Chapter = 4 Structure of Atom

Discovery of Sub-atomic particles :-

John Dalton considered atom to be an indivisible entity, but his
concept had to be discarded at the end ofnineteenth century, when
scientists through experiments were able to find existence of
charged (electrons and protons) and neutral particles (neutrons) in
the atom. These particles were called the ‘Sub-atomic particles’.

Atoms :- Smallest particle of an element that has all the properties

of that element.

Atoms are the basic building block of matter that make up everyday
objects.

Atoms are made of subatomic particles:-

 protons,
 neutrons, &
 electrons
Discovery of Electrons :- Cathode Rays (By J.J. Thomson)
Thomson explained presence of electrons by cathode rays
experiment.

Facts about Electrons :-

 Charge on electron = -1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ (C=Coloumb) (As calculated

by Robert E. Millikan) -31
 Mass of electron = 9.1 × 10⁻³¹ kg
Discovery of Protons :- Anode Rays/Canal Rays (By E.
Goldstein)
E. Goldstein by his famous anode rays/canal rays experiment was
able to detect presence of positively charged particles called
protons in the atom.

Facts about Protons :-

 Charge on proton = +1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹C
 Mass of proton = 1.673 × 10⁻²⁷ kg
 i.e., Mass of proton = 1840 × Mass of electron
Discovery of Neutrons (By J. Chadwick)

 J. Chadwick bombarded lighter elements (like lithium, boron etc.)

with a-particles and observed emission of new particles having
zero charge but having mass equal to that of proton.
 These particles were called ‘Neutron’ i.e., neutral particle of the
atom.
 Neutron are absent in Protium isotope of hydrogen atom. (₁H¹)
 Since, mass of electrons are negligible as compared to that of
proton and neutrons hence, sum of masses of protons and
neutrons in an atom will compose its atomic mass.
Atomic Models :-
From the knowledge of existence of subatomic particles viz.,
electron, proton and neutron in an atom, various atomic models
were proposed by different scientists.

Following are some of the atomic models :-

 (a) Thomson’s Model of Atom

 (b) Rutherford’s Model of Atom
 (c) Bohr’s Model of Atom
The most trusted and scientifically established model of atom which
is adopted these days is ‘Quantum Mechanical Model of Atom’. It will
be dealt in higher classes.

Thomson’s Atomic Model :-

This model is often called the ‘Water Melon Model’.

In this model, Thomson predicted the presence of electrons inside

positive sphere (made up of protons), just same as seeds of
watermelon are embedded in red edible part of watermelon.
 Although this model explained neutrality of atom but couldn’t able
to explain other scientific experiments conducted on atom. Hence it
was discarded.

Rutherford’s Atomic Model :-

In his famous ‘a-ray Scattering Experiment’, Rutherford

bombarded a-ray (Helium nucleus₂H⁴) upon thin gold foil.

Rutherford made following observations from this

experiment :-

 Most of a-particles passed through gold foil undeflected.

 Some of the a-particles deflected by foil by small angles.
 One out of every 12000 particles appeared to rebound.
From his observation, Rutherford draw following
conclusions :-

 Atom consists of predominantly empty space as most of a-

particles passed through gold foil undeflected.
 Atom contains centrally placed positively charged nucleus
(carrying positively charged particles), because few alpha
particles were deflected and very few i.e., one in 12000 bounced
back.
 Since a minute fraction of a-particles suffered deflections and very
few bounced back, this lead to conclusion that most of the space
an atom is empty and the space occupied by nucleus is neigligible
compared to this empty space.
 Size of nucleus was about 10° times that of size of atom.
 Whole of the atomic mass is concentrated in the nucleus.
On the basis of his experiment, Rutherford proposed model
of atom having following features :-

 There is positively placed nucleus in an atom. Nearly all the mass

resides in nucleus (Proton+Neutron).
 Electrons revolves round the nucleus in well defined orbits.
 Size of nucleus is very small compared to the size of atom.
Drawbacks of Rutherford’s Model (Unstability of Atom)

 According to Rutherford, electrons revolve round the nucleus in

well- defined orbits, but electrons being charged particles will lose
their energy and finally will fall into the nucleus. This will make
atom highly unstable.
 This was the major drawback of Rutherford which was
unexplained by him.
Bohr’s Model of Atom :-
To overcome drawbacks of Rutherford’s Model, Neil Bohr in 1912
proposed modified model of structure of atom. He made following
assumptions :-

 Only certain special orbits known as discrete orbits of electrons

are allowed inside the atom.
 While revolving in discrete orbits, the electrons do not radiate
energy.
 Energy is emitted or absorbed by an atom only when an electron
moves from one orbit to another.
Atomic Number :-
The total number of proton lying in the nucleus of any atom is
called the atomic number.

 An atomic number is the identity of an atom, changing atomic

number means changing the atom.
 Atomic number is denoted by ‘Z’. (Z = no. of Proton)
 For a neutral atom, no. of protons and electrons are equal.
Mass Number :-
It is the sum of total number of protons and neutrons lying in the
nucleus of an atom.

 Mass Number = Number of Proton + Number of Neutron

Distribution Of Electrons In Various Shells :-
The distribution of electrons in various shells is done in accordance
to ‘Bohr- Burry Scheme’.
 Bohr-Burry Scheme :-
This scheme can be summarized as follows :-

(i) The filling of electrons in an atom is done in accordance to ‘2n²’,

where ‘n’ is the number of shell and ‘2n²’, represents the total
number of electrons that can be accommodated in that particular
shell.

 If n=1, i.e., k=shell, 2n²=2x (2)¹ = 2 electrons

 If n=2, i.e., L=shell, 2n²=2x (2)² = 8 electrons
 If n=3, i.e., M=shell, 2n²=2x (2)² = 18 electrons
 If n=4, i.e., N=shell, 2n²=2x (2)² = 32 electrons
(ii) The outermost shell can’t hold more than 8 electrons, while
second last shell can’t have more than 18 electrons, even though
they may have capacity to hold more electrons.

(iii) The outermost shell can’t hold more than 2 electrons and the
penultimate shell can’t hold more than 8 electrons unless the
preceding inner shell (antepenultimate shell) is filled completely
obeying ‘2n²’ rule Some

examples :-

 (a) K₁₉=2,8, 8, 1
 (b) Al₁₃=2,8, 3
 (c) F₉=2,7
 (d) Ne₁₀=2,8
 (e) Na₁₁=2,8, 1
Valence shell and valence Electrons :-

 From Bohr-Bury sequence, we know that maximum number of

electrons which can be accommodated in outermost shell is 8.
 Every element tend to have 8 electrons in its outermost shell, in
achieving 8 electrons, an atom can either gain electrons or loose
electrons.
 The number of electrons lost or gained by an element in achieving
8 (octet) determine its valency.
 Electrons in the outermost shell will be called its Valence electron.
For elements :- like H, He, Li, Be and B, these elements lose their
outermost electron to achieve 2 electrons in their outermost shell.
These elements will have valence in accordance to this act.

Isotopes :- Isotopes are atoms of same elements having

same atomic number and different mass numbers e.g. Isotope of
Hydrogen.
Uses of isotopes :-

 Uranium isotope is used as fuel in nuclear reactor.

 Isotope of cobalt is useful in treatment of cancer.
 An isotope of iodine is used in the treatment of goiter.
 Carbon -14 is used in carbon dating.

Isobars :- Isobars are the atoms of those elements which

have the same mass number but different atomic numbers are
called isobars.