Atomic Structure

What is an atom?
• Atom: the smallest unit of matter
that retains the identity of the
substance

• First proposed by Democratus

 Atomic Structure
• Atoms are composed of 2 regions:
• Nucleus: the center of the atom that
contains the mass of the atom
• Electron cloud: region that surrounds
the nucleus that contains most of the
space in the atom
Nucleus
Electron
Cloud
 What’s in the Nucleus?
• The nucleus contains 2 of the 3
subatomic particles:
• Protons: positively charged subatomic
particles
• Neutrons: neutrally charged subatomic
particles
 What’s in the Electron Cloud?

• The 3rd subatomic particle resides

outside of the nucleus in the electron
cloud
• Electron: the subatomic particle with a
negative charge and relatively no mass
 How do these particles
interact?
• Protons and neutrons live compacted
in the tiny positively charged nucleus
accounting for most of the mass of
the atom
• The negatively charged electrons are
small and have a relatively small mass
but occupy a large volume of space
outside the nucleus
How do the subatomic particles
balance each other?
• In an atom:
• The protons = the electrons
• If 20 protons are present in an atom then 20
electrons are there to balance the overall
charge of the atom—atoms are neutral
• The neutrons have no charge; therefore
they do not have to equal the number of
protons or electrons
How do we know the number of
subatomic particles in an atom?
• Atomic number: this number indicates the
number of protons in an atom
• Ex: Hydrogen’s atomic number is 1
• So hydrogen has 1 proton
• Ex: Carbon’s atomic number is 6
• So carbon has 6 protons
**The number of protons identifies the
atom.
Ex. 2 protons = He, 29 protons = Cu
How do we know the number of
subatomic particles in an atom?
• Mass number: the number of protons
and neutrons in the nucleus
• Ex: hydrogen can have a mass of 3.
Since it has 1 proton it must have 2
neutrons

• # of neutrons = mass # - atomic #

 How exactly are the particles
arranged?
• Bohr Model of the atom:
Reviewers think this could lead to misconceptions!
All of the
protons and
the neutrons
The 3rd ring
can hold up
to 18 e- The 1st ring can
The 4th ring hold up to 2 e-
and any after The 2nd ring can
can hold up to hold up to 8 e-
32 e-
 How exactly are the particles
arranged?
• Bohr Model of the atom:
Reviewers think this could lead to misconceptions!
All of the
protons and
the neutrons
The 3rd ring
can hold up
to 18 e- The 1st ring can
The 4th ring hold up to 2 e-
and any after The 2nd ring can
can hold up to hold up to 8 e-
32 e-
 Structure of an Atom
Example – Carbon Atom
Nucleus
• 6 Protons - -
• 6 Neutrons

Electrons

- + + -

Orbits

- -

The distribution of electrons in the orbital rings around an

atom’s nucleus determines the element’s electrical properties.
Conductor / Insulator / Semiconductor
• The stability of the electrons in the outer ring determines
whether a material made from this element is a
conductor, insulator, or semiconductor.
• Elements whose electrons are unstable and can easily
move from one atom to another make good conductors.
• Elements whose electrons are stable and can not easily
move from one atom to another make good insulators.
• Any elements that are not considered conductors or
insulators are categorized as semiconductors.
 Conductors
• When an element’s outer electron ring is incomplete or not
full, its electrons can move more freely from one atom to
another atom.
• Elements whose electrons can move more freely make
good conductors.
• In general, most metals make good conductors because
they only have one or two electrons in their outer band.
• Silver and gold are the best conductors. Copper is the
second best conductor. Most wiring uses copper wire
because it is a good conductor and is less expensive than
the other metals.
Conductors: Example Ag & Cu
Silver Copper
(Ag) (Cu)
Because the outer-most
band is incomplete, the
single electron is unstable
and loosely bonded to the
atom. Hence, it can easily
2 8 18 18 1
move to the outer band of 1 18 8 2
another adjacent atom.

This free flow of electrons

is what makes silver and
copper good conductors.

Number of
Nucleus Electrons in Orbit
 Insulator
• When an element’s outer ring is complete, or full, its
electrons can not easily move from one atom to another
atom.
• Elements whose electrons can not move freely make
good insulators.
• Examples of good insulators are glass, plastic, rubber,
paper, or air. Most wiring uses plastic as an insulator.
• Plastics are polymers or long chains of atoms bonded to
one another. Viewing the atomic structure of plastics is
far beyond the scope of this class (If you are interested
in such topics, you may want to take AP Chemistry.).
• Neon and argon, both gases, are good insulators and
are often used in light bulbs.
 Insulator: Example Ne & Ar
Neon Argon
(Ne) (Ar)
The outer-most orbits of neon and
argon can each contain a maximum
of eight (8) electrons. This is exactly
how many they have. This makes
2 8
the electron in the outer-most 8 8 2
bands stable.

This stable electron structure is

what makes neon and argon good
insulators.
 Semiconductor
• When an element’s outer ring is neither
complete nor incomplete, the element is
considered to be a semiconductor.
• Examples of good semiconductor materials are
– Carbon (used to make resistors)
– Silicon (used to make transistors)
Semiconductors: Example C & Si
Carbon Silicon
(C) (Si)
The outer-most orbits of carbon and
silicon can each contain a
maximum of eight (8) electrons.
Because they both contain four (4),
2 4
these electrons are neither stable 4 8 2
nor unstable.

This electron structure is what

makes carbon and silicon good
semiconductors.