Physics Unit 3: The atom

1. Matter is made up of atoms

John Dalton introduced the first atomic theory between 1803 and 1808.

Dalton proposed that:

1. everything is composed of atoms of different types, which are indivisible and indestructible.

2. each element has its own unique type of atom with a certain characteristic mass. Atoms of
different elements differ in mass and properties.

3. atoms combine in fixed proportions to form chemical compounds.

4. atoms aren’t created or destroyed in chemical reactions.

Electron Proton
Electric charge -1,6 · 10-19C 1,6 · 10-19 C
Mass 9,1 · 10-31 kg 1,7 · 10–27kg

2. Atomic models
• Thomson’s atomic model (1904) → Plum pudding atomic model; electrons are
embedded in a spongy and always positively chareged sphere which contains the mass.
• Rutherford’s atomic model (1909) → Atom is moistly empty space and has a positive
and dense nucleous.
o Experiment: He bombarded a very thin sheet of gold foil with positively charged
particles (αlpha particles). Most of the particles passed through as expected,
some others were deflected by large angles and a few of them even bounced
back.
o The particles which bombarded the fine gold foil were alpha particles. An alpha
particle is a helium atom that has two protons and two neutrons in its nucleus,
but has lost its two electrons. Alpha particles → positive → 4/2He2+
• The discovery of neutrons (1932) → James Chadwick discovered electrically neutral
particles in the nucleus of atoms. He called them neutrons and their mass is similar to
that of protons.
• Bohr’s atomic model (1913) → Electrons spin at fixed and stable orbits (high speeds
without losing energy). An electron can jump from a lower to a higher energy level (the
further from the nucleus, the higher the energy level is). Electrons come back to the
original energy level releasing the same energy it has absorbed in form of light.

3. The atomic number and mass number

All atoms of the same element have the same number of protons, which is called the atomic number
(Z).

Z = atomic number = number of protons

The number of protons plus the number of neutrons in an atom is called the mass number (A).

A = number of protons + number of neutrons

The number of neutrons (N) is therefore: N = A − Z

In an electrically neutral atom, the number of protons is equal to the number of electrons

Example: indicate the number of protons, neutrons and electrons of the electrically neutral atom
of sodium 23/11Na.
The atomic number of sodium is Z = 11. This means it has 11 protons and, because it’s electrically
neutral, 11 electrons.
The mass number is A = 23. Therefore, the number of neutrons is: N = A − Z = 23 − 11 = 12

4. Electron energy levels distribution

The maximum number of electrons an orbit can hold is given by the 2n2 rule.

• 1st level of energy → 1st orbit → n=1 → 2 · 12 = 2e- (at maximum)

• 2nd level of energy → 2nd orbit → n=2 → 2 · 22 = 8e- (at maximum)
• 3rd level of energy → 3rd orbit → n=3 → 2 · 32 = 18e- (at maximum)
• 4th level of energy → 4th orbit → n=4 → 2· 42 = 32e- (at maximum)

5. Electronic configuration

Arrangement of electrons in levels and sublevels of energy (Moller’s diagram):

Sublevels: Inside each level (1-8). Maximum number of electrons.

• s → can hold 2e- at maximum.

• p → can hold 8e- at maximum.
• d → can hold 18e- at maximum.
• f → can hold 32 e- at maximum.

The place of each element in the periodic table can be taken doing the electronic configuration.
(Valence shell)
 • Period: Last level of the electronic configuration of the element.
• Group: Last exponent.

Example: Ca (z=20) → 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 Valence shell: Period 4, Group 2

6. Ions

Elements tend to gain or lose electrons to obtain stability given by the octet rule.

In an electrically neutral atom, the number of protons in the nucleus coincides with the number of
electrons

• When a neutral atom loses electrons, it gets a positive charge (cation).

• When a neutral atom gains electrons, it gets a negative charge (anion).

Cation Anion

27/13Al3+ Neutral atom loses 3 electrons. 35/17Cl- Neutral atom gains 1 electron.
Those elements on the left side of the periodic table will lose electrons and elements on the right
will gain electrons.

7. Isotopes

Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different number of neutrons, or, with different mass
number.

Example: 1/1H 2/1H 3/1H

Average atomic mass: take into account the mass number of each isotope multiplied by its
abundance in matter.
 % 𝐼𝑠𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑒 1  ·  𝑚1  % 𝐼𝑠𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑒 2  ·  𝑚2  % 𝐼𝑠𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑒 3  ·  𝑚3
𝐴𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠  = + + …
100 100 100
Example: Element: ?/17Cl What is the mass number of the element?
Two isotopes: 35/17Cl → 75% and 37/17Cl → 25%
35  ·  75% 37  ·  25%
𝐴𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠  =    +    =  35,5 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠
100 100
Difference between atomic mass and mass number: Atomic mass is the mass and the mass number
is the sum of protons and neutrons.
 8. The periodic table

Metals → left/middle → they lose electrons → cation

Non-metals → right → they gain electrons → anion

Groups of the periodic table:

• Group 1: Alkalines
• Group 2: Alkaline-Earths
• Groups 3-12: Transition metals
• Group 13: Boron group
• Group 14: Carbon
• Group 15: Nitrogen group
• Group 16: Caliogens
• Group 17: Halogens
• Group 18: Noble gases