ATOMIC STRUCTURE

O F
L S
E O M
D
O A T
M E
TH
OBJECTIVES
Describe the work done in establishing the modern view
of the atom

Describe the Geiger-Marsden experiment

Sketch the structure of simple atoms ( Nuclear model)

ATOMIC STRUCTURE
All matter is composed of atoms.

Understanding the structure of

atoms is critical to understanding
the properties of matter
INTRODUCTION
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEuAcoCai_E – GCSE Chemistry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf-WhHZuqes – Nuclear model

 HISTORY OF THE ATOM

1808 John Dalton

suggested that all matter was made up of

tiny spheres that were able to bounce around

with perfect elasticity and called them

ATOMS
 HISTORY OF THE ATOM

1898 Joseph John Thomson

found that atoms could sometimes eject a

far smaller negative particle which he called

an

ELECTRON
 HISTORY OF THE ATOM

1910 Ernest Rutherford

oversaw Geiger and Marsden carrying out his

famous experiment.

they fired Helium nuclei at a piece of gold foil

which was only a few atoms thick.

they found that although most of them

passed through. About 1 in 10,000 hit
 RUTHERFORD’S EXPERIMENT
(GEIGER-MARSDEN)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBqHkraf8iE– GM Experiment
PLUM PUDDING MODEL OF AN ATOM.
RESULTS OF FOIL EXPERIMENT IF PLUM
PUDDING MODEL HAD BEEN CORRECT.
ACTUAL RESULTS.
 HISTORY OF THE ATOM

1913 Niels Bohr

studied under Rutherford at the Victoria

University in Manchester.

Bohr refined Rutherford's idea by adding

that the electrons were in orbits. Rather
like planets orbiting the sun. With each
orbit only able to contain a set number of
electrons.
NUCLEAR MODEL
 O M
AT
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T
OF
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UC
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ST
OBJECTIVES
compare the mass and charge of the electron with the mass and charge of the proton
explain why an atom is normally neutral and stable
apply the relationship A = Z + N
explain what is meant by the term "isotope”
relate the shell model of the atom to the periodic table
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Atoms are composed of
-protons – positively charged particles
-neutrons – neutral particles
-electrons – negatively charged particles

Protons and neutrons are located in the nucleus.

Electrons are found in orbitals surrounding the
nucleus.
SUBATOMIC PARTICLES

mass p = mass n = 1840 x mass e-

 HELIUM ATOM
Shell
proton

+
N
-
+
- N

electron neutron
 ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Mass number
4

He
the number of protons and
neutrons in an atom

2
Atomic number
the number of protons in an atom

number of electrons = number of protons

ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Every different atom has a different
number of protons in the nucleus.

Atomic number = number of

protons

Atoms with the same atomic number

have the same chemical properties
and belong to the same element.
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
The sum of protons and neutrons is the
atom’s mass number.

Isotopes – atoms of the same element

that have different atomic mass
numbers due to different numbers of
neutrons.

Did you know : Each proton and neutron has a mass of

approximately 1 dalton.
ATOMIC NUMBER (Z) = number of protons in nucleus
MASS NUMBER (A) = number of protons + number of neutrons
= atomic number (Z) + number of neutrons
ISOTOPES are atoms of the same element (X) with different numbers
of neutrons in the nucleus

Mass Number A
ZX
Element
Atomic
Symbol
Number
1 2 3
1H 1H (D) 1H (T)
235 238
92 U 92 U
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
TWO ISOTOPES OF SODIUM.
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Atoms are neutral if they have the same number of
charged protons and electrons, balancing positive
and negative charges. As long as the numbers of
electron and protons are the same, the charges will
balance.

Neutral atoms have the same number of protons

and electrons.

Did you know: Ions are charged atoms.

-cations – have more protons than electrons and are positively charged
-anions – have more electrons than protons and are negatively charged
 Radioactivity
Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Decay
⚫describe  Marie  Curie’s   work in the field of
radioactivity
⚫state the nature of the three types of
radioactive emissions
⚫describe experiments to compare the ranges
of , , and  emission
⚫describe the appearance of the tracks of
radioactive emissions in a cloud chamber
⚫predict the effects of magnetic and electric
fields on the motion of  and  particles and
 rays

Objectives
⚫Radioactivity is the spontaneous
decomposition of an unstable
atom.

Radioactivity
⚫In 1896 Henri Becquerel a French scientist
discovered that some uranium salt
emitted radiation through an experiment
which he conducted.
⚫Marie Curie a woman from Warsaw,
Poland and her husband Pierre did work
on radioactive substance. They discovered
elements we now called Polonium and
Radium.
⚫The penetrating power of nuclear
radiation depends upon the ionizing
power of the radiation. The radiation
continues to penetrate matter until it has
lost all of its energy.
Nature of the emissions
Cloud chamber and emissions
Electric field and emissions
⚫interpret nuclear reactions in the standard
form

Objectives
The Atom
The atom consists of two
parts:
1. The nucleus which contains:

proton
sneutron
s
2. Orbiting
electrons.
 The Atom
All matter is made up of elements (e.g. carbon,
hydrogen, etc.).

The smallest part of an element is called an

atom.
Atom of different elements contain different numbers of
protons.

The mass of an atom is almost entirely due to the

number of protons and neutrons.
 Mass = number of protons + number of
number neutrons

Z
X Element
symbol

Atomic = number of
number protons

Representation of a nuclide
 A

Z
X
A = number of protons + number of neutrons
Z = number of protons

A – Z = number of neutrons

Number of neutrons = Mass Number – Atomic Number

There are many types of uranium:

23 23
5
9
U 8
9
U
A2 A2
Z Z
Number of protons Number of protons
Number of Number of
neutrons neutrons
There are many types of uranium:

23 23
5
9
U 8
9
U
A2 235 A2 238
Z 92 Z 92
Number of protons 92 Number of protons 92
Number of 143 Number of 146
neutrons neutrons
Isotopes of any particular element contain the same
number of protons, but different numbers of neutrons.
Most of the isotopes which occur naturally are stable.

A few naturally occurring isotopes and all of the man-

made isotopes are unstable.

Unstable isotopes can become stable by releasing

different types of particles.

This process is called radioactive decay and the

elements which undergo this process are called
radioisotopes/radionuclides.
 Radioactive Decay

Radioactive decay results in the emission of either:

• an alpha particle (α),

• a beta particle (β),

• or a gamma
ray(γ).
A = alpha J.J. Thomson, measured mass/charge
B = gamma of e-
C = beta
 Alpha Decay

An alpha particle is identical to that of a helium

nucleus.

It contains two protons and two

neutrons.
 Alpha Decay

A A-4 4

Z
X Z-2
Y + 2
He

unstable alpha
atom particle
more stable atom
 Alpha Decay
222
226 Rn
88
Ra 86

2
He
 Alpha Decay

A A-4 4

Z
X Z-2
Y + 2
He

226 222 4
88
Ra 86
Rn + 2
He
 Alpha Decay

222 4

86
Rn A Y + 2 He
Z

222 218 4

86
Rn 84
Po + 2
He
 Alpha Decay

230 4
A
Z
X Th + 2 He
90

234 230 4

92
U 90
Th + 2
He
 Alpha Decay

A 4
230
90
Th Y + 2 He
Z

226 4
230
90
Th 88
Ra + 2
He
 Alpha Decay

214 4
A
Z
X Pb + 2 He
82

214 4
218
84
Po 82
Pb + 2
He
 Beta Decay
A beta particle is a fast moving electron which is
emitted from the nucleus of an atom undergoing
radioactive decay.

Beta decay occurs when a neutron changes into a

proton and an electron.
 Beta Decay
As a result of beta decay, the nucleus has one less
neutron, but one extra proton.

The atomic number, Z, increases by 1 and the mass

number, A, stays the same.
 Beta Decay
218
218 At
84
Po 85

-1
β
 Beta Decay

A 0

Z
X A
Z+
Y + -1
β
1

218 218 0

84
Po 85
Rn + -1
β
 Beta Decay

234 0

90
Th A
Z
Y + -1
β

234 234 0

90
Th 91
Pa + -1
β
 Beta Decay

0
A
Z
X 210
82
Pb + -1
β

210 210 0

81
Tl 82
Pb + -1
β
 Beta Decay

210 0

83
Bi A
Z
Y + -1
β

210 210 0

83
Bi 84
Po + -1
β
 Beta Decay

0
A
Z
X 214
83
Bi + -1
β

214 214 0

82
Pb 83
Bi + -1
β
 Gamma Decay
Gamma rays are not charged particles like α and β
particles.

Gamma rays are electromagnetic radiation with high

frequency.

When atoms decay by emitting α or β particles to form a

new atom, the nuclei of the new atom formed may still
have too much energy to be completely stable.

This excess energy is emitted as gamma rays (gamma ray

photons have energies of ~ 1 x 10-12 J).
Radioisotopes
⚫Radioactive isotope or radioisotope,
natural or artificially created isotope of a
chemical element having an unstable
nucleus that decays, emitting alpha, beta,
or gamma rays until stability is reached

Radioisotopes
⚫https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4B9
4zCY4ok

⚫Radioisotopes have been used in nuclear

medicine, industry and scientific research
for several years.
⚫Radiotherapy can be used to treat some medical
condition like cancer, where an isotope of cobalt
is used to weaken or destroy cancer cells.
⚫Radioisotopes are used as tracers where a small
of sodium isotope may be injected into the blood
steam in order to locate blockage in the body.
The tracers must have a very short half life
⚫Nuclear medicine uses radiation to provide
diagnostic information about the function of a
person’s specific organ. An isotope of iodine is
used to look at the thyroid.

Radioactivity and MEDICINE

⚫Placing a radioisotope on one side of material
and a Geiger Muller tube on the other side of
the material can be used to monitor the
thickness of the material.
⚫Radioisotopes are used in the sterilization of
food and hospital equipment against viruses
⚫Radioisotopes are used in agriculture to
eradicate pest
⚫Nuclear reactors use radioisotopes to
produce electrical energy

Radioactivity and INDUSTRY

⚫During nuclear reaction energy is produced,
in such a reaction the mass converts to
energy according the Einstein’s mass energy
equation. The E = mc2 equation is German-
born physicist Albert Einstein’s theory of
special relativity that expresses the fact that
mass and energy can be changed into each
other. It was noticed that the mass of the
isotope before decay was different from the
mass after decay.

Nuclear reactions
Energy mass equation
⚫The mass of an atom is almost the same
as the atomic mass number (mass of the
nucleon).

⚫When it is expressed in kilograms it is

very small so unified atomic mass (u) is a
more convenient way to represent it.

Mass of atoms
 Particle/Element Mass/Kg

398.626 x 10-27
Pu
391.970 x 10-27
U
6.645 x 10-27
He

Question 1
⚫Carbon has an unified mass number of
12u which is 2.0 x 10 -27 kg.

if 12 u = 2.0 x 10 -27 kg then

u = 2.0 x 10 -27 kg / 12
u = 1.66 x 10 -27 kg
Unified mass number (u) is a constant

Unified mass number

⚫Calculate the mass number of the
following atoms

⚫Nitrogen (N-17) has a mass number of

17.00-- u

Question 2
⚫The foundation of nuclear energy is
harnessing the power of atoms. Both
fission and fusion are nuclear processes
by which atoms are altered to ‘create’
energy. Inside the sun, fusion reactions
take place at very high temperatures and
enormous gravitational pressure.

Nuclear Reaction
⚫Fission is the splitting or breaking up of a
large nucleus in two smaller nuclei.

Nuclear Fission
⚫Fusion is the process when small nuclei
joins to form larger nuclei.

Nuclear Fusion
Particle/Element Atomic mass/u
n 1.00867
U 235.04393
Xe 142.93489
Sr 89.90730
⚫bowlesphysics.com/images/AP_Physics_B
_-_Atomic_and_Nuclear_Physics.ppt
⚫www.worldofteaching.com/powerpoints/p
hysics/Radioactive%20Decay.ppt

Reference