Chemistry 5

Chapter-2
Atoms & Atomic Theory

20 September 2002
Some Cool Chemistry Research
Prof. S. Schreiber & Group

1. synchronize mating 2. harvest fertilized eggs

3. array in 96-well plates 4. Add small molecules &

screen for phenotypes
 Cool Chemistry Research, cont.
Prof. S. Schreiber & Group

2:1 atrium:ventricle contraction cardia bifida (2 hearts)

Cl Me O

O Me NH2
N
N
N
(single defect seen at 6 nM-6 µM)
 An Indication of Atoms
ƒ A. Lavoisier (1743-1794)
Key Observation/Finding:
• Studied chemical reactions in closed systems and found that
mass did not change.
• conservation of mass: the total masses of substances present
before and after a chemical reaction are the same!

ƒ J. Proust (1754-1826)
Key Observation/Finding:
• Investigated conversion of materials to different substances via
different pathways and found same amount of starting material
invariably produced same quantity of product independent of
route.
• constant composition: all samples of a compound have the
same proportions by mass of the constituent elements!

ƒ J. Dalton (1766-1844)
Postulated the following:
• Each element is composed of minute, indestructible particles
called atoms.
• All atoms of a given element are identical; atoms of different
elements are different (e.g., different masses).
• Atoms are not changed into different types of atoms during
chemical reaction; atoms are neither created nor destroyed in a
chemical reaction.
• Compounds are formed from atoms in simple numerical ratios
(e.g., AB and AB2)
 Components of Atoms?
ƒ Electrons (J.J. Thomson, 1856-1940)
cathode ray tube:

• ‘cathode rays’ were independent of metal used as the cathode.

• cathode rays deflected in manner consistent with negative
particle
• obtained mass/charge ratio from experiment

ƒ R. Millikan (1868-1953)
Oil drop experiment:

• Studied charged droplets

under influence of gravity
and electric field.
• Observed that charge
appeared to be quantized
in integer values: q = ne
• Assigning n=1 to charge of
electron, yields mass of
electron from m/e ratio!
 More than just Electrons!
ƒ A hint from radioactive materials:

• Radioactive elements emit

particle that can be
distinguished by behavior in
electric & magnetic fields.
• Showed that elements
consist of more than
electrons

Rutherford explained these and more elaborate experiments:

• mass and positive charge centered in nucleus
• positive charge is ca. ½ atomic weight of given element
• electrons outside nucleus equal in number to positive charges

ƒ Protons, Neutrons & Electrons

• Atoms consist of protons, neutrons and electrons
• Each of these ‘fundamental’ particles has well defined charge and
mass (see Table 2.1 of text)

atomic number, Z: number of protons

mass number, A: number of protons and neutrons
 Chemical Elements
ƒ Elements & Isotopes:
• Each element can be defined by its atomic number, Z, or number
of protons in nucleus.
• The mass number of a given element can vary; elements with
different mass numbers are called isotopes
Hydrogen Carbon
1H 12C

2H 13C

3H 14C

ƒ Atomic Masses
• atomic mass of an element is the average of the isotopic masses,
weighted according to naturally occurring isotopic ratios
• for example, atomic mass of carbon is 12.011 not 12; it consists of
1.108% carbon-13.
 Do Atoms Really Exist?
How do we know?
ƒ Direct visualization:
 Periodic Table

ƒ Some key points:

• elements are arranged so that those with similar chemical and
physical properties lie in vertical columns called groups or
families
main group elements
transition group elements
metals, nonmetals & metalloids
• Horizontal rows of table are called periods.
 Periodic Table Song
There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,
And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium,
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium,
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium,
Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium,
And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium,
And gold and protactinium and indium and gallium,
And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium.

There's yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, rubidium,

And boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium,
And strontium and silicon and silver and samarium,
And bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium, and barium.

There's holmium and helium and hafnium and erbium,

And phosphorus and francium and fluorine and terbium,
And manganese and mercury, molybdenum, magnesium,
Dysprosium and scandium and cerium and cesium.
And lead, praseodymium, and platinum, plutonium,
Palladium, promethium, potassium, polonium,
And tantalum, technetium, titanium, tellurium,
And cadmium and calcium and chromium and curium.

There's sulfur, californium, and fermium, berkelium,

And also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium,
And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc, and rhodium,
And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin, and sodium.

These are the only ones of which the news has come to Ha'vard,
And there may be many others, but they haven't been discavard.

Words by Tom Lehrer

Music by Sir Arthur Sullivan
 Moles & Avogadro
ƒ What is a mole?

• A mole (not an animal to us) is the amount of a substance that

contains the same number of atoms or molecules as there are
carbon-12 atoms in 12 grams of carbon-12.
• That number is big– 6.02 x 1023/mol – and is defined as the
Avogadro constant, NA.

ƒ Avogadro’s number– how big is it?

• VERY!

Consider a mole of gold (Au), and make an atomic chain–

how long would that chain be?
Au-Au distance = 0.3 nm x 1m/109nm = 3 x 10-10 m
Chain length = (1-mole)x(3x10-10 m)x(6.0x1023/mole)x(1km/1000m)
= 1.8 x 1011 km or 100 billion kilometers!

For comparison, the distance from the Earth to the Sun is 1.5x108
km…….10,000 times smaller than the Au-atom chain made
from 1-mole.