what is an atom?
an atom is the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element.
all atoms are made up of electron, protons and neutrons.
protons & neutrons may be collectively referred to as nucleons
what are isotopes?
isotopes are atoms of an element that have the same proton number but different number of neutrons (& electrons)
isotopes have same chemical properties (same no. of e) but different physical properties (diff no. of n)
are protons deflected to the negative plate?
yes, protons (& cations) are deflected to the negative plate.
electrons (& anions) are deflected to the positive plate.
neutrons pass straight through
☆ if a particle is deflected to a smaller extent (smaller angle), it is because it is heavier as it has more particles. eg electrons have a much lower mass than protons so they are deflected to a greater extent. He has twice the electrons as H so He is deflected half as much as H
what is relative atomic mass?
average mass of one atom of an element ÷ (1/12 x mass of one atom of ¹²C)
what is relative isotopic mass?
mass of one atom of an isotope of an element ÷ (1/12 the mass of one atom of ¹²C)
what is principal quantum number?
principal quantum number, n, describes the main energy level of an electron. larger n = higher energy level = electron is further away from nucleus.
maximum number of electrons that can occupy each principal quantum shell is given by 2n²
what are the 3 rules for distributing electrons in various orbitals in an atom?
read through
1 - aufbau/’building up’ principle -> electrons occupy orbitals in order of energy levels; the orbital with the lowest energy is filled first (1s < 2s < 2p < 3s < 3p< 4s < 3d < 4p)
2 - hund’s rule of multiplicity -> each orbital must be singly occupied before electrons are paired
3 - an orbital cannot hold more than two electrons, and the 2 electrons sharing the same orbital must have opposite spins
group 1-2 -> s block
group 3-12 -> d block
group 13-18 -> p block (except helium which is 1s²)
why does atomic radius increase down the group?
no. of quantum shells is the most important factor
why does atomic radius decrease across a period?
why does atomic radius remain relatively invariant across the first row of transition elements?
across the same period, why does ionic radius of cations decrease, then increase from last cation to first anion, then decrease among anions?
(ionic radius across same period) (eg period3)
what is first ionisation energy?
first ionisation energy is the energy needed to remove 1 mole of electrons from 1 mole of gaseous atoms to form 1 mole of unipositively charged gaseous ions
why does successive ionisation energy increase for the same atom?
what is the nth ionisation energy?
where n = 2, 3, 4, 5…
the nth ionisation energy of an element is the energy needed to remove 1 mole of electrons from 1 mole of gaseous ions with (n-1)+ charge to form 1 mole of gaseous ions with n+ charge
eg if there is a big increase from the 2nd to 3rd IE, it implies that the 3rd electron is in an inner quantum shell, so there are 2 electrons in the outermost or valence subshell (the atoms is grp2)
why does first IE decrease down a group?
why does first IE increase across period 2 & 3?
what are the 2 anomalies in trend of first IE across period 2 & 3 and why do they exist?
anomaly 1: small dip between Mg [1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s²] (grp 2) & Al [1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p¹] (grp 13). the 3p subshell is further away from the nucleus than the 3s subshell → weaker attraction between the nucleus & the outermost electron → less energy is required to remove the 3p electron from Al, resulting in a lower ionisation energy for Al compared to Mg
anomaly 2: small dip between P [1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p³] (grp 15) and S [1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁴] (grp 16). all the 3p electrons in P are unpaired. in S, 2 of the 3p electrons are paired → there is inter-electronic repulsion between the paired electrons in the 3p subshell in S → less energy than expected is required to remove one of these paired electrons from S
why does first IE remain relatively invariant across transition elements?