Physical Science

Notes
Properties of Atoms and the Periodic Table

Structure of the Atom

Elements are abbreviated in scientific shorthand.
• Symbols on the periodic table are short or abbreviated ways to write the name of an
element.
• All symbols consist of one capital letter or a capital letter and 1 or 2 lower case
letters.
• Some symbols are from the element’s name (H, He, B, Be, I, F, Br, etc).
• Sometimes the symbol is from the old Greek or Latin name (silver is Ag for
Argentum).
• Some elements are named for scientists.(Es for Einsteinium, Lr for Lawrencium)
Atom—smallest piece of matter that still has the properties of the element.
• Atoms are made up of subatomic particles—protons, neutrons and electrons.
o Protons and neutrons are in the nucleus of an atom.
o Electrons occupy orbitals or electron clouds that surround the nucleus.
• Protons are found in the nucleus of atoms and have an electric charge of +1.
• Neutrons are found in the nucleus of atoms and do not have an electric charge.
They are electrically neutral.
• Electrons are located in electron clouds, called orbitals, and have an electric charge
of -1.
• The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is its atomic number
o It identifies which element you have.
o The number of neutrons plus protons in an atom is its mass number.
• In a neutral atom, the number of protons equals the number of electrons.
o Atoms that have lost or gained electrons are called ions.
• The number of protons plus the number of neutrons is the mass number.
• The atomic weight or atomic mass is the average of the mass numbers of all of
the isotopes of an element.
• Isotopes are atoms of the same elements that have different numbers of neutrons.
o Each isotope of an element has a different mass number.
• Electrons can spin in any direction; scientists cannot tell exactly where an electron
is at a given moment or where it is going. They can calculate the probability that an
electron will be found in a given space. These calculations determine the location
and shape of the electron clouds (orbitals) where the electrons reside.
• The distance from the nucleus that the electron spins is called its energy shell,
energy level, or orbital.
o Each energy level can only hold a certain amount of electrons
i. The first shell (K level) can hold 2 electrons
ii. The second shell (L level) can hold 8 electrons
 iii. The third level (M level) can hold 18 electrons
iv. The fourth level (N level) can hold 32 electrons
v. The fifth level (O level) can hold 50 electrons
vi. The sixth level (P level) can hold 72 electrons
o Each energy level is completely filled before electrons fill the next level.
o The number of electrons in the outermost level are called valence electrons.

Protons and neutrons are made up of smaller particles called quarks.

o Six different quarks have been discovered so far.
o Each proton and neutron is composed of 3 quarks.
o To find quarks, scientists smash charged particles into protons using electric
and magnetic fields.

Models—used by scientists to represent things that are difficult to visualize.

• Scaled-up models help you visualize things too small to see.
• Scaled-down models help you see something too large to see all at once.

Scientists use scaled-up models to represent atoms. Our models have changed as
our understanding of atomic structure has grown.

• Democritus and John Dalton thought that an atom was a sphere of matter that
was the same throughout. (The “uncuttable” atom)
• J.J. Thomson discovered that all atoms contain electrons, which are tiny,
negatively charged particles. Thomson proposed that an atom is a sphere of
 positive charge with the electrons mixed uniformly in the sphere. (The “plum
pudding” model.)
• Rutherford updated the model of the atom. He hypothesized that almost all the
mass and all the positive charge of an atom is concentrated in an extremely tiny
nucleus at the center of the atom with the electrons occupying mostly empty space
around the nucleus.
• Bohr described the atom as a planetary arrangement: electrons orbiting the
nucleus.

Bohr Model

• The current electron cloud model shows electrons traveling in specific energy
levels around a nucleus of protons and neutrons.
• These “clouds” or orbitals have different shapes.

e- Cloud Model

Masses of Atoms
Atomic mass—composed mostly of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus.
• The unit of measurement for atomic particles is atomic mass unit (amu).
• Protons and neutrons have a mass equal to 1 amu.
• Electrons are 1/2000th the size of a proton or neutron. (This means that electrons
are 2000 times smaller than protons or neutrons so an atom would need 2000
electrons to increase in mass by 1 amu.)
• Atomic number—the number of protons in an atom; number of protons also
identifies the element.
• The sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom is the
mass number. (The electrons are too small to count!)
Isotopes—atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.
• Isotopes of the same element have similar chemical properties because they have
the same number and arrangement of valence electrons.
• The number of neutrons is equal to the mass number minus the atomic number.
• The name of the element followed by the mass number identifies the isotope.
o Examples: Oxygen-18, Oxygen-16
o These can also be written 18O; 16O
• Average atomic mass is the weighted-average mass of an element’s isotopes.
• Average atomic mass is closest to its most abundant isotope. Thus, you should be
able to determine the most abundant isotope of an element by rounding the average
atomic mass found on the periodic table to the nearest whole number.

Sample Problem (Calculating Average Atomic Mass):

80% of boron atoms are boron-11 while 20% are boron-10. Calculate the weighted
atomic mass of boron atoms.

Mass of boron-11 = 11 amu

Mass of boron-10 = 10 amu

To calculate the average atomic mass, convert the percentage to a decimal and
calculate the weighted average:
(0.80) 11 + (0.20) 10 = 0.88 + 0.20 = 10.8 amu

(Notice that the weighted average is 10.8 amu which is very close to 11 amu. This
indicates that boron-11 is the most abundant isotope.)
The Periodic Table
Elements are organized in the periodic table by increasing atomic number.
• In the late 1800s, Dmitri Mendeleev devised the first periodic table based on atomic
mass. (At that time we didn’t have the technology to determine the atomic number.)
• In 1913, Henry G. J. Mosely arranged the elements by atomic number rather than
atomic mass.
Vertical columns in the periodic table are groups of elements with similar properties.
Groups are sometimes also called “families” of elements.
• Elements in the same group have the same number of electrons in their outer
energy level (same number of valence electrons).
• Since chemical properties are related to the number and arrangement of valence
electrons, elements of the same group react similarly.
• Each of the seven energy levels can have a maximum number of electrons.
o Energy level 1 can contain at most two electrons.
o Energy level 2 can contain at most eight electrons.
o Energy level 3 can contain at most 18 electrons.
o Energy level 4 can contain a maximum of 32 electrons.
• Electron dot diagrams use the element symbol and dots to represent outer energy
level electrons.
Periods—horizontal rows of elements that contain increasing numbers of protons and
electrons.
• Elements are classified as metals, nonmetals, or metalloids (semimetals).
• Elements are synthesized in laboratories all over the world.

Electron dot diagrams:

The number of valence electrons in an atom can be determined by looking at the periodic
table.
(Complete the electron dot diagram of each element as we go across the periodic table.
You are expected to be able to draw these diagrams come test time.)
• The elements in group 1 (1A) of the periodic table are called the alkali metals. All
of these elements have only 1 valence electron.

H K

Li Rb

Na Cs
 Fr

• The elements in group 2 (2A) of the periodic table are called the alkaline earth
metals. All of these elements have 2 valence electrons.

Be Sr

Mg Ba

Ca Ra

• The elements in group 13 (3A) of the periodic table have 3 valence electrons.

B In

Al Tl

Ga

• The elements in group 14 (4A) of the periodic table have 4 valence electrons.

C Sn

Si Pb

Ge

• The elements in group 15 (5A) of the periodic table have 5 valence electrons.

N As

P Sb
 Bi

• The elements in group 16 (6A) of the periodic table have 6 valence electrons.

O Te

S Po

Se

• The elements in group 17 (7A) of the periodic table are called the halogens and
they each have 7 valence electrons.

F I

Cl At

Br

• The elements in group 18 (8A) of the periodic table are called the noble gases and
they each have 8 valence electrons. The noble gases are extremely unreactive.

He Kr

Ne Xe

Ar Rn