chap 1- elements of life Flashcards
what is an isotope
an atom of the same element with different mass number (different number of neutrons) but the same atomic number
what is mass spectrometry
the technique used to find the atomic mass of elements and compounds.
sample atoms or molecules are ionised to positively charged cations which are then separated according to their mass to charge ratios (m/z)
the separated ions are detected together with their relative abundance
what is nuclear fusion
when 2 light nuclei fuse to form a single heavier nucleus of a new atom
why can nuclear fusion not occur on earth
the temperature is not high enough so the nuclei do not have enough energy to overcome the repulsion of the 2 positive nuclei against each other
why can nuclear fusion occur in a star
temp is much higher, nuclei have more energy and are moving at much higher speeds so can overcome the repulsion
what is the chromosphere
the region outside the star’s surface (photosphere) that contains ions, atoms and small molecules
why are the lines black in an absorption spectra
the black lines on the spectrum are the missing frequencies of light that have been absorbed by particles in the chromosphere
what happens when atoms, molecules and ions in the chromosphere absorb energy
they are raised from their ground state to higher energy states called excited states then when they fall back to ground state they emit the extra energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation
what is an emission spectra
coloured lines on a black background which correspond to the frequencies of the electromagnetic radiation emitted
how do you calculate speed of light (ms-1)
wavelength (m) x frequency (s-1)
how to calculate energy of a photon (J)
planck constant (Js-1) x frequency (s-1)
how does bohr’s theory explain emission spectrum
when an atom is excited electrons jump into higher energy levels. when they drop back into lower levels they emit the extra energy as electromagnetic radiation and give off an emission spectrum
how does bohr’s theory explain absorption spectrum
when white light is passed through a relatively cool sample of a gaseous element black lines appear which correspond to light that has been absorbed by atoms in the sample
what is the energy of a photon equal to
the difference between the 2 energy levels
what colour is lithium in a flame test
bright red
sodium flame test colour
yellow
potassium flame test colour
lilac
calcium flame test colour
brick red
barium flame test colour
apple green
copper flame test colour
blue/green
how many electrons can the first 4 shells hold
1st= 2 2nd = 8 3rd = 18 4th = 32
how many electrons can each sub shell hold
s = 2
p =6
d = 10
f = 14
what is the chromium exception
chromium electronic configuration is in the last 2 sub shells is 4s1 3d5 even though it would be expected to be 4s2 3d4 but one of the electrons from 4s is promoted to 3d to give a more stable arrangement
what is the copper exception
the last 2 sub shells of copper are 4s1 3d10 even though it would be expected to go 4s2 3d9 but to achieve a more stable arrangement of lower energy one electron is promoted to 3d