Atomic Structure Flashcards
Subatomic particles
All elements are made of atoms. - particles in atoms: protons, electrons and neutrons
- electrons found surrounding nucleus in orbitals
Charges:
- protons = +1
- neutrons = 0
- electrons = -1
Mass
- protons = 1
- neutrons 1
- electrons = 0
Describe the arrangement of subatomic particles
- protons and neutrons are in the nucleus - nucleons
- held together by strong nuclear force
- electrons surround the nucleus in orbitals
- held in the atom by electrostatic forces between protons and electrons - nuclear force is much stronger than electrostatic forces
Explain what john dalton stated about the atom
- atoms were solid spheres that make up elements, different spheres for each elements
What did JJ Thompson discover
- plum pudding model, showing atoms contain electrons
What did Ernest Rutherford discover?
- conducted the alpha scattering gold foil experiment to produce nuclear model.
- fired positively charged alpha particles at very thin sheet of gold
- ppm suggested: most particles slightly deflected by positive ‘pudding.’
- actually —> most straight through (most atom is empty space) + some deflected (positive cenbtre)
What did Bohr discover
- adaptive nuclear model, putting electrons in shells/orbitals in fixed energy
- realised electrons in a ‘cloud around the nucleus spiral down into the nucleus, causing it to collapse
- when electrons move to a new shell, electromagnetic radiation is emitted or absorbed.
Mass number (A)
- total number of protons + neutrons in the nucleus. Nucleons are responsible for almost all the mass as electrons have tiny mass
Atomic number (Z)
- number of protons in the nucleus, equals the number of electrons in the atom meaning atoms are electrically neutral
- number of electrons in outer shell determines the chemical properties of the element.
- atoms of same element = same atomic number
relative atomic mass (Ar)
- average mass of an atom of an element, taking into account its naturally occurring isotopes, relative to 1/12th the mass of an atom of carbon-12.
- Ar = (isotope mass number x % abundance) + (isotope mass number x % abundance) / sum of % isotope abundance
Define relative isotopic mass
Mass of an atom of an isotope relative to 1/12th the mass of an atom of carbon-12. Always a whole number
Define relative molecular mass (Mr)
- average mass of a molecule in relation to 1/12 the mass of a carbon 12 atom
Mr = sum of Ar in the formula for the molecule
Define the term ‘isotopes’
An isotope is an atom of the same element with the same number of protons (atomic number) and a different number of neutrons (so diff mass number)
What are some characteristics of isotopes
- same chemical properties as they have the same electron configuration
- slightly different physical properties as they depend on the mass of the atom. E.g - density
- isotopes can be radioactive if they are unstable (extra protons/neutrons in nucleus creates extra energy)
—> emit radiation as they decay and the rate of decay measured by half-life.
Time of flight mass spectrometer
- powerful instrumental technique that’s useful for accurate determination of relative isotopic masses + relative abundances.
- work out relative atomic masses to identify elements and relative molecular masses
Describe the ionisation stage of TOFMS
- where each atom becomes an ion and can be done one of two ways depending on its mass:
- electron impact ionisation
- electrospray ionisation
Electron impact ionisation
- for compounds with low molecular mass.
- sample is vaporised then high energy electrons are fired at sample using an electron gun, one electron is knocked off each atom forming a 1+ ion.
X (g) —> (X)+ (g) + e-
Electrospray ionisation
- for compounds with high relative molecular mass
- sample dissolved in volatile solvent + injected into ionisation chamber through a hypodermic needle which has high voltage as its positively charged
—> particles gain a proton and become 1+ ions as a fine mist. Solvent evaporates leaving 1+ ions
X(g) + H+ —> (XH)+ (g )
Describe the stage of acceleration
- ions are accelerated using an electric field
- the positively charged ions accelerate towards a negatively charged plate
- all ions have same kinetic energy = same kinetic energy but their velocity than heavier ions
Describe the ion drift stage
- ions pass through a hole in the plate into the flight tube where they enter a region with no electric field so they drift through towards detector. —> ions with diff masses have diff time of flight
Describe the detection stage of TOFMS
- detector is a negatively charged plate and a current is produced when the ions pick up electron from detector, cause current to slow
- current is proportional to the abundance
Describe the data analysis stage
- signal from the detector is passed to a computer which generates a mass spectrum
Mass spectra of elements
- shows mass:charge ratio which is same as mass number as most have 1+ charge and relative % abundance of each isotope.
How to identify elements - mass spectra
- each isotope produces a line on the spectra, as they all have different masses.
- always put a + after the isotope of elements when identifying which reach detector first
Identifying molecular mass —> main peak on spectra at the Mr, highest, furthest right, most abundant
What does higher M/Z ratios isotopes indicate?
- isotopes of carbon and hydrogen.
- in organic compounds - often a peak at Mr, +1 due to C-13 and H-2 isotopes