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Topic 2 Atomic Theory Revision

Atom

The smallest particle of a substance that is still that substance

Element

Substance made up of ONLY ONE type of atom

Compound Substance made up of 1 or more types of atoms;

Mixture

chemically combined fixed ratio

Substance made up of 1 or more types of atoms;

-

NOT chemically combined

mixture can be of ELEMENTS
or COMPOUNDS

Changes of state:
-

New substance NOT formed

Normally occurs because of a CHANGE IN THE ENERGY of the
particles caused by heating or cooling

TYPES:
Gas Liquid

= Condensation

Liquid Gas

= Vaporisation/Boiling

Liquid Solid

= Solidification/freezing

Solid Liquid

= Melting

Solid Gas &

Gas Solid

= Sublimation

+ Protons:

(nucleons= protons + neutrons)

Positive charge holding electrons in place

Relative mass of approx. 1
Defines an element

Neutrons:

No charge relative mass of approx. 1

Electrons:

Located: electron clouds- orbitals, which are in turn contained in energy

levels/shells
Energy levelsmost of the volume of the atom
Tiny, negative charge

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A
Z
Isotopes

NUCLIDE REPRESENTATION
-

A: Mass number no. of protons +

neutrons
- Z: Atomic number no. of

different number of

neutrons
Atoms of the same element Carbon-12, Carbon-14
Same atomic number (same number of protons/electrons)
Different mass number (different number of neutrons)
Typically named after their mass number, e.g. Carbon-14
Same chemical properties, different physical properties
Hydrogen isotopes:
o Protium: Mass number 1, 0 neutrons
o Deuterium:
Mass number 2, 1 neutron
o Tritium:
Mass number 3, 2 neutrons
Radioactive isotopes:
o Formed by bombarding atoms with neutrons, which the
atom captures
o Unstable, eventually decay, emitting radiation
o Process useful but may be harmful
Radioisotope uses:
o C-14: Radio carbon dating, C-12 does not decay, whilst C-14
does. The ratio changes when organism dies
o Co-60: medical radiotherapy- kills cancer cells by emitting
high-energy gamma rays
o I-131 and I-125: radiation therapy, medical tracer locates
and treats some disorders, tumours and particularly thyroid
conditions thyroid gland absorbs iodine.

Relative masses:

mass evaluated

using mass spectrometer

- Ir Relative Isotopic mass: mass of an ISOTOPE, relative to C-12
- Ar Relative atomic mass: weighted average mass of ALL ISOTOPES of a
naturally-occurring sample of the element, relative to C-12
o Relative isotopic mass: measures relative mass of a single
isotope
o Relative atomic mass: measures relative mass of element
^Takes into account percentage abundances of each
isotope

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The Mass Spectrometer

evaluating the mass

of an atom
-

Used to find percentage abundances of each isotope in a sample

relative isotopic mass
Note: entire instrument kept in vacuum to prevent unwanted particles from
entering/prevent particles from bumping into each other and deflecting
accidentally
See below steps, a) being a brief summary, b) being a detailed summary
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1. Vaporisation:
a. Sample heated, vaporised, passed through evacuated
tube
b. Vacuum pump assists in the evacuation, ensuring particles
in the sample cannot collide with other particles in the
tube
2. Ionisation:
a. Electron beam bombards particle, knocks off electrons =
cations (+)
b. High energy electron beam bombards the particles,
knocking off one or more electrons and thus creating
positively charged ions
3. Acceleration:
a. Positive ions accelerated through electric field,
direction & velocity controlled
b. Positive ions are accelerated through NEGATIVELY
CHARGED PLATES in an electric field passing through
slits that control their direction and velocity
c.
d. 4. Deflection:
a) Ions are deflected around a corner by a magnetic
field

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b) Magnetic field adjusted so only ions with a particular
mass:charge make it through to the end
c) Extent of deflection: mass to charge ratio
i.
Lighter = greater deflection
ii.
High charge = greater deflection
5. Detection:
a) Beam of ions detected electronically

Principles
-

b) After being deflected around the corner, the ions hit the
detector plate- masses tallied up different particles detected
Atoms emit
electromagnetic
radiation
individually
by altering the mag/elect.
fields used. Data combined to
This emission
can
be
used
to
determine
the ELECTRONIC
produce a graph- mass spectrum

STRUCTURE of the atom

- Heat/electricity passed through atom = atom excited its
electrons absorb energy and JUMP to higher energy levels
- They are unstable up there, so fall back to the lower level
Electrons emit energy in the form of electromagnetic
radiation/ as a photon of light
- Identifying an element from the atomic emission
spectra
o Different elements only have certain allowed energy
levels within their atoms, can only emit certain
wavelengths of radiation
o Hence, every element has a unique emission
spectrum

The Electromagnetic Spectrum:

-

High energy- shorter wavelength: gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet

Low energy-long wavelength: infrared, microwaves and radio waves
Visible light: between infrared and ultraviolet, very small section

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The Hydrogen Emission Spectrum:

-

(Hydrogen: simplest emission spectrum- only 1 electron)

Emission spectrum created as:
o Electrons move from higher energy orbits to lower energy orbits,
emitting radiation as they do
o Spectrum divided into series- three highest-energy series are:
Name
e- jumps:
Region of Electro.
Spectrum
Lyman Series
back to 1st shell
Ultraviolet
region
Balmer Series
back to 2nd shell
Visible region
Paschen series
back to 3rd shell
Infrared region
Note: Energy emitted = Energy absorbed

For an electron to become excited, the energy absorbed must

be the exact energy difference between the two energy levels
the electron is moving between: Energy absorbed =E2-E1

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Diagram 2: electron jumping back to lower energy level
o
o

Energy as a photon of light emitted

If wavelength corresponds to a wavelength in the visible region of the
electromagnetic spectrum, coloured light will be observed

Converging of energy levels:

-

Energy levels converge (become closer together in energy) as they get

further away from the nucleus.
Why?
Because the energy between each of the adjacent orbits gets less i.e., the
energy difference between energy levels also converges
hence, difference between lines in the emission spectrum of the atom
converge
Ionisation

Energy difference
between adjacent
orbits gets less
Electron shells get
closer together

energy:
point which
electron can
completely
remove itself
from the
attraction of
the nucleus

Continuous spectrum: rainbow, full spectrum of colours

Discrete spectrum:
single
(discrete) coloured lines on a black backgroundHence,
difference
lines in theto a specific wavelength of light within the
each coloured linebetween
corresponding
visible region

Electron Configuration
Ground state- when the electrons are in the lowest energy level possible
Atoms with 8 electrons in the outer shells= full most stable noble gases
3 rules for occupation of orbitals
1. Aufbau Principle
a. Electrons enter subshells of lowest energy first

2. Pauli exclusion principle

a. An orbital can only contain up to 2 electrons
3. Hunds rule
a. When electrons occupy orbitals of equal energy, one electron
enters each orbital until all have one, then each gets a second

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