(/President Ramon Magsaysay State University

(Formerly Ramon Magsaysay Technological University)

Iba, Zambales, Philippines
Tel/Fax No.: (047) 811-1683

College / Department College of Agriculture and Forestry /

Environmental Science Department
Course Code Chem 1
Course Title General Chemistry 1
Place of the Course in the Program Core Science Course
Semester & Academic Year First Semester AY 2020-21
Solution
Introduction

What is everything really made of?’ Questions like this have been asked for centuries,
and scientists are continually trying to find the answer. At one time scientists believed that the
smallest ‘building block’ of matter was the atom, a name that comes from the Greek word
meaning ‘incapable of being cut.’ Later it was discovered that though an atom is the smallest unit
that has the chemical properties of an element, even atoms are made up of smaller particles.
Elements are the simplest substances found in nature and they cannot be broken down further
through ordinary chemical means. At least 92 naturally occurring elements have been discovered
so far. The elements are organized in a periodic table based on their different properties.

To understand how elements come together, we must first discuss the smallest
component or building block of an element, the atom. An atom is the smallest unit of matter that
retains all of the chemical properties of an element. For example, one gold atom has all of the
properties of gold in that it is a solid metal at room temperature. A gold coin is simply a very
large number of gold atoms molded into the shape of a coin and containing small amounts of
other elements known as impurities. Gold atoms cannot be broken down into anything smaller
while still retaining the properties of gold.

This module discusses fundamental particles of an atom and an overview of atomic

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, it is expected that the learner should be able to:
1. describe the structure of an atom of an element;
2. describe Dalton’s Atomic Theory
3. differentiate among atomic number, mass number, and isotopes, and which of these
distinguishes one element from another
4. distinguish between electron orbitals in the Bohr model versus the quantum mechanical
orbitals

18
The Atom
Discussion

Early Ideas about the Atom

Matter is basically made up of atoms. This theory started more than 2,400 years ago in
Ancient Greece. But its rapid development only began about 1,000 years ago, when John Dalton
presented his own version of the atomic theory in 1803. In this lesson, we will present the
original Greek concept of the atom, and that of Dalton.

The Greek Concept

During the ancient times (around 440 B.C.), many of the “scientists” were philosophers. They
did not prove or disprove ideas using experiments. Rather, they used good arguments to show
that an idea was true. And so, Leucippus used logical reasoning to support the idea that “all
things are basically made up of atoms”. There were no experiments during his time. Of course,
this means that Leucippus did not convince some philosophers. Those who agreed with
Leucippus were called “atomists”. One of the first atomists was Democritus. He was a student of
Leucippus. Later on, another scientist-philosopher, Epicurus, improved the “atomos” concept

Dalton’s Atomic Theory

John Dalton is considered the Father of the Modern Atomic Theory. He was a chemist who
studied the works of Lavoisier and Proust. Antoine Lavoisier established the Law of
Conservation of Mass while Joseph Proust observed the Law of Definite Proportions. Using
these laws, Dalton formulated his atomic theory. Let us first take a look at these laws.

Law of Conservation of Mass Law of Definite Proportions

“The total mass of materials “The proportion by mass of
before a chemical reaction the
takes place is exactly equal to elements in a given compound
the total mass of the materials is always the same.”
that result after the reaction is It is also known as the “Law
completed.” of
Constant Composition”.

John Dalton believed that these two laws supported the idea of atoms. He formulated an
atomic theory that included the observations of Lavoisier and Proust. This atomic theory has
these statements:

#1 - All elements are composed of atoms, which are indivisible and indestructible particles.
For example, an element, like gold, is made up of gold atoms. The atoms of gold cannot be
destroyed nor divided to form other atoms. The Law of Conservation of Mass supports this
statement.
#2 - All atoms of the same element are exactly alike. This means that one atom of the element
platinum looks exactly the same as any other atom of platinum. It also means that the mass of
one atom of an element is exactly equal to the mass of
another atom of the same element.
18
The Atom
#3 - All atoms of different elements are different. This statement is a follow-up of statement
#2. It means that the atoms of the element silver are different from the atoms of the element
oxygen. And one important difference among different atoms is their masses. The atoms of an
element may have a greater or lesser mass than the atoms of another kind of element. Both
statements #2 and #3 agree with the basic assumption of the Law of Definite Proportions: that
the mass of atoms does not change.

#4 - The joining of atoms of two or more elements form compounds. When an atom of one
kind of element is joined with another atom of another kind of element, a compound is formed.
Dalton further stated that in any compound, the atoms of the different elements in the compound
are joined in a definite whole-number ratio. For example, in the compound
water, a particle of water is made up of one atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen. The
ratio of oxygen to hydrogen is 1:2.

A water molecule
Some elements also show that they form various ratios.
For example, iron can form a compound with oxygen in the ratio of 1:1. This means that for
every atom of iron, there is one atom of oxygen. At the same time, iron can form another
compound with oxygen in the ratio of 2:3. This means that for every two atoms of iron, there will
be three atoms of oxygen. In other words, iron can form two different ratios with oxygen. Other
metals like copper and chromium also show this phenomenon. Such phenomenon resulted to the
Law of Multiple Proportions.

Self-Test 1.1

Directions: Answer these questions briefly.

1. Identify the similar ideas between the Greek concept of the atom and the statements in
Dalton’s atomic theory.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. Explain the importance of the works of Lavoisier and Proust to the atomic theory of Dalton.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

18
The Atom
 An atom is composed of two regions: the nucleus, which is in the center of the atom and
contains protons and neutrons, and the outermost region of the atom which holds its electrons in
orbit around the nucleus, as illustrated in Figure 1. Atoms contain protons, electrons, and
neutrons, among
other subatomic particles. The only exception is hydrogen (H), which is made of one proton and
one electron with no neutrons.

Figure 1. Elements, such as helium, depicted here, are made up of atoms.

Atoms are made up of protons and neutrons located within the nucleus, with
electrons in orbitals surrounding the nucleus.

Protons and neutrons have approximately the same mass, about 1.67 × 10–24 grams.
Scientists arbitrarily define this amount of mass as one atomic mass unit (amu) or one Dalton, as
shown in Table 1. Although similar in mass, protons and neutrons differ in their electric charge.
A proton is positively charged whereas a neutron is uncharged. Therefore, the number of
neutrons in an atom contributes significantly to its mass, but not to its charge. Electrons are much
smaller in mass than protons, weighing only 9.11 × 10–28 grams, or about 1/1800 of an atomic
mass unit. Hence, they do not contribute much to an element’s overall atomic mass. Therefore,
when considering atomic mass, it is customary to ignore the mass of any electrons and calculate
the atom’s mass based on the number of protons and neutrons alone. Although not significant
contributors to mass, electrons do contribute greatly to the atom’s charge, as each electron has a
negative charge equal to the positive charge of a proton. In uncharged, neutral atoms, the number
of electrons orbiting the nucleus is equal to the number of protons inside the nucleus. In these
atoms, the positive and negative charges cancel each other out, leading to an atom with no net
charge.

Accounting for the sizes of protons, neutrons, and electrons, most of the volume of an
atom—greater than 99 percent—is, in fact, empty space. With all this empty space, one might
ask why so-called solid objects do not just pass through one another. The reason they do not is
that the electrons that surround all atoms are negatively charged and negative charges repel each
other.
Table 1. Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons
Charge Mass (amu) Location
Proton +1 1 nucleus
Neutron 0 1 nucleus
Electron –1 0 orbitals
18
The Atom
The Subatomic Particles

What’s inside the atom? We already know that an atom is not as solid as a toy marble. In
fact, three different subatomic particles inside it have been discovered. “Subatomic” means
“inside the atom”. These are the protons, the electrons, and the neutrons. But first, we must get
acquainted with an instrument that made the discovery of subatomic particles possible: the
cathode ray tube.

The Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)

The CRT is a glass tube with two electrodes. One electrode is positive and it is called the anode.
The other electrode is negative and it is called the cathode.

A gas is usually placed inside this tube and electricity is passed through it. As a result,
light rays are released from the negative electrode (cathode) and hit the positive electrode
(anode). These rays are obviously negatively charged since they come from the cathode and
move towards the anode. A scientist named Julius Plucker first identified the cathode rays, and
another scientist named Sir William Crookes confirmed this. He invented the Crookes tube,
which is actually the prototype of the cathode ray tubes. The cathode ray tube is used in neon
signs. Karl Ferdinand Braun further improved the CRT, and his “Braun tube” is the prototype of
today’s television tubes, radar tubes, and computer monitors. Because of the CRT, Roentgen
discovered the x-rays. And still because of the CRT, the subatomic particles electrons and
protons were discovered.

Subatomic Particles

Here is a table comparing the three subatomic particles.

Particles Symbol Charge Mass Discoverer
-
Electron e Negative 9.11 x 10-31 kg J.J Thomson,1897
Proton P+ Positive 1.3626231 x 10-27 kg E. Goldstein, 1886
Neutron N0 No charge 1.6749 x 10-27 kg J. Chadwick, 1932

All atoms have a positive nuclear charge due to the presence of protons. The number of
protons in an atom determines the positive nuclear charge of an atom. Protons also determine the
atomic number (Z) of an element. We can tell how many protons an atom of an element has by
knowing its atomic number. For example, the element beryllium (Be) has an atomic number of 4.
An atom of beryllium has four protons. The element Krypton (Kr) has an atomic number of 36,
and one atom of Krypton has 36 protons.

18
The Atom
 The proton is 1,836 times heavier than the electron. When electrons and protons are placed
side by side, the proton will be as big as a house, while the electron will only be one of its light
switches.

The difference in the number of protons and number of electrons determines the overall
charge of the atom. For example, if an atom has 4 protons and 4 electrons, the overall charge of
the atom is zero. But if there are 6 protons and 5 electrons, the overall charge of the atom is +1. It
is positive because there are more protons than electrons. If there are 12 protons and 14
electrons, the overall charge of the atom is –2. It is negative because there are more electrons
than protons.

Together with protons, neutrons make up the mass number (A) of an atom. For example,
the element calcium has a mass number of 40 and an atomic number of 20. This means that the
calcium atom has 20 protons. To determine the number of neutrons, use this formula.

Mass number – atomic number = number of neutrons

40 – 20 = 20

The calcium atom also has 20 neutrons.

Let’s try to visualize what the atom looks like.

Activity 1.1 Atom Assembly

Let’s attempt to assemble the composition of the Boron atom. The atomic number of
Boron is 5, the mass number is 11, and the overall charge of the atom is zero. This means that
Boron has 5 protons, 5 electrons, and 6 neutrons.

In a plate, place 5 pieces of calamansi fruits. These will be our protons. Then place 6
pieces of lanzones fruits. These will be our neutrons. Then add 5 pieces of rice grains. These will
be our electrons.

Now try to assemble the components of a Fluorine atom. Its atomic number is 9, its mass
number is 19, and its overall charge is –1.

Describe the contents of your plate.

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
___

18
The Atom
Self Test 2.1

Directions: Fill up this table. Consult a periodic table to know the symbol of the elements.

Element Element Atomic Atomic Charge No. of No. of No. of

Name Symbol Number, Number, of the Protons Electrons Neutrons
Z A Atom
Silicon 14 28 0
Silver 108 47
Strontium 38 36 50
Samarium 62 88

Atomic Number, Atomic Mass and Isotopes

The atomic number (Z) of an element is the number of protons in the nucleus of each
atom of that element. An atom can be classified as a particular element based solely on its atomic
number. For example, any atom with an atomic number of 8 (its nucleus contains 8 protons) is an
oxygen atom, and any atom with a different number of protons would be a different element. The
periodic table (see figure below) displays all of the known elements and is arranged in order of
increasing atomic number. In this table, an element's atomic number is indicated above the
elemental symbol. Hydrogen, at the upper left of the table, has an atomic number of 1. Every
hydrogen atom has one proton in its nucleus. Next on the table is helium, whose atoms have two
protons in the nucleus. Lithium atoms have three protons, beryllium atoms have four, and so on.

Since atoms are neutral, the number of electrons in an atom is equal to the number of
protons. Hydrogen atoms all have one electron occupying the space outside of the nucleus.
Helium, with two protons, will have two electrons.

Figure The periodic table of the elements.

18
The Atom
Mass Number

Experimental data showed that the vast majority of the mass of an atom is concentrated in
its nucleus, which is composed of protons and neutrons. The mass number is defined as the total
number of protons and neutrons in an atom. Consider the table below, which shows data from the
first six elements of the periodic table.
Table 2. : Atoms of the First Six Elements

View animations showing the atomic structure of the first 11 elements on the periodic
table at http://web.visionlearning.com/custom...imations.shtml

Consider the element helium. Its atomic number is 2, so it has two protons in its nucleus.
Its nucleus also contains two neutrons. Since 2+2=4 , we know that the mass number of the
helium atom is 4. Finally, the helium atom also contains two electrons, since the number of
electrons must equal the number of protons. This example may lead you to believe that atoms
have the same number of protons and neutrons, but a further examination of the table above will
show that this is not the case. Lithium, for example, has three protons and four neutrons, giving it
a mass number of 7.

Knowing the mass number and the atomic number of an atom allows you to determine
the number of neutrons present in that atom by subtraction.

Number of neutrons=mass number−atomic number

Atoms of the element chromium (Cr) have an atomic number of 24 and a mass number of
52. How many neutrons are in the nucleus of a chromium atom? To determine this, you would
subtract as shown:

52−24=28neutrons in a chromium atom

The composition of any atom can be illustrated with a shorthand notation using the
atomic number and the mass number. Both are written before the chemical symbol, with the
mass number written as a superscript and the atomic number written as a subscript. The
chromium atom discussed above would be written as:

❑24
52 Cr

18
The Atom
 Another way to refer to a specific atom is to write the mass number of the atom after the
name, separated by a hyphen. The above atom would be written as chromium-52, with the mass
number written after the name. The atomic number does not have to be included because all
atoms of chromium have the same number of protons but can vary in the atomic mass.

Isotopes

As stated earlier, not all atoms of a given element are identical. Specifically, the number
of neutrons in the nucleus can vary for many elements. As an example, naturally occurring
carbon exists in three forms, which are illustrated in the figure below.

Figure 3 : Nuclei of the three isotopes of carbon. Almost 99% of naturally occurring carbon is
carbon-12, whose nucleus consists of six protons and six neutrons. Carbon-13 and carbon-14,
with seven or eight neutrons, respectively, have a much lower nuclei abundance.

Each carbon atom has the same number of protons (6), which is equal to its atomic
number. Each carbon atom also contains six electrons, allowing the atom to remain electrically
neutral. However, the number of neutrons varies from six to eight. Isotopes are atoms that have
the same atomic number but different mass numbers due to a change in the number of neutrons.
The three isotopes of carbon can be referred to as carbon-12 (C612) , carbon-13 (C613) , and
carbon-14 (C614) . Naturally occurring samples of most elements are mixtures of isotopes.
Carbon has only three natural isotopes, but some heavier elements have many more. Tin has ten
stable isotopes, which is the most of any known element. The nucleus of a given carbon atom
will be one of the three possible isotopes discussed above.

While the presence of isotopes affects the mass of an atom, it does not affect its chemical
reactivity. Chemical behavior is governed by the number of electrons and the number of protons.
Carbon-13 behaves chemically in exactly the same way as the more plentiful carbon-12.

Size of Atoms

The graphite in your pencil is composed of the element carbon, a nonmetal. Imagine
taking a small piece of carbon and grinding it until it is a fine dust. Each speck of carbon would
still have all of the physical and chemical properties of carbon. Now imagine that you could
somehow keep dividing the speck of carbon into smaller and smaller pieces. Eventually, you
would reach a point where your carbon sample is as small as it could possibly be. This final
particle is called an atom. 18
The Atom
 Atoms, as you probably know, are extremely small. In fact, the graphite in an ordinary
pencil contains about 5×1020 atoms of carbon. This is an almost incomprehensibly large
number. The population of the entire Earth is about 7×109 people, meaning that there are about
7×1010 times as many carbon atoms in your pencil as there are people on Earth! For this to be
true, atoms must be extremely small.

We can only see atoms with a modern instrument called a scanning tunneling
microscope. (www.nobelprize.org/educationa...opes/scanning/)

Atomic Mass

The masses of individual atoms are very, very small. However, using a modern device
called a mass spectrometer, it is possible to measure such miniscule masses. An atom of oxygen-
16, for example, has a mass of 2.66×10−23g . While comparisons of masses measured in grams
would have some usefulness, it is far more practical to have a system that will allow us to more
easily compare relative atomic masses. Scientists decided on using the carbon-12 nuclide as the
reference standard by which all other masses would be compared. By definition, one atom of
carbon-12 is assigned a mass of exactly 12 atomic mass units (amu) . An atomic mass unit is
defined as a mass equal to one twelfth of an atom of carbon-12. The mass of any isotope of any
element is expressed in relation to the carbon-12 standard. For example, one atom of helium-4
has a mass of 4.0026amu . An atom of sulfur-32 has a mass of 31.972amu .

The carbon-12 atom has six protons and six neutrons in its nucleus for a mass number of
12. Since the nucleus accounts for nearly all of the mass of the atom, a single proton or single
neutron has a mass of approximately 1amu . However, as seen by the helium and sulfur
examples, the masses of individual atoms are not quite whole numbers. This is because an atom's
mass is affected very slightly by the interactions of the various particles within the nucleus and
also includes the small mass added by each electron.

As stated in the section on isotopes, most elements occur naturally as a mixture of two or
more isotopes. Listed below (see table below) are the naturally occurring isotopes of several
elements along with the percent natural abundance of each.

Table 4 : Atomic Masses and Percent Abundances of Some Natural Isotopes

18
The Atom
 For some elements, one particular isotope is much more abundant than any other
isotopes. For example, naturally occurring hydrogen is nearly all hydrogen-1, and naturally
occurring oxygen is nearly all oxygen-16. For many other elements, however, more than one
isotope may exist in substantial quantities. Chlorine (atomic number 17) is yellowish-green toxic
gas. About three quarters of all chlorine atoms have 18 neutrons, giving those atoms a mass
number of 35. About one quarter of all chlorine atoms have 20 neutrons, giving those atoms a
mass number of 37. Were you to simply calculate the arithmetic average of the precise atomic
masses, you would get approximately 36.

34.969+36.9662=35.968

As you can see, the average atomic mass given in the last column of the table above is
significantly lower. Why? The reason is that we need to take into account the natural abundance
percentages of each isotope in order to calculate what is called the weighted average. The atomic
mass of an element is the weighted average of the atomic masses of the naturally occurring
isotopes of that element. The average atomic masses are the values we see on the periodic table.

0.7577(34.969)+0.2423(36.966)=35.453

The weighted average is determined by multiplying the percent of natural abundance by

the actual mass of the isotope. This is repeated until there is a term for each isotope. For chlorine,
there are only two naturally occurring isotopes so there are only two terms.

Atomic Mass and Isotopes

In the periodic table, we find “atomic mass”. Is this exactly the same as “mass number”?
No, these two terms are not the same due to the existence of isotopes. What are isotopes?

Activity 2.2 Same But Different

Study two potatoes. These two are the same simply because both are potatoes. But, they are also
different. List four things that make one potato different from another.
1. __________________________________
2. __________________________________
3. __________________________________

Just like the potatoes, isotopes are atoms of the same element but they have different
mass numbers. This means that two atoms can have the same number of protons, but have
different numbers of neutrons. For example, the hydrogen element has three different isotopes

Atoms that have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons are
called isotopes.

In other words, isotopes have the same atomic number, but different mass numbers. Since
they have the same number of protons, isotopes are different forms of the same element. There
are two main ways of depicting isotopes of an element to distinguish between them.
18
The Atom
 1. Including the isotope’s mass number with the element’s name.
2. Including the isotope’s mass number and atomic number with the element’s symbol.

Example

Boron atoms contain 5 protons.

There are two isotopes of boron – one containing 5 neutrons and one containing 6 neutrons.
These isotopes therefore have the atomic number 5 and mass numbers 10 and 11 respectively.
They can be written as boron-10 and boron-11, or as ¹⁰₅B and ¹¹₅B.

Almost all elements exist as two or more isotopes.

The proportions of different isotopes are fixed for a particular element, but differ between
elements. For example, naturally occurring boron consists of 20% boron-10 and 80% boron-11;
naturally occurring bromine consists of 51% bromine-79 and 49% bromine-81.

Boron has two isotopes: boron-10 and boron-11

The isotopes of hydrogen are named protium,

deuterium, and tritium. All of them have an atomic
number of 1. This means that all of them have one
proton. But protium has a mass number of 1. It has no
neutron. The deuterium has a mass number of 2. It has
one neutron. And tritium has a mass number of 3. It has
two neutrons.

The existence of isotopes led to the existence of

atomic mass. Atomic mass is determined by how much
percentage or relative abundance a certain isotope exists
in nature. This can be computed by using this formula:

Atomic Mass = Σ (mass number of one isotope x relative abundance)

The symbol Σ reads “summation”. It means that we will add the products of the mass18
The Atom
number and relative abundance of the isotopes.

For example, nitrogen has two isotopes, 14N and 15N. The 14N or N–14 has a relative
abundance of 99.63%, while the 15N or N–15 has a relative abundance of 0.37%. To compute
for the atomic mass,

Atomic mass = (0.9963 x 14) + (0.0037 x 15)

= 13.9482 + 0.0555
= 14.0037

Some Amazing Isotopes

Some isotopes can save lives! Isn’t that amazing? Isotopes are used to find out if a
person is sick or not. This is called radiation detection. Here are some isotopes and their
uses in medicine.

Isotope Uses in Medicine

Iodine – 131  Used to determine the size, shape and activity of the
thyroid gland
 Treats cancer located in the thyroid gland
 Controls a hyperactive thyroid
Cobalt – 57  Determines whether you have enough intake of
vitamin B12
Cobalt – 60  Used for radiation therapy treatment of cancer
Gadolinium – 153  Used to determine bone mineralization especially for
women who suffer from osteoporosis
Technetium – 99  Used to detect blood flow patterns in the heart
 Scans the brain, liver, kidney, and lungs
Carbon –11  With the PET (positron emission tomography
technology, it is used to scan and measure processes
that occur in the body
Chromium – 5  Determines the volume of red blood cells and the total
volume of blood
Phosphorus – 32  Detects skin cancer or cancer of body tissues that have
been exposed to surgery

Electron Shells and the Bohr Model

Niels Bohr proposed an early model of the atom as a central nucleus containing protons and
neutrons being orbited by electrons in shells.

 In the Bohr model of the atom, the nucleus contains the majority of the mass of the atom
in its protons and neutrons.
 Orbiting the positively-charged core are the negatively charged electrons, which
contribute little in terms of mass, but are electrically equivalent to the protons in the
nucleus.
18
The Atom
  In most cases, electrons fill the lower- energy orbitals first, followed by the next higher
energy orbital until it is full, and so on until all electrons have been placed.
 Atoms tend to be most stable with a full outer shell (one which, after the first, contains 8
electrons), leading to what is commonly called the ” octet rule “.
 The properties of an element are determined by its outermost electrons, or those in the
highest energy orbital.
 Atoms that do not have full outer shells will tend to gain or lose electrons, resulting in a
full outer shell and, therefore, stability.
 octet rule: A rule stating that atoms lose, gain, or share electrons in order to have a full
valence shell of 8 electrons. (Hydrogen is excluded because it can hold a maximum of 2
electrons in its valence shell. )
 electron shell: The collective states of all electrons in an atom having the same principal
quantum number (visualized as an orbit in which the electrons move

Electron Shells and the Bohr Model

Figure 4 : Orbitals in the Bohr model: The Bohr model was developed by
Niels Bohr in 1913. In this model, electrons exist within principal shells. An
electron normally exists in the lowest energy shell available, which is the one
closest to the nucleus. Energy from a photon of light can bump it up to a
higher energy shell, but this situation is unstable and the electron quickly
decays back to the ground state. In the process, a photon of light is released.

There is a connection between the number of protons in an element, the atomic number
that distinguishes one element from another, and the number of electrons it has. In all
electrically-neutral atoms, the number of electrons is the same as the number of protons. Each
element, when electrically neutral, has a number of electrons equal to its atomic number.

An early model of the atom was developed in 1913 by Danish scientist Niels Bohr (1885–
1962). The Bohr model shows the atom as a central nucleus containing protons and neutrons
with the electrons in circular orbitals at specific distances from the nucleus. These orbits form
electron shells or energy levels, which are a way of visualizing the number of electrons in the
various shells. These energy levels are designated by a number and the symbol “n.” For example,
1n represents the first energy level located closest to the nucleus.
18
The Atom
 Electrons fill orbit shells in a consistent order. Under standard conditions, atoms fill the
inner shells (closer to the nucleus) first, often resulting in a variable number of electrons in the
outermost shell. The innermost shell has a maximum of two electrons, but the next two electron
shells can each have a maximum of eight electrons. This is known as the octet rule which states
that, with the exception of the innermost shell, atoms are more stable energetically when they
have eight electrons in their valence shell, the outermost electron shell. Examples of some
neutral atoms and their electron configurations are shown in. As shown, helium has a complete
outer electron shell, with two electrons filling its first and only shell. Similarly, neon has a
complete outer 2n shell containing eight electrons. In contrast, chlorine and sodium have seven
and one electrons in their outer shells, respectively. Theoretically, they would be more
energetically stable if they followed the octet rule and had eight.

Figure 5 : Bohr diagrams: Bohr diagrams indicate how many electrons fill
each principal shell. Group 18 elements (helium, neon, and argon are shown)
have a full outer, or valence, shell. A full valence shell is the most stable electron
configuration. Elements in other groups have partially-filled valence shells and
gain or lose electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration.

An atom may gain or lose electrons to achieve a full valence shell, the most stable
electron configuration. The periodic table is arranged in columns and rows based on the number
of electrons and where these electrons are located, providing a tool to understand how electrons
are distributed in the outer shell of an atom. As shown in, the group 18 atoms helium (He), neon
(Ne), and argon (Ar) all have filled outer electron shells, making it unnecessary for them to gain
or lose electrons to attain stability; they are highly stable as single atoms. Their non-reactivity
has resulted in their being named the inert gases (or noble gases). In comparison, the group 1
elements, including hydrogen (H), lithium (Li), and sodium (Na), all have one electron in their
outermost shells. This means that they can achieve a stable configuration and a filled outer shell
by donating or losing an electron. As a result of losing a negatively-charged electron, they
become positively-charged ions. When an atom loses an electron to become a positively-charged
ion, this is indicated by a plus sign after the element symbol; for example, Na+. Group 17
elements, including fluorine and chlorine, have seven electrons in their outermost shells; they
tend to fill this shell by gaining an electron from other atoms, making them negatively-charged
ions. When an atom gains an electron to become a negatively-charged ion this is indicated by a
minus sign after the element symbol; for example, F-. Thus, the columns of the periodic table 18
The Atom
represent the potential shared state of these elements’ outer electron shells that is responsible for
their similar chemical characteristics.

Electron Orbitals

Electron orbitals are three-dimensional representations of the space in which an electron is

likely to be found.

 The Bohr model of the atom does not accurately reflect how electrons are spatially
distributed around the nucleus as they do not circle the nucleus like the earth orbits the
sun.
 The electron orbitals are the result of mathematical equations from quantum mechanics
known as wave functions and can predict within a certain level of probability where an
electron might be at any given time.
 The number and type of orbitals increases with increasing atomic number, filling in
various electron shells.
 The area where an electron is most likely to be found is called its orbital.
 electron shell: The collective states of all electrons in an atom having the same principal
quantum number (visualized as an orbit in which the electrons move).
 orbital: A specification of the energy and probability density of an electron at any point
in an atom or molecule.

Although useful to explain the reactivity and chemical bonding of certain elements, the Bohr
model of the atom does not accurately reflect how electrons are spatially distributed surrounding
the nucleus. They do not circle the nucleus like the earth orbits the sun, but are rather found in
electron orbitals. These relatively complex shapes result from the fact that electrons behave not
just like particles, but also like waves. Mathematical equations from quantum mechanics known
as wave functions can predict within a certain level of probability where an electron might be at
any given time. The area where an electron is most likely to be found is called its orbital.

First Electron Shell

The closest orbital to the nucleus, called the 1s orbital, can hold up to two electrons. This
orbital is equivalent to the innermost electron shell of the Bohr model of the atom. It is called the
1s orbital because it is spherical around the nucleus. The 1s orbital is always filled before any
other orbital. Hydrogen has one electron; therefore, it has only one spot within the 1s orbital
occupied. This is designated as 1s1, where the superscripted 1 refers to the one electron within
the 1s orbital. Helium has two electrons; therefore, it can completely fill the 1s orbital with its
two electrons. This is designated as 1s2, referring to the two electrons of helium in the 1s orbital.
On the periodic table, hydrogen and helium are the only two elements in the first row (period);
this is because they are the sole elements to have electrons only in their first shell, the 1s orbital.

Second Electron Shell

The second electron shell may contain eight electrons. This shell contains another
spherical s orbital and three “dumbbell” shaped p orbitals, each of which can hold two electrons.
18
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After the 1s orbital is filled, the second electron shell is filled, first filling its 2s orbital and then
its three p orbitals. When filling the p orbitals, each takes a single electron; once each p orbital
has an electron, a second may be added. Lithium (Li) contains three electrons that occupy the
first and second shells. Two electrons fill the 1s orbital, and the third electron then fills the 2s
orbital. Its electron configuration is 1s22s1. Neon (Ne), on the other hand, has a total of ten
electrons: two are in its innermost 1s orbital, and eight fill its second shell (two each in the 2s
and three p orbitals). Thus, it is an inert gas and energetically stable: it rarely forms a chemical
bond with other atoms.

Figure 6 : Diagram of the S and P orbitals: The s subshells are shaped like
spheres. Both the 1n and 2n principal shells have an s orbital, but the size of the
sphere is larger in the 2n orbital. Each sphere is a single orbital. p subshells
are made up of three dumbbell-shaped orbitals. Principal shell 2n has a p
subshell, but shell 1 does not.

Third Electron Shell

Larger elements have additional orbitals, making up the third electron shell. Subshells d
and f have more complex shapes and contain five and seven orbitals, respectively. Principal shell
3n has s, p, and d subshells and can hold 18 electrons. Principal shell 4n has s, p, d, and f orbitals
and can hold 32 electrons. Moving away from the nucleus, the number of electrons and orbitals
found in the energy levels increases. Progressing from one atom to the next in the periodic table,
the electron structure can be worked out by fitting an extra electron into the next available
orbital. While the concepts of electron shells and orbitals are closely related, orbitals provide a
more accurate depiction of the electron configuration of an atom because the orbital model
specifies the different shapes and special orientations of all the places that electrons may occupy.

Sources;

 https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book
%3A_General_Biology_(Boundless)/2%3A_The_Chemical_Foundation_of_Life/2.1%3A_At
oms%2C_Isotopes%2C_Ions%2C_and_Molecules/2.1E
%3A_Electron_Shells_and_the_Bohr_Model
 https://www.goodscience.com.au/year-9-chemistry/atomic-number-mass-number-and-
isotopes/

18
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 https://www.toppr.com/guides/chemistry/structure-of-atom/introduction-to-structure-of-
atom/#:~:text=Atom%20is%20the%20smallest%20unit,chemical%20properties%20of%20an
%20element.
NAME ____________________________________ SECTION/COURSE ___________

Exercises
Atomic Number, Isotopes and Atomic Mass

I. A. Give the identity of the following hypothetical elements designated by the

following symbols, complete the following table.

Atomic 92 66
Number
Name Dy-162

Symbol of N-15
Isotope
Number of 43
Protons
Number of 87
Electron
Number of 146 55 135
Neutrons
Symbol
Notation

B. Compute / Explain

1. Argon has three naturally occurring isotopes: argon -36, argon-38, and argon-40. Based
on argon’s reported atomic mass, which isotope do you think is the most abundant in
nature? Explain.

2. Copper is made of two isotopes. Copper-63 is 69.17% abundant and it has a mass of
62.9269 amu. Copper-65 is 30.83% abundant and it has a mass of 64.9278 amu. What is
the weighted average mass of these two isotopes?

3. Calculate the atomic mass of silicon. The three silicon isotopes have atomic masses and
relative abundance of 27.9769amu (92.229%), 28.9765 amu (4.6832%) and 29.9738 amu
(3.0872%).

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 18
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