topic 1: atomic structure Flashcards
3 subatomic particles
protons, neutrons and electrons
nucleus of atom
-most of the mass of an atom is concentrated in the nucleus, which is very small
-consists of protons and neutrons
-they are held together by a strong nuclear force (much stronger than electrostatic force)
where are electrons found?
-electrons orbit the nucleus in shells, the orbitals take up most of the volume of the atom
relative charges of subatomic particles
-protons: +1
-neutrons: 0
-electrons: -1
relative mass of subatomic particles
-protons: 1
-neutrons: 1
-electrons: 0
all atoms are neutral so… (equation)
the number of protons= the number of electrons
mass number (A)
-total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus
atomic (proton) number (z)
-the number of protons in the nucleus (identifies the elements)
isotope
Atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons
history and the developing ideas of the atom: scientists and dates (ordered)
- atoms were solid spheres and each element is made from different spheres
- discovered the electron, which led to the discovery of the plum pudding model
-showed that atoms wasn’t solid and invisible
- Ernest Rutheford
-1909
-conducted the alpha scattering gold foil experiment
-to develop the nuclear model (a small positively charged nucleus, surrounded by a ‘cloud’ of negative electrons
-the atom was mostly empty space
gold foil experiment
-fired positively charged alpha particles at a very thin sheet of gold
-plum pudding model suggested: most alpha particles would be slight deflected by the positive ‘pudding’ (that made up most of the atom)
-actually: most alpha particles passed straight through (most of the atom is empty space) the gold foil, some deflected backwards (since they hit the small positive nucleus)
most alpha particles pass through empty space…
since most of the atom is mainly empty space
small number of alpha particles being slightly deflected backwards…
due to very strong by the small positive nucleus
- Niels Bohr
-1913
-adapted to ruthefords nuclear model, the ‘cloud’ of electrons could spiral down into the positive nucleus and cause the atom to collapse
-Bohr proposed putting electrons in fixed energy shells/ orbitals
-therefore when electrons move to a new shell electromagnetic radiation (with fixed energy/frequency) is emitted (electrons move down to lower energy, close to the nucleus) or absorbed (electrons move up to higher energy shells/ away from the nucleus).
what did scientists discover about electrons?
-electrons dont have the same energy in shells, so refined the model to include subshells
-not a perfect model but it is accurate and useful as it is simple and explains many experimental observations e.g. bonding and ionisation energy
what is the time of flight mass spectrometry?
-time of flight mass spectometry is a powerful analytical technique which gives the accurate determination of the relative isotopic mass and relative abundance of isotopes
-it can be used to identify the relative atomic mass (Ar) to identify elements and relative molecular mass (Mr)
stages of TOF
- ionisation (electron impact ionisation or electrospray ionisation)
- acceleration
- ion drift (in the flight tube)
- detection
what is ionisation in TOF and the 2 types?
-ionisation is where an atom becomes an ion and can happen 2 ways, depending on its mass: electron impact ionisation or electrospray ionisation
electron impact ionisation
-electron impact ionisation is for elements and substances with a LOW relative molecular mass
-the sample is vapourised, then high energy electrons are fired at the sample using an electron gun, one electron is knocked off each particle forming a positive (1+) ion