 Chapter – 4

 Structure of an atom
 Essentially, the structure of an atom comprises protons, neutrons and electrons.
 These basic components provide the mass and charge of the atoms.
 The nucleus comprises protons and neutrons, with the electron orbiting around that.
 Introduction Structure of an atom
 Atoms
 Atoms are the building blocks of matter.
 It is the smallest unit of matter that is composed of three sub-atomic particles: the proton, the neutron and the
electron.
 Cathode Ray Experiment
 J. J. Thomson discovered the existence of electrons.
 He did this using a cathode ray tube, which is a vacuum-sealed tube with a cathode and anode on one end that
created a beam of electrons travelling towards the other end of the tube.
 The air inside the chamber is subjected to high voltage, and electricity flows through the air from the negative
electrode to the positive electrode.
 The characteristics of cathode rays (electrons) do not depend upon the material of electrodes and the nature of
the gas present in the cathode ray tube.
 The experiment showed that the atom was not a simple, indivisible particle and contained at least one subatomic
particle – the electron.
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 Electrons
 Electrons are the negatively charged sub-atomic particles of an atom.
 The mass of an electron is considered to be negligible, and its charge is -1.
 The symbol for an electron is e–
 Electrons are extremely small.
 They are found outside the nucleus.
 Thomson’s Model of an Atom
 According to Thomson,(i) An atom consists of a positively charged sphere and the electrons are embedded in it.
(ii) The negative and positive charges are equal in magnitude. So, the atom as a whole is electrically neutral
 The first model of an atom to be put forward and taken into consideration.
 He proposed a model of the atom be similar to that of a Christmas pudding/watermelon.
 The red edible part of the watermelon is compared with the positive charge in the atom.
 The black seeds in the watermelon are compared with the electrons which are embedded on it.
 Radioactivity
 Radioactivity is the term for the process by which an unstable nucleus of an atom loses energy by giving out
particles.
 It does so by giving out particles such as alpha and beta particles.
 This process is spontaneous.
 An atom is unstable if the nucleus has an imbalance, meaning a difference in the protons and neutrons.
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 Rutherford Model
 Rutherford’s Experiment and Observations
 In this experiment, fast-moving alpha (α)-particles were made to fall on a thin gold foil. His observations were:
 A major fraction of the α-particles bombarded towards the gold sheet passed through it without any deflection,
and hence most of the space in an atom is empty.
 Some of the α-particles were deflected by the gold sheet by very small angles, and hence the positive charge in
an atom is not uniformly distributed.
 The positive charge in an atom is concentrated in a very small volume.
 Very few of the α-particles were deflected back; that is, only a few α-particles had nearly 180o angle of
deflection.
 So the volume occupied by the positively charged particles in an atom is very small as compared to the total
volume of an atom.

 Rutherford model of atom

 Rutherford concluded the model of the atom from the α-particle scattering experiment as follows:
 (i) There is a positively charged centre in an atom called the nucleus.
 Nearly all the mass of an atom resides in the nucleus.
 (ii) The electrons revolve around the nucleus in well-defined orbits.
 (iii) The size of the nucleus is very small compared to the size of the atom.
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 Drawbacks of Rutherford’s Model
 He explained that the electrons in an atom revolve around the nucleus in well-defined orbits. Particles in a
circular orbit would experience acceleration.
 Thus, the revolving electron would lose energy and finally fall into the nucleus.
 But this cannot take place as the atom would be unstable, and the matter would not exist in the form we know.
 Be More Curious!!!
 The Millikan’s Oil Drop Experiment was an experiment performed by Robert A. Millikan and Harvey Fletcher in
1909 to measure the charge of an electron.
 In the experiment, Millikan allowed charged tiny oil droplets to pass through a hole into an electric field.
 By varying the strength of the electric field, the charge over an oil droplet was calculated, which always came as
an integral value of ‘e.’
 The conclusion of this is that the charge is said to be quantized, i.e. the charge on any particle will always be an
integral multiple of e which is 1.6*10-19
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 Bohr’s Model of an Atom
 Bohr came up with the following postulates to overcome the objections raised against Rutherford’s model.
 Electrons revolve around the nucleus in stable orbits without the emission of radiant energy. Each orbit has a
definite energy and is called an energy shell or energy level.
 An orbit or energy level is designated as K, L, M, and N shells. When the electron is in the lowest energy level, it is
said to be in the ground state.
 An electron emits or absorbs energy when it jumps from one orbit or energy level to another.
 When it jumps from a higher energy level to a lower energy level, it emits energy, while it absorbs energy when it
jumps from a lower energy level to a higher energy level.
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 Orbits
 Orbits are energy shells surrounding the nucleus in which electrons revolve.
 Electron Distribution in Different Orbits
 The distribution was suggested by Bohr and Bury.
 The maximum number of electrons present in a shell is given by the formula 2n2, where ‘n’ is the orbit number or
energy level index, 1,2,3,….
 The maximum number of electrons in different shells are as follows: the first orbit will have 2*12=2, the second
orbit will have 2*2Msup>2=8, the third orbit will have 2*32=18, the fourth orbit 2*42=32 and so on.
 The shells are always filled in a step-wise manner from the lower to higher energy levels. Electrons are not filled
in the next shell unless previous shells are filled.
 Valency
 The electrons present in the outermost shell of an atom are known as the valence electrons.
 The combining capacity of the atoms or their tendency to react and form molecules with atoms of the same or
different elements is known as the valency of the atom.
 Atoms of elements, having a completely filled outermost shell, show little chemical activity.
 Their combining capacity or valency is zero.
 For example, we know that the number of electrons in the outermost shell of hydrogen is 1, and in magnesium, it
is 2.
 Therefore, the valency of hydrogen is 1 as it can easily lose 1 electron and become stable.
 On the other hand, that of magnesium is 2 as it can lose 2 electrons easily and also attain stability.
 Atomic Number
 The number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom is termed the atomic number. It is denoted by the letter
‘Z’.
 Mass Number and Representation of an Atom
 Protons and neutrons are present in the nucleus, so the mass number is the total of these protons and neutrons.
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 Isotopes and Isobars
 Isotopes are defined as the atoms of the same element, having the same atomic number ( number of protons )
but different mass numbers ( number of protons+neutrons ).
For example: In the case of Hydrogen we have:
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 Atoms of different elements with different atomic numbers, which have the same mass number, are known as
isobars.
For example, Calcium and Argon: both have the same mass number – 40
40 40
20Ca and 18Ar
 To know more about Isotopes and Isobars
 Calculation of Mass Number for Isotopic Elements
 When an element has an isotope, the mass number can be calculated by the different proportions it exists in.
 For example, take 98% Carbon-12u and 2% Carbon-13u

 This does not mean that any Carbon atoms exist with a mass number of 12.02u. If you take a certain amount of
Carbon, it will contain both isotopes of Carbon, and the average mass is 12.02 u.
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