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MCAT General Chemistry > Atomic Structure > Flashcards

Atomic Structure Flashcards

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1
Q

proton

A

+1e or atomic mass unit (amu)

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2
Q

atomic number (Z)

A

number of protons found in an atom of an element

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3
Q

mass number (A)

A

sum of the protons and neutrons in an atom’s nucleus

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4
Q

isotopes

A

share an atomic number but have different mass numbers

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5
Q

electron

A

-1e; approximately 1/2000 the mass of a proton

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6
Q

shells

A

electrons in higher shells are further away from the nucleus and have higher energy

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7
Q

valence electrons

A

furthest from nucleus; most likely to become involved with other atoms

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8
Q

cation

A

positively charged atoms

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9
Q

anion

A

negatively charged atom

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10
Q

atomic mass

A

nearly equal to mass number

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11
Q

three isotopes of hydrogen

A

protium: one proton; deuterium: one proton and one neutron; tritium: one proton and two neutrons

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12
Q

atomic weight

A

weighted average of different isotopes; number found on periodic table

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13
Q

Avogrado’s number

A

a mole is a number of things equal to this number; 6.02E23

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14
Q

quanta

A

discrete bundles of of electromagnetic radiation emitted from matter

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15
Q

Planck Relation

A

the energy of a quantum; E=hf
h=Planck’s constant (6.626E-34 J*s)
f= frequency of radiation

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16
Q

possible values for angular momentum of an electron orbiting a hydrogen nucleus

A

L=nh/2pi
n= principal quantum number
h= Planck’s constant

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17
Q

possible energy of an electron

A

E=-R/n^2
R=Rydberg unit of energy, 2.18E-18 J/electron
n=principal quantum number

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18
Q

orbit

A

defined pathway in which an electron revolves at a discrete energy value

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19
Q

ground state

A

state of lowest energy of an atom; all electrons are in the lowest possible orbitals

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20
Q

excited state

A

when at least one electron has moved to a sub shell of higher than normal energy

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21
Q

photon

A

discrete amount of energy released when an atom goes from an excited state back to ground

22
Q

equation to find electromagnetic energy of a photon

A

E=hc/gamma
h= Planck’s constant
c= speed of light in a vacuum (3.0E8)
gamma= wavelength of radiation

23
Q

line spectrum

A

each line on the emission spectrum corresponds to a specific electron transition

24
Q

atomic emission spectrum

A

a unique spectrum that outlines the set of distinct energy levels that an element’s electrons can be excited to

25
Q

Lyman series

A

group of hydrogen emission lines corresponding to transitions from energy levels n>2 to n=1

26
Q

Balmer series

A

group of hydrogen emission lines corresponding to transitions from energy levels n>3 to n=2

27
Q

Paschen series

A

group of hydrogen emission lines corresponding to transitions from energy levels n>4 to n=3

28
Q

Energy of electron transition

A

E= -Rh(1/(Ni^2)-1/(Nf^2)); the energy of the emitted photon corresponds to the difference in energy between the initial state the lower-energy final state

29
Q

absorption spectrum

A

unique spectrum outlining the distinct energy levels that an element’s electrons must absorb to transition to a higher level

30
Q

orbital

A

localized region of space within which electrons move rapidly

31
Q

Heisenberg uncertainty principle

A

it is impossible to simultaneously determine, with perfect accuracy, the momentum and the position of an electron

32
Q

Pauli exclusion principle

A

no two electrons in a given atom can possess the same set of four quantum numbers

33
Q

principal quantum number (n)

A

the larger the n, the higher the energy level and radius of the electron shell

34
Q

maximum number of electrons in a shell

A

2n^2, where n is the principal quantum number

35
Q

azimuthal (angular momentum) number, l

A
  • refers to the shape of the subshells within a given principal energy level
  • possible numbers for l are from 0 to (n-1)
36
Q

spectroscopic notation

A 
shorthand representation of the principal and azimuthal quantum numbers
l=0 subshell: s
l=1 subshell: p
l=2 subshell: d
l=3 subshell: f
37
Q

maximum number of electrons within a subshell

A

4l+2

38
Q

magnetic quantum number, ml

A
  • specifics the particular orbital within a subshell where an electron is most likely to be found
  • possible values for ml are the integers between -l and +l
39
Q

orbital shapes

A

s orbital- spherical shape

p orbital- dumbell shaped

40
Q

spin quantum number, ms

A

electrons have two spin orientations: +1/2 or -1/2

41
Q

paired spins

A

electrons with opposite spins; electrons in the same orbital must be paired

42
Q

parallel spins

A

same ms values; must be in different orbitals to be paired

43
Q

electron configuration

A

determines the pattern by which subshells are filled as well as the number of electrons within each principal energy level and shell

44
Q

Aufbau (building-up) principle

A

electrons fill from lower to to higher energy subshells; each sub shell will fill completely before electrons begin to enter the next one

45
Q

n+l rule

A

used to rank subshells by increasing energy; the lower the sum of the values of the first and second quantum numbers, the lower the energy of the subshell; sub shell with lower n value will fill first

46
Q

anion electron configuration

A

For fluorine: He(2p^5)

For F-: He(2p^6)

47
Q

cation electron configuration

A

start with neutral atom, remove electrons from subshells with highest n value first

48
Q

Hund’s rule

A

within a given subshell, orbitals are filled such that there are a maximum number of half-filled orbitals with parallel spins

49
Q

paramagnetic

A

materials composed of atoms with unpaired electrons that orient their spins in alignment to a magnetic field

50
Q

diamagnetic

A

materials consisting of only paired electrons are slightly repelled by magnetic field

MCAT General Chemistry (5 decks)

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