Chapter 4
“Atomic Structure”
Section 4.1 Defining the Atom

Greek philosopher Democritus
(460 B.C. – 370 B.C.) suggested
existence of atoms (Greek word
“atomos”)
 Believed
atoms were indivisible and
indestructible
 His ideas agreed with later scientific theory,
but didn’t explain chemical behavior - was
not based on scientific methods – only
philosophy
Dalton’s Atomic Theory (experiment based!)
John Dalton
(1766 – 1844)
1) All elements composed of tiny
indivisible particles called
atoms
2) Atoms of same element
identical. Atoms of any one
element are different from all
other elements.
3) Atoms of different elements combine in
simple whole-number ratios to form
chemical compounds
4) In chemical reactions, atoms are combined,
separated, or rearranged – but never
changed into atoms of another element.
Sizing up the Atom
 Elements subdivided into smaller
particles – called atoms, and they still
have properties of that element
1.0 x 108 copper atoms in a single file,
they would be approximately 1 cm long
individual atoms are observable with
instruments such as scanning tunneling
(electron) microscopes
Section 4.2
Structure of the Nuclear Atom
 One
change to Dalton’s atomic
theory - atoms are divisible into
subatomic particles:
Electrons,
neutrons
protons, and
Discovery of Electron
1897 - J.J. Thomson used cathode ray tube
to deduce presence of negatively charged
particle…….the electron
Modern Cathode Ray Tubes
Television
Computer Monitor
CRT’s pass electricity through gas
contained - very low pressure.
Mass of the Electron
Mass of the
electron is
9.11 x 10-28 g
The oil drop apparatus
1916 – Robert Millikan determines mass of
electron: 1/1840 the mass of hydrogen
atom; has one unit of negative charge
Conclusions from the Study
of the Electron:
a) Cathode rays have identical properties
regardless of element used to produce
them. All elements must contain
identically charged electrons.
b) Atoms are neutral, so there must be
positive particles in atom to balance
negative charge of electrons
c) Electrons have so little mass that atoms
must contain other particles that account
for most of mass
Conclusions from the Study
of the Electron:
 Eugen Goldstein in 1886 observed
what is now called the “proton” particles with a positive charge, and
a relative mass of 1 (or 1840 times
that of an electron)
 1932 – James Chadwick confirmed
the existence of “neutron” – particle
with no charge, but mass nearly
equal to proton
Subatomic Particles
Particle
Charge
Mass (g)
Location
Electron
(e-)
-1
9.11 x 10-28
Electron
cloud
Proton
(p+)
+1
1.67 x 10-24
Nucleus
Neutron
(no)
0
1.67 x 10-24
Nucleus
Thomson’s Atomic Model
J. J. Thomson
Believed electrons were like plums
embedded in + charged “pudding,”
called “plum pudding” model.
Ernest Rutherford’s
Gold Foil Experiment - 1911
Alpha particles - helium nuclei w/ +
charge - The alpha particles were fired
at thin sheet of gold foil
 Particles that hit on the detecting
screen (film) were recorded

Rutherford’s problem:
In the following pictures, there is a target
hidden by a cloud. To figure out the shape of
the target, we shot some beams into the cloud
and recorded where the beams came out. Can
you figure out the shape of the target?
Target
#1
Target
#2
The Answers:
Target #1
Target #2
Rutherford’s Findings
Most particles passed through
 Few deflected
 VERY FEW greatly deflected

“Like howitzer shells bouncing off
of tissue paper!”
Conclusions:
a) Small nucleus
b) Dense nucleus
c) + charge nucleus
The Atom Song
Atoms song - Mark Rosengarten
The Rutherford Atomic Model

His experimental evidence:
 atom mostly empty space
 All positive charge, almost all mass in
small center. “Nucleus”
 protons and neutrons make nucleus!
 electrons distributed around
nucleus…occupy most volume
 His model called “nuclear model”
Rutherford’s Atom 3:08
Section 4.3
Atomic Number

All atoms composed of identical
protons, neutrons, and electrons
 How
then are atoms of one element
different from another element?
Elements different b/c they contain
different # of PROTONS
 “atomic number” of element is number
of protons in nucleus

#
protons in atom = # electrons
Atomic Number
Atomic number (Z) of element is # of
protons in nucleus of each atom of
that element.
Element
# of protons
Atomic # (Z)
Carbon
6
6
Phosphorus
15
15
Gold
79
79
Mass Number
Mass number is # of protons and
neutrons in nucleus of an isotope:
Mass # = p+ + n0
p+
n0
e- Mass #
8
10
8
18
Arsenic - 75
33
42
33
75
Phosphorus - 31
15
16
15
31
Nuclide
Oxygen - 18
Complete Symbols

Contain symbol of element, mass
number & atomic number.
Superscript →
Mass
number
Subscript →
Atomic
number
X
Symbols

Find each of these:
a) number of protons
b) number of
neutrons
c) number of
electrons
d) Atomic number
e) Mass Number
80
35
Br
Symbols

If an element has an atomic
number of 34 and a mass
number of 78, what is the:
a) number of protons
b) number of neutrons
c) number of electrons
d) complete symbol
Symbols
 If an element has 91
protons and 140 neutrons
what is the
a) Atomic number
b) Mass number
c) number of electrons
d) complete symbol
Symbols
 If an element has 78
electrons and 117 neutrons
what is the
a) Atomic number
b) Mass number
c) number of protons
d) complete symbol
Isotopes
 Dalton
was wrong about
elements of same type being
identical…
of same element can
have different numbers of
neutrons.
 different mass numbers
 isotopes
 Atoms
Isotopes
 Frederick
Soddy (1877-1956)
proposed idea of isotopes in 1912

Isotopes - atoms of same element with
different masses, b/c varying #s of
neutrons
Won 1921 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
 has a small crater named for him on the
far side of the Moon.

Naming Isotopes
 We
can also put mass
number after name of the
element:
carbon-12
carbon-14
uranium-235
Isotope
Protons Electrons
Neutrons
Hydrogen–1
(protium)
1
1
0
Hydrogen-2
(deuterium)
1
1
1
1
1
2
Hydrogen-3
(tritium)
Nucleus
Isotopes
Elements
occur in
nature as
mixtures of
isotopes.
Atomic Mass



How heavy is an oxygen atom?
 Depends, b/c different kinds of oxygen
atoms exist.
We’re more concerned with average
atomic mass.
Based on abundance (%) of each variety
of that element in nature.

Don’t use grams - numbers tooooo small.
Measuring Atomic Mass
 Atomic
Mass Unit (amu)
 one-twelfth mass of a carbon-12
atom.

Carbon-12 chosen b/c of its isotope purity.
 Each
isotope has own atomic mass
 we determine average from %
abundance.
To calculate the average:
 Multiply
atomic mass of each
isotope by abundance
(decimal), then add results.
 If
not told otherwise, mass of isotope
expressed in atomic mass units
(amu)
Atomic Masses
Atomic mass is average of all naturally
occurring isotopes of that element.
Isotope
Atomic
Symbol Composition % in nature mass
of the nucleus
(amu)
Carbon12
12C
Carbon13
13C
Carbon14
14C
6 protons
6 neutrons
6 protons
7 neutrons
6 protons
8 neutrons
98.89%
12
1.11%
13.00
<0.01%
14.00
What is the average atomic mass of Carbon?
12.01
- Page 117
Question
Knowns
and
Unknown
Solution
Answer