Development of an Atom

Do Theories in Science Stay the

Same?
Ideas and theories in Science change as new information
is gathered.

Our theory about the atom has changed over time as new
studies are done. Even though no one has ever seen an atom up
close we are still able to make new discoveries – just like we have
made new discoveries about dinosaurs.
 Atoms and Molecules

Atoms: smallest particle of an element that has all the

properties of that element.

Molecules: particle consisting of two or more atoms

combined together in a specific arrangement.
 Early Ideas on Matter

Anaxagoras: Greek, born 500 B.C.

Suggested every substance had its own kind of seeds that
clustered together to make the substance, much as our atoms
cluster to make molecules.

Empedocles: Greek, born in Sicily, 490 B.C.

Suggested there were only four basic seeds – earth, air, fire, and
water. The elementary substances (atoms to us) combined in
various ways to make everything.
 Early Ideas on Matter

Democritus: Thracian, born 470 B.C.

Actually proposed the word atom (indivisible) because he
believed that all matter consisted of such tiny units with voids
between, an idea quite similar to our own beliefs. It was rejected
by Aristotle and thus lost for 2000 years.

Aristotle: Greek, born 384 B.C.

Added the idea of qualities – heat, cold, dryness, moisture – as
basic elements which combined as shown in the diagram.
Hot + dry made fire; hot + wet made air, and so on.
 Four Element Theory
FIRE
Plato was an atomist. He thought
Hot
all matter was composed of 4 Dry
elements:
– Earth (cool, heavy) AIR MATTER EARTH
– Water (wet)
– Fire (hot)
Wet Cold
– Air (light)
– Ether (close to heaven)
WATER

Relation of the four elements and

the four qualities.
Blend these elements in different proportions to get all substances.
 Democritus
Democritus (400 BC) – First Atomic Hypothesis

Nothing exists but atoms and space, all else is opinion.

He believed that any piece of matter can be

divided and subdivided into very small particles, but
that this process ended at some point when a piece is
reached that could not be further divided.

He called this particle atomos: a Greek word

that means invisible particle.

Along with his mentor, Leucippus, they

believed that nature is consisted of two things: atoms
and the void that surrounds them.
Properties of Atoms:
Democritus
• Indestructible.
• Changeable, however, into different forms.
• An infinite number of kinds so there are an
infinite number of elements.
• Atoms are small hard particles, made of a single
material that’s formed into different shapes and
sizes.
• Atoms are always moving and they form different
materials by joining together.
• Hard substances have rough, prickly atoms that
stick together.
• Liquids have round, smooth atoms that slide over
one another.
• Smell is caused by atoms interacting with the
nose – rough atoms hurt.
• Sleep is caused by atoms escaping the brain.
• Death – too many escaped or didn’t return.
 The Greeks
Not the history of atom,
but the idea of the atom.

In 400 B.C the Greeks tried

to understand matter (chemicals)
and broke them down into earth,
wind, fire, and air.

Democritus and Leucippus

were Greek philosophers.
 Why weren’t Democritus’s ideas
accepted?

Aristotle was a very

famous Greek philosopher who
believed that matter could be
divided into smaller and smaller
pieces forever. He held a very
strong influence on popular
belief and his views on this
were accepted for two thousand
years.
 Development of the Atom
John Dalton
proposes his atomic Ernest
Democritus proposes Rutherford
theory in 1803. James
the 1st atomic theory. performs the
Chadwick
Gold Foil
discovered the
Experiment in
neutron in in
1909.
1932.
1871 – 1937
1887 – 1961
1766 – 1844
460 – 370 BC

1891 – 1974
1743 – 1794
Erwin
Antoine Lavoisier 1885 – 1962
Schrodinger
makes a substantial 1856 – 1940
describes the
number of contributions
electron cloud
to the field of Chemistry.
in 1926.

Niels Bohr
J.J. Thomson discovers the proposes the
electron and proposes the Bohr Model in
Plum Pudding Model 1913.
in 1897.
 Antoine Laurent Lavoisier
1743 – 1794

Known as the Father of Modern

Chemistry.
He as the first person to generate a
list of thirty-three elements in his textbook.
He revised the metric system.
He was married to a 13-year old
Marie-Anne Pierette Paulze. She assisted him
with much of his work.
Discovered or proposed that
combustion occurs when oxygen combines
with other elements.
Discovered or proposed the Law of
Conservation of Mass which states, in a
chemical reaction, matter is neither created
nor destroyed.
 John Dalton
1766 – 1844

Two thousand years later, a British

chemist, lecturer, and a meteorologist brings
back Democritus’s idea of the atom.
He performed many experiments to
study how elements join together to form
new substances.
He found that they combine in
specific ratios, and he supposed it was
because the elements are made of atoms.
He calculated the atomic weights of
many various elements.
He was a teacher at a very young
age, and was color blind.
Dalton’s Symbols
1808
Dalton’s Model of Atoms
1808

Carbon dioxide, CO2

Water, H2O

Methane, CH4
 The Atomic Theory of Matter
In 1803, Dalton proposed that elements consist of individual
particles called atoms.

His atomic theory of matter contains four hypotheses:

1. All matter is made up of indivisible and indestructible basic

particles called atoms.

2. All atoms of a given element are identical, both in mass and in

properties. Atoms of different elements have different masses and
properties.
3. Compounds are formed when atoms of different elements
combine in the ratio of small whole numbers.
 The Atomic Theory
of Matter

4. Chemical reactions involve

the rearrangement of atoms. No new
atoms are created or destroyed.
 Foundations of Atomic Theory
Law of Conservation of Mass
Mass is neither destroyed nor created during ordinary chemical
reactions.

Law of Definite Proportions

The fact that a chemical compound contains the same elements
in exactly the same proportions by mass regardless of the size of
the sample or source of the compound.

Law of Multiple Proportions

If two or more different compounds are composed of the
same two elements, then the ratio of the masses of the second
element combined with a certain mass of the first elements is
always a ratio of small whole numbers.
 Conservation of Atoms
2 H2 + O2 2 H2O
H
H
H2 O O H2O
H
O2 H
+
O H
H
H2
H O H2O
H

4 atoms hydrogen 4 atoms hydrogen

2 atoms oxygen 2 atoms oxygen
 Conservation of Mass
High
voltage
electrodes

Before reaction glass After reaction

chamber
O2

High
voltage

H2O

H2 5.0 g H2
O2 0 g H2
80 g O2
45 g H2O
300 g (mass
of chamber) 40 g O2
+
385 g total 300 g (mass
of chamber)
+
385 g total
 Law of Definite Proportions
Joseph Louis Proust (1754 – 1826)

• Each compound always contains exactly the same proportion of

elements by mass.
• It is a ratio by mass.
• For example: Water is always 8 grams of oxygen for every one
gram of hydrogen.
 The Law of Multiple Proportions
Dalton could not use his theory to determine the elemental
compositions of chemical compounds because he had no reliable scale of
atomic masses.

Dalton’s data led to a general statement known as the law of

multiple proportions.

Law states that when two elements form a series of compounds,

the ratios of the masses of the second element that are present per gram
of the first element can almost always be expressed as the ratios of
integers.
 Significance of Dalton’s Atomic
Theory
• Continued to break down earlier views of elements.
• Bridged gap between lab data and hypothetical atom.
- Way of calculating relative atomic weights.
• Explained Law of Definite Proportions (Louis Proust, 1799)
- All samples of a compound contain same weight
proportions of constituent elements.

• Explained Law of Conservation of Mass

- Initial Mass = Final Mass
- Only reorganizing of unchangeable atoms
occurs in chemical reaction.
 Atomic Theory: inconsistencies
uncovered…
• Dalton: “Thou knows…no man can split the atom.”
No: Under certain circumstances, some atoms can be divided or
split into smaller particles, i.e. nuclear fission.

• Atoms of given element have same mass and properties?

Not exactly: Not all atoms of an element must have precisely the
same mass, isotopes exist.

• Atoms of one element can be transformed into another through

nuclear reactions.

• The composition of many solid compounds are somewhat

variable.
Discovery of Atomic Structure:
Sub-atomic Particles

Crookes: mid-1800’s, cathode ray

Thomson: 1897, electron mass-to-charge ratio
Millikan: 1909, electron charge
Rutherford: 1910-11, mass & charge of nucleus
Chadwick: 1932, neutron
Bohr: 1913, electron energy levels
 Developing an Atomic Theory

Sir William Crookes

mid to late 1800’s
• Many scientists have
modified and elaborated
on Dalton’s Atomic Theory.
• The first major advances
were possible with the
development of gas
discharge tubes.
• Sir William Crookes was a
leader in experiments with
gas discharge tubes.
Crooke's Tube Demo
 Sir William Crookes (mid to late 1800’s)

Evidence:
• When a high voltage supply was
attached to the ends of the tube,
there was a glow at the positive end
of the tube.
• When the negative terminal was
moved the glow moved with it, but
not when the positive terminal was
moved.
• If a piece of metal was placed
between the negative and positive
terminals, a shadow was produced Crooke's Tube Demo
in the glow. The shadow had an
identical shape to the metal.
 Cathode Rays

Claim:
• Something was produced at the
negative terminal (cathode) and
traveled towards the positive
terminal (anode).

• Whatever was being produced at

the cathode traveled in straight
lines towards the anode and was
not able to pass through the metal.
Crooke's Tube Demo
 Cathode Rays

Claim:
• The cathode was the source of the
rays because the rays moved every
time the cathode was moved.
• The rays must travel in straight
lines because the shape of the
shadow was identical to the shape
of the object that produced it.

Because it was coming from

the cathode and it traveled in Crooke's Tube Demo
straight lines, this phenomenon
was called a cathode ray.
 Joseph John Thomson
(1856 – 1940)

 British physicist and mathematician.

 Proved that an atom can be divided into smaller
parts.
 While experimenting with cathode-ray tubes,
discovered corpuscles, which were later called
electrons.
 Stated that the atom is neutral.
 In 1897, proposed the Plum Pudding Model
which states that atoms mostly consist of
positively charged material with negatively
charged particles (electrons) located
throughout the positive material.
 Also in 1897, he calculated electron’s mass-to-
charge ratio in cathode-ray experiment.
 Received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 due to his
discovery of electrons.
Thomson’s Cathode-Ray Experiment
(1897)
 Thomson’s Cathode-Ray Experiment
(1897)
The cathode rays were attracted to the positively charged metal
plates, so rays have negative charge, which can’t be separated from rays!
 Joseph John Thomson
(1856 – 1940)

Evidence:
• When cathode rays traveled through
an electric field they were repelled
from the negative side of the field and
attracted to the positive side.
• From measuring the deflection of the
cathode rays in combinations of
electric and magnetic fields, Thomson
was able to determine that cathode
rays had charge and mass.
• The same results were obtained no
matter what the cathode was made
from.
 Electrons

Claim:
• Cathode rays were composed of a stream of negatively charged
particles.
• These particles were fundamental to all atoms.
 Electrons

Reasoning:
• The particles were negative because they were repelled by negative
charges and attracted towards positive charges.
• The particles were fundamental to all atoms because the same results
were found no matter what material was used to produce the electrons.
Thomson’s Cathode-ray Results
• Calculated mass-to-charge ratio and energy of ray particles.
• Mass-to-charge ratio for cathode rays was over 1000 times smaller
than that of a charged hydrogen atom (a proton), suggesting
– either cathode rays carried huge charge,
– or they were amazingly light relative to their charge
(supported in future).
 Thomson’s Model of the Atom

Evidence:
• Thomson had Thomson’s Plum
determined Pudding Model
that atoms • Cathode rays
contained (electrons) are tiny
negative corpuscles of negative
particles called charge surrounded by a
electrons. sort of cloud of positive
• However, charge.
atoms were
electrically
neutral.
The Plum Pudding Model

Thomson did not know

how the electrons in an atom were
arranged. He believed they were
mixed throughout an atom.
He proposed that the atom
was a sphere of positively charged
material. Spread throughout the
atom were the negatively charged
electrons similar to plums in a
pudding or chocolate chips in ice
cream.
 Robert Millikan
1868-1953

U.S. physicist
He received Nobel
Prize in 1923 due to his
discovery of the charge of
electron in his Oil-Drop
experiment in 1909.
With Thomson’s
result, this allowed
calculation of electron
mass.
Millikan’s experimental apparatus.
 Millikan’s Oil-Drop Experiment (1909)
• Spray oil... droplets go thru
plate’s hole.

• Hit air molecules with X-rays...

knock off electrons.

• Electrons on oil drops… now,

charged.

• Adjust voltage... a drop is held

stationary.

• Use drop’s mass, voltage to

Diagram of apparatus -
calculate drop’s charge (always
whole multiple of 1.60 x 10-19 electrical field between
C). plates is adjustable.
 Ernest Rutherford
(1871 – 1937)

 A nuclear physicist, New Zealander

teaching in Great Britain.
 Was a student of Thomson but
disagreed with the Plum Pudding
Model.
 In 1909, he performed the Gold Foil
Experiment.
 Did extensive work on radioactivity
(alpha & beta particles, gamma rays)
and was referred to as the Father of
Nuclear Physics.
 Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
for his discovery of alpha particles,
positively charged particles emitted
from radioactive elements in 1908.
 Devised an experiment to investigate
the structure of positive and negative
charges in the atom.
 Rutherford’s Experiments
done with colleagues Ernest Marsden and Hans Geiger

• Fired beam of alpha particles at very thin gold foil.

• Alpha particles = positive-charged helium ions, mass 4 amu [He+2].
Rutherford’s Experiment: Prediction

Based on Thomson’s model,

the mass and positive charge of gold

atom are too dispersed to deflect the
positively-charged alpha particles,

so...

particles should shoot straight through

the gold atoms.
What did most of the particles shot at the gold foil
do?
• Most of the particles traveled straight through the gold foil.

What was the surprising behavior of a few of the

particles?
• A few of the particles were deflected and some even bounced back.
 The Nuclear Model of the Atom

Evidence:
Most of the alpha particles passed through the gold foil, but some
were deflected at varying angles.
If the plum pudding model was correct and the positive charge
was diffuse, then the high energy alpha particles should be able to pass
through the positive matter of the atoms of gold foil with limited
deflection.
The Nuclear Model of the Atom
Reasoning:
Most of the alpha particles were able to pass through the
atoms with little or no deflection, therefore the atom was mainly
empty space.
There must be a concentration of positive charge in order to
cause the alpha particles to be deflected by large angles.
This concentration of positive charge must be very small or
more alpha particles would have been deflected by large angles.

The region of concentration of positive charge in an atom was

called the nucleus.

The positively charged particles in the nucleus were called

protons.
 Rutherford’s Revised Atomic Theory
(1911)
Result: Most of the positively charged particles went straight through the
gold foil.
Atomic Theory: Most of the matter of the atom is found in a very small
part of the atom. This is called the nucleus of the atom. It is very tiny
and extremely dense.

Result: Some of the positively charged particles were deflected or even

bounced back.
Atomic Theory: Like charges repel so the nucleus must have a positive
charge. If electrons have a negative charge they could not be in a
positively charged nucleus. Electrons must surround the nucleus at a
distance.

Result: The diameter of the nucleus is 100,000 times smaller than the
diameter of the entire gold atom.
Atomic Theory: Atoms are mostly empty space with a tiny, massive
nucleus at the center.
How the Nucleus Repels Alpha Particles

+
Niels Bohr
(1885 – 1962)

 In 1913, proposed the Bohr Model, which

suggests that electrons travel around the
nucleus of an atom in orbits or definite
paths. Additionally, the electrons can jump
from a path in one level to a path in another
level (depending on their energy).
 Worked with Ernest Rutherford.
 The Bohr Model of the Atom
What did Bohr learn about electron movement?

• Bohr proposed that electrons

move in paths at certain
distances around the nucleus.
• Electrons can jump from a
path on one level to a path on
another level.
Energy Levels

The energy that an electron

has is based on its location around
the nucleus.
Electrons that are closer to
the nucleus have less energy than
those that are farther away from
the nucleus.
 Erwin Schrodinger
(1887-1961)

In 1926, he further explained the

nature of electrons in an atom by stating that
the exact location of an electron cannot be
stated; therefore, it is more accurate to view
the electrons in regions called electron clouds;
electron clouds are places where the electrons
are likely to be found.
The Modern Theory of the
Atom

• Electrons travel in regions called electron clouds.

• You cannot predict exactly where an electron will
be found.
James Chadwick
(1891 – 1974)

 Realized that the atomic mass of most

elements was double the number of
protons  discovery of the neutron in
1932.
 He was Rutherford’s student, and an
English nuclear physicist.
 He received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1935
due to his discovery of neutron.
 Expanding the Nuclear Model of the
Atom
Evidence:
• Atoms are electrically neutral.
• The mass of an atom is greater than the sum of the mass of its
protons and electrons.

Claim:
• There must be other particles in the atom.
• These particles must have mass but no charge.
 Expanding the Nuclear Model of the
Atom
Reasoning:
• The mass of an atom is greater than the mass of its protons and
electrons. Therefore there must be another particle in the atom that
has mass.
• This additional particle must not have any charge, because if it had
charge then the atom would no longer be electrically neutral.

In 1932, James Chadwick confirmed the existence of these

particles, called neutrons.
Known Properties of Subatomic
Particles
Property Mass (amu), Relative
Particle Mass (g) Charge

0.00055
Electron -1
9.1093897 x 10-28

1.00728
Proton +1
1.6726231 x 10-24

1.00866
Neutron 0
1.6749286 x 10-24
 Summary of the Nuclear Model of the
Atom
• Atoms contain protons, neutrons, and electrons.
• Protons are positive, electrons are negative, neutrons have no charge.
• Protons and neutrons contain most of the mass of an atom.
• Protons and neutrons are located in the nucleus, which is very small.
• Electrons are located outside the nucleus.