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Atomic Structure

Definitions

Element: a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by a chemical reac!on.
Compound: a substance made by chemically combining two or more elements. It has different
proper!es from its cons!tuent elements.
Mass number(A): the number of protons plus the number of neutrons in an atom. Give the total
number of nucleons, and o#en referred to as nucleon number.
Isotopes: atoms of the same element with different mass numbers.
Ions: when an atom loses or gains an electron, an ion is formed. Posi!ve ions are known as ca"ons
and nega!ve ions are known as anions.
Rela"ve atomic mass(Ar ): average mass of an atom of an element, taking into account all the
isotopes and their rela"ve abundance, compared to one atom of carbon-12.
Wavelength(λ): the distance between two successive crests or troughs.
Measured in metres(m).
Frequency(ν ): the number of waves produced in one second.
Measured in Hertz(Hz).
Ground state: when an electron is in its lowest energy level.
Absorp"on spectrum: electron absorbs light photons and jumps to an excited state of higher
energy.
This spectrum would be black lines, represen!ng absorbed colours, on a coloured background.
Emission spectrum: electron emits light photon as it jumps down to a state of lower energy.
This spectrum would consist of coloured lines, represen!ng emi$ed colours, on a black
background.
Ionisa"on energy: the energy needed to remove an electron from the ground state of each atom in a
mole of gaseous atoms, ions, or molecules.

Equations

Energy, frequency and wavelength.

c = λν

c: Speed of light, approximately 3.00 × 108 ms−1 .

λ: Wavelength of light, measured in metres(m).
ν : Frequency, measured in Hertz(Hz).

E = hν

E : Energy, measured in joules(J ).

h: Planck’s constant.
ν : Frequency, measured in Hertz(Hz).
c
E = h( )
λ
E : Energy, measured in joules(J ).
h: Planck’s constant.
c: Speed of light, approximately 3.00 × 108 ms−1 .
λ: Wavelength of light, measured in metres(m).

E∝ν

1
E∝
λ

Photons

ΔEelectron = Ephoton

The energy change when an electron drops a level is equal to the energy of the photon emi#ed due
to the drop.

Ephoton = hν
Ephoton ∝ ν

The energy of the photon is propor!onal to the frequency of light emi#ed. High energy photons
emit UV or violet light(high frequency) and low energy photons emit IR or red light(low frequency).

Orbital configura"on

The number of sub-shells at the nth energy level: n.

The number of orbitals at the nth energy level: n2 .
The number of electrons at the nth energy level: 2n2 .
The number of orbitals at the lth sub-level: 2l + 1, where l = 0 to (n − 1)

Isotopes

All isotopes of the same element have the same chemical proper"es, but different physical
proper"es.

Atomic and mass number

A
ZX

A: mass number.
X : symbol of element.
Z : atomic number.

Mass spectrum

The results of the analysis of an element’s isotopes by a mass spectrometer are presented in the form
of a mass spectrum.
It is a bar graph where mass/charge is plo$ed on the x axis and % abundance is plo$ed on the y
axis.

Spectra

Con"nuous spectrum versus discon"nuous spectrum

Con"nuous spectrum Discon"nuous spectrum

Con"nuous energy levels Discrete energy levels

Unbroken sequence of Only certain frequencies/colours are

frequencies/colour produced/displayed

Spectrum of visible light Emission/absorp!on spectra

Emission Spectrum

It is produced by excited atoms and ions as they fall back to a lower energy level.
Line emission spectrum is characteris!c to the element. Therefore, different elements have different
line spectra, and can be used to iden!fy unknown elements.
Emission spectra are not con"nuous, but consist of separate lines.
These lines converge towards the higher energy end of the spectrum.

Hydrogen Emission Spectrum

Series Ini"al orbit Range Wave emi#ed

Lyman ni = 2, 3, 4, … , ∞ nf = 1 Ultraviolet

Balmer ni = 3, 4, 5 … , ∞ nf = 2 Visible

Paschen ni = 4, 5, 6 … , ∞ nf = 3 Infrared

As we go from Lyman to Balmer to Paschen:

Energy decreases.
Frequency decreases.
Wavelength increases.
The colour emi$ed (VIBGYOR) corresponds to energy:
V in highest visible energy region, as it has the highest frequency.
R in lowest visible energy region, as it has the lowest frequency.
The highest possible energy emi$ed would fall in the UV region.
The lowest possible energy emi$ed would fall in the infrared region.

Hydrogen Absorp"on Spectrum

Series Ini"al orbit Range Wave absorbed

Lyman ni = 1 nf = 2, 3, 4, … , ∞ Ultraviolet

Balmer ni = 2 nf = 3, 4, 5 … , ∞ Visible

Paschen ni = 3 nf = 4, 5, 6 … , ∞ Infrared

The amount of light absorbed at a par!cular frequency depends on the iden!ty and concentra!on of
the atoms present. Atomic absorp!on spectroscopy is used to measure the concentra!on of metallic
elements.

Atomic models

Bohr’s atomic model

According to Bohr’s atomic model:

electrons move around the nucleus in a fixed path known as an orbit.
electrons can occupy orbits of discrete energy.
when electrons drop energy levels, they release energy in discrete, or quan!sed amounts, which
makes the emission spectrum discon"nuous. Therefore, the emission spectrum is vital
evidence for quan"sa"on, because if energy were not quan"sed, the emission spectrum would
be con"nuous.

Merits and demerits of Bohr’s model

Merits Demerits

Explained hydrogen
Failed to explain mul"-electronic system
emission spectrum

Explained orbits (2D) Failed to explain wave-par"cle duality and concept of orbitals (3D)

Energy and radii of orbits Failed to explain quantum mechanics and spli$ng of spectral lines of
were explained. elements with more than one electron.

De Broglie’s wave equa"on

E = mc2
hc
mc2 =
λ
h
mc =
λ
h
λ=
mc
1
⟹ λ∝
m

Wave-Par"cle Duality

The difference between the par!cle and wave nature of EM radia!on:

Par"cle Wave nature

Occupies space Spread out in a space

No two par"cles can occupy the same space at the same Two or more waves can co-exist. (there
!me. (ie, no interference) exists interference)

Explained by photo electric effect and black body Explained by electromagne"c wave
radia"on. theory.

Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle

It is impossible to know both the momentum and posi"on of a moving par!cle simultaneously.

Significance of uncertainty principle

Orbit Orbitals

Well defined circular path around the The 3D space around the nucleus of the atom having
nucleus in which the electron revolves. maximum probability of finding the electrons.

Represents the planar (2D) mo!on of

Represents 3D mo!on of electrons.
electron.

Fails to explain De-Broglie principle and

Explains both the principles.
Heisenberg’s principle.

Circular shape. Has different shapes.

Non-direc!onal in nature Direc!onal in nature.

Electronic Configuration

A more detailed model of the atom describes the division of the main energy level into s, p, d, and f
sub-levels of successively higher energies.

1s < 2s < 2p < 3s < 3p < 4s < 3d < 4p < 5s

Orbitals ranked in ascending order of their energy:

s<p<d<f

s orbitals

Spherical in shape.
Has only 1 shape.
Holds maximum 2 electrons with opposite spins.
Lowest energy orbital.

p orbitals

Dumbbell shaped.
Has 3 orbital shapes, which hold 2 electrons each, for a total of 6 electrons.
The orienta!ons are: px , py , pz .
Higher in energy than s.

d orbitals

Double dumbbell shaped.

Has 5 orbital shapes, which hold 2 electrons each, for a total of 10 electrons.
Higher in energy than p.

f orbitals

Has 7 possible shapes, for a total of 14 electrons.

Highest in energy, out of the 4.

Au%au Principle

When electrons fill up the orbitals, the orbitals with the lowest energy level get filled up with
electrons first.
The order of energy levels of orbitals is:

1s < 2s < 2p < 3s < 3p < 4s < 3d < 4p < 5s

Hund’s Rule

In orbitals of the same energy level, electron pairing will not take place un"l each orbital has got 1
electron each in parallel spin.
This is mainly because electrons are nega"vely charged will repel each other and create distance
between each other and try to remain unpaired.
This means that when drawing electron configura"ons, you must fill each orbital with an electron
before pairing them up.

Periods

Period 3

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Quantum Numbers

Principal Quantum Number (n)

Designates the the principal electron shell.

n = 1, 2, 3, 4...

As value of n increases, the distance between the furthest electron and the nucleus increases.
The a$rac!on between the electron and the nucleus decreases.
It is easier for an atom to expel that electron, reducing ionisa"on energy.

Azimuthal Quantum Number(l)

Also known as orbital angular momentum number.

The largest value of l is always 1 less than the principal quantum number.

l = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4...(n − 1)

For example:
When n = 1, l = 0:
l takes only one value, which means there is only 1 subshell in this principal shell: s.
When n = 2, l = 0, 1:
l takes 2 values, which means there are 2 subshells in this principal shell: s and p.
When n = 3, l = 0, 1, 2:
l takes 3 values, which means there are 3 subshells in this principal shell: s, p, and d.
In general:

Value of l Name of subshell

0 s

1 p

2 d

3 f

Magne"c Quantum Number(ml )

determines the orienta!on of orbitals and the number of orbitals in a sub-shell.

ml is an interval ranging from −l to +l.

ml = −l, (−l + 1), (−l + 2)...0...(+l − 2)(+l − 1)(+l)

Each value of the ml represents a specific orienta!on of a sub-shell in a principal shell.

The number of values that ml can take represents the number of orbitals in a sub-shell.
For example:
For l = 1:

Value of ml Orienta"on

−1 px

0 py

+1 pz

Electron spin quantum number(ms )

Designates the direc!on of electron spin and is represented by either + 12 or − 12 .

1
ms = ±
2
If ms is posi!ve, it means the electron has an upward spin(↑).
If ms is nega!ve, it means the electron has a downward spin(↓).

Patterns in Successive Ionisation Energies (HL)

Pa$erns in successive ionisa!on energies give evidence for shells and subshells.
Following is a graph showing the successive ionisa!on energies of Aluminium:

The general, con!nuous increase in successive ionisa!on energies is explained by the fact that it
becomes harder and harder to remove electrons from more and more posi!vely charged ions.
This is because, for the same nuclear charge there are lesser and lesser electrons, making each one
harder to remove than the previous one as a result of greater a$rac!on.
The above graph also shows evidence for shells - there are steep increases between ionisa!on
numbers 3-4 and 11-12, which signify that electrons are now being removed from a shell that is
closer to the nucleus - since there is more a$rac!on as we move closer to the nucleus, more energy is
required.
The next graph shows a zoomed-in version:

This graph, which depicts more closely the successive ionisa!on energies from 4-12, shows evidence
for sub shells - the slightly larger increase between ionisa!on numbers 9-10 indicates that there is a
change in sub-shell, since slightly more energy is required to remove the 10th electron.
Thus we can deduce that the 2p sub-shell can hold 6 electrons and the 2s sub-shell can hold 2.
More evidence for sub-shells can be observed if the graph on page 90 in the textbook is observed.
The explana!ons for the reasons for the fluctua!ons in the pa$erns are given clearly under ‘Solu!on’
on Page 91. This informa!on is concise and so has not been men!oned here.

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