Atom Models

From Democritus to Modern Model

Questions to ask...
• How did we find out that gold was gold
and silver was something different?
• How did we find out what part of a
particle makes a substance unique?
• How can models of the atom help
explain matter?
- greek philosopher
- all matter can be divided into smaller and smaller pieces
- he called the last piece that “not to be cut” an atomos
Eternal (unable to create or destroy)
Cannot be broken apart – solid.

*called particles atomos –

meaning “indivisible” - ATOM
Democritus’ Atomic Theory
• atoms are different sizes
• atoms are in constant motion
• atoms are separated by empty spaces
- rejected the idea of
the atom
- ancient greek
philosopher.
- believed matter was
made of four elements.
Earth, Water, Fire
and Air
- matter had
just four
properties:
hot, cold, dry
and wet
- his theory was
accepted by all.
Alchemy and the Middle Ages (500 – 1600 CE)

• Concerned with metallurgy (study of properties of metals).

• Goals - turn common metals into gold or silver.

- find a substance to give eternal life.
(the key to both is called the Philosopher’s Stone)

• Developed observation, experimentation, measurement and

classification – first “scientists.”

• Called “alchemists”
 • 13 known substances – gold, copper,
arsenic, bismuth, antimony, iron,
mercury, carbon, lead, silver, sulphur, tin,
Lavoisier (1750) zinc.

• Performed experiments to show

water and air were
mixtures of elements.

• Defined the term ELEMENT - a

fundamental pure
substance that cannot be broken down
into simpler parts.

• Discovered 23 more elements.

- all matter is made of
atoms.
- atoms cannot be
divided – “uncuttable”
& “indestructible”.
•Dalton’s Atomic Model
• All mater is made up of tiny, indivisible
particles called atoms
• all atoms of an element are identical

• atoms of different elements are different

• atoms are rearranged to form new substances
in chemical reactions, but they are never
created or destroyed
Dalton (1803)

FIRST ATOMIC THEORY

• all matter is made of indivisible particles - atoms.

• Atoms of each element are unique (differ by mass).

• Compounds are combinations of different elemental atoms.

• Atoms cannot be created or destroyed.

(Law of conservation of matter)
Joseph John Thomson
- an atom is made of even smaller particles.
- discovered electrons
- negatively charged particles
- used Cathode rays
In 1897, J.J.
Thomson used a
cathode ray tube
to deduce the
presence of a
negatively
charged
particle: the
electron
“Plum Pudding” model
- negative electrons embedded
in a positive atom
- electrons are evenly
distributed
- overall atom is neutral
electrically.
 Eugen Goldstein

Eugen Goldstein in 1886 observed what is now

called the “proton” - particles with a positive
charge, and a relative mass of 1 (or 1840 times
that of an electron)

He observed “Canal rays” and found that they

are composed of positive particles – protons.
Eugen Goldstein
Problems with Thomson’s Model
How does the atom emit radiation?
This model soon came into conflict with
experiments by Rutherford
- conducted “Gold Foil Experiment.”
- discovered the atomic nucleus.
- nucleus is a small, dense (heavy), positively charged core.
- contains most the mass
- surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons
- positive charges due to another subatomic particle - protons
- hypothesized atom composed of mostly space with a centre
nucleus and small electrons floating around.
Rutherford’s Gold Foil Experiment
• Bombarded thin
gold foil with a
beam of ‘alpha’
particles.

• If the positive
charge was evenly
spread out, the
beam should have
easily passed
through.
• Expectation

• Reality
All of the positive charge, and most of the
mass of an atom are concentrated in a small
core, called the nucleus.
Rutherford’s Atom Model
• His model was called “nuclear model” -
Positive charge in the center of the
atom with almost all mass concentrated
within this positive charge - nuclei
- Electrons - negative charge - are attracted
to the nucleus about which they orbit (just
as planets orbit the sun)
Difficulties with the Rutherford Model
Since electron travels in a circular orbit, it is constantly
accelerated (even though its speed is constant.)

Thus, the electron emits

EM radiation, which
carriers away energy.
The energy of the atoms is
reduced. Thus the
electrons has a lower
potential energy and
moves closer to the
nucleus
 James Chadwick

- discover the Neutron

- student of E. Rutherford
- the nucleus contains 2 particles
Positive (Protons) Neutral (Neutrons)
- A neutral atom contains the same number of
protons and electrons
 Chadwick (1932)
• discovered the neutron in the nucleus

• Neutrons have no charge and are the size of protons.

THREE subatomic particles:

- dense positive nucleus (protons and neutrons).
- negative electrons floated around.
- Bohr refined Rutherford's model
- electrons move in definite orbit
around the nucleus
(like planets)
- these orbits, or energy levels, are
located at certain distances from
the nucleus.
- electrons cannot be between orbits / they can jump
between orbits
- each orbit can hold a maximum number of
electrons
 Bohr agreed with Rutherford,
but differed in the idea of
electrons.
Bohr concluded that electron
position effected their
amounts of energy.
The further an electron from the
nucleus the greater the
amounts of energy they posses.
Electron Shells - Bohr
• Bohr called the different orbits ‘shells’.

• The shells are called K,L,M,N etc.

• Electrons fill the lower shells and progress further

from the nucleus.

• The number of electrons held by each shell is equal

to “2n” where
n=number of shells.

• Under normal laboratory conditions, the electrons

are in their ground state.
Electron Shells - Bohr
Summary of Bohr’s Model

• The Bohr model accurately explained atomic spectra

(emission and absorption)
• The energy of each orbit is quantized
• Explained why atoms are stable
• Explained the chemical and physical properties of
the elements
• Could not explain why electrons could only be
found in certain orbits
• Could not explain why some lines in the emission
spectra were brighter than others
• Worked only for hydrogen and atoms with a single
electron (for example He+)
 The Atom
Contains 3 subatomic particles:
The dense center (nucleus) of the atom contains:
Neutron - a particle with no charge.
Proton - a particle with a positive charge.

Electrons are tiny particles that move around the nucleus.

- negative electrical charge.

- same # of positive and negative

charges = neutral.
Type of Subatomic Particles

Proton Neutron Electron

Charge + O -

orbiting
Location in nucleus in nucleus
nucleus

Relative
1 1 1/2000
Mass
•Atomic Model Timeline
•Atomic Model Timeline
Bohr Model
The Bohr Model
• Each electron has a fixed energy = an energy level.
• Electrons can jump from one energy level to another.
• Electrons can not be or exist between energy levels.
• A quantum of energy is the amount of energy needed to move an
electron from one energy level to another energy level.
The degree
to which
they move
from level
to level
determines
the
frequency
of light
given off
•Bohr Model

• To move from one level to another, the electron must gain

or lose the right amount of energy.
• The higher the energy level, the farther it is from the
nucleus.
• Gain energy to move to higher energy levels
(away from nucleus)
• Lose energy to move to lower energy levels
(closer to nucleus)
Bohr’s Model of the Atom
• Each orbit was given a
number, called the
quantum number.
•Bohr orbits are like steps of
a ladder, each at a specific
distance from the nucleus
and each at a specific
energy.
•Did you know that an element can be
identified by its emission spectra?
– When atoms absorb energy, electrons move into
higher energy levels. These electrons then lose
energy by emitting light when they return to lower
energy levels.
Mercury Nitrogen
Fingerprints
of certain
atoms
 5
.
•Atomic Spectra
3
• When atoms absorb energy, electrons move into
higher energy levels. These electrons then lose
energy by emitting light when they return to
lower energy levels.
•An Explanation of Atomic Spectra
• In the Bohr model, the lone electron in the hydrogen atom can
have only certain specific energies.
• When the electron has its lowest possible
energy, the atom is in its ground state.
• Excitation of the electron by absorbing
energy raises the atom from the ground state
to an excited state.
• A quantum of energy in the form of light is
emitted when the electron drops back to a
lower energy level.
•An Explanation of Atomic Spectra

• The light emitted by an electron moving from a

higher to a lower energy level has a frequency
directly proportional to the energy change of the
electron.
•An Explanation of Atomic Spectra
• Thethree groups of lines in the hydrogen spectrum
correspond to the transition of electrons from higher
energy levels to lower energy levels.
•Bohr’s Model
Quantum Mechanical Model
• Louis de Broglie (1892–1987)
hypothesized that particles, including
electrons, could also have wavelike
behaviors.
•Electrons do not behave like particles
flying through space.
• We cannot, in general, describe their
exact paths.
Quantum Mechanical Model
• Heisenberg showed it is impossible to
take any measurement of an object
without disturbing it.
• The Heisenberg uncertainty principle
states that it is fundamentally
impossible to know precisely both the
velocity and position of a particle at the
same time.
Quantum Mechanical Model
• Schrödinger treated electrons as
waves in a model called the
quantum mechanical model of the
atom.
•Schrödinger’s equation applied equally
well to elements other than hydrogen
(unlike Bohr’s model).
Quantum Mechanical Model
• The quantum mechanical model
makes no attempt to predict the path
of an electron around the nucleus.
•Bohr orbits were replaced with
quantum-mechanical orbitals.
•Electrons as Waves

EVIDENCE: DIFFRACTION PATTERNS

VISIBLE LIGHT ELECTRONS

 5
•The. Quantum Mechanical Model
The1propeller blade has the same probability of being
•
anywhere in the blurry region, but you cannot tell its
location at any instant. The electron cloud of an atom can be
compared to a spinning airplane propeller.
• The quantum model determines the allowed
energies an electron can have and how likely it
is to find the electron in various locations
around the nucleus.
Quantum Mechanical Model
• Orbitals are different from orbits in that
they represent probability maps that
show a statistical distribution of where
the electron is likely to be found.
Probability cloud
Quantum Mechanical Model
• In the quantum-mechanical model, a
number and a letter specify an
orbital.
•The lowest-energy orbital is called the
1s orbital.
• It is specified by the number 1 and the
letter s.
Hydrogen’s Atomic Orbitals
• The number is called the Principal
quantum number (n) and it
indicates the relative size and
energy of atomic orbitals.
•n specifies the atom’s major energy
levels, called the principal energy
levels.
Hydrogen’s Atomic Orbitals
• Energy sublevels are contained
within the principal energy levels.
Hydrogen’s Atomic Orbitals
• Each energy sublevel relates to
orbitals of different shape.

s, p, d, f

s, p, d
s, p
s
Hydrogen’s Atomic Orbitals
• s sublevel:
p-orbitals are
“dumbell” shaped.
z-axis
p-orbitals are
“dumbell” shaped.
x-axis
p-orbitals are
“dumbell” shaped.
y-axis
p-orbitals together
x, y, & z axes.
Hydrogen’s Atomic Orbitals
• p sublevel:
Hydrogen’s Atomic Orbitals
• d sublevel:
Hydrogen’s Atomic Orbitals
• f sublevel:
 •Shells and Orbitals and Atomic Structure
f
d
s p

•Shells of an
atom
contain a
number of
stacked
orbitals
4

1
1st and 2nd level s-orbitals
and the p-orbitals all together.
•Why are Atoms Spherical?
•Atomic Orbitals
• Different atomic orbitals are denoted by letters. The
s orbitals are spherical, and p orbitals are dumbbell-
shaped.

• Four of the five d orbitals have the same shape but

different orientations in space.
 Indivisible Electron Nucleus Orbit Electron
Cloud
Greek X
Dalton X
Thomson X
Rutherford X X
Bohr X X X
Wave X X X