Key Concepts Flashcards
What are the three ideas in John
Dalton’s theory about the atom?
- Atoms cannot be created, divided or destroyed.
- Atoms of the same element are exactly the same
and atoms of different elements are different. - Atoms join with other atoms to make new
substances.
What discovery caused the original Dalton model of
an atom to change?
The discovery of subatomic particles.
How did JJ Thomson discover the electron?
Thomson experimented with a cathode ray tube. The beam moved towards the positively charged plate so he knew that the particles must have a negative charge.
Describe the atomic model proposed by JJ Thomson
Plum pudding model.
Negatively charged electrons scattered
through a positively charged material.
What did Ernest Rutherford discover from his gold
foil experiment?
He shot a beam of positively charged particles at sheet of gold
foil.
- Most of the particles passed straight through suggesting that
atoms were mostly empty space.
- A few particles were deflected and a few bounced directly
back showing that there must be a tiny, dense and
positively-charged nucleus.
Describe Rutherford’s new model of the atom
- Mass is concentrated in the central nucleus. - Mostly empty space. - Electrons travel in random paths around the nucleus.
Describe the structure of an atom
Small central nucleus made up of
protons and neutrons.
Electrons orbit (move around) the nucleus in shells.
What is the radius of the nucleus? How large is it
compared to the radius atom?
The radius of the nucleus is 1x10-14 m.
This is 1/10000 of the atomic radius.
What are the relative masses of protons, neutrons
and electrons?
Proton: 1
Neutron: 1
Electron: 1/1836
What are the relative charges of protons, neutrons
and electrons?
Proton: +1
Neutron: 0
Electron: -1
Why do atoms contain equal numbers of protons and
electrons?
Atoms are stable with no overall charge.
Protons are positively charged and electrons
are negatively charged. For the charges to
balance, the number of protons and electrons
must be equal.
Where is the mass of an atom concentrated?
In the nucleus
What does the atomic number of an atom represent?
The number of protons.
What does the mass number of an atom
mean?
The mass number is the number of
protons and neutrons found in the
nucleus of an atom.
Fill in the blank: ‘Atoms of the same element have
the same number _____ of in the nucleus and this
is unique to that element’
Protons
What is an isotope?
Isotopes are atoms with the same number
of protons (so they are the same element)
but a different number of neutrons.
Isotopes of an element have the same
atomic number but different mass numbers.
Boron has the atomic number 5 and the mass
number 11. How many protons, electrons and
neutrons does Boron have?
5 protons
5 electrons
6 neutrons
Why is the relative atomic mass not always a whole
number?
Different isotopes of the same element
have different mass numbers. The
relative atomic mass is an average of the
masses of all these isotopes.
What two values would be required to calculate the
relative atomic mass of chlorine?
Mass numbers and relative abundances
of all the isotopes of chlorine.
How did Mendeleev arrange the elements in his
periodic table?
Elements arranged with increasing atomic masses.
Elements with similar properties put into groups (due to
periodic trends in chemical properties).
Switched the position of some elements.
Gaps left for undiscovered elements.
How was Mendeleev able to predict the properties of
new elements?
Mendeleev left gaps in his periodic table.
He used the properties of elements next
to these gaps to predict the properties of
undiscovered elements.
Mendeleev’s table lacked some amount
of accuracy in the way he’d ordered his
elements. Why was this?
Isotopes were poorly understood at the time.
Protons and neutrons had not yet been
discovered.
How are elements arranged in the modern periodic
table?
In order of increasing atomic number.
Fill in the blank: ‘Elements in the same group
(column) have similar _________ ’
Chemical properties
Why do elements in the same column have similar
chemical properties?
Same number of outer shell electrons.
Number of outer shell electrons
determines how an atom reacts.
What does the period (row) number tell you about all
the elements in that period?
Elements in the same period have the
same number of electron shells.
e.g. all elements in period 4 have 4
shells of electrons.
What does group (column) number tell you about all
the elements in that group?
All elements in the same group have the
same number of outer electrons.
e.g. all elements in group 2 have 2
electrons in their outer shell
On which side of the periodic table are
the metals positioned?
Left hand side
What determines whether an element is a metal or
non-metal?
Atomic structures of the elements.
What is the maximum number of electrons allowed in
each of the first 3 shells?
1st shell: 2
2nd shell: 8
3rd shell: 8
When are atoms most stable?
When they have full electron shells.
The atomic number of Na is 11.
What is the electron configuration of Na?
2, 8, 1
How is the electron configuration of an element
related to its position in the periodic table?
Diagram:
The number of rings is the period.
The number of electrons in the outer ring is the group.
The total number of electrons is the atomic number.
Number (e.g. sodium, 2.8.1):
Sodium has 3 shells as there are 3 numbers.
The last number is the number of outer shell electrons / the group.
The sum of the digits is the atomic number.
What is an ionic bond?
Abond between a metal and non-metal
involving the transfer of electrons.
In terms of electrons, describe what happens to the
metal and non-metal when an ionic bond forms
The metal atom loses electrons to
become a positively charged ion (cation).
The non-metal gains electrons to become
a negatively charged ion (anion).
What is an ion?
An ion is an atom or group of atoms with
a positive or negative charge.
If an ion is positively charged, has it lost or gained
electrons?
It has lost electrons. There are fewer
negatively charged electrons to cancel out
the charge of the positive protons. This
means the overall charge becomes positive.
Na+ has the atomic number 11 and the mass number
23. How many protons, neutrons and electrons are
in this ion?
Protons: 11
Electrons: 10
Neutrons: 12