Science

Grade 9 • Unit 5: Electronic Structure of Matter

LESSON 5.1
The Bohr Model and the Quantum Mechanical Model of
the Atom
Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Learning Competency 2

Learning Objectives 2

Warm-Up 3

Learn about It 4
Earlier Atomic Models 4
Bohr’s Model 6
The Quantum Mechanical Model 10

Key Points 12

Check Your Understanding 13

Bibliography 15
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Grade 9 • Unit 5: Electronic Structure of Matter

Lesson 5.1
The Bohr Model and the Quantum
Mechanical Model of the Atom

Light is produced when different metals are heated.

Introduction
The idea that the world is made up of atoms is not new. It was first formulated by
Democritus in Ancient Greece. As scientists have learned more about atoms, our
understanding of it has changed over time. These discoveries gave rise to the atomic models
such as Thomson’s plum pudding model and Rutherford’s nuclear atomic model. However,
these models cannot explain one simple question: Why do metals produce different colors
of light when heated?

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Grade 9 • Unit 5: Electronic Structure of Matter

This question gave birth to a new field of science known as quantum chemistry. The
development of technologies in this field allowed us to illustrate the most accurate model of
the atom—the quantum mechanical model. This model explains where the beautiful
colors of fireworks come from. In this lesson, you will learn about the development of the
Bohr model and the Quantum Mechanical Model of the atom and the importance of the
electron as a component of atoms and matter.

Learning Competency
At the end of this lesson, the given enabling competency should be met by the
students.
Describe how the Bohr model of the atom improved Rutherford’s atomic
model (S9MT-IIa-21).

Learning Objectives
In this lesson, you should be able to do the following:
● Demonstrate an understanding of the development of atomic models
that describe the behavior of electrons within atoms.
● Describe Bohr’s model as a refinement of Rutherford’s model.
● Describe the main features of the quantum mechanical model of the
atom.

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Grade 9 • Unit 5: Electronic Structure of Matter

Warm-Up

Making a Big Atom!

Atoms are so small, yet scientists have already deduced what they look like. The discovery
of the subatomic particles kept scientists busy for almost a century on figuring out how
they are arranged inside the atom.

In this activity, you will use your previous knowledge on atomic models and create a big,
3D model of a particular element.

Materials
● 5 pieces each of red, blue, and green balls
● 1 piece 5 ft wire
● glue or adhesives

Procedure
1. Your teacher will assign you the element you will be working on. He/She will also
assign the atomic model you will use to build your 3D model.
Possible elements and model combinations are as follows:
● billiard ball model of hydrogen
● plum pudding model of calcium
● nuclear model of boron
2. Use the balls to represent the subatomic particles. Red balls represent the

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positively-charged protons. Blue balls represent the negatively-charged electrons.

Green balls represent the neutral or uncharged neutrons. Use the wire to represent
the paths and to connect your balls.
3. After the activity, present your model in front of the class. Show them where the
protons, neutrons, and electrons are found. Let your classmates guess the type of
model you built.

Guide Questions
1. How many electrons, protons, and neutrons are present in your assigned atom?
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2. What are the differences between the atomic models you made?

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Learn about It

Earlier Atomic Models

The first idea of the atom was proposed by Democritus, a Greek philosopher. According to
Democritus, the world is made up of tiny indivisible particles called atomos. This was later on
coined as the atomism theory. The idea was not very popular in ancient Greece because of
Aristotle’s competing theory that all matter is composed of four classical elements: earth,
water, fire, and air.

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Fig. 1. Democritus (c. 640 BC to c. 370 BC)

In 1803, John Dalton proposed the solid sphere model of the atom. According to Dalton,
the atom is a uniform solid sphere similar to a billiard ball. Dalton imagined these balls as
indivisible and eternal.

During the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, atomism saw a resurgence. It acquired
experimental evidence when Sir Joseph John Thomson discovered the electron in 1897. With
the discovery of the electron, Thomson made the plum pudding model of the atom in 1904.
In the plum pudding model, the electrons are like negatively charged plums stuck to a
positively charged pudding.

Fig. 2. John Dalton (1766 to 1844), Sir Joseph John Thomson (1856 to 1940), and Ernest
Rutherford (1871 to 1937).

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In 1911, Lord Ernest Rutherford discovered the nucleus. It is made up of densely-packed

positively-charged particles at the center of the atom, which he found out through his gold
foil experiment. His discovery allowed him to propose a new model of the atom called the
nuclear model. In this model, negatively charged electrons surround the positively charged
nucleus at the center of the atom. The atom can be thought of as a minuscule ‘solar system’
in which electrons revolve around the nucleus.

Fig. 3. Earlier atomic models

Essential Questions
● How does the Bohr model revolutionize the description of an atom?
● How did the atomic theory change and refine as we knew more about
the universe?

Bohr’s Model
Later, scientists found out that Rutherford’s model cannot explain certain physical
observations such as the capacity of atoms to emit light. It cannot explain why metals
release a characteristic color in the form of light when they are heated. It also cannot
explain why electrons do not fall into the nucleus even though they are electrically attracted

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to its positive charge. Hence, it cannot account for the stability of the atom. If we were to
accept Rutherford’s model, all atoms would be unstable because electrons will fall to the
nucleus and the atom will collapse. However, this is not the case.

Fig. 4. Niels Bohr (1885 to 1962)

In 1913, Niels Bohr improved Rutherford’s model by adding the concept of orbits. According
to Bohr, electrons only move around the nucleus in fixed circular orbits. Orbits are specific
distances from the nucleus where electrons can be found. These are stable discrete regions
where electrons do not radiate energy. Since electrons move, they are not pulled towards
the nucleus.

Orbits are also known as energy levels (n). Its values are any whole numbers from 1, 2, 3, 4,
and onward. For example, the first orbit or the first circle from the nucleus is also known as
the first energy level (n = 1). You will learn in the succeeding model of the atom that n is also
known as the principal quantum number.

Bohr’s model could account for light emissions because the presence of orbits can explain
the absorption of energy of an atom. The energy transformations that result in the emission
of light is due to the movement of an electron from one atomic orbit to a higher atomic
orbit, and back to its original atomic orbit.

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Fig. 5. Bohr’s model of the atom

When an electron absorbs energy, it moves to an atomic orbit with higher energy. The
original atomic orbit of the electron is called the ground state while the higher atomic orbit
is the excited state. The electron in the excited state is unstable. The excited electron will
eventually return to its ground state. It is accompanied by the release of the absorbed
energy in the form of light.

In Bohr’s model, an electron can only jump in a certain orbit. For example, an electron could
only jump from n = 1 to n = 3. An electron cannot jump in between n = 1 and n = 2, or
between n = 2 and n = 3. Instead of having continuous energy levels, Bohr’s model
introduces the concept of quantized energy levels wherein each orbit (or energy level) has
a definite amount of energy. As the distance from the nucleus increases, the amount of
quantized energy in an orbit also increases.

The amount of released energy in the form of light is equivalent to a specific wavelength of
light. The specific wavelength is observed as the atom’s resulting spectrum. The resulting
spectrum serves as the atom’s unique fingerprint. It is used in analytical techniques to
detect the presence of an element. Each line in the atomic spectra corresponds to a definite
energy transformation within the atom.

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Fig. 6. The emission spectrum of hydrogen. The lines with corresponding wavelengths
indicate the release of energy as electrons relax from an excited state to their ground state.

The emission of light due to excitation of electrons is the reason why elements emit
characteristic light. For example, calcium releases orange light, sodium releases yellow light,
and copper releases green light. This is how fireworks get their colors.

sodium potassium calcium copper lithium

Fig. 7. Elements release characteristic colors when subjected to the flame test.

Bohr’s model is useful in explaining observations on hydrogen and hydrogen-like atoms but
it fails to explain phenomena for larger atoms. It cannot account for atoms with more than
one electron that have spectral lines in pairs.

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Tips
The quantized movement of an electron from one energy level to another
energy level can be thought of as a ball moving in a set of stairs.

● The ball can be found resting on any of the steps but never
between steps.
● The movement from a higher step to a lower step releases energy,
while the movement from a lower step to a higher step requires
energy.
● The amount of energy released or needed depends on the distance
between the two steps.

The Quantum Mechanical Model

In 1924, Louis de Broglie developed the wave-particle duality. According to his theory,
subatomic particles, like electrons, can also act as waves, rather than definite particles with
determinate positions. In 1927, his theory was experimentally confirmed. The wave nature
of electrons indicates that they can undergo wave phenomena such as interference and
refraction. The model also indicated that the exact position of an electron cannot be
precisely determined. Just like a wave’s position, the position of an electron could not be
exactly determined, but its momentum can be.

The fact that the electron’s position cannot be precisely determined brings the model in
accordance with the uncertainty principle. According to Werner Karl Heisenberg who

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proposed the uncertainty principle, two paired variables cannot be simultaneously

determined with precision in a quantum system. In terms of electrons, the position and
momentum of an electron cannot be exactly determined if one of them is precisely known.
Hence, it denies the fact that electrons are located in “fixed” orbits as stated in Bohr’s model.

Fig. 8. Quantum mechanical model of the atom

Instead, electrons in the quantum mechanical model are in regions called orbitals, where
electrons can only most probably be found. These orbitals are mathematically computed
using a mathematical equation known as the Schrödinger equation. The Schrödinger
equation uses de Broglie’s hypothesis of the electron as a wave. It describes the momentum
of the electron precisely but not its location. Electrons in an atom are described by solutions
to the Schrödinger equation called wave functions (ψ).

With the ideas of de Broglie, Heisenberg, and Schrödinger came the idea of the quantum
mechanical model of the atom. In summary, this model of the atom uses theoretical
approaches in the field of quantum chemistry. The model considers electrons as a wave
probably located in certain regions around the nucleus. The electrons are most likely found
near the nucleus. There are greater chances of locating the electrons in darker areas of the
model.

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The quantum mechanical model was successful in explaining what Bohr’s model could not
explain.

Key Points

● In Bohr’s atomic model, the electrons are positioned in fixed orbits and revolve
around the nucleus. These orbits are also called energy levels because they have
fixed energies.
● Electrons can move between energy levels. The energy level at which the electron is
normally situated is called the ground state. An electron moves to a higher energy
level, called the excited state, when sufficient energy is acquired.
● If an electron goes back to its ground state, energy is released in the form of light.
This explains why metals give off characteristic color when heated.
● Bohr’s atomic model cannot explain the spectral characteristics of larger atoms. It
was later replaced by the quantum mechanical model of the atom where electrons
are found in specific regions rather than on fixed orbits.
● In the quantum mechanical model of the atom, the electrons are confined in a region
of space called orbitals. Electrons are most likely to be found in darker areas near the
nucleus.
● The orbitals are mathematical solutions of the Schrödinger equation, which uses the
principles of de Broglie’s wave-particle duality and Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.
● De Broglie’s wave-particle duality sees electrons as waves rather than definite
particles.
● Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle states that two paired variables cannot be
simultaneously determined with precision in a quantum system. The position of the
electrons cannot be accurately determined and should be expressed in terms of
probability rather than fixed positions.

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Check Your Understanding

A. Read the following statements carefully. Write true on the blank provided before
each number if the statement is true. Otherwise, write false.

Bohr’s model of the atom

_______________ 1. Electrons move about the positive nucleus in discrete energy

levels.

_______________ 2. Electrons move randomly throughout the empty space around

the nucleus.

_______________ 3. Electrons emit energy as it falls to the positive nucleus.

_______________ 4. Electrons emit energy in the form of light as it relaxes from an

excited state to its ground state.

_______________ 5. Electron energy levels are continuous.

Quantum mechanical model of the atom

_______________ 6. Electrons move about in fixed orbits.

_______________ 7. Electrons exist as probability clouds that revolve around the

nucleus.

_______________ 8. The exact position and momentum of an electron can be

determined at the same time.

_______________ 9. Orbitals are regions of high probability where electrons can be

found.

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_______________ 10. Electrons move about a fixed, positive nucleus.

B. Answer the following comprehensively.

1. Give one everyday example that demonstrates the concept of quantization.

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2. Explain the process of absorption and emission using Bohr’s atomic model.
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3. What is an energy level? What is the difference between an electron in the ground
state and an electron in the excited state?
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4. Electrons are attracted to protons because of their opposite charges. Why don’t
electrons fall to the nucleus of an atom?
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5. What is an atomic orbital? How does it differ from an atomic orbit?

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C. Using a Venn diagram, enumerate at least two characteristics that are contrasting to
Bohr’s atomic model and quantum mechanical model of the atom. Similarly, identify
at least one characteristic that serves as commonality to both atomic models.

Bibliography

Chang, Raymond and Kenneth A. Goldsby. Chemistry. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education,
2016.

Silberberg, Martin. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 5th edition. New
York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education,2009.

Whitten, Kenneth W. General Chemistry. Thomson Brooks/Cole,2006

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