Atomic Structure Flashcards
What is the relative mass of an electron?
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What is the definition of atomic number?
The atomic number (i.e. proton number), Z, is equal to the number of protons.
What is the definition of mass number?
The mass number, A, is equal to the number of protons and neutrons combined.
What is a positive ion?
A cation is an atom that has lost electrons so that there are more protons than electrons.
What is a negative ion?
An anion is an atom that has gained electrons so that there are more electrons than protons.
What is the definition of an isotope?
Isotopes are atoms with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.
What is said about the chemical properties of isotopes?
Isotopes of the same element have the same chemical properties because they have the same electron configuration.
What is a mass spectrometer used for?
It is used to analyse elements or compounds and it can accurately determine the relative atomic mass (Ar) of atoms, or the relative molecular mass (Mr) of molecules.
What is the name of the mass spectrometer that we study at A Level?
Time of Flight (TOF) mass spectrometer
What is the first step inside the spectrometer?
Vacuum - the entire machine is a vacuum inside to prevent any of the particles being tested colliding with molecules from the air
What is the second step inside the spectrometer?
Ionisation
What are the two methods of ionisation of a sample?
electrospray ionisation and electron impact ionisation
Describe electrospray ionisation?
- Substance dissolved in a volatile liquid
- passed through a needle
- a high voltage is applied to the sample
- each atom gains a proton to form a positive ion
Describe electron impact ionisation
- the sample is vapourised and high energy electrons are fired at it
- this causes each atom to lose an electron, forming a positive ion
What is the third step inside the spectrometer?
Acceleration - the positive ions are attracted to a negatively charged plate and accelerate towards it
What does the ion’s acceleration depend on?
the amount they accelerate depends on the mass to charge (m/z) ratio of the ion - high m/z ratio ions will accelerate to lower speeds than low m/z ratio ions
What happens when all the ions have accelerated?
Once accelerated all ions will have the same kinetic energy
What is the fourth step inside the spectrometer?
Ion Drift - some of the ions will pass through a hole in the negatively charged plate. They form a beam of particles and travel along the ‘flight tube’ towards the detector. Because the particles are travelling at different speeds by this point, they start to drift apart further as the slower particles can’t keep up with the faster ones.
What is the fifth step inside the spectrometer?
Detection
Describe the detection step in the spectrometer
- Each ion hits the detector and gains an electron
- This induces an electric current, the size of which is proportional to the abundance
What happens when a single element is injected into a mass spectrometer?
the sample will be separated into the different isotopes of that element
On a mass spectrum, what does each peak on the graph represent?
a different isotope as each will have a different m/z ratio
What does the height of each peak on a mass spectrum represent?
the relative abundance of each isotope
What is the formula for calculating Ar?
Ar =[ (mass 1 x abundance 1) + (mass 2 x abundance 2) + (mass n x abundance n) ]/ the sum of abundances
Why may a large range of different peaks form?
some elements don’t always split into individual atoms e.g. chlorine usually exists as a diatomic molecule
What is the kinetic energy equation? and the SI units?
KE = 1/2 mv^2
KE in Joules (J)
Mass in kg
Velocity in m/s
Distance in m
Time in s