Elements of Life Flashcards
What is an atomic structure made of?
- 3 sub atomic particles
- protons and neutrons form the nucleus
- electrons occupy energy levels/shells orbiting the nucleus
What is the relative atomic mass of each sub-atomic particle?
protons: 1
neutrons: 1
electrons: 0.00055 (1/1836)
What is the relative charge of each sub-atomic particle?
protons: +1
neutrons: 0 (no charge)
electrons: -1
What is the atomic number?
the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
What is the mass number?
the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom
What are isotopes?
atoms of the same element with different mass numbers
same no. of protons identifying the element with different no. of neutrons
What does mass spectrometry do?
measures atomic or molecular mass of different particles in a sample as well as relative abundance of different isotopes in an element
What happens in a mass spectrometer?
sample atoms/molecules are ionised into positively charged cations which are separated according to mass m to charge z ratios
separated ions are detected together with relative abundance
How do you calculate relative atomic mass from a mass spectra?
- %abundance of each ion (isotope) calculated by height of peak
- (relative isotopic mass x relative abundance) … add together each isotope and then divide all by 100
What is nuclear fusion?
when 2 light atomic nuclei fuse together to form a single heavier nucleus of a new element, releasing an enormous amount of energy
What are the required conditions for nuclear fusion?
- must be very close together
- very high temperature (e.g. star) so that nuclei move quickly and collide with more energy to overcome repulsive forces of nucleus
What does the absorption spectra look like?
- a series of black absorption lines on a coloured background
- missing frequencies of light where they have been absorbed by particles in the chromosphere
What does the emission spectra look like?
- a series of coloured lines on a black background
- correspond to emitted frequencies
What does the emission spectrum show?
the frequencies of emitted electromagnetic radiation where electrons of atoms/molecules/ions are raised from their ground state to higher energy states (excited states)
particles lose extra energy when emitting EM radiation
What is the name of the characteristic emission spectrum in the ultraviolet of the EM spectrum called?
the lyman series
What is the name of the hydrogen emission spectrum in visible light?
the balmer series
Is light seen from stars continuous?
no - consists of lines corresponding to absorption or emission of specific frequencies of light - atomic spectra
What are the 2 theories used to describe behaviour of light?
wave theory
particle theory
What is the speed of light? c
a constant
3.00 x 10(8) ms-1
when travelling in a vacuum
What is the formula relating frequency and wavelength?
speed of light c (ms-1) = wavelength λ (m) x frequency v (s-1)
What happens as the wavelength increases?
the frequency decreases (c remains the same)
What is the particle theory of light?
- light regarded as steady stream of photons (energy)
- energy of photons related to position in EM spectrum
- linked
What is the formula used in the particle theory of light?
energy of a photon E (J) = planck constant h (Js-1) x frequency v (s-1)
What is the value of the planck constant?
6.63 x 10(-34) Js-1
Bohr’s theory: how is an emission spectrum given off?
- when an atom is excited, electrons jump to higher energy levels
- later drop back into lower levels emitting extra energy as EM radiation and give off emission spectrum
Bohr’s theory: how is an absorption spectrum given off?
- electrons have been raised to higher levels without then dropping down again
- correspond to light absorbed by atoms in sample (and with coloured lines of emission spectrum of that element)
What are the main points of Bohr’s theory?
- the electron in the hydrogen atom exists only in certain definite energy levels or electron shells
- a photon of light is emitted or absorbed when the electron changes from one energy level to another
- the energy of the photon is equal to the difference between the 2 energy levels (deltaE)
- since E=hv it follows that the frequency of the emitted or absorbed light is related to deltaE by deltaE=hv
What are quanta?
definite quantities of energy possessed by electrons (can only change to specific values and not continuously)
What happens to the energy levels as you move further away from the nucleus of an atom?
- they get higher
- they become closer together (frequency)
What are the maximum numbers of electrons that can be in each shell (up to 7) and what is its principal quantum number n label?
- 1st shell: (n=1) 2 electrons
- 2nd and 3rd shells: (n=2) (n=3) 8 electrons
- 4th and 5th shells: (n=4) (n=5) 18 electrons
- 6th and 7th shells: (n=6) (n=7) 32 electrons
What are the different types of sub-shell and how many electrons can be held in each one?
S : 2
P : 6
D : 10
F : 14
Split the number of electrons held in each shell into sub-shells for: n=1
- 2 electrons in s sub-shell
- total = 2
Split the number of electrons held in each shell into sub-shells for: n=2
- 2 electrons in s sub-shell
- 6 electrons in p sub-shell
- total = 8
Split the number of electrons held in each shell into sub-shells for: n=3
- 2 electrons in s sub-shell
- 6 electrons in p sub-shell
- 10 electrons in d sub-shell
- total = 18
Split the number of electrons held in each shell into sub-shells for: n=4
- 2 electrons in s sub-shell
- 6 electrons in p sub-shell
- 10 electrons in d sub-shell
- 14 electrons in f sub-shell
- total = 32
Flame test: colour of Li+ ion flame?
bright red
Flame test: colour of Na+ ion flame?
yellow
Flame test: colour of K+ ion flame?
lilac
Flame test: colour of Ca2+ ion flame?
brick red
Flame test: colour of Ba2+ ion flame?
apple green
Flame test: colour of Cu2+ ion flame?
blue green
How many orbitals does an s sub-shell always contain?
1
How many orbitals does an p sub-shell always contain?
3
How many orbitals does an d sub-shell always contain?
5
How many orbitals does an f sub-shell always contain?
7
What is the maximum number of electrons each atomic orbital can hold? (how are they shown?)
2
each electron spins at same rate in opposite direction so drawn with opposing arrows