Atomic Structure Flashcards
How do you calculate the electron configuration of a substance?
Go from the noble gas, it will represent full subshells at a particular level then count from there.
How do find the highest oxidation state of a substance?
Look at the successive ionisation energy graph, where there is a jump shows the end of the 1st subshell.
What are the names of the 6 steps in using a mass spectrometer?
Vacumn, Ionisation, acceleration, ion drift, detection and data analysis.
Why must the whole mass spectrometer be kept in a vacuum?
This is to prevent the ions formed in the apparatus from colliding with molecules in the air
Name one method of ionisation used in mass spectrometry.
The sample is first dissolved in a volatile solvent and then forced through an electrically charged hollow needle to produce a stream of positively charged ions. They may also use an electron gun to knock off electrons leaving only positively charged ions.
What happens at the acceleration stage?
The ions are accelerated so they all have the same kinetic energy and drift towards the negatively charged plate via electrostatic attraction.
What happens at the ion drift stage?
The positive ions pass through a hole in the plate, They then form a beam that travels through the flight tube.
What happens at the detection stage?
The ions reach the detector are recorded, based on how long it takes for them to reach the detector. The lighter the ions the less time it takes for them to reach the detector.
What are the general trends for the first ionisation energies of elements in a group?
The first ionisation energy decreases due to increased shielding and distance from the nucleus.
Describe the evidence to show the existence of energy levels.
Successive ionisations provide evidence for the existence of energy levels as when electrons which would exist in different subshells are extracted there is a large difference in the energy required to do this. In addition across a period, the first ionisation energy levels also vary due to the electrons being extracted from different subshells.
Describe the trend in the ionisation energies in period 3.
There is an increase in the force of attraction across the period as the number of protons increase, the number of electrons also increase but as they mostly go in the same energy level, the first ionisation energies in general increase.
What are the exceptions to the trend described in period 3 and why?
Between Magnesium and Aluminium = Aluminium outer electron is in the 3p sublevel which is a slightly higher energy level and thus is easier to remove leading to a decrease in ionisation energy. Between Phosphorus and Sulfur: In sulfur to p electrons are paired, they repel each other and are thus easier to remove.
Who proposed that some substances could not be made simpler? and when did he do so?
1661- Robert Doyle
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Who stated that elements were made of indivisible atoms and when?
1803 - John Dalton
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Who discovered radioactivity and when?
1896- Henri Becquerel
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