ATOMS

a) Leucippus and Democritus

b) John Dalton
c) J.J. Thompson
d) E. Rutherford
e) James Chadwick

11 | 2
Section 11.3
THE BOHR MODEL
Niels Bohr (1885-1962) was a Danish physicist and a
student of Rutherford’s.

In 1913, Bohr introduced his atomic model based on the

simplest atom, hydrogen (only 1 electron)
Bohr proposed that an electron is found only in
specific circular paths, or orbits, around the nucleus.

3
THE BOHR MODEL
Each electron has a fixed energy = an energy level.
Electrons can jump from one energy level to another.
A quantum of energy is the amount of energy needed
to move an electron from one energy level to another
energy level.

4
BOHR MODEL

5
The
The degree
degree toto
which
which they
they
move
move from
from
level
level to
to level
level
determines
determines
the
the frequency
frequency
of
of light
light they
they
give
give off.
off.
BOHR MODEL
To move from one level to another, the electron must gain
or lose the right amount of energy.
The higher the energy level, the farther it is from the
nucleus.
Gain energy to move to higher energy levels (away from
nucleus)
Lose energy to move to lower energy levels (closer to
nucleus)
7
DID YOU KNOW THAT AN ELEMENT CAN BE IDENTIFIED
BY ITS EMISSION SPECTRA?

– When atoms absorb energy, electrons move into

higher energy levels. These electrons then lose
energy by emitting light when they return to lower
energy levels.
Mercury Nitrogen

8
Fingerprints
of certain
atoms
 5.3

ATOMIC SPECTRA
When atoms absorb energy, electrons move into
higher energy levels. These electrons then lose
energy by emitting light when they return to lower
energy levels.
 5.3

AN EXPLANATION OF ATOMIC
SPECTRA
In the Bohr model, the lone electron in the hydrogen atom can
have only certain specific energies.
When the electron has its lowest possible energy, the atom is
in its ground state.
Excitation of the electron by absorbing energy raises the atom
from the ground state to an excited state.
A quantum of energy in the form of light is emitted when the
electron drops back to a lower energy level.
 5.3

AN EXPLANATION OF ATOMIC
SPECTRA
The light emitted by an electron moving from
a higher to a lower energy level has a
frequency directly proportional to the energy
change of the electron.
 5.3

AN EXPLANATION OF ATOMIC
SPECTRA
The three groups of lines in the hydrogen spectrum correspond
to the transition of electrons from higher energy levels to lower
energy levels.
BOHR’S MODEL

14
THE QUANTUM MECHANICAL
MODEL
Rutherford’s and Bohr’s model focused on describing the path of the
electron around the nucleus like a particle (like a small baseball).

Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) treated the electron

as a wave.

 The modern description of the electrons in atoms, the quantum

mechanical model, comes from the knowledge of Schrödinger.

15
 5.1

THE QUANTUM MECHANICAL

MODEL
The propeller blade has the same probability of being
anywhere in the blurry region, but you cannot tell its
location at any instant. The electron cloud of an atom
can be compared to a spinning airplane propeller.
The quantum model determines the allowed
energies an electron can have and how likely it is
to find the electron in various locations around
the nucleus.
 5.1

THE QUANTUM MECHANICAL

MODEL
The probability of finding
an electron within a certain
volume of space
surrounding the nucleus can
be represented as a fuzzy
cloud.
The cloud is more dense
where the probability of
finding the electron is high.
 5.1

ATOMIC ORBITALS
(fuzzy cloud) = An atomic orbital is often thought of as
a region of space in which there is a high probability of
finding an electron.
QUANTUM MECHANICS
Orbital (“electron cloud”)
Region in space where there is 90%
probability of finding an e-

Orbital Radial Distribution Curve

Probability cloud
Atomic orbital
Atomic orbital

90%
 Larger atom—
s-orbitals are
More electrons
spherically shaped.
take up more space.
Smaller atom
Smaller atom—
Fewer electrons
take up less space.
p-orbitals are
“dumbell” shaped.
z-axis
p-orbitals are
“dumbell” shaped.
x-axis
p-orbitals are
“dumbell” shaped.
y-axis
p-orbitals together
x, y, & z axes.
 SHELLS AND ORBITALS AND ATOMIC STRUCTURE
f
d
s p

Shells of an
atom contain
a number of
stacked
orbitals
4

1
1st and 2nd level s-orbitals
and the p-orbitals all together.
WHY ARE ATOMS
SPHERICAL?

TRO, CHEMISTRY: A MOLECULAR APPROACH 30

ATOMIC ORBITALS
5.1

• Different atomic orbitals are denoted by letters. The s

orbitals are spherical, and p orbitals are dumbbell-shaped.

Four of the five d orbitals have the same shape but

different orientations in space.
 5.1

ATOMIC ORBITALS
The numbers and kinds of atomic orbitals depend on the energy sublevel.

Energy # of Letter of # of orbitals # of Total

Level, n sublevels sublevels per sublevel electrons in electrons in
each orbital energy level
 5.1

ATOMIC ORBITALS
The numbers and kinds of atomic orbitals depend on the energy sublevel.

Energy # of Letter of # of orbitals # of Total

Level, n sublevels sublevels per sublevel electrons in electrons in
each orbital energy level

1 1 s 1 2 2

s 1 2
2 2 8
p 3 6

s 1 2
3 3 p 3 6 18
d 5 10

s 1 2
4 p 3 6
4 32
d 5 10
f 7 14
 5.1

ATOMIC ORBITALS
The number of electrons allowed in each of
the first four energy levels are shown here.
A maximum of 2 electrons per orbital
 5.2

ELECTRON CONFIGURATIONS
The ways in which electrons are arranged in
various orbitals around the nuclei of atoms are
called electron configurations.

Three rules—the aufbau principle, the Pauli

exclusion principle, and Hund’s rule—tell you
how to find the electron configurations of atoms.
 5.2

ELECTRON CONFIGURATIONS
Aufbau Principle
According to the aufbau principle, electrons occupy the
orbitals of lowest energy first. In the aufbau diagram below,
each box represents an atomic orbital.
Hund’s Rule
Hund’s rule states that electrons occupy orbitals of the same
energy in a way that makes the number of electrons with the
same spin direction as large as possible.
Pauli Exclusion Principle
According to the Pauli exclusion principle, an atomic orbital
may describe at most two electrons. To occupy the same
orbital, two electrons must have opposite spins; that is, the
electron spins must be paired.
FILLING DIAGRAM FOR SUBLEVELS

Aufbau Principle
ELECTRON CONFIGURATION
1s 1

row # group #
shell # # valence e-
possibilities are 1-7 possibilities are:
7 rows s: 1 or 2
subshell p: 1-6
possibilities are d: 1-10
s, p, d, or f f: 1-14
4 subshells Total e- should equal
Atomic #
What element has an electron configuration of 1s1?
 1A group # = # valence (outside) e- 8A
1 2A 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A
2

Row 3 3B 4B 5B 6B 7B 8B 8B 8B 1B 2B
= 4
# shells
5
6
s d p
7

f
6
7
ORDER OF ELECTRON SUBSHELL
FILLING:
IT DOES NOT GO “IN ORDER”
1s2
2s2 2p6
3s2 3p6 3d10
4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14
5s2 5p6 5d10 5f14
6s2 6p6 6d10
7s2 7p6

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s2 5f14 6d10 7p6
 BLOCK
TABLE

This shows the different blocks in the Periodic Table.

It also shows in what order to write electron configurations (1s, 2s,
2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p, 7s, 5f, 6d,7p)
ELECTRON CONFIGURATION
TRANSITION METALS
The region of the periodic table in which the transition metals are found is known
as d-block because proceeding across each row each successive element has an
additional d-electron.  The lowest energy electron configurations for the first row
transition metals is shown below.
 
The valence configuration for first series transition metals
(Groups 3 - 12) is usually 3dn 4s2.Exceptions:  The
electron configurations for chromium (3d 5 4s1) and copper
(3d10 4s1). 

This is because 3d and 4s orbitals are very close in

energy, and the energy of 3d orbitals drops going across
the row.   

For both chromium and copper the configuration having

more electrons in in 3d orbitals is of lower energy. 
For chromium this is because the difference in
3d and 4s orbital energies is similar to the pairing
energy (Electron pairs are of higher energy).

The  3d5 4s1 configuration is of lower energy

because this configuration has the maximum
number of unpaired electrons for a d-subshell.
At copper (near the end of the transition series)
3d orbital energy has dropped so that 3d orbitals
are of lower energy than 4s orbitals

This means the 3d10 4s1 configuration is of
lower energy because it has more electrons
in 3d orbitals.
For the transition metal atoms, the total number of valence
electrons equals the number of the column (group) in the periodic
table (counting from the left).

That is because the orbitals in the 3d and 4s subshells are of

similar energy.
In transition metal atoms  the 4s subshell is of lower energy than
the 3d subshell.
 5.2

EXCEPTIONAL ELECTRON
CONFIGURATIONS
Some actual electron configurations differ
from those assigned using the aufbau
principle because half-filled sublevels are
not as stable as filled sublevels, but they
are more stable than other configurations.
D4 AND D9 RULES
Sometimes an electron configuration will end with 4 or 9
electrons in the d-sublevel; these are unstable

Will steal electrons from the s-sublevel before it to

stabilize. Ex. Chromium:

1s22s22p63s23p64s23d4  1s22s22p63s23p64s13d5
D4 AND D9 RULES
Ex. 2; Silver

1s22s22p63s23p64s23d44p65s24d9  1s22s22p63s23p64s23d44p65s14d10
NOBLE GAS CONFIGURATION
The Noble Gases are:
He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn
Notice that each noble gas finishes a row, or
energy level.
Noble gas configurations take advantage of this
by condensing what you have to write:
Ex. He : 1s2
Ex. C : 1s2 2s2 2p2
Noble Gas Configuration for C: [He] 2s2 2p2
NOBLE GAS CONFIG. – AN EXAMPLE

The normal configuration for As-(Arsenic)

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p3
Notice, the part in pink is the same as Argon’s configuration:
1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6
The noble gas configuration will start with the gas in the row
before it.
[Ar] 4s2 3d10 4p3
It cuts down on a lot of writing, and that’s a good thing.
E- CONFIG. AND ORB. DIAG. FOR IONS
When writing electron
What is an ion? configurations or orbital
diagrams for ions it’s a little
harder because it can look like
a different atom.
Just subtract the missing
electrons or add the extra
Examples of ions: electrons (highest energy level)
Na+
Mg2+
Fe3+ Li+ (1s2 2s0)

Cl-
S2- He (1s2)
HUND’S RULE Ex. Nitrogen:
Single electrons with
1s2 2s2 2p3
the same spin must
occupy each equal-
energy orbital before 1s2 2s2 2p3
additional electrons NOT
with opposite spins
can occupy the same
orbitals. 1s2 2s2 2p3
 Electron Configurations
Condensed Electron Configurations
• Neon completes the 2p subshell.
• Sodium marks the beginning of a new row.
• So, we write the condensed electron configuration for
sodium as
Na: [Ne] 3s1
• [Ne] represents the electron configuration of neon.
• Core electrons: electrons in [Noble Gas].
• Valence electrons: electrons outside of [Noble Gas].
THE ORDER OF THINGS…
Np1
Electrons, being unfriendly,
fill up the empty orbitals
Np2
before sharing orbitals.
Similar to seats on a bus – on a
Np 3

bus, you sit alone, rather than

with a stranger, if there is an
Np4
option.
Np5

Np6
PAULI EXCLUSION
PRINCIPLE
No two electrons in the same
atom can have the same set of 4
quantum numbers.
That is, each electron in an atom
has a unique address of quantum
numbers.
 QUANTUM
QUANTUM
NUMBERS
NUMBERS

nn --->
---> shell
shell 1,
1, 2,
2, 3,
3, 4,
4, ...
...
ll --->
---> subshell
subshell 0,
0, 1,
1, 2,
2, 33
m
ml l --->
---> orbital
orbital -l-l ...
... 00 ...
... +l
+l
m
mss --->
---> electron
electron spin
spin +1/2
+1/2 and
and -1/2
-1/2
N = Principal quantum number - Size and the energy level of the orbital
L = Angular quantum number – Describes the shape of the orbital (s,p,d,f)
Ml = Magnetic quantum number – The orientation of the orbitals with respect to
another orbitals
Ms = Electron spin -
ELECTRON
CONFIGURATIONS

The electron configuration of an atom is a

shorthand method of writing the location of
electrons by sublevel.
WRITING ATOMIC ELECTRON
CONFIGURATIONS

Two ways of writing

configs. spdf notation
for H, atomic number = 1
1 no. of
One is called the
spdf notation.
1s electrons

value of l
value of n
WRITING ATOMIC ELECTRON
CONFIGURATIONS
Two ways of
writing configs. ORBITAL
ORBITALBOX BOXNOTATION
NOTATION
for
forHe,
He, atomic
atomic number
number== 22
Other is called the Arrows
Arrows
orbital box 22 depict
notation. 11 ss depict
electron
electron
1s spin
spin
1s

One electron has n = 1, l = 0, ml = 0, ms = + 1/2

Other electron has n = 1, l = 0, ml = 0, ms = - 1/2