBER AND ATOMIC NUMBER

Atomi
Mass
Proto Neutro Electro Char c Symb
Numb
ns ns ns ge Num ol
er
ber
A 19 21 19
B 20 0 40
C + 11 23
D 6 6 0
E 92 0 235
F 6 13
G 16 2- 16
H 27Al3+
 MASS NUMBER AND ATOMIC NUMBER

Atomi
Mass
Proto Neutro Electro Char c Symb
Numb
ns ns ns ge Num ol
er
ber
A 19 21 19 0 19 40 40K

B 20 20 20 0 20 40 40Ca

C 11 12 10 + 11 23 23Na+

D 6 6 6 0 6 12 12C

E 92 143 92 0 92 235 235U

F 6 7 6 0 6 13 13C

G 16 16 18 2- 16 32 32S2-

H 13 14 10 3+ 13 27 27Al3+
 RELATIVE MASSES

Relative Atomic Mass (Ar)

The mass of an atom relative to the 12
C isotope having a value
of 12.000

Ar = average mass per atom of an element x 12

mass of one atom of carbon-12
Relative Isotopic Mass
Similar, but uses the mass of an isotope 238
U
Relative Molecular Mass (Mr)
Similar, but uses the mass of a molecule CO2, N2

Relative Formula Mass

Used for any formula of a species or ion NaCl, OH¯
 ISOTOPES

Definition Atoms with…

the same atomic number but different mass number
or
the same number of protons but different numbers of
neutrons.
 ISOTOPES

Definition Atoms with…

the same atomic number but different mass number
or
the same number of protons but different numbers of
neutrons.
Properties Chemical properties of isotopes are identical
Physical properties (such as density) can differ
 ISOTOPES

Definition Atoms with…

the same atomic number but different mass number
or
the same number of protons but different numbers of
neutrons.
Properties Chemical properties of isotopes are identical
Physical properties (such as density) can differ
Theory Relative atomic masses measured
by chemical methods rarely produce ISOTOPES
whole numbers but they should do OF
(allowing for the low relative mass of HYDROGEN
the electron). This was explained Neu
when the mass spectrograph revealed Prot
tron
that atoms of the same element could ons
have different masses due to the s
variation in the number of neutrons in 1H 1
the nucleus. The observed mass was 1
0
a consequence of the abundance of
each type of isotope. 2H 1 1
1

3H
1
1 2
 ISOTOPES - CALCULATIONS

There are two common isotopes of chlorine. Calculate the average

relative atomic mass of chlorine atoms

Proto Neutr
%
ns ons
35Cl
17
17 18 75
37Cl
17 17 20 25
 ISOTOPES - CALCULATIONS

There are two common isotopes of chlorine. Calculate the average

relative atomic mass of chlorine atoms

Method 1 Three out of Proto

every four atoms will be chlorine-35
Neutr
Average = 35 + 35 + 35 % + 37 = 35.5
4 ns ons
35Cl
17
17 18 75
37Cl
17 17 20 25
 ISOTOPES - CALCULATIONS

There are two common isotopes of chlorine. Calculate the average

relative atomic mass of chlorine atoms

Method 1 Three out of Proto

every four atoms will be chlorine-35
Neutr
Average = 35 + 35 + 35 % + 37 = 35.5
4 ns ons
Method 2 Out of every 100 atoms 75 are 35Cl and 25 are
35Cl 17 18 75
37
Cl 17
Average = 37Cl(75 x 35) + (25 x 37) = 35.5
17
100
17 20 25
 MASS SPECTRA

An early application was the demonstration by Aston, (Nobel

Prize, 1922), that naturally occurring neon consisted of 3
isotopes... 20Ne 21Ne 22
Ne.
• positions of peaks gives atomic mass 90.9
• peak intensity gives relative abundance2
• highest abundance is scaled up to 100%
- other values are adjusted accordingly.

8.
A 0. 82
b 26
u 19 20 21 22
n 23 m/z
d
Calculate the average relative atomic massa of neon using the above
information. n
c
Out of every 100 atoms 90.92 are 20Ne ,e 0.26 are 21
Ne and 8.82
are Ne
22
/
%
Average = (90.92 x 20) + (0.26 x 21) + (8.82 x 22) =
20.179
100
Relative atomic mass = 20.18
 MASS SPECTRA

Naturally occurring potassium consists of potassium-39 and potassium-

41.
Calculate the percentage of each isotope present if the average is
39.1.
Assume there are x nuclei of 39K in every 100; so there will be
(100-x) of 41K
so 39x + 41 (100-x) = 39.1
100
therefore 39 x + 4100 - 41x = 3910

thus - 2x = - 190
and x = 95
ANSWER There will be 95% 39
K and
5% 41
K
 ATOMIC
STRUCTURE
THE END

© 2015 JONATHAN HOPTON & KNOCKHARDY

PUBLISHING