Atomic Structure

Sketch an atom, labelling any sub-atomic particles they are able to identify
Mini-project: learners research the history of the atom, producing a timeline of

discoveries
www.thoughtco.com [search for A brief history of atomic theory].

Rutherford’s gold foil experiment:
phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/rutherford-scattering
what the experiment demonstrates?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBqHkraf8iE
Masses and charges:
Proton number and nucleon number:

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is called the proton number (Z). It is also known
as the atomic number.
The nucleon number (A) is the number of protons plus neutrons in the nucleus of an atom. This is
also known as the mass number.
nucleon number = number of protons + number of neutrons
The behaviour of protons, neutrons and electrons in electric fields
What happens if a beam of each of these particles is passed between two electrically
charged plates - one positive and one negative? Opposites will attract.
Protons are positively charged and so would be deflected on a curving path towards the
negative plate.
Electrons are negatively charged and so would be deflected on a curving path towards

the positive plate.
Neutrons don't have a charge, and so would continue on in a straight line.
If the electrons and protons are travelling with the

same speed, then the lighter electrons are deflected
far more strongly than the heavier protons.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpOAlj7sOEc
variations in atomic radius and ionic radius across a period and down a
group.
Students will complete the task given on blank paper
www.chemedx.org/activity/periodic-trends-guided-inquiry-activity
In the activity below, leaners can drag electrons off the
outermost shells of electrons and the resulting graph of the
atomic radius is displayed and compared to other elements
teachchemistry.org/periodical/issues/march-2016/periodic-trends-ionizatio
n-energy-atomic-radius-ionic-radius
H2 and D2 burn similarly in air. It shows that D2O and H2O
react similarly with calcium metal
Isotopes of the same element have different physical
properties, limited to mass and density.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYInVraBe7s
The mass per unit volume (density) of deuterated ice is

about 1.11g/cm3, thus it sinks in ordinary water
Draw a planetary model of an atom sodium
 Show that the 1st shell contains a maximum of 2 electrons and

represents n = 1
 For n = 2, replace the single orbital line holding 8 electrons with two
orbital lines. In the one closest to the nucleus, place 2 electrons and
in the second, place the remaining 6 electrons. Name these the two
sub-shells of n = 2.
 Finally place the last electron in n = 3 explaining that in fact n = 3
has 3 sub-shells.
 Mention that this is the ground state configuration of the sodium atom, but
that electrons may move to higher energy, excited states under certain
circumstances.
Describe the electronic configurations of Sodium by using above table to
include the number of electrons in each shell, sub-shell and orbital.
The most stable electronic configuration (electronic structure) of an atom is the one that has the lowest
amount of energy.
The subshell with the lowest energy, the 1s, is therefore filled first, followed by those that are successively
higher in energy.
The Aufbau diagram can be used to determine the order of
filling of atomic sublevels, although there are some
exceptions among the transition metals.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-DjEIlynjE
To appreciate this sub-topic, use the ‘Electron Hotel’ analogy, where each floor of the
hotel represents a principal quantum number, n (shell). The hotel has a strict policy of
filling the rooms.

The ground floor (n = 1) must be filled first. It contains just two guests and each of these
guests are in separate beds facing in opposite directions.
Creative learners may like to try to devise their own version of the Electron Hotel and share with the class.
Here is one example:
www.storyboardthat.com/storyboards/amy-roediger/the-electron-hotel
Every electron in an atom is unique and that no two electrons can have identical properties.
How to write H and He first: helium has 2 electrons which fill the lowest energy sub-shell (1s).
The orbital with the next lowest energy is Li and then Be filling the 2s sub-shell.
The rule that every orbital in a sub-level must be singly occupied before any orbital can be doubly
occupied. Also, all of the electrons in singly occupied orbitals must have the same spin (arrows pointing
in the same direction in the boxes).
To save time, chemists use the structures of the noble gases to reduce time in writing electron
configurations using this method.
Example of iron:
In long form the electron configuration is: Fe 1s22s22p63s23p63d64s2 and since the electron
configuration of argon is Ar 1s22s22p63s23px23py23pz2 ,the electron configuration of iron can be written
in shorthand as simply:
Fe [Ar] 3d64s2
In box notation this is Fe
What is an atomic orbital?
Orbitals and orbits

When a planet moves around the sun, you can plot a definite path for it which is called
an orbit. A simple view of the atom looks similar and you may have pictured the
electrons as orbiting around the nucleus. The truth is different, and electrons in fact
inhabit regions of space known as orbitals.
Orbits and orbitals sound similar, but they have quite different meanings. It is essential
that you understand the difference between them.
Hydrogen's electron - the 1s orbital
The orbital occupied by the hydrogen electron is called a 1s

orbital.
The "1" represents the fact that the orbital is in the energy
level closest to the nucleus.
The "s" tells you about the shape of the orbital. s orbitals
are spherically symmetric around the nucleus - in each
case, like a hollow ball made of rather chunky material with
the nucleus at its centre.
The orbital on the left is a 2s orbital. This is similar to a 1s
orbital except that the region where there is the greatest
chance of finding the electron is further from the nucleus -
this is an orbital at the second energy level.
you will notice that there is another region of slightly

higher electron density (where the dots are thicker) nearer
the nucleus. ("Electron density" is another way of talking
about how likely you are to find an electron at a particular
place.)
2s (and 3s, 4s, etc) electrons spend some of their time

closer to the nucleus than you might expect. The effect of
this is to slightly reduce the energy of electrons in s
orbitals. The nearer the nucleus the electrons get, the
lower their energy.
p orbitals
A p orbital is rather like 2 identical balloons tied together at the
nucleus.
Unlike an s orbital, a p orbital points in a particular

direction
At any one energy level it is possible to have three

absolutely equivalent p orbitals pointing mutually at
right angles to each other. These are arbitrarily
given the symbols px, py and pz.
Practise all aspects of this section by playing the following game:
www.learner.org/series/interactive-the-periodic-table/
Unpaired electrons are called free radicals.
chlorine radical is depicted as Cl.

This is a chlorine radical because it has one electron which is unpaired.
‘The first ionisation energy is the energy required to remove one mole
of electrons from one mole of the gaseous species’.
X(g) X+(g) + e-
Ionisation energy is an exothermic or endothermic process?

What you have notice from the chart they have drawn and the way the periodic table is
laid out?
You should notice that the first ionisation data shows periodicity, peaking in value at the
noble gases, He, Ne and Ar.
Try to explain the fluctuations in ionisation energy values going across a period
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM1CVh5nYLQ [Periodic Patterns in First
Ionisation Energies 2]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Fb9xtnv-s [OCR A Level Chemistry: Ionisation

Energy Essentials]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AFPfg0Como&t=246s [links to electron

configuration and explains Coulomb’s law]
Construct equations to represent first, second and subsequent ionisation energies
Al(g) Al+(g) + e-
Al+(g) Al2+(g) + e-
Why successive ionisations display a general increase?

[Removing a negative electron from an increasingly positive ion becomes progressively
more difficult.]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDsCWqckESA [Explaining Successive Ionisation Energies]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAYzdcmTXWo [Successive ionisation energy / A Level Chemistry]

The following activity ‘Ionisation energy – true or false?’
edu.rsc.org/resources/ionisation-energy/1101.article

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Sketch an atom, labelling any sub-atomic particles they are able to identify

Mini-project: learners research the history of the atom, producing a timeline of

www.thoughtco.com [search for A brief history of atomic theory].

what the experiment demonstrates?

Proton number and nucleon number:

Electrons are negatively charged and so would be deflected on a curving path towards

Neutrons don't have a charge, and so would continue on in a straight line.

If the electrons and protons are travelling with the

Students will complete the task given on blank paper

The mass per unit volume (density) of deuterated ice is

 Show that the 1st shell contains a maximum of 2 electrons and

Orbitals and orbits

The orbital occupied by the hydrogen electron is called a 1s

you will notice that there is another region of slightly

2s (and 3s, 4s, etc) electrons spend some of their time

Unlike an s orbital, a p orbital points in a particular

At any one energy level it is possible to have three

chlorine radical is depicted as Cl.

Ionisation energy is an exothermic or endothermic process?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Fb9xtnv-s [OCR A Level Chemistry: Ionisation

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AFPfg0Como&t=246s [links to electron

Why successive ionisations display a general increase?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDsCWqckESA [Explaining Successive Ionisation Energies]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAYzdcmTXWo [Successive ionisation energy / A Level Chemistry]

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