The Development of

Atomic Theory

The Atom
The term atom is derived from the
Greek word (atomos)
meaning indivisible
Democritius (470-370 BC )
suggested that all matter was made
up of indivisible particles called
atoms

Law of Constant
Composition
A compound always contains atoms of two or
More elements combined in definite proportions
by mass

Example:
Water H2O always contains 8
grams of oxygen to 1 gram of
hydrogen
3

Law of Multiple
Proportions
Atoms of two or more elements may
combine in different ratios to produce
more than one compound.

Examples:
NO

NO2

N2O

N2O5
4

Daltons Atomic
1. All elements Theory
are
composed of indivisible
and indestructible
particles called atoms.
2. Atoms of the same
element are exactly
alike, They have the
3. Atoms of different
same masses.
elements have different
masses.
4. Atoms combine to form
compounds in small
whole number ratios.. 5

1.

SomeObjections to
Daltons Atomic
Atoms areTheory
not indivisible. They

are composed of subatomic

particles.
2. Not all atoms of a particular
element have exactly the same
mass.
3. Some nuclear transformations
alter (destroy) atoms

Crookes Experiment

Crookes found that passing an electrical current

through a gas at very low pressure caused the gas to
glow. Putting a magnet next to the beam caused it to
be deflected.

The Electron
1. The electron was the first subatomic
particle to be identified.
2. In 1897 J.J Thomson used a cathode ray
tube to establish the presence of a
charged particle known as the electron
3. Thomson established the charge to
mass ratio
E/m = 1.76 x 108 coulombs/gram

A Cathode Ray Tube

Thomson found that an electrical field would

also deflect an electron beam. He surmised
that the ratio of charge to mass is constant.

Thomsens Charge to
Mass Ratio

Thomson proposed that the cathode rays

were in fact charged particles coming
from the traces gases in the Cathode Ray
Tube.
He then determined that the ratio of
charge to mass is constant E/m = 1.76 x
108 coulombs/gram

Thomsens Plum
Pudding Model
Thompson proposed that
an atom was made up of
electrons scattered
unevenly through out an
elastic sphere. These
charges were surrounded
by a sea of positive charge
to balance the electron's
charge like plums
surrounded by pudding.

This early model of the atom

was called The Plum
Pudding Model. A more
contemporary American
label might be the chocolate
chip cookie model
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Millikans Experiment

By varying the charge on the plates, Millikan found that

he could suspend the oil drops or make them levitate.

12

Millikans Experiment
Millikan used his data to
measure the charge of an
electron and then to
calculate the mass of the
electron from Thomsons
charge to mass ratio.
Given the charge =
1.60 x 10-19 coulomb and
the ratio of E/m = 1.76 x
108 coulombs/gram it is
possible to calculate the
mass

Mass
= 9.11 x 10-28 gram
13

Protons
First observed by E. Goldstein in 1896
J.J. Thomson established the presence
of positive charges.
The mass of the proton is
1.673 x 10-24 grams

14

Rutherfords Experiment
1910

Rutherford oversaw Geiger and

Marsden carrying out his famous
experiment.
They fired high speed alpha
particles (Helium nuclei) at a
piece of gold foil which was only
a few atoms thick.

Ernest Rutherford

They found that although most of

them passed through. About 1 in
10,000 hit and were deflected

15

Rutherfords Experiment

16

Rutherfords
Experiment

17

Rutherfords
Experiment
By studying this
pattern, Rutherford
concluded that
atoms have a very
dense nucleus, but
there are mostly
empty space.

18

Subatomic Particles
The diameter of a single atom ranges
From 0.1 to 0.5 nm. (1 nm = 10-9 m).
Within the atom are smaller particles:
Electrons
Protons
Neutrons

19

Neutrons
Discovered by James Chadwick in 1932
Slightly heavier than a proton
Mass of a neutron = 1.675 x 10 -24 grams

20

The Bohr Model

Niels Bohr proposed the
Planetary Model in 1913.
Electrons move in
definite orbits around the
nucleus like planets
moving around the
nucleus. Bohr proposed
that each electron moves
in a specific energy level.
21

Aspects of the Bohr

Model

Bohr put together Balmers and

Planks discoveries to form a new
atomic model
In Bohrs model:

1. Electrons can orbit only at certain

allowed distances from the
nucleus.
2. Electrons that are further away
from the nucleus have higher
energy levels (explaining the
faults with Rutherfords model).

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The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Emission Spectra

24

Flame Tests

According to Bohr
Atoms radiate energy
whenever an electron jumps
from a higher-energy orbit to a
lower-energy orbit. Also, an
atom absorbs energy when an
electron gets boosted from a
low-energy orbit to a highenergy orbit.

26

Problems with the Bohr

Model
The

Bohr model provided a model that gave

precise results for simple atoms like hydrogen.

Using

the Bohr model precise energies could

be calculated for energy level transitions in
hydrogen.

Unfortunately these

calculations did not work

for atoms with more than 1 electron.

27

Weakness of the Bohr

Model
According to the Bohr model electrons could
be found in orbitals with distinct energies.
When the data for energies measured using
spectral methods where compared to the
values predicted by the Rydberg equation, they
were accurate only for hydrogen.
By the 1920s, further experiments showed that
Bohr's model of the atom had some difficulties.
Bohr's atom seemed too simple to describe the
heavier elements.
28

Modern View of the

Atom
The wave mechanical
model for the
atom was developed to answer some of
the objections that were raised about
the Bohr model. It is based on the
work of a number of scientists and
evolved over a period of time

The quantum theorists such as Maxwell

Planck suggested that energy
consists of small particles known as
photons. These photons can have only
discreet energies

Maxwell Planck

29

Modern View of the

Atom
Albert Einstein demonstrated the equivalence
of matter and energy. Hence matter and energy in
Einsteins theory were not different entities but
different expressions of the same thing
Einstein then proposed the
equivalence of Matter and
Energy given by his famous
equation

E = mc2
30

Modern View of the

Atom
Louis de Broglie suggested
that if energy could be
thought of as having particle
properties, perhaps matter
could be thought of as having
wave like characteristics
Louis de Broglie

31

Modern View of the

Atom
Louis de Broglie proposed
that an electron is not just a
particle but it also has wave
characteristics.

mc2 = h

32

Modern View of the

The more precisely the position is determined, the less precisely
Atom
the momentum is known in this instant, and vice versa.
--Heisenberg, Uncertainty paper, 1927

Heisenberg proposed that it was

impossible to know the location
and the momentum of a high
speed particle such as an
electron.

33

Modern View of the

The more precisely
the position is determined, the
Atom
less precisely the momentum is known in this
instant, and vice versa.
--Werner Heisenberg,
Uncertainty paper, 1927

The atom cannot be defined as a

solar system with discreet orbits
for the electrons. The best that
we could do was define the
probability of finding an electron
in a particular location.
34

Modern View of the

Atom
Edwin Schroedinger
proposed
that the electron is really a
wave. It only exists when we
identify its location. Therefore
the electrons are best thought of
probability distributions rather
than discreet particles.

35

Modern View of the Atom

The modern view of the atom suggests
that the atom is more like a cloud.
Atomic orbitals around the nucleus
define the places where electrons are
most likely to be found.

36

Wave Mechanical Model

The location of the
electron in a hydrogen
atom is a probability
distribution.

37

Progression of Atomic Models

Our view of the atom has changed over time

38

ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Particle

Charge

Mass

proton

+ charge

neutron

No charge

electron

- charge

39

ATOMIC NUMBER AND MASS NUMBER

H
e

Mass Number
the number of protons and
neutrons in an atom

Atomic Number
the number of protons in an
atom

Number of electrons = Number of protons

in a neutral atom

40

Atomic Mass
The atomic mass of an atom is a relative
number that is used to compare the
mass of atoms.
An atomic mass unit is defined as 1/12
of the mass of an atom of carbon 12.
The atomic masses of all other atoms
are a ratio to carbon 12

41

Isotopes
Many elements have atoms that have multiple
forms
Different forms of the same element having
different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes.
For example: Carbon exists as both Carbon 12
and Carbon 14
Carbon 12

Carbon 14

6 electrons

6 electrons

6 protons

6 protons

6 neutrons

8 neutrons

42

Isotopes and Atomic

Mass
Many elements have atoms that have
multiple isotopes.

Isotopes vary in abundance. Some are

quite common while others are very rare.
The atomic mass that appears in the
periodic table is a weighted average taking
into account the relative abundance of each
isotope.
43

or Na-23

or Na-24

Isotope: one of two or more atoms having the

same number of protons but different

numbers of neutrons

Measuring Atomic Mass

--the Mass Spectrometer

The mass
spectrometer
can be used
to determine
the atomic
mass of
isotopes.