Chapter 4 Reviewing Content Questions

4.1 Defining the Atom

(34)What is an atom?

An atom is the smallest particle of an element that still has the properties of that element.

(35)What were the limitations of Democritus’s ideas about atoms?

Democritus’s ideas were not helpful in explaining chemical behavior because they
lacked experimental support.

(36)With which of these statements would John Dalton have agreed in the early 1800s? For each,
explain why or why not.

a. Atoms are the smallest particles of matter.

b. The mass of an iron atom is different from the mass of a copper atom.
c. Every atom of silver is identical to every other atom of silver.
d. A compound is composed of atoms of two or more different elements.

Dalton would have agreed with all four statements because they all fit his atomic theory.

(37)Use Dalton’s atomic theory to describe how atoms interact during a chemical reaction.

The atoms are separated, joined, and rearranged during a chemical reaction.

4.2 Structure of the Nuclear Atom

(38)What experimental evidence did Thomson have for each statement?

a. Electrons have a negative charge. A beam of electrons (cathode rays) is defined by

an electric field toward the positively charged plate.
b. Atoms of all elements contain electrons. The cathode rays were always composed of
electrons regardless of the metal used in the electrodes or the gas used in the
cathode-ray tube.
(39)Would you expect two electrons to attract or repel each other?

Two electrons will repel each other. Like charges repel.

(40)How do the charge and mass of a neutron compare to the charge and mass of a proton?

The mass of the proton and neutron are nearly equal. Protons are positively charged
while neutrons are neutral.

(41)Why does it make sense that if an atom loses electrons, it is left with a positive charge?

Loss of an electron means that the number of positively charged protons is greater
than the number of negatively charged electrons that remain, giving the particle
a positive charge. (OR Subtracting a negative gives a more positive result.)

(42)Describe the location of the electrons in Thomson’s “plum pudding” model of the atom.

The electrons were stuck in a lump of positively charged matter.

(43)How did the results of Rutherford’s gold-foil experiment differ from his expectations?

He did not expect alpha particles to be deflected at a large angle.

(44)What is the charge, positive or negative, of the nucleus of every atom?

The only charged particle in the nucleus is the positively charged proton, therefore
the charge on the nucleus is positive.

(45)In the Rutherford atomic model, which subatomic particles are located in the nucleus?

Neutrons and Protons. Rutherford suspected that there was something in the nucleus in
addition to protons, but didn’t know them as neutrons.

4.3 Distinguishing Among Atoms

(46)Why is an atom electrically neutral?

A atom is electrically neutral because the numbers of protons and electrons are equal.

(47)What does the atomic number of each atom represent?

The atomic number of each atom represents the number of protons in the neucleus.
(48)How many protons are in the nuclei of the following atoms?

a. phosphorus has 15 protons.

b. molybdenum has 42 protons.
c. aluminum has 13 protons.
d. cadmium has 48 protons.
e. chromium has 24 protons.
f. lead has 82 protons.

(49)What is the difference between the mass number and the atomic number of an atom?

The atomic numbers is the number of protons. The mass number is the sum of
the protons and neutrons.

(50)Complete the following table by referring to Figure 4.11 on page 118.

9 19 9 10 F (Fluorine)
14 29 14 15 Si (Silicon)
22 47 22 25 Ti (Titanium)
25 55 25 30 Mn (Manganese)

(51)Name two ways that isotopes of an element differ.

Isotopes differ in their mass numbers, atomic masses, number of neutrons

and their natural percent abundances.

(52)How can there be more than 1000 different atoms when there are only about 100 different
elements?

There are more different types of atoms than elements because of the existence
of isotopes.

(53)What data must you know about the isotopes of an element to calculate the atomic mass of the
element?

To calculate the atomic mass of an element you must know which isotopes exist, their
masses, and their natural percent abundance.

(54)How is an average mass different from a weighted average mass?

Average atomic mass is the arithmetic mean of the isotopes. Weighted average atomic
mass considers both the mass and the relative abundance of the isotopes.

(55)What is the atomic mass of an element?

The atomic mass is the weighted average of the masses of all the isotopes.
(56)How are the elements arranged in the modern periodic table?

Elements are arranged in modern periodic table according to their atomic numbers.

(57)Look up the word periodic in the dictionary. Propose a reason for the naming of the periodic
table.

Answers will vary.

Understanding Concepts
(58)Characterize the size of an atom.

Very, very tiny- but larger than protons and electrons

(59)Compare the size and density of an atom with its nucleus.

The nucleus is very small and very dense compared with the atom.

(60)Imagine you are standing on the top of a boron-11 nucleus. Describe the numbers and kinds
of subatomic particles you would see looking down into the nucleus, and those you would see
looking out from the nucleus.

5 protons and 6 neutrons in the nucleus; 5 electrons outside the nucleus

(61)What parts of Dalton's atomic theory no longer agree with the current picture of the atom?

All atoms of the same element are not identical (isotopes). The atom is not the smallest particle of
matter.

(62)Millikan measured the quantity of charge carried by an electron. How did he then calculate the
mass of an electron?

He used the quantity of charge value and the charge-to-mass ratio measured by Thomson.

(63)How is the number of electrons for a neutral atom of a given element related to the atomic
number of that element?

They are the same value.

(64)How is the atomic mass of an element calculated from isotope data?

The masses of isotopes in a sample of the element are averaged, based on relative abundance.
The result is the element’s atomic mass.

(65)The four isotopes of lead are shown below, each with its percent by mass abundance and the
composition of its nucleus. Using these data, calculate the approximate atomic mass of lead.
 207 amu

(66)Dalton’s atomic theory was not correct in every detail. Should this be taken as a criticism of
Dalton as a scientist? Explain.

No, in general he proposed a valid theory in line with the experimental evidence available to him.

(67)Why are atoms considered the basic building blocks of matter even though smaller particles,
such as protons and electrons, exist?

Atoms are the smallest particle of an element that retains the properties of that element

(68)The following table shows some of the data collected by Rutherford and his colleagues during
their gold-foil experiment.

a. What percentage of the alpha particle deflections were

5° or less? 92.90%

b. What percentage of the deflections were 15° or less?

99.89%

c. What percentage of the deflections were 60° or greater?

0.00993%

(69)Using the data for nitrogen listed in Table 4.3, calculate the weighted average atomic mass of
nitrogen. Show your work.

(70)What characteristics of cathode rays led Thomson to conclude that the rays consisted of
negatively charged particles? They were attracted to a positively charged plate

(71)If you know the atomic number and mass number of an atom of an element, how can you
determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in that atom? Atomic number = #
protons = # electrons and #Neutrons = Mass number – Atomic Number
(72)What makes isotopes of the same element chemically alike? Because they have identical
numbers of protons, they also have identical numbers of electrons; electrons are the subatomic
particles that are responsible for chemical behavior.

(73)In the periodic table, what happens to the pattern of properties within a period when you move
from one period to the next? The pattern repeats.

Critical Thinking
(74)The diagram below shows gold atoms being bombarded with fast-moving alpha particles.

a. The large yellow spheres represent gold atoms. What do the small gray spheres
represent?
b. List at least two characteristics of the small gray spheres.
c. Which subatomic particle cannot be found in the area represented by the gray spheres?

(75)How could you modify Rutherford’s experimental procedure to determine the relative sizes of
different nuclei?

(76)Rutherford’s atomic theory proposed a dense nucleus surrounded by very small electrons. This
implies that atoms are composed mainly of empty space. If all matter is mainly empty space, why
is it impossible to walk through walls or pass your hand through your desk?

(77)This chapter illustrates the scientific method in action. What happens when new experimental
results cannot be explained by the existing theory?

(78)Do you think there are more elements left to be discovered? Explain your answer.

(79)The law of conservation of mass was introduced in Chapter 2. Use Dalton’s atomic theory to
explain this law.

Concept Challenge
(80)Diamond and graphite are both composed of carbon atoms. The density of diamond is
3.52 g/cm3. The density of graphite is 2.25 g/cm3. In 1955, scientists successfully made diamond
from graphite. Using the relative densities, imagine what happens at the atomic level when this
change occurs. Then suggest how this synthesis may have been accomplished.

(81)Lithium has two naturally occurring isotopes. Lithium-6 has an atomic mass of 6.015 amu;
lithium-7 has an atomic mass of 7.016 amu. The atomic mass of lithium is 6.941 amu. What is the
percentage of naturally occurring lithium-7?

(82)When the masses of the particles that make up an atom are added together, the sum is always
larger than the actual mass of the atom. The missing mass, called the mass defect, represents the
matter converted into energy when the nucleus was formed from its component protons and
neutrons. Calculate the mass defect of a chlorine-35 atom by using the data in Table 4.1. The
actual mass of a chlorine-35 atom is 5.81 × 10−23 g.

Cumulative Review
(83)How does the goal of pure chemistry compare with that of applied chemistry? (Chapter 1)

(84)How does a scientific law differ from a scientific theory? (Chapter 1)

(85)Classify each as an element, a compound, or a mixture. (Chapter 2)

a. sulfur
b. salad oil
c. newspaper
d. orange

(86)Oxygen and hydrogen react explosively to form water. In one reaction, 6 g of hydrogen
combines with oxygen to form 54 g of water. How much oxygen was used? (Chapter 2)

(87)An aquarium measures 54.0 cm × 31.10 m × 380.0 cm. How many cubic centimeters of water
will this aquarium hold? (Chapter 3)

(88)What is the mass of 4.42 cm3 of platinum? The density of platinum is 22.5 g/cm3. (Chapter 3)