DVD: The Periodic Table for Students (2004)
1) How did the ancient philosophers explain the different properties of iron
and water?
Iron: made out of prickly atoms
Water: made out of smooth and round atoms
2) Describe the difference between deuterium and tritium
Isotope
Deuterium
Tritium
Electron
1
1
Proton
1
1
Neutron
1
2
Similarity
# protons
Difference
# neutrons
3) Why is the atomic mass of hydrogen listed as 1.00794 atomic mass units
(AMU) on the periodic table?
Average mass units of all isotopes of an atom (a.m.u.)
Ex: Mixture of hydrogen H-1, deuterium H-2, and tritium H-3.
3) What is an isotope?
Atom of an element with different number of neutrons.
4) What does the atomic number tell us about an atom?
Number of protons of an atom.
5) How did J.J. Thomson discover the electron? Explain his “plum pudding”
model of the atom? (Imagine a raisin bun or a chocolate chip cookie)
Charged substance(magnet) brought near a cathode ray tube (light bulb)
Glowing ray (electrons) was deflected towards the charged substance
Plum pudding model: protons and electrons all mixed up in an atom.
7) Describe Ernest Rutherford’s experiment with alpha particles and gold
foil. How did this led to the discovery of the nucleus?
Positive alpha particle (helium nucleus) fired at thin film of gold foil.
Most particles passed through the foil.
Some particles were deflected
Bouncing back from the foil
Protons were repelling the alpha particles(posivitively charged)
Protons are packed tightly in the centre of an atom called
nucleus.
8) What are “quanta”?
Energy from an atom is released in chunks (small amounts)
(one quantum, several quanta)
9) How did Neils Bohr revise Rutherford’s atomic model? What is the
principal energy number?
He used the line spectrum of hydrogen atom to explain how electrons are
arranged around an atom. (colourful line patterns)
Each orbit has specific number of electrons
(2, 8, 8, 18, 18, 32, 32)
R O Y G
B
I
V
10) How does the Bohr model explain why there are four lines in the
hydrogen energy spectrum?
Group 1:
Elements have the same number of valence (outer) electrons: 1 eBohr Model: 1 electron in outer shell: 1e-
Quantum Model element ends in s1 orbital or subshell
s: shape of orbital (sphere), 1: number of electrons
Refer to Atomic Bkt p.14
11) What is the relationship between the principal energy number and the
lines from the hydrogen spectrum?
The energy levels (orbits) represent the lines on the hydrogen spectrum.
Ex: 7 orbits
12) What is an electron configuration?
The distribution of electrons in the energy levels. (orbits)
Formed of different orbitals (s, p, d, f) (Some People Don’t Fight)
Atomic number

Na: 11 1s22s22p63s1
13) Describe each symbol for hydrogen’s electron configuration:
Period(orbit)

H: 1s 1number of electron in that orbital

Sub level
(Orbital)
14) What is Rule #1?
All sub levels(s, p, d, f) may contain no more than 2 electrons
15) Fill in this chart:
Orbitals
s
p
d
f
Sub Level /Lines
(Number of Orbitals)
1
3
5
7
16) What is Rule #2?
Maximum Number of Electrons for
Each Sub Level
2
6
10
14
The lowest energy level fills in first.
Using Orbitals to Explain the Shape of the Periodic Table
s-block: Groups:
1 to
2 (I and II)
Build the valence (outer e-) electron configurations for the elements
in the first two columns:
H: 1s1
Li: 2s1
Na: 3s1
K: 4s1
Rb: 5s1
Cs: 6s1
Fr: 7s1
Group 1
He: 1s2
Be: 2s2
Mg: 3s2
Ca: 4s2
Sr: 5s2
Ba: 6s2
Ra: 7s2
Group 2
b) What patterns do you notice?



s subshells can hold a maximum of 2 electrons
First number shows the period number
Superscript shows the number of electrons
p-block: Groups: 13 to 18 or
(III to VIII)
# Columns:
Maximum # of electrons:
6
6
d-block: Transition Metals- Groups: 3 to 12
# Columns:
10
Maximum # of electrons:
10
f-blocks: Actinide and Lanthanide Series
# Columns:
14
Maximum # of electrons:
14
17) How can we use the periodic table to find out the electron configuration of
an element?
By finding: the period number
and the column number
Also, by finding: the element’s atomic number
18) What is the valence of an element?
Its outermost electron shell
19) What information can the valence shell provide about an element?


Reactivity
Types of bonds it forms
20) What is similar in the chemistry of all the elements in Group 1?



They have the same number of valence electrons
Bohr Model: 1 electron in their outer shell
Quantum Model: element ends in s1 orbital or subshell
21) Within a group/column, every element reacts in similar ways because:
The element has the same number of valence electrons