All A bou t Ato ms

What is ATOM ?

 Atom is the building block of all

substances and materials in the
universe.
 It came from the Greek word
“atomos,” which means
indestructible.
De ve lo pme nt o f At omic
Th eory
 The idea that matter is made up of
very tiny particles started two
thousand years ago because of the
Greek philosophers.
 These Greek philosophers wanted to
understand and explain the
existence of the universe and its
components.
Th e Gr eek
Ph ilo so phers a nd t heir
Pr oposit io ns
 Thales of Miletus
Water was the basic component of
the universe.
 Heraclitus
Matter was made up of fire.
 Anaximenes
Air was the basic component of the
universe.
Th e Gre ek
Ph ilo so phers a nd their
Pr oposi tio ns
 Empedocles
Matter was made up of four elements
– earth, water, fire and air.
 Leucippus and Democritus
All things in this world were made up
of small particles that can no longer be
divided. Democritus called these tiny
particles atomos.
De mocritu s’ At omic
Th eory
 Atoms of each “element” (earth, air,
fire and water) are distinct in shape
and size.
 Real substances are mixtures of
atoms of different elements in
different proportions.
Da lt on’s Ato mic Theory

 Matter is made up of very small

indestructible particles called
atoms.
 Atoms of a given element are
identical. They are unique and
unchangeable.
Da lt on’s Ato mic Th eory

 During chemical reactions, there are

changes in the way atoms may
combine, separate, or regroup.
Atoms are neither created nor
destroyed.
 Atoms combine to form compounds.
They combine in a definite ratio of
small whole numbers.
Su batomic Pa rticles

 The smaller parts of atoms.

Su batomic Pa rticles
 Electron (e-)
 Proton (p+)
 Neutron (n0)

 The Protons and Neutrons are

collectively called nucleons.
Mo dels o f a n At om

J.J. Thomson’s Plum Pudding Model of

an Atom
Neils Bohr’s Solar-System
Model of an Atom
Mo re o n Pr otons,
Ne utro ns and
Ele ctrons 24
A
E 12
Mg
Z

 E = symbol of the element

 A = atomic mass
 Z = atomic number = number
of p = number of e
+ -
Eq uation

 number of n0 = A - Z
Element Atomic Atomic p+ n0 e-
Mass number
P 31 15

Ba 56 81

Cr 28 24

Bi 209 83

Li 7 4
Iso topes

 These are atoms of the same

element with different numbers
of neutrons. They have the same
atomic number but different
atomic mass.
At omic M ass Unit
(amu)
 In 1961, by an international agreement,
carbon-12, the most common isotope of
carbon, was chosen as the standard for
atomic masses. An atom of carbon-12 was
assigned a mass exactly equal to 12 amu.
All other atoms conform to this standard.
One atomic mass unit (amu) is defined as
1/12 of the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
 Ex: H has 1 amu, O has 16 amu, N has 14
amu
Th e Pe rio dic Ta ble o f
Ele me nts
What is the
essence/ imp ortance of
usi ng chemi cal s ymbol s?

 Chemists use symbols for

each element for easy recall.
What can you say on the
chemi cal s ymbol s of th e
follow ing el ements ?
 Oxygen = O
 Sulfur = S
 Nitrogen = N
 Carbon = C

 The chemical symbols used are the

first letter of the element.
What about on th e
foll owing ele ments?
 Helium = He
 Neon = Ne
 Argon = Ar
 Krypton = Kr

 The symbols used are the first and

second letters of the element.
What a bout o n th e
foll owing ele ments?
 Strontium = Sr
 Cesium = Cs
 Magnesium = Mg
 Chromium = Cr

 The symbols used are the first letter

and another letter of the element.
What a bout o n th e
foll owing ele ments?
 Sodium = Na
 Mercury = Hg
 Lead = Pb
 Iron = Fe

 The symbols used are based on the

Latin names of the elements.
So me Ele me nts whose
Sym bols were d eriv ed
from t heir Latin Na mes
English Name Latin Name Symbol
Sodium Natrium Na
Potassium Kalium K
Iron Ferrum Fe
Copper Cuprum Cu
Tin Stannum Sn
Silver Argentum Ag
Antimony Stibium Sb
Gold Aurum Au
Mercury Hydrargyrum Hg
Lead Plumbum Pb
Bu t, where d id the
ele me nts got their
names?
The names of the elements were
based on any of the following:
 discoverer’s name
 Place of discovery (Cf, Bk, Am)
 Latin/Greek name
 Planets
Or ig in of t he Pe rio dic
Ta ble
 1789 Antoine Lavoisier, a French
nobleman, classified the
elements w/ similar properties
into groups.
 1808 John Dalton set up a table
of elements according to their
relative atomic weights.
Orig in of t he Pe rio dic
Ta ble
 1828 Jacob Berzelius improved the
work of Dalton and published a table
of atomic weights with 54 elements.
 1829 Johann W. Dobereiner
analyzed the existing elements and
classified them into groups of three’s
and called these the TRIADS.
Orig in of t he Pe rio dic
Ta ble
 1863 De Chancourtois grouped the
elements in a spiral order divided by a
vertical line based on increasing atomic
weights.
 1864 John Newlands arranged the
elements in the order of increasing
atomic weights into groups of eight
elements. The first and the eighth
elements where similar properties (The
Law of Octaves)
Orig in of t he Pe rio dic
Ta ble
 1869 Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev
arranged the elements in the order
of increasing atomic mass, leaving a
number of gaps reserved for
undiscovered elements. He called
his table the Periodic Table, which
paved the way for the periodic law.
Orig in of t he Pe rio dic
Ta ble
 1869 Julius Lothar Meyer arranged
the elements in the order of
increasing atomic weights, based on
the plotted values of atomic volume
and atomic number.
 Describing the electrons
 Because the electrons around a nucleus exist as a wave-particle duality, they
cannot be described by a location and momentum. Instead, they are described by
a set of quantum numbers that encompasses both the particle-like nature and the
wave-like nature of the electrons. Each set of quantum numbers corresponds to a
wavefunction. The quantum numbers are:
 The principal quantum number, n, is analogous to the harmonic of the electrons.
That is, the n=1 states are analogous to the fundamental frequency of a wave on a
string, and the n=2 states are analogous to the first harmonic, etc.
 The azimuthal quantum number, l, describes the orbital angular momentum of
each electron. Note that this has no classical analog. The number l is an integer
between 0 and (n - 1).
 The magnetic quantum number, ml, describes the magnetic moment of an electron
in an arbitrary direction. The number ml is an integer between -l and l.
 The spin quantum number, s, describes the spin of each electron (spin up or spin
down). The number s can be +1⁄2 or -1⁄2.
 These quantum numbers can only be determined by a full quantum mechanical
analysis of the atom. There is no way to describe them using classical physical
principles. A more technical analysis of these quantum numbers and how they are
derived is given in the atomic orbital article.
 Furthermore, the Pauli Exclusion Principle states that no two electrons can occupy
the same quantum state. That is, every electron that is orbiting the same nucleus
must have a unique combination of quantum numbers.