Atomic Theory

Democritus
440 B.C.E
All matter is made up of atoms, which
are indivisible
he pounded up materials in his pestle
and mortar until he had reduced them
to smaller and smaller particles which
he called
ATOMOS (Greek for indivisible)

Dalton
In the early 1800s, the
English chemist John Dalton
did a number of experiments
that eventually led to the
acceptance of the idea of
atoms.

Daltons Atomic Theory

All elements are composed of
atoms. Atoms are solid small
spheres and indivisible
particles.
BILLIARD BALL MODEL

continued...
Atoms of the same element
are exactly alike.

continued...
Atoms of different elements
are different.

continued...
Compounds are formed by the
joining of atoms of two or more
elements.

H
O

Was he right?
Daltons atomic theory of
matter became one of the
foundations of chemistry.

BUT it didnt explain

attraction of repulsion of
objects.

J.J.Thomson
In 1897, the work of an English
scientist J. J. Thompson
provided the first hint that
atoms were made up of even
smaller particles
Atoms are divisibleDalton was
wrong!

Thompsons Model
He stated that atoms are
made up of positively (+)
and negatively (-) charged
particles

And...
He thought the positive (+)
and negative (-) particles were
s p r e a d o u t in atoms like
plums in pudding or raisins in a
bun.

Questions...
What kind of particles did
Thompson find in atoms?
What did his idea of an
atom look like?

Was Thomson Right?

Not reallythere

are

positively (+) and

negatively (-) charged
particles inside atoms.

BUT...

Rutherfords Model
In 1908, Rutherford discovered
the nucleus.
He stated that atoms have a small,
dense, positively (+) charged
ce

nter called a nucleus.

The Nuclear Atom

Alpha Particle Scattering

02/25/15

.
Alpha
Source

An atom
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The Nuclear Atom

Rutherfords Model

02/25/15

He suggested that all of the

atoms positive charge, together
with most of its mass, is
concentrated
in the centre.

Alpha particles which travel close

to the nucleus are strongly
deflected. The degree of
deflection depends on how close

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The Nuclear Atom

Rutherfords Model

02/25/15

The nucleus must be very small in

comparison to the atom.

This will account for the vast majority

making it through unaffected.
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So...
Particles are not spread out like
plums in pudding
Positive particles (protons) are in
the center (nucleus).

Where are the negative

particles (electrons)?

Bohrs Model
In 1913, Niels Bohr proposed
an improvement to
Rutherfords Model:
Electrons move in definite
orbits around the nucleus, like
planets around the sun.

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Are we there yet?

Bohrs model was used for a
long time

BUT...

Modern Atomic Model

An atom has a small, positively
charged nucleus surrounded

large region

by a
in
which there are enough
electrons (-) to make the atom
neutral (0).

E
E

E
E

PPP
P PP P P
PP P P

E
E

E
E

E
E

Bohrs Atom
electrons in orbits

nucleus

HELIUM ATOM
Shell

proton

+
-

electron
What do these particles consist of?

neutron

ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Particle

Charge

Mass

proton

+ ve charge

neutron

No charge

electron

-ve charge

nil

ATOMIC STRUCTURE

H
e

Helium

Atomic number
the number of protons in an atom
Chemical Symbol
Chemical Name
Atomic mass
the number of protons and
neutrons in an atom

number of electrons = number of protons

ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Electrons are arranged in Energy Levels or
Shells around the nucleus of an atom.

first shell

a maximum of 2 electrons

second shell

a maximum of 8 electrons

third shell

a maximum of 8 electrons

forth shell

a maximum of 8 electrons

ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION
With electronic configuration elements are represented
numerically by the number of electrons in their shells
and number of shells. For example;

Nitrogen
2 in 1st shell
5 in 2

nd

shell

configuration = 2 , 5
2

5 = 7

N
14

ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION
Write the electronic configuration for the following
elements;
a)

Ca

20

b)

Na

40

2,8,8,2
d)

Cl

17
35

2,8,7

11
23

c)

2,8,1
e)

Si

14
28

2,8,4

8
16

2,6
f)

5
11

2,3

Bohr Rutherford Diagrams

With Bohr Rutherford diagrams, elements and
compounds are represented by Dots to show electrons,
and circles to show the shells. For example;
O

Nitrogen

O O

OO

O O

14

Bohr Rutherford Diagrams

Draw the Bohr Rutherford Diagrams for the following
elements;
O
8
17
O
a) O
b)
Cl 35 O
16
O
O
O
O
O
O
O O O Cl O O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O

SUMMARY
1. The Atomic Number of an atom = number of
protons in the nucleus.
2. The Atomic Mass of an atom = number of
Protons + Neutrons in the nucleus.
3.

The number of Protons = Number of Electrons.

4.

Electrons orbit the nucleus in shells.

5.

Each shell can only carry a set number of electrons.