Elements of Life Flashcards
(117 cards)
What is an atomic structure made of?
- 3 sub atomic particles
- protons and neutrons form the nucleus
- electrons occupy energy levels/shells orbiting the nucleus
What is the relative atomic mass of each sub-atomic particle?
protons: 1
neutrons: 1
electrons: 0.00055 (1/1836)
What is the relative charge of each sub-atomic particle?
protons: +1
neutrons: 0 (no charge)
electrons: -1
What is the atomic number?
the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
What is the mass number?
the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom
What are isotopes?
atoms of the same element with different mass numbers
same no. of protons identifying the element with different no. of neutrons
What does mass spectrometry do?
measures atomic or molecular mass of different particles in a sample as well as relative abundance of different isotopes in an element
What happens in a mass spectrometer?
sample atoms/molecules are ionised into positively charged cations which are separated according to mass m to charge z ratios
separated ions are detected together with relative abundance
How do you calculate relative atomic mass from a mass spectra?
- %abundance of each ion (isotope) calculated by height of peak
- (relative isotopic mass x relative abundance) … add together each isotope and then divide all by 100
What is nuclear fusion?
when 2 light atomic nuclei fuse together to form a single heavier nucleus of a new element, releasing an enormous amount of energy
What are the required conditions for nuclear fusion?
- must be very close together
- very high temperature (e.g. star) so that nuclei move quickly and collide with more energy to overcome repulsive forces of nucleus
What does the absorption spectra look like?
- a series of black absorption lines on a coloured background
- missing frequencies of light where they have been absorbed by particles in the chromosphere
What does the emission spectra look like?
- a series of coloured lines on a black background
- correspond to emitted frequencies
What does the emission spectrum show?
the frequencies of emitted electromagnetic radiation where electrons of atoms/molecules/ions are raised from their ground state to higher energy states (excited states)
particles lose extra energy when emitting EM radiation
What is the name of the characteristic emission spectrum in the ultraviolet of the EM spectrum called?
the lyman series
What is the name of the hydrogen emission spectrum in visible light?
the balmer series
Is light seen from stars continuous?
no - consists of lines corresponding to absorption or emission of specific frequencies of light - atomic spectra
What are the 2 theories used to describe behaviour of light?
wave theory
particle theory
What is the speed of light? c
a constant
3.00 x 10(8) ms-1
when travelling in a vacuum
What is the formula relating frequency and wavelength?
speed of light c (ms-1) = wavelength λ (m) x frequency v (s-1)
What happens as the wavelength increases?
the frequency decreases (c remains the same)
What is the particle theory of light?
- light regarded as steady stream of photons (energy)
- energy of photons related to position in EM spectrum
- linked
What is the formula used in the particle theory of light?
energy of a photon E (J) = planck constant h (Js-1) x frequency v (s-1)
What is the value of the planck constant?
6.63 x 10(-34) Js-1