Atomic Structure
Atoms
An atom is the smallest particle of matter that cannot be broken down by chemical means. Each atom consists of a nucleus and a number of particles called electrons that orbit around it. The nucleus is itself a cluster of two kinds of particles, protons and neutrons. The diagram below shows how an atom looks like, magnified many millions of times. The electrons are shown in blue, protons in red and neutrons in green.
Subatomic particles
| PARTICLE | MASS | CHARGE | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electron | 1/1840 | negative (-1) | shells |
| Proton | 1 | positive (+1) | nucleus |
| Neutron | 1 | neutral (0) | nucleus |
The protons and neutrons cluster together in the centre, forming the nucleus; this is the heavy part of the atom. the electrons circle very fast around the nucleus, at different energy levels from it; these energy levels are called shells. Since electrons are so light, their mass is usually taken to be zero. Since they make up the atom, protons, neutrons and electrons are often called sub-atomic particles.
Proton number and nucleon number
Every atom has a different number of protons. You can identify an atom by the number of protons in it. The number of protons in an atom is called its proton number and is given symbol Z. Every atom has an equal number of protons and electrons. So atoms have no overall charge. Protons and neutrons form the nucleus, so are called nucleons.
The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom is called its nucleon number and is given symbol A.
The nuclide notation is represented as follows:
whereby X is the chemical symbol of the element.
nucleon number (A) = proton number (Z)+ number of neutrons (N)
Electronic configuration
Electrons are arranged in shells around the nucleus. The first shell carries a maximium of 2 electrons, the second shell a maximum of 8 electrons and the third shell a maximum of 8 electrons as long as the proton number does not exceed 20.
Hydrogen, the simplest atom, has 1 electron and so it has 1 shell.
Here are the first 20 elements, shown as a list:
| Element | Symbol | Proton number | Number of electrons | Electron structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrogen | H | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Helium | He | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Lithium | Li | 3 | 3 | 2,1 |
| Beryllium | Be | 4 | 4 | 2,2 |
| Boron | B | 5 | 5 | 2,3 |
| Carbon | C | 6 | 6 | 2,4 |
| Nitrogen | N | 7 | 7 | 2,5 |
| Oxygen | O | 8 | 8 | 2,6 |
| Fluorine | F | 9 | 9 | 2,7 |
| Neon | Ne | 10 | 10 | 2,8 |
| Sodium | Na | 11 | 11 | 2,8,1 |
| Magnesium | Mg | 12 | 12 | 2,8,2 |
| Aluminium | Al | 13 | 13 | 2,8,3 |
| Silicon | Si | 14 | 14 | 2,8,4 |
| Phosphorus | P | 15 | 15 | 2,8,5 |
| Sulfur | S | 16 | 16 | 2,8,6 |
| Chlorine | Cl | 17 | 17 | 2,8,7 |
| Argon | Ar | 18 | 18 | 2,8,8 |
| Potassium | K | 19 | 19 | 2,8,8,1 |
| Calcium | Ca | 20 | 20 | 2,8,8,2 |
The Periodic Table
The Periodic Table is a vital tool used by chemists to predict the way in which elements react during chemical reactions. It is a method of categorising elements according to their properties.
The period number tells you how many shells there are. All the elements in a group have the same number of electrons in their outer shells. So Group I elements have 1, Group II have 2, and so on. These outer-shell electrons are also called the valency electrons. The group number is the same as the number of outer-shell electrons. The valency electrons dictate how an element reacts. So the elements in Group I all have similar reactions, for example.
Take note
Elements with similar chemical properties are found in the same groups. There are eight groups of elements. The first column is called Group I; the second Group II; and so on up to Group VII. The final column in the Periodic Table is called Group 0 (or Group VIII). Some of the groups have been given names.
- Group I: The alkali metals
- Group II: The alkaline earth metals
- Group VII: The halogens
- Group 0 (VIII): Inert gases or noble gases
| Group Number | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| Period 1 | 11H | 24He | ||||||
| Period 2 | 37Li | 49Be | 511B | 612C | 714N | 816O | 919F | 1020Ne |
| Period 3 | 1123Na | 1224Mg | 1327Al | 1428Si | 1531P | 1632S | 1735.5Cl | 1840Ar |
| Period 4 | 1939K | 2040Ca | ||||||
Isotopes
Some atoms of the same element can contain different numbers of neutrons and so have different nucleon numbers. Atoms of the same element which have the same proton number but different neutron numbers are called isotopes.
| ISOTOPE | PROTON NUMBER | NUMBER OF ELECTRONS | NUMBER OF NEUTRONS | NUCLEON NUMBER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chlorine-35 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 35 |
| Chlorine-37 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 37 |
| Carbon-12 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Carbon-14 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
As you can see,
- Cl-35 and Cl-37 are isotopes of element Cl.
- C-12 and C-14 are isotopes of element C.
Since isotopes have the same number of electrons, they have the same proton number and the same chemical properties. Carbon-12 and carbon-14 react the same way. However they have diferent physical properties i.e. Chlorine-37 is heavier than Chlorine-35 for the same volume.
QUESTION
The nuclide notations of elements X and Y are given below.
2311X and 3517Y
(i) State the number of protons and neutrons in element X. [2] (ii) Give the nuclide notation for a possible isotope of Y. [2] (iii) Write the electronic configuration of element X. [1]
- 11 electrons 12 neutrons
- 3717Y
- 2.8.1
SOLUTION
Ions
An ion is an electrically charged particle. When an atom loses one or more electrons it becomes a positively charged ion. For example, during the chemical reactions of potassium, each atom loses an electron to form a positive ion, K+
Take note
- Hydrogen and the metals lose electrons and form positive ions which have the same names as the atoms. The charge on the metal ion is equal to the group number.
- Hydrogen becomes H+.
- A group I metal such as sodium becomes Na+.
- A group II metal such as calcium becomes Ca2+.
- A group III metal such as aluminium becomes Al3+.
- Non-metals form negative ions, with names ending in -ide. The charge on the non-metal ion is equal to (group number – 8).
- A group VII element such as chlorine becomes Cl– (Chloride ion)
- A group VI element such as oxygen becomes O2- (Oxide ion)
- Elements in Groups IV and V do not usually form ions, because their atoms would have to gain or lose several electrons, and that takes too much energy.
- Group 0 elements (Group VII) do not form ions: their atoms already have stable outer shells, so do not need to gain or lose electrons.