Chapter 2: Atoms, Molecules, and Ions

Focus of this section: What are atoms made of?

How did we figure that out??

The Atomic Theory
concept began 2500 years ago in Greece
-- 5
th
century B.C.- Greek philosopher Democritus
-- philosophical belief (no data!)
-- matter consists of small indivisible particles
= atomos (uncuttable, indivisible)

There are various basic elements which
always existed but can be rearranged
into many different forms.

Atoms have several properties,
particularly size, shape, and (perhaps)
weight; all other properties that we
attribute to matter, such as color and
taste, are but the result of complex
interactions between the atoms in our
bodies and the atoms of the matter
that we are examining.

"By convention sweet, by convention
bitter, by convention hot, by convention
cold, by convention colour: but in reality
atoms and void." Democritus










Atomic Theory (1808): John Dalton (English scientist
and teacher)
1. matter composed of atoms; all atoms of a given
element identical (mass,
properties, etc.); atoms of
different elements have
different properties
2. compounds have atoms of
more than one element; in a
given compound, atoms are
present in fixed numerical
ratios
3. atoms indestructible
(chemical reactions lead to rearrangements)

extension of following:
1. Law of definite proportionsin a specific
compound, elements always in same proportions
-- (1799, Joseph Proust)
-- e.g. 2.66 grams of oxygen for every gram of
carbon in every pure sample of carbon
dioxide
2. Law of multiple proportionswhen 2 elements
form more than 1 compound, the masses of the
elements are in whole number ratios



























3. Law of conservation of massno mass lost during
chemical rxns

The Structure of the Atomsubatomic particles (idea by
mid-1800s)

1. the Electron















cathode ray tube
cathode ray tube (gas discharge tube)
= precursor to tubes in old televisions and
computer monitors
invisible ray from cathode (can see because of
phosphor-coated surface)
drawn from cathode towards anode (cathode
ray)
doesnt matter what metal cathode made of
can bend cathode ray using electric or
magnetic fields
-- therefore composed of charged particles
-- from cathode, so negative particles
(called electrons)
J.J. Thomson (1897) calculated charge to
mass ratio (e/m) (from relationship
between magnetic and electric fields)
= 1.76 x 10
8
coulombs g
1
















Robert Millikan (1908-1917): Oil drop
experiment






















-- X-raysremoves e

from air molecules

= attach to oil drops (static charge)
= measured rate of descent of drops
= charge per drop ! multiples of
1.60 x 10
19
C











2. the Proton and the Nucleus
early 1900s: atoms have e

and are neutral

-- therefore must have positive charges as well
Thomsonplum pudding model
-- atom is sphere of positively-charged matter
with e

scattered throughout

Ernest Rutherford (1910): gold foil experiment

-- something
massive
(+ charged)
located inside
the atom
-- called nucleus
-- the rest is
mostly empty
space

-- e/m varied with
type of gas
-- smallest
divisible unit:

mass = 1800 x (e

mass)

-- called the proton (+ charge)







3. the Neutron:
one more problem: e/m for nucleus was wrong!
(too heavy for just protons to be in there)
Sir James Chadwick (1932)the rest made up of
neutrons

Summary:
protons/neutrons in nucleus
electrons in cloud surrounding nucleus
atoms have same # protons and e

(neutral)








very small: -- diameter = 1 to 5x10
10
m
= 100 to 500 pm
= 1 to 5 (angstroms)
-- diameter of atom = 10,000 X (nucleus)











nucleus ! atom
1 ft. diameter 1.9 miles diameter

Atomic Number, Mass Number and Isotopes
each atom (element) identified by atomic number
atomic number (Z) = # protons per atom
= # e

in neutral atom
unique for each element

mass number (A) = neutrons + protons



Isotopes: same Z, different A
-- contrary to Dalton
-- properties virtually identical
hydrogen isotopes:








Atomic Mass Scale and Average Atomic Mass
experimentally, we measure the mass of a sample
theoretically, it is important that we be able to take that mass
and convert it to quantities at the atomic/molecular
scale

atomic mass = mass of an atom in atomic mass units
(amu, or u)

atomic mass unit = a mass exactly equal to 1/12
th
of the
mass of one
12
C atom

--
12
C is most abundant isotope of carbon
-- DEFINE one atom as EXACTLY 12 AMU

1 amu = 1.66054 x 10
24
g

-- every other atom is referenced to
12
C

[historically: before 1960:
physicists1/16
th
of mass on one Oxygen
chemists1/16
th
of average atomic mass of O]

Masses on the periodic table are not whole numbers. Why?









Mass spectrometer provides information about percentages
of different isotopes of each element















Periodic table mass = weighted average of all of the isotopes
of each element
-- based on natural abundance of each isotope












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Oxygen is the most abundant element both in the Earths
crust and in the human body. The atomic masses of its
three stable isotopes and relative abundances are:

Isotope abundance atomic mass

16
O 99.757% 15.9949 amu
17
O 0.038% 16.9999 amu
18
O 0.205% 17.9999 amu

Calculate the average atomic mass of oxygen:








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The average atomic mass of nitrogen is 14.0067. The
atomic masses of the two stable isotopes of nitrogen,
14
N
and
15
N, are 14.003074002 amu and 15.00010897 amu,
respectively. Use this information to determine the
percent abundance of each nitrogen isotope.






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The Mole and Molar Mass:
in a lab setting, we need to work with macroscopic
quantities, not individual molecules
unit of measurement in the lab = the mole (mol)
1 mole of something = 6.022 x 10
23
of that something
= Avogadros Number (N
A
)
-- Avogadros number represents number of atoms that
exist in exactly 12 grams of
12
C

! therefore, 1 mol
12
C = 12 g
-- a mol is a counting number (just like a dozen)
one dozen eggs = 12 eggs
one mol eggs = 6.022 x 10
23
eggs

(useful unit for counting LARGE numbers of objects,
like number of atoms in a macroscopic
sample)

the mass listed on a periodic table for each element:

Phosphorous: mass listed = 30.97
! 30.97 amu (on average) per P atom
! 30.97 grams per mol of P atoms















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How many moles of Si in 4.60 g of Si?






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How many atoms in 1.00 x 10
9
g of Pb?







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