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MCAT General Chemistry > Atomic Structure > Flashcards

Atomic Structure Flashcards

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1
Q

Protons have a mass of approximately one ______ ______ _______.

A

Atomic mass unit (amu)

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2
Q

The atomic number (Z) of an element is equal to the number of ______ found in an atom of that element.

A

Protons

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3
Q

True or false: Together, the protons and neutrons of the nucleus make up almost the entire mass of an atom.

A

True. The mass of a single electron is negligible.

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4
Q

What is the mass number (A) of an atom?

A

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

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5
Q

What are isotopes?

A

Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

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6
Q

Do electrons closer to the nucleus have more or less energy compared to electrons farther away from the nucleus?

A

Less energy

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7
Q

Generally speaking, which electrons of an atom are involved in chemical bonding?

A

Valence electrons

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8
Q

A positively charged atom is called a _____; a negatively charged atom is called a(n) ______.

A

Cation; anion

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9
Q

True or false: The atomic mass of an atom (in amu) is essentially the same as its mass number.

A

True

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10
Q

The weighted average of different isotopes is referred to as atomic ______. It is the number reported on the periodic table.

A

Weight

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11
Q

What is the numerical value of Avogadro’s number?

A

6.02 x 10^23

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12
Q

The _____ state of an atom is the state of lowest energy, in which all electrons are in the lowest possible orbitals.

A

Ground

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13
Q

An atom is said to be in the ______ state when at least one electron has moved to a subshell of higher than normal energy.

A

Excited

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14
Q

The group of hydrogen emission lines corresponding to transitions from energy levels n = greater than or equal to 2 to n= 1 is known as the ______ series.

A

Lyman

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15
Q

The group of hydrogen emission lines corresponding to transitions from energy levels n = greater than or equal to 3 to n= 2 is known as the ______ series.

A

Balmer

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16
Q

The group of hydrogen emission lines corresponding to transitions from energy levels n = greater than or equal to 4 to n= 3 is known as the ______ series.

A

Paschen

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17
Q

Describe the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

A

This principle states that it is impossible to simultaneously determine both the location and the momentum (energy) of an electron with perfect accuracy.

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18
Q

According to the ______ ______ principle, no two electrons in a given atom can possess the same set of four quantum numbers.

A

Pauli exclusion

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19
Q

What are the 4 quantum numbers that can be used to completely describe an electron?

A
  1. n
  2. l
  3. m sub l
  4. m sub s
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20
Q

The first quantum number, the letter n, is commonly known as the _______ quantum number.

A

Principal quantum number. It can theoretically take on any positive integer value.

21
Q

The maximum number of electrons within a shell can be determined by what equation?

A

2n^2

22
Q

The second quantum number is called the _______ (angular momentum) quantum number and is designated by the letter l.

A

Azimuthal. It refers to the shape and number of subshells within a given principal energy level.

23
Q

The value of n limits the value of l in the following way: for any given value of n, the range of possible values for l is 0 to ______?

A

(n - 1)

24
Q

What formula determines the maximum number of electrons within a subshell?

A

4l + 2

25
Q

The third quantum number is the ________ quantum number. It specifies the particular orbital within a subshell where an electron is most likely to be found at a given moment in time.

A

Magnetic (m sub l)

26
Q

The possible values of m sub l are the integers between ____ and ____, including 0.

A

-l; +l

27
Q

True or false: Whenever two electrons are in the same orbital, they must have the same spins.

A

False. Two electrons in the same orbital must have opposite spins. In this case, they are often referred to as being paired.

28
Q

Electrons in different orbitals with the same m sub s values are said to have _______ spins.

A

Parallel

29
Q

The l = 0 subshell is called ____.

A

s

30
Q

The l = 1 subshell is called ____.

A

p

31
Q

The l = 2 subshell is called ____.

A

d

32
Q

The l = 3 subshell is called ____.

A

f

33
Q

Describe the shapes of the orbitals in the s and p subshells.

A

The orbitals in the s subshell are spherical, while the three orbitals in the p subshell are each dumbbell-shaped and align along the x-, y-, and z-axes.

34
Q

The fourth quantum number is called the _____ quantum number and is denoted by m sub s.

A

Spin

35
Q

What are the two spin designations for an electron?

A

+1/2 and -1/2

36
Q

Electrons fill from lower- to higher-energy subshells, according the ______ principle (also called the building-up principle).

A

Aufbau

37
Q

Electron configurations can be abbreviated by placing the ______ ______ that precedes the element of interest in brackets.

A

Noble gas

38
Q

Describe the process for determining the electron configuration of a cation.

A
  1. Start with the configuration of the neutral atom.
  2. Remove electrons from the subshells with the highest value for n first.
  3. If multiple subshells are tied for the highest n value, then electrons are removed from the subshell with the highest l value among these.
39
Q

Orbitals fill according to what rule?

A

Orbitals fill according to Hund’s Rule. This states that, within a given subshell, orbitals are filled such that there are a maximum number of half-filled orbitals with parallel spins.

40
Q

In terms of electron configuration, what types of orbitals have lower energies (higher stability) than other states?

A

Half-filled orbitals and fully-filled orbitals are more stable.

41
Q

Materials consisting of atoms that have only paired electrons will be slightly repelled by a magnetic field and are said to be _______.

A

Diamagnetic

42
Q

The valence electrons in Groups IA and IIA (Groups 1 and 2) are located where?

A

For these groups, the highest s subshell electrons are valence electrons.

43
Q

What are the valence electrons for Groups IIIA through VIIIA (Groups 13 through 18)?

A

The highest s and p subshell electrons are the valance electrons for these groups.

44
Q

In what subshells do we find the valence electrons for transition elements?

A

Their valence electrons are those in the highest s and d subshells, even though they have different principal quantum numbers.

45
Q

Where are the valence electrons for elements in the lanthanide and actinide series?

A

Their valence electrons are those in the highest s and f subshells, even though they have different principal quantum numbers.

46
Q

In the _____ model of the atom, a dense, positively charged nucleus is surrounded by electrons revolving around the nucleus in orbits with distinct energy levels.

A

Bohr

47
Q

The ______ ______ model posits that electrons do not travel in defined orbits but rather are localized in orbitals.

A

Quantum mechanical

48
Q

Which type of materials have unpaired electrons that align with magnetic fields, attracting the material to a magnet?

A

Paramagnetic

MCAT General Chemistry (6 decks)

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