As we all know, life is all made up of building blocks of matter.

Matter, which has a definite mass and occupies space, is

made up of molecules. These Molecules, in turn, are made up of tiny particles called atoms. The word atom came from its
Greek derivative: "Atomos", which means "Indivisible". Atom is the smallest unit into which matter can be divided and is
the basic building blocks of chemistry (Trefil et Al., 2023). It also has the properties of all the chemical properties of an
element.
The atomic model explains the atomic structure of an element. Atomic structure explains that the atoms are divided into 2
regions (Nucleus and the outermost layer) and are composed of three subatomic particles called Protons, Electrons and
Neutrons.
The nucleus is the positively charged centre of an atom and contains most of its mass (Trefil et Al., 2023) It is composed of
positively charged particles called protons and neutrons which has no electrical charge that are tightly packed together in
the nucleus. The identity of an element can be determined by the number of protons present in the nucleus. This is called
the “atomic number” of an element. Also, the nucleus of an atom occupies almost 10 -14 times the volume of the atom but
contains 99.99% of the atomic mass. (BYJU’S, 2021b). Meaning that the nucleus is incredibly small, but it triumphs in the
overall mass of the atom itself.
If there is a positive, there will always be a negative. Electrons are one of the sub-atomic particles which carries the
negative electrical charges of the atom. It is so much smaller than the protons and neutrons. Unlike protons and neutrons,
which consist of smaller, simpler particles, electrons are fundamental particles that do not consist of smaller particles
(Libretexts, 2020). An electron could be bound to an atom or roam freely in a vacuum. They also have a similar value to a
proton but with different charge. We know opposite forces attract and similar forces repel. For this sole reason, electrons
balance out the positive charges of the proton, making the atom electrically neutral. The mass of an electron is so much
inferior to contribute to the overall mass of an atom with only about 1/2000 the mass of a proton or neutron (Libretexts,
2020). This subatomic particle is the one responsible for solid substances to materialize because atoms can share
electrons, which process will be talked further in another section.
Protons are the protagonists of the nucleus. It has a rest mass of 1.67262 × 10 −26 kg, which is 1,835 the electron mass
(Team & Team, 2022). They carry the positive charge and is also one of the sub-atomic particles that can be found in the
structure of an atom. Together with neutrons, they make up almost all atomic nuclei present in the elements of the
periodic table. It is similar to the nucleus of a hydrogen atom. The number of present protons in a given element will be its
atomic number. Proton has a value of 1 and a positive charge.
History of the atomic theory and models:
Atoms weren’t studied thoroughly until 1800’s, but a Greek philosopher named Democritus in 460-370 B.C. thought that
there is a point wherein we can’t furthermore divide a matter. He called it “atom” derived from the Greek word: “atomos”
meaning “indivisible”. The Ancient Greek theory has been credited to several different scholars but is most often
attributed to Democritus (460–370 BC) and his mentor Leucippus (The History of the Atom – Theories and Models, 2016).
Democritus described the atom as the fundamental and the very basic unit of the Universe is composed of.
“The theory of the Universe” by Democritus:
- Atoms are all solids
- Atoms are the smallest, therefore, has no internal structure
- All things in the Universe are made up of atoms which cannot be seen by the naked eye.
- Each atom has a different characteristic of shape, weight, shape.
- There exists an empty an empty space between atoms.
 In 1803, an English chemist named John Dalton applied the idea of Greeks’, the atom, as the smallest, indivisible particles a
matter that can be observed (using energy changes). He described the atom as a sphere and quoted “All the atoms of a
given element are all the same” The latter point is one that pretty much still holds true, with the notable exception being
isotopes of different elements, which differ in their number of neutrons (The History of the Atom – Theories and Models,
2016). Dalton came up with theories as to how atoms fuse to create element compounds. He made ideas for the first set of
chemical symbols.
John Dalton’s atomic theory describes atom as:
- All matter consists of tiny particles he named (came from the Greeks’ idea) atoms.
- Atoms are indestructible and unchangeable
- When two (2) different elements interacted then reacted, the combination of atoms is responsible for it.
- The elements are characterized by its atoms mass.
Insert John Dalton’s 36 chemical symbols
J.J. Thompson’s atomic model
In 1898, a British physicist Joseph John Thompson conducted an experiment called the Cathode-Ray tube. It is an instrument
J.J. Thompson developed and many scientists at the time to study the electric discharge in a partial vacuum cathode tube.
His experiment led to the discovery of the electron in an atom. Thompson published his findings in 1904 about the existence
of the negatively charged particles, electron, which made him win an award; Nobel prize in physics.
Plum pudding/Chocolate chip model
- This model suggested that the electrons were scattered throughout the atoms like the plums in a pudding.
- This model introduced the negatively charged particle, the electron.
- This model had presented the neutrality of charges in most atoms.
The cathode-ray tube experiment.
It is a partially evacuated tube with little air in it (partial vacuum). Electrodes are devices that moves electrons into or out of
a solution by conduction (Ocampo, 2013) It acts as the conductor of electricity in the experiment. The electrodes have 2
components: The positive charged electrode called anode and negative charged electrode called cathode. By lining the
screen with a material that glows in the presence of electricity, a steam of radiation is produced. This explains that the
negative particle has a kinetic energy. A qualitative example of cathode ray tube is box shaped TVs in late 1900’s.
The observation in the experiment:
- The cathode rays were streams of a very fast moving negatively-charged particles (Ocampo, 2013).
- The cathode ray was attracted by the positive charged plate. Implying that there consists of 2 opposite charges is
attracted to each other.
- The magnetic field seems to affect the cathode ray’s direction. Thompson placed magnets on either side of the
tube, observed that the poles had attracted (north pole (+)) and were deflected (south pole (-)) the cathode ray.
- He tried this experiment in different as metals as an electrode and had the same properties in the first experiment.
This concluded, that a negatively charged particle are present in all atoms.
Alpha Scattering Experiment:
 The previous experiment by his mentor, J.J. Thompson, proved that there is a negative particle present in the atom that
counters the positive charge, making the atom electrically neutral. The Alpha Scattering experiment is led by Rutherford in
hopes to determine what is keeping the atom in its neutral state as the cathode-ray experiment concluded that there is a
negative charge and a positive charge are arranged inside the atom. In this experiment, the alpha particles from radioactive
substances were used as “nuclear bullets” (Ocampo et. Al., 2023). Alpha particle is a positively charged nuclear particle that
consists of two (2) protons and two (2) neutrons that is constantly emitted by a radioactive substance. Rutherford then
conducted the experiment using the alpha particles from radium. It was radiated by a particle emitter that is pointed to a
gold foil, surrounded by a screen. As the plum pudding theory stated that particles are scattered in the atom, Rutherford
expected some of the particles to penetrate and deflected by the gold foil. All of the particles passed with only a small
fraction were deflected. He became curious to the small fraction of alpha particles that were deflected. Rutherford spent 2
years trying to solve the puzzle and found out that the positive charges of an atom are concentrated at a very small volume.
This disproved J.J. Thompson’s model that all particles are not uniformly distributed. Rutherford named the concentrated
positive particles (core of an atom) the nucleus.
- Most of the space inside the atom is empty, which allowed the alpha particles to penetrate without getting
deflected.
- The deflected particle is where the proton (positive particle) lies. Implying that there is a positive charge that
disregards the plum pudding’s conclusion that the protons and electrons are scattered.
- Rutherford concluded that the electrons are distributed throughout the empty space in the nucleus. He described
their flow; revolving around the nucleus.
Ernest Rutherford is a British physicist known for his discovery of the nucleus. He was regarded as a central figure in the field
of radioactivity. With his contribution, he opened the doors for the exploration of nuclear physics. His experiment, called the
Alpha scattering experiment, proved the concentrated positive particle is not uniformly distributed. He also stated that the
electrons orbit the nucleus. In 1908, he received a Nobel prize for chemistry.

Niels Bohr (Full name: Niels Henrik David Bohr) is a Danish physicist well known for his contributions in the field of quantum
physics. He was the first scientist to apply quantum mechanics’ restricted transfer of energy, which solved the problem of
unknown values in the molecular and atomic structure. Bohr agreed with Rutherford’s model of atom. But he improved it to
answer the question as to how the electrons did not collapse orbiting the nucleus as losing the electron would make an
atom unstable.
Rutherford-Bohr model of the atom:
It is generally stated as Bohr’s model of atom. After the publishing of Rutherford’s planetary model, although it proved the
existence of central positive charged core of the atom, it did not explain how the electrons does not decay (losing/lose
energy) when orbiting the nucleus. It is stated that an atom is neutral, therefore stable. But if the electrons were to lose
energy, the atom’s neutrality would be disturbed. According to classical physics, such a system would be unstable, and Bohr
felt compelled to postulate, in a substantive trilogy of articles published in The Philosophical Magazine in 1913, that
electrons could only occupy particular orbits determined by the quantum of action and that electromagnetic radiation from
an atom occurred only when an electron jumped to a lower-energy orbit (Aeserud, 2023). This means that, according to
Bohr, that electrons does travel in fixed orbits, like how planets orbit around the sun. The orbits stands for a defined energy
level, and the further an electron orbits the nucleus, the higher the energy level. The electron can also jump between orbits
but it needs to meet the energy of the higher orbit. If an electron from a high energy dropped to a low one, its orbit will be
much closer to the nucleus. The lower the energy, the more you are closest to the nucleus. Although radical and
 unacceptable to most physicists at the time, the Bohr atomic model was able to account for an ever-increasing number of
experimental data, famously starting with the spectral line series emitted by hydrogen (Aeserud, 2023).
- Electrons circle the nucleus in orbits in defined energy level.
- The lower the energy of an electron possesses, the closest will it be from the nucleus. Therefore, lower the orbit.
- If that energy level is at capacity, a new energy level will begin
- As the electrons change its orbits, it produces radiation (photons) that we use to see things!

Erwin Schrodinger is a well known scientist that pioneered some of the highlights in the field of quantum physics. He is also
the one who created the Schrodinger’s cat paradox, which explained the quantum superposition (in a nutshell, we cannot
know the outcome of something unless we brought our attention to the object.). By applying De Broglie equation with the
behavior of waves. He was able to create his own atomic model. Schrodinger took inspiration from Bohr’s planetary model of
atom which explains how electrons jump orbits and can be found within them. Schrödinger used mathematical equations to
describe the likelihood of finding an electron in a certain position. This atomic model is known as the quantum mechanical
model of the atom (Author, 2022). His atomic theory explained that we can’t find the exact location of an electron, but we
can predict where it probably appear in a blank region of space.

Schrodinger’s Atomic model (The cloud model of the atom)

- An electron can only be predicted, but we cannot define where it exactly is.
- An electron cannot travel in a fixed space/exact orbit.
- The orbit where electrons will probably appear are dependent on it’s energy level as prescribed by Bohr’s atomic
model.
THE HISTORY OF THE PERIODIC TABLE AND ITS CONTRIBUTORS:
A TIMELINE;
1789 – Antoine Lavoiser is a French Chemist. He was the first to group metal and non-metal elements consisting of 33
elements. It was the first table of elements to be proposed. Many of the elements he grouped are no longer considered as
elements.
1801 – John Dalton took over Lavoiser’s research. His model of the periodic table marked the starting point of the modern
periodic table. Dalton estimated the elements’ relative weights and arranged them in ascending order.
1813- Jons Jacob Berzilius – used letter symbols to distinguish chemical elements which helped other scientists group
elements and create diagram for it.
1862 – Alexander-Emile Beguyer de Chancourtis was the be plotted and the elements which has the same properties appear
periodically. Lothar Meyer in the same year, created two elements arranged in a increasing atomic weight.
1863-1866 – A British chemist, John Newlands, grouped 56 elements into 11 groups based on their chemical properties. He
noticed that in every eight elements, there is an indication of similarities. He called this the “law of octaves”.
1869 – Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev laid the foundation of our modern periodic table. He arranged the elements according
to the increasing atomic weight. Mendeleev grouped 63 elements and he predicted 7 more elements which is arranged
exactly at where it should be in the periodic table we know as of today. His model was published in 1869 by the Russian
Chemical society.
1894 – This year was the first announcement of the first noble gas (element). It was studied for six more years until the
element group was proven to exist and became the final group to be inserted in the periodic table. The scientists’ names
were Sir William Ramsay and Lord Rayleigh, whom discovered argon, the first noble gas.
1913 – Henry Moseley determined that Mendeleev’s model should be arranged according to the atomic number rather than
the atomic weight. Moseley set the final move for the periodic table we use today.
1932 – James Chadwick discovered the existence of neutron (the neutral-charged subatomic particle) which helped
scientists understand the secret to the nucleus’ stability. He helped the scientific community picture the atom.
1945 – Glenn T. Seaborg classified the Lanthanides and Actinides which is an element group located at the bottom of the
periodic table of elements.
2016 – Scientists discovered the last 4 elements of the periodic table. Namely: Tennesine (117), Nihonium (113), Moscovium
(115) and Organesson (118).

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