CHM081

Chapter 1
STRUCTURE OF AN ATOM

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 Dalton’s Atomic Theory (1808)
1. Elements are composed of extremely small
particles called atoms.
2. All atoms of a given element are identical, having the
same size, mass and chemical properties. The
atoms of one element are different from the atoms of
all other elements.
3. Compounds are composed of atoms of more than
one element. In any compound, the ratio of the
numbers of atoms of any two of the elements present
is either an integer or a simple fraction.

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 What is Atom?
Definition:
Atom is the basic unit of an element that can
enter into chemical combination.
Atoms is:
• Neutral
• Substance that can enter the chemical
reaction.
• Pure substances that cannot be separated
into different substances by ordinary
processes.
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 Molecular View of
Elements and Compounds

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Atomic Model

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ATOMIC STRUCTURE

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 A Simple View of an Atom
ELECTRON PROTON NEUTRON

- +
Charge -1 +1 0

Occurrence Outside of the In the nucleus In the nucleus

nucleus

Mass (g) 9.109 x 10-28 1.673 x 10-24 1.675 x 10-24

Relative mass 1 1836 1839

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Definition:
A molecule is an aggregate of two or more atoms in a
definite arrangement held together by chemical forces.

H2 H2O NH3 CH4

A diatomic molecule contains only two atoms.

H2, N2, O2, Br2, HCl, CO

A polyatomic molecule contains more than two atoms.

O3, H2O, NH3, CH4
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Definition: An ion is an atom, or group of atoms, that
has a net positive or negative charge.
Cation – ion with a positive charge (metal)
If a neutral atom loses one or more electrons
it becomes a cation.

11 protons 11 protons
Na 11 electrons Na+
10 electrons

Cations are named the same as the metal

sodium Na  Na+ + 1e− sodium ion
calcium Ca  Ca2+ + 2e− calcium ion

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Anion – ion with a negative charge (nonmetals)
If a neutral atom gains one or more electrons
it becomes an anion.

17 protons 17 protons
Cl 17 electrons Cl -
18 electrons

•Anions are named by changing the ending of the

name to -ide
fluorine F + 1e−  F− fluoride ion
oxygen O + 2e−  O2− oxide ion

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 Cations and Anions
Cations Anions
Na+ Sodium Cl- Chloride
Mg2+ Magnesium F- Fluoride
K+ Potassium Br- Bromide
Ca2+ Calsium I- Iodide
Al3+ Aluminium O2- Oxide
Zn2+ Zinc N3- Nitride
Sn4+ Stannum S2- Sulphide
Pb2+ Lead(II) NO3- Nitrate
H+ Hydrogen SO42- Sulphate
Fe2+ Iron(III) PO43- Phosphate
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A monatomic ion contains only one atom.
Na+, Cl-, Ca2+, O2-, Al3+, N3-

A polyatomic ion contains more than one atom.

OH-, CN-, NH4+, NO3-

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Practice – What is the charge
on each of the following ions?
• potassium cation K+
• sulfide anion S2−
• calcium cation Ca2+
• bromide anion Br−
• aluminum cation Al3+

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Practice – Complete the table

Al3 

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Practice – Complete the table

2
S
Mg2 
Al3 

Br

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Definitions:
Elements are the pure substances that cannot be
broken down into other simpler substances by
chemical methods.

Compounds are pure substances made from

two or more elements that are chemically
combined.

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 Symbols of Elements
• Use 1 or 2 letter abbreviations.
• Capitalized the first letter only.

Examples:
C carbon Co cobalt
N nitrogen Ca calcium
F fluorine Br bromine
O oxygen Mg magnesium

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Periodic Table

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 Isotopes
• Atoms of an element with the same number of
protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Mass no.
Protons + neutron
(A)

16 17 18
Atomic no.
No of Protons
8 O 8 O 8 O
(Z)

• Most elements have more than one

isotope.
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Atomic Number & Mass Number
• Atomic number (Z) – the number of proton in
an atom.
• Mass number (A) – the number of proton and
neutron in an atom.

Mass number (A) 23

Na Sodium-23
Atomic number (Z) 11

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 Number of Electrons
• An atom is neutral
• The net charge is zero
• Number of protons = Number of electrons
• Atomic number = Number of electrons

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 Example of isotope: Neon

Number of Number of
Symbol Protons Neutrons A, Mass Number

Ne-20 or 20
10 Ne 10 10 20

21Ne
Ne-21 or 10 10 11 21

22 Ne
Ne-22 or 10 10 12 22

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Practice – Complete the table

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13 Al

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Practice – Complete the table

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6C
96
42 Mo
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13 Al
133
55 Cs

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Example 2.3b: How many protons, electrons, and
52 Cr
neutrons are in an atom of ? 24
Given: 52 Cr therefore A = 52, Z = 24
Find: 24 # p+, # e−, # n0

Conceptual Plan: atomic

symbol # p+ # e−
number

symbol atomic & mass # n0

Relationships: in neutralnumbers
atom, # p+ = # e-
mass number = # p+ + # n0

Solution: Z = 24 = # p+ A = Z + # n0
# e− = # p+ = 24 52 = 24 + # n0
28 = # n0

Check: for most stable isotopes, n0 ≥ p+

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Electronic structure of an atom
• From atomic model, we know that;
 Electrons surrounding the nucleus are
distributed in shells or specific energy levels, n
with discrete amounts of energy.
 Electrons are free to move between these
shells.
 Shells are divided into subshells. Within these
shells, electrons are grouped into orbitals.

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Shell and Subshell

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Shell and Subshell

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Description of e-arrangement in an atom
• Dart board
• Orbital diagram
• spdf notation

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 Shell and Subshell
• Shell
– Each shell can hold a maximum of 2n2
electrons.
• Subshell
– Orbital within a shell are divided into subshell.
• To identify the shell and subshell in which
the orbital belong, two-character is used.
– Example 2p and 3d
– The first character is the shell (n = 2 and 3)
and the second is subshell (l = 1 and 2)
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n l Type of orbital Subshell No. of
(0,…, n - 1) notation orbital
in the
subshell
1 0 s 1s 1
2 0 s 2s 1
1 p 2p 3
3 0 s 3s 1
1 p 3p 3
2 d 3d 5
4 0 s 4s 1
1 p 4p 3
2 d 4d 5
3 f 4f 7

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Three rules for assigning electrons to
orbitals of an atom in the ground state :

 Aufbau Principle

 Pauli Exclusion Principle

 Hund’s Rule

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1) Aufbau Principle
• Electrons occupy orbitals in order of lowest
energy level first.
• Subshells are filled starting with those of
lowest energy (nearest the nucleus). Refer to
diagram of order of filling up subshells.
• The lowest energy subshell is the 1s orbital
• Each orbital may be filled by a maximum of 2
electrons only

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2) Pauli Exclusion Principle
 States that only two electrons with opposite spins may
occupy the same orbital
 Example:

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3) Hund’s Rule
 When e-fill a subshell (consisting of degenerate orbitals
such as 2px, 2py, 2pz),each orbital will fill with one
electron of parallel spin before they occupy the
orbital in pairs.
 An atom tends to have as many unpaired electrons as
possible
 Example: Order of filling the 2p subshell with 4 electrons

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Electron Configuration of H atom

number of electrons in the

orbital

1s1
principal energy level of
orbital occupied by the sublevel of orbital
electron occupied by the electron
Electron Configurations
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 Practice:
• Write the ground state subshell electronic
configuration for sulfur.
• Write the subshell electronic configuration for
carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and fluorine.

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The maximum number of electrons
in various subshells

Subshell Number of Orbitals Maximum Number of

Electrons

s 1 2
p 3 6
d 5 10
f 7 14

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