Unit 3:

Atomic
Concepts
What is an atom?
The smallest particle of an element that
retains the properties of that element.

Individual atoms can be

seen using what is called
a scanning, tunneling
microscope (invented
1981.) This is an image
is of gold atoms.
John Dalton
1803
 Dalton’s Atomic Theory
1. All tiny
elements are composed of _______
indivisible particles called atoms
_________________________________

2. Atoms of the same element are __________.

Theidentical
atoms of any one element are
different from those of any
________________________
other element
__________________________________
 Dalton’s Theory Cont.
3. Atoms of different elements can
physically mix togetheror can
_______________________
chemically combinewith one another in
___________________
simple whole-number ratios to form compounds
(law of constant composition)

4. Chemical reactions occur when atoms

___________________
are separated, joined, or rearranged. Atoms of
never be changed
one element can _____________ _________
into atoms of another element as a result of a
chemical reaction.
Dalton’s Model (1803)
A penny contains 2.4 x 1022
copper atoms.

There are 6.95 x 109 people

on Earth.

That’s a lot of atoms!

The Subatomic Particles
Electrons Are negatively charged
- _____________________
subatomic particles
______________________________

Charge ____ -1 1
Mass (amu) 1840 amu
________
Mass (grams) ____________ g
9.11 x 10 -28
Cathode Ray Tube

Cathode Ray Video

Protons Are positively charged
- ________________________
subatomic particles
________________________________

+1
Charge ______________
1
Mass (amu) ______________
1.67 x 10-24 g
Mass (grams) ______________
Neutrons subatomic particles with no
- ______________________
charge. Found in nucleus
________________________________

Charge ______________0
1
Mass (amu) ______________
1.67 x 10 -24
Mass (grams) ______________ g
“A typical atomic radius is about 100pm,
whereas the radius of an atomic nucleus is
about 5 x 10-3pm… Imagine that in an atom
were the size of the Houston Astrodome, the
volume of its nucleus would be comparable to
that of a small marble.”
Nucleus-Central core of an atom
________________________
composed of protons and neutrons
________________________________
_________
Bohr model – “Planetary Model”
Modern Theory
In the modern theory (the wave-
mechanical model) electrons are
considered to be found in an area of
probability known as electron clouds.
Atomic Structure
Atomic Number - The number of
__________________
protons in the nucleus of an atom
_________________________________

The elements on the periodic table are

arranged according to atomic number. The
atomic number identifies the element.
Since atoms are electrically neutral: the # of
protons in the nucleus of an atom =the
__________
electrons
number of __________ outside the nucleus
Mass number -Sum
____________________
of the number of
protons and neutrons – a whole #
_________________________________

Nuclear symbol: Used to represent the

composition of an atom in shorthand
notation, the symbol of the element with two
additional numbers to the left are used.
Nuclear Symbol

4
2
He
The atomic number is written as the
_________
mass number is
subscript and the _______
written as the superscript.
Other representations
Helium –4

He –4

The number given after the name of an

mass number.
element is the _______

He
4
In the previous examples, why is it ok to
omit the atomic number from our
representations?
Since the atomic number identifies an
element, you can check the periodic
table to find the atomic number when
given the symbol because it never
changes!
Complete the following table:
Symbol At. # Mass # #p #n # e-

9 10
F 19 9 9
14 29 14 15 14
Si
47 22
Ti 22 22 25
55 25
Mn 25 30 25
Isotopes- ________________________
Atoms containing the same
number of protons, but have a different
________________________________
mass number (# of n)
_________________________________

Since isotopes have the same number of

protons, isotopes must be of the same
element.
Remember that only protons and neutrons
contribute to the mass number, therefore,
isotopes must have different mass numbers.
Despite these differences, isotopes are
chemically alike because they have
identical numbers of protons and
electrons. These subatomic particles are
responsible for the characteristic chemical
behavior of each element.

To find the most abundant isotope using

atomic mass, round atomic mass to the
nearest whole number.
Ex: atomic mass of oxygen is 15.9994,
most abundant isotope = O-16
The three isotopes of hydrogen are:
H –1 H–2 H–3
1 __n
__p 0 1 __n
__p 1 __p1__n 2
 atoms that lost or gained electrons
Ions - ____________________________
during a chemical reaction to become
____________________________________
electrically charged.
____________________________

Symbol At. # Mass # #p #n # e-

24
Mg 12 24 12 12 12

Mg2+
24 12 24 12 12 10
Cl
35
17 35 17 18 17
Cl-
35
17 35 17 18 18
 Atomic Mass
The mass of even the largest single atom is
too small to e measured on a balance. The
mass of a single atom can be determined
a mass spectrometer
using __________________
Mass Spectrometer
The mass of an individual atoms is useful
information, but these values are inconvenient
and impractical to work with. Instead, it is
more useful to compare the relative masses of
atoms using an isotope of carbon, carbon –12,
as a basis. The isotope carbon –12 was
assigned a mass of exactly 12.00000 amu.
Therefore one amu is defined as:
Atomic defined as 1/12 the
mass unit (amu) - _____________
mass of a carbon-12 atom.
_________________________________

An atom of carbon –12 has

6 protons and 6 neutrons
__________________________; therefore, the
mass of a single proton or neutron is about
_______one
amu.
Since the mass of a single atom depends
on the number of protons and neutrons in
the nucleus, one would think that the
atomic mass of an element
_____________________________
should be a whole number
This is not the case due to the existence of
isotopes
________.

The atomic mass of an element is the

weighted average mass
____________________of the atoms in a
________________
naturally occuring sample of the elements.
Calculating Atomic Mass
To calculate the average atomic mass of
an element, one must know the number of
stable isotopes of that element, mass of
each isotope, and the natural percent
abundance of each isotope.
  Example:
A sample of cesium is 74.8% 133Cs,
19.7% 132Cs, and 5.49% 134Cs. What is its
average atomic mass?

Cs-133 (133 amu) (0.748) = 99.5 amu

Cs-132 (132 amu) (0.197) = 26.0 amu
Cs-134 (134 amu) (0.0549) = + 7.36 amu

Add together 132.86 amu

132.9 amu
Electron Configurations –
placement of electrons around the
_____________________________________
nucleus
______________________

◦ In all natural phenomena, change proceeds

towards the lowest possible energy state.

Principal (PELs) are

Energy Levels -___________
designated by the period number
_________________________________
The reference tables use a type of shorthand
which expresses the number of electrons in
each PEL.
 Looking at your Periodic Table…

2 e in 1 PEL, 4 e in 2 PEL
- st - nd
Examples
Neon 2-8
_______________

Magnesium ____________________
2-8-2

Ground State Electron Configurations –

Lowest energy state of an atom (most
stable.) These are given on the periodic
table.
Excited state electron configurations -
When an electron in an atom gains a
____________________________________
specific amount of energy, that electron
____________________________________
moves to a higher energy state
______________________________.
Example: Helium
Ground state He: 2

Excited state He: 1-1

Example: Nitrogen
Excited State:
Ground State:
2-4-1
2-5
Important note:
The number of electrons in
the ground state electron
configuration and the
excited state electron
configuration are the same!
A sample regents question…
Acceptable answers…
Try it yourself!
What are some possible excited state
configurations for O?

Ground state: 2-6

Lewis Dot Diagrams or Structures (Electron Dot)

Use valence electrons.

only the ________

Therefore sodium
will have one
electron in its
Lewis diagram

These are the electrons in the outermost

principle energy level
Represent electrons as dots (or circles or
Xs) around the element symbol.
To draw a Lewis diagram for an atom,
follow the fill order:

… two on top, then around the clock!

Therefore our example can be expressed
in two ways:

Na Na
Other Examples…

Mg O
F
Bright-Line Spectrum
Every element emits light if it is heated by
passing electricity through its gas or vapor.
The atoms absorb energy, then lose the
emit light
energy and ___________.

Please add: The energy absorbed and

emitted is in discrete quantities. These
quantities are the difference in the principle
energy levels of the ground state
configuration and the excited state
configuration
The step are
analogous of the
energy levels,
the ball is
analogous of the
electrons!
Passing the light through a prism
emissions
(spectroscope) gives the ____________
spectrum
__________(spectral lines) of the element.
This spectrum is unique for each element as
each element has a different number of
electrons, so ______ no two
elements have the same energy
________________________________
_______.
Creating Emissions Spectra…
Various Emissions Spectra