Structure of Atom

STRUCTURE OF ATOM
Matters are made of tiny particles called atom. Atom is made of three particles; electron,
proton and neutron. These particles are called fundamental particles of an atom or sub
atomic particles.
Electron (e–) - Electron is denoted by ‘e’ and is a negatively charged particle. The absolute
charge over an electron is equal to 1.6x10^-19 of negative charge and is considered equal
to – 1.The relative mass of electron is 1/1836. Since the mass of an electron is very small,
thus it is considered equal to 0. Electrons revolve round the nucleus of atoms.
Proton (p+) - Proton is denoted by ‘p’ and is positively charged particle. The absolute
charge over proton is 1.6x10^-19 coulomb of positive charge and it is considered as unit
positive charge. Thus absolute charge over a proton is equal to +1.
The absolute mass of a proton is equal to 1.6x10^-24 g and considered equal to 1 as it is
equal to the mass of 1 hydrogen atom. Proton is present in the nucleus of atom.
Neutron (n) – Neutron is denoted by ‘n’ and is a neutral particle.

The absolute mass of neutron is 1.6 x 10 ^-24 g. The relative mass of neutron is equal to 1.
Neutron is presents in the nucleus of atom.
Nucleus – The centre of atom is called nucleus. Nucleus comprises of neutron and proton.
Nucleus of an atom contains the whole mass of an atom.
Discovery of Electron:- In 1897; J. J. Thomson, a British physicist, proposed that atom
contains at least one negatively charged particle. Later this particle was named as electron.
Thomson called those particles ‘corpuscles’.
Discovery of Proton:- Ernest Goldstein in 1886 discovered the presence of new radiation in
gas discharge tube even before the identification of electron. He called these rays as Canal
Rays. His experiment led to the discovery of proton.
Discovery of Neutron:- In 1932 J. Chadwick discovered another subatomic particle called
neutron. Neutron is present in the nucleus of all atoms.
Thomson’s Model of Atom(DIAGRAM)
J. J. Thomson proposed the model of atom similar to a Christmas Pudding or similar to a
water melon. His model of atom is generally called plum and pudding model of atom.He
proposed that electrons are embedded the way black seeds of water melon are embedded;
in the sphere of positive charge. According to Thomson
(a) An atom consists of positively charged sphere in which electrons are embedded.
(b) The quanta of negative and positive charges are equal. The equal number of negative
charge and positive charge makes an atom electrically neutral.
Rutherford’s Model of Atom(experiment in book)
Ernest Rutherford in 1909 with his team bombarded very thin gold foil with α – particles. He
found that
(a) Most of the α – particles passed without any hindrance.
(b) Some of the α – particles deflected from their original path at noticeable angle.
(c) Very few of the α – particles bounced back at their original path.
On the basis of his observation, he proposed the model of atom. The Rutherford's
Model of Atom is as follows:
(a) Most of the part in an atom is empty.
(b) There is a positively charged center in atom, which contains nearly the whole mass of
atom The centre is called nucleus.
(c) The size of nucleus is very small compared to an atom.
(d) Electrons revolve round the nucleus.
The Rutherford’s Experiment is also known as Geiger-Marsden Experiment.
Drawbacks of Rutherford Model
(a) According to Rutherford’s Model, electron revolves round the positively charged nucleus
which is not expected to be stable. But a charged particle in an accelerated motion along a
circular path would lose energy because of radiation and finally would fall into nucleus. This
makes an atom unstable while atoms are quite stable.If atoms were not stable no matter
would exist in nature.
(b) Rutherford model could not solve the problem of atomic mass of atom as it proposed
only the existence of protons in the nucleus.
However, the problem of atomic mass could be solved after the discovery of neutron.
Bohr’s Model of Atom:-
Neils Bohr, a Danish physicist, in 1913 proposed model of atom which rectified the problems
left by Rutherford’s Model. He proposed that
(a) Electrons revolve round the nucleus in a fixed orbit.
(b) He called these orbits as ‘stationary orbit’.
(c) Each stationary orbit is associated with fixed amount of energy, thus electrons do not
radiate energy as long as they keep on revolving around the nucleus in fixed orbit.
The circular path around the nucleus is called orbit, energy level or shell. Energy level are
represented by letter – K, L, M, N, …. and so on.
Therefore,
1st orbit is denoted by – K
2nd orbit is denoted by – L
3rd orbit is denoted by – M, and so on.
The orbits are denoted by 1, 2, 3, …. and so on.
Distribution of Electrons in a Orbit or Shell:
The distribution of electrons in an orbit can be obtained by using formulae 2n^2
where ‘n’ is number of orbit.
Atomic Number
Atomic number is the fundamental properties of an atom. Every atom is identified by its
unique atomic number. Atomic number is denoted by ‘z’.
Atomic number is equal to the number of protons present in an atom.
Since an atom is electrically neutral, thus number of protons and number of electrons are
equal to make an atom electrically neutral.
Atomic number = Number of protons = Number of electrons
Example :–
The atomic number of Hydrogen is 1, helium is 2, lithium is 3, beryllium is 4, boron is 5,
carbon is 6, nitrogen is 7, oxygen is 8, etc.
Sample exercise:
(1) Atomic number of calcium is 20. Calculate the number of electrons and protons in
calcium.
Solution:
Since, Atomic number = Number of protons = Number of electrons
Therefore,
Number of electrons in calcium = 20
Number of protons in calcium = 20
Arrangement of electrons in an atom – Electronic Configuration
The maximum number of electrons can be obtained by 2n^2; where ‘n’ is the orbit number.
Thus after knowing the maximum number of electrons for a particular shell, the arrangement
of electrons in an atom can be identified. It is called Bohr Bury Schemes.
Rules to write the electronic configuration of an atom
(a) Maximum number of electrons in an orbit is calculated by 2n2, where ‘n’ is number of
orbit and may be equal to 1, 2, 3 , . . . .
(b) Electrons occupy the next orbit only after filling the inner orbit completely.
(c) The maximum number of electrons in outermost orbit will not be more than 8.
Electronic configuration of Carbon
Atomic number of carbon = 6
Therefore number of electrons = 6
Thus, electronic configuration of carbon is
Number of orbit in carbon = 2
Electronic configuration of Sodium
Atomic number of sodium = 11
Therefore number of electrons = 11
Since, in 2nd orbit the maximum number of electrons is equal to 8 and there are 11
electrons in sodium atom, thus the eleventh electron will go in third orbit.
Thus, electronic configuration of sodium is
Number of orbit in sodium = 3

Isotopes:-
Elements having same atomic number but different atomic masses are known as Isotopes.
Example –
Carbon-12, Carbon-13, Carbon-14 are thee isotopes of carbon atom
Uses of Isotopes:
Carbon – 14 is used in carbon dating.
An isotope of uranium is used as fuel in nuclear reactor.
An isotope of cobalt is used in treatment of cancer.
An isotope of iodine is used in treatment of goitre.
Isobars:
Atoms having same atomic mass and different atomic numbers are known as Isobars.
Example –
Valency
The outermost electron shell of an atom is called valence shell.
The electrons present in outermost shell of an atom are called as valence electrons.
The valence electron of an atom take part in a chemical reaction because they have more
energy than all the inner electrons.
For Ex:
1) Sodium(Z=11)
The electronic configuration of sodium is
KLM
281
Valence Electrons=1
2)Chlorine(Z=17)
The electronic configuration of chlorine is
KLM
287
Valence electrons=7
3)Magnesium(Z=12)
The electronic configuration of magnesium is
KLM
282
Valence Electrons=2

Structure of Atom

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STRUCTURE OF ATOM

Neutron (n) – Neutron is denoted by ‘n’ and is a neutral particle.

Thus, electronic configuration of sodium is

Number of orbit in sodium = 3

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