Understanding the Atom

Discovering Parts of an Atom

Key Concepts
What do you think? Read the three statements below and decide
whether you agree or disagree with them. Place an A in the Before column
if you agree with the statement or a D if you disagree. After youve read
this lesson, reread the statements to see if you have changed your mind.
Before

Statement

After

What is an atom?
How would you describe
the size of an atom?
How has the atomic model
changed over time?

1. The earliest model of an atom contained only

protons and electrons.

2. Air fills most of an atom.
3. In the present-day model of the atom, the

nucleus of the atom is at the center of an

electron cloud.

3TUDY#OACH

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Early Ideas About Matter

Look at your hands. What are they made of? You might
answer that your hands are made of things such as skin,
bone, muscle, and blood. Recall that each of these is made
of even smaller structures called cells. Are cells made of even
smaller parts? Imagine dividing something into smaller and
smaller parts. What would the smallest part be?
Greek philosophers discussed and debated questions such
as these more than 2,000 years ago. Most of them thought
that all matter is made of only four elementsfire, water,
air, and earth. However, they could not test their ideas.
The scientific tools and methods for testing, such as
experimentation, did not yet exist. The ideas proposed by
the most influential philosophers usually were accepted over
the ideas of less-influential philosophers. The popular idea of
matter was challenged by Democritus (460370 B.C.).

Create a Quiz Write five

questions about discovering
parts of the atom to create a
quiz. Exchange quizzes with
a partner. After taking the
quizzes, discuss your answers.
Reread the parts of the lesson
that cover the topics you
dont understand.

Reading Check

1. Define What was

Democrituss definition
of an atom?

Democritus
The philosopher Democritus believed that matter is made
of small, solid objects that cannot be divided, created, or
destroyed. He called these objects atomos, from which the
English word atom is derived.
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Understanding the Atom

115

Atomic Theories
Democritus

1.
2.
3.
4.

Atoms are small, solid objects that cannot be divided, created, or destroyed.
Atoms are constantly moving in empty space.
Different types of matter are made of different types of atoms.
The properties of the atoms determine the properties of matter.

John Dalton

1. All matter is made of atoms that cannot be divided, created, or destroyed.

2. During a chemical reaction, atoms of one element cannot be converted into
atoms of another element.
3. Atoms of one element are identical to each other but different from atoms of another element.
4. Atoms combine in specific ratios.

Interpreting Tables

2. Identify Which
philosopher in the table
above proposed that atoms
move in empty space?

Reading Check

3. Describe According to
Democritus, what might
atoms of gold look like?

Democritus proposed that different types of matter are

made from different types of atoms. For example, he said
that smooth matter is made of smooth atoms. He also
proposed that nothing was between these atoms except
empty space. Democrituss ideas are summarized in the table
above.
Although Democritus had no way to test his ideas, many
of his ideas are similar to the way scientists describe the
atom today. Because Democrituss ideas did not conform
to the popular opinion and could not be tested, they were
open for debate. The philosopher Aristotle challenged
Democrituss ideas.

Reading Check

4. Explain Why didnt

many early philosophers
believe Democrituss ideas?

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Understanding the Atom

Aristotle (384322 B.C.) did not believe that empty space

exists. Instead, he favored the more popular ideathat all
matter is made of fire, water, air, and earth. Aristotle was
highly respected. As a result, his ideas were accepted.
Democrituss ideas about atoms were not studied again for
more than 2,000 years.

Daltons Atomic Model

In the late 1700s, English schoolteacher and scientist
John Dalton (17661844) looked again at the idea of atoms.
Technology and scientific methods had advanced a great deal
since Democrituss time. Dalton made careful observations
and measurements of chemical reactions. He combined data
from his own scientific research with data from the research
of other scientists to propose the atomic theory. The table at
the top of this page lists ways that Daltons atomic theory
supported some of the ideas of Democritus.

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Aristotle

The Atom
Today, scientists agree that matter is made of atoms with
empty space between and within them. What is an atom?
Imagine dividing a piece of aluminum foil into smaller and
smaller pieces. At first, you could cut the pieces with scissors.
But eventually, the pieces would be too small to see. They
would be much smaller than the smallest piece you could
cut with scissors. This small piece is an aluminum atom. An
aluminum atom cannot be divided into smaller aluminum
pieces. An atom is the smallest piece of an element that still
represents that element.

The Size of Atoms

Just how small is an atom? Atoms of different elements
are different sizes. However, all are very, very small. You
cannot see atoms even with most microscopes. Atoms are so
small that about 7.5 trillion carbon atoms could fit into the
period at the end of this sentence.

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Seeing Atoms
Scientific experiments confirmed that matter is made of
atoms long before scientists could see atoms. However, in 1981,
a high-powered microscope, called a scanning tunneling
microscope (STM), was invented. With this microscope,
scientists could see individual atoms for the first time. An
STM uses a tiny, metal tip to trace the surface of a piece of
matter. The result is an image of atoms on the surface.

Key Concept Check

5. Apply What is a copper

atom?

Key Concept Check

6. Describe How would

you describe the size of an
atom?

Even today, scientists still cannot see inside an atom.

However, scientists have learned that atoms are not the
smallest particles of matter. In fact, atoms are made of much
smaller particles. What are these particles? How did scientists
discover them if they could not see them?

ThomsonDiscovering Electrons
Not long after Daltons findings, another English scientist,
named J.J. Thomson (18561940), made some important
discoveries. Thomson and other scientists of that time worked
with cathode ray tubes. If you have seen a neon sign, an
older computer monitor, or the color display on an ATM
screen, you have seen a cathode ray tube.
Thomsons cathode ray tube was a glass tube with pieces
of metal, called electrodes, attached inside the tube. The
electrodes were connected to wires. The wires were connected
to a battery.

Reading Essentials

Make a layered book to

organize your notes and
diagrams on the parts of
an atom.
Atom
Protons
Tissue
Neutrons
Electrons

Understanding the Atom

117

Thomsons Cathode Ray Tube Experiment

1 When electrodes are

connected to a
battery, rays travel
from the negative
electrode to the far
end of the tube.

Electrically
charged plates

Battery
-

Battery
+

2 When the rays pass

between charged plates,
they curve toward the
positively charged plate.

Electrodes
Cathode ray
Glass tube

Visual Check

7. Recognize Did the ray

in the experiment bend
toward the plate with the
positive charge or the plate
with the negative charge?

8. Analyze If the rays

were positively charged,
what would Thomson have
observed as they passed
between the plates?

Thomsons cathode ray tube is shown above. Thomson

removed most of the air from the tube. When he passed
electricity through the wires, greenish-colored rays traveled
from one electrode to the other end of the tube. What were
these rays made of?

Negative Particles
Scientists called these rays cathode rays. Thomson wanted
to know if these rays had an electric charge. To find out, he
placed two plates on opposite sides of the tube. As shown in
the figure above, one plate was positively charged. The other
plate was negatively charged. As the cathode rays passed
between the plates, the rays bent toward the positively
charged plate and away from the negatively charged plate.
Recall that opposite charges attract each other, and like
charges repel each other. Thomson concluded that cathode
rays are negatively charged.

Parts of Atoms
Through more experiments, Thomson learned that these
rays were made of particles that had mass. The mass of one of
these particles was much smaller than the mass of the smallest
atoms. This was surprising information to Thomson. Until
then, scientists understood that an atom is the smallest
particle of matter. But these rays were made of particles that
were even smaller than atoms.

Metal Atoms Where did these small, negatively charged

particles come from? Thomson proposed that these particles
came from the metal atoms in the electrode. Thomson
discovered that electrodes made of any kind of metal
produced identical rays.

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Understanding the Atom

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Reading Check

Charged Particles Putting these clues together, Thomson

concluded that cathode rays were made of small, negatively
charged particles. He called these particles electrons. An
electron is a particle with one negative charge (1). Atoms are
neutral, or not electrically charged. Therefore, Thomson
proposed that atoms also must contain a positive charge that
balances the negatively charged electrons.

Thomsons Atomic Model

Thomson used this information to propose a new model
of the atom. Instead of a solid, neutral sphere that was the
same throughout, Thomsons model of the atom contained
both positive and negative charges. He proposed that an
atom was a sphere with a positive charge evenly spread
throughout. Negatively charged electrons were mixed
through the positive charge, similar to the way chocolate
chips are mixed in cookie dough. The figure below shows
this model.

Reading Check

9. Differentiate How did

Thomsons atomic model
differ from Daltons atomic
model?

Thomsons Atomic Model

Negatively
charged electrons

Positively
charged sphere

Copyright Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Visual Check

RutherfordDiscovering the Nucleus

The discovery of electrons stunned scientists. Ernest
Rutherford (18711937) was Thomsons student. He later
had students of his own. Rutherfords students experimented
with Thomsons model and discovered yet another surprise.

10. Describe How were

the positive and negative
charges arranged in
Thomsons model?

Rutherfords Predicted Result

Imagine throwing a baseball into a pile of table tennis
balls. The baseball likely would knock the table tennis balls
away and continue moving in a mostly straight line. This is
similar to what Rutherfords students expected to see when
they shot alpha particles into atoms. Alpha particles are
dense and positively charged. Because they are so dense,
only another dense particle could deflect the path of an
alpha particle. According to Thomsons model, the positive
charge of the atom was too spread out and not dense enough
to change the path of an alpha particle. Electrons wouldnt
affect the path of an alpha particle because electrons didnt
have enough mass. Rutherford expected the alpha particles
to travel straight without changing direction.
Reading Essentials

Reading Check

11. Explain why

Rutherfords students did not
think an atom could change
the path of an alpha particle.

Understanding the Atom

119

Rutherfords Predicted Result

Alpha
particle source

Evenly distributed
positive charge

Expected path of
alpha particles

Detector screen

Gold foil
Spot of light

Visual Check

12. Draw Highlight the

expected path of the alpha
particles.

Key Concept Check

13. Interpret Given the

results of the gold foil
experiment, how do you
think an actual atom differs
from Thomsons model?

14. Recognize What do the

dots on the screen indicate?

Electron

The figure above shows the result that Rutherfords students

expected. They expected the positive alpha particles to travel
straight through the foil without changing direction.

The Gold Foil Experiment

The students placed a source of alpha particles near a thin
piece of gold foil made of gold atoms. A screen surrounded
the gold foil. When an alpha particle struck the screen, it
created a spot of light. The students could determine the
path of the particles from the spots of light on the screen.

The Surprising Result

The figure below shows what the students observed.
Most of the particles did indeed travel through the foil in
a straight path. However, a few particles struck the foil
and bounced off to the side. And one particle in 10,000
bounced straight back! Rutherford later said that this result
was almost as surprising as if you fired a bullet at a piece
of tissue paper and it came back and hit you. The alpha
particles must have struck something dense and positively
charged inside the atom. Thomsons model had to be
refined.

The Surprising Result

Particles with little
Alpha
Particles
bounced
or no deflection
particle source
backward

Cross section of gold foil

Empty
space
Detector screen
Gold foil
Spots of light

120

Understanding the Atom

Electron
Nucleus
(dense positive charge)
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Visual Check

Cross section of gold foil

Rutherfords Atomic Model

The result showed that most alpha particles traveled
through the foil in a straight path. Therefore, Rutherford
concluded that atoms are made mostly of empty space. The
alpha particles that bounced backward must have hit a
dense, positive mass. Rutherford concluded that most of an
atoms mass and positive charge is concentrated in a small area in the
center of the atom called the nucleus.
Rutherfords atomic model, shown below, contains a
small, dense, positive nucleus. Further research showed that
the nucleus was made up of positively charged particles
called protons. A proton is an atomic particle that has one positive
charge (1+). Negatively charged electrons move in the empty
space surrounding the nucleus.

Reading Check

15. Explain How did

Rutherford explain the
observation that some of
the alpha particles bounced
directly backward?

Rutherfords Atomic Model

Nucleus

Visual Check

16. Identify In Rutherfords

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Electron

model, what makes up most

of the area of an atom?
(Circle the correct answer.)
a. the nucleus
b. electrons
c. empty space

Discovering Neutrons
The modern model of the atom was beginning to take
shape. James Chadwick (18911974) worked with Rutherford
and also researched atoms. He discovered that in addition to
protons, the nucleus contained neutrons. A neutron is a
neutral particle that exists in the nucleus of an atom.

Bohrs Atomic Model

Rutherfords model explained much of his students
experimental evidence. However, the model could not
explain several observations.

Colors of Light Scientists noticed that if they heated certain

elements in a flame, the elements gave off specific colors of
light. Each color of light had a specific amount of energy.
Where did this light come from?

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Understanding the Atom

121

Bohrs Experiments Niels Bohr (18851962), another student

of Rutherford, proposed an answer to why certain elements
heated in a flame give off light of specific colors. He studied
hydrogen atoms because they contain only one electron.
Bohr experimented with adding electric energy to
hydrogen and studying the energy that was released. His
experiments led to a revised atomic model, shown in the
figure below.

Electrons in the Bohr Model

Visual Check

17. Predict According to

Bohrs atomic model, what
would happen to the electron
in a hydrogen atom if you
added energy to the atom?

Bohr proposed that electrons move in circular orbits, or

energy levels, around the nucleus. Electrons in an energy
level have a specific amount of energy. Electrons closer to
the nucleus have less energy than electrons that are farther
away from the nucleus.
When energy is added to an atom, electrons gain energy
and move from a lower energy level to a higher energy level.
When the electrons return to the lower energy level, they
release a specific amount of energy as light. This is the light
that appears when elements are heated.

Bohrs Atomic Model

When energy is added to a hydrogen atom,
its electron moves from the lowest energy
level to one of the higher energy levels. In
this example, it moves to the fourth level.

When the electron moves from the fourth

level to one of the three lower levels, a
specific amount of energy is released,
depending on which level it moves to.

Energy
added

Most
energy

Specific
amount of
energy released

Limitations of the Bohr Model

Key Concept Check

18. Contrast How did

Bohrs atomic model differ
from Rutherfords?

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Understanding the Atom

Bohr reasoned that if his model were accurate for atoms

with one electron, it would be accurate for atoms with more
than one electron. However, this was not the case.
More research confirmed that electrons do have specific
amounts of energy, but energy levels are not arranged in
circular orbits. How do electrons move in an atom?

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Least
energy
-

The Modern Atomic Model

In the modern atomic model, electrons form an electron
cloud. An electron cloud is an area around an atomic nucleus where
an electron is most likely to be located. Imagine taking a time-lapse
photograph of bees around a hive. You might see a blurry
cloud. The cloud might be denser near the hive than farther
away because the bees spend more time near the hive.
In a similar way, electrons constantly move around the
nucleus. It is impossible to know the speed and the exact
location of an electron at a given moment. Instead, scientists
only can predict the likelihood that an electron is in a
particular location. The electron cloud, shown in the figure
below, is mostly empty space. It represents the likelihood of
finding an electron in a given area. The darker areas represent
areas where electrons are more likely to be located.

Key Concept Check

19. Summarize How has

the model of the atom
changed over time?

The Modern Atomic Model

Neutron
Nucleus

Proton

Visual Check

20. Consider Why do you

think this model of the atom
doesnt show the electrons?
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Electron cloud

Quarks
You have read that atoms are made of smaller parts
protons, neutrons, and electrons. Are these particles made of
even smaller parts? Scientists have discovered that electrons
are not made of smaller parts. However, research has shown
that protons and neutrons are made of smaller particles.
Scientists call these particles quarks. Scientists theorize that
there are six types of quarks. They named these quarks up,
down, charm, strange, top, and bottom. Protons are made of
two up quarks and one down quark. Neutrons are made of
two down quarks and one up quark.
As you have read, the model of the atom has changed
over time. The current model also might change with the
invention of new technology that aids the discovery of new
information.

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Understanding the Atom

123

Mini Glossary
atom: the smallest piece of an element that still represents

neutron: a neutral particle that exists in the nucleus of

that element

an atom

electron: a particle with one negative charge (1)

nucleus: a small, positively charged area in the center of an

atom that contains most of the atoms mass

electron cloud: an area around an atomic nucleus where an

proton: an atomic particle that has one positive charge (1+)

electron is most likely to be located

1. Review the terms and their definitions in the Mini Glossary. Write a sentence that describes
how neutrons and protons are related to a nucleus.

2. Name the parts of the modern atomic model in the diagram using the terms provided.
electron cloud

neutron

nucleus

b.

atom

electron

a.

proton

c.
+
d.

3. On the lines below, write one question from your partners quiz that helped you learn an
important concept about atoms. Then write the answer.

What do you think

Reread the statements at the beginning of the
lesson. Fill in the After column with an A if you
agree with the statement or a D if you disagree.
Did you change your mind?

124

Understanding the Atom

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