Wednesday 7 August 2013

The Atom


The Atomic Theory:
In 1911, Rutherford proposed a revolutionary view of the atom. He suggested that the atom consisted of a small, dense core of positively charged particles in the center (or nucleus) of the atom, surrounded by a swirling ring of electrons. The nucleus was so dense that the alpha particles would bounce off of it, but the electrons were so tiny, and spread out at such great distances, that the alpha particles would pass right through this area of the atom. Rutherford's atom resembled a tiny solar system with the positively charged nucleus always at the center and the electrons revolving around the nucleus.
Interpreting Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment: The positively charged particles in the nucleus of the atom were called protons.  Protons carry an equal, but opposite, charge to electrons, but protons are much larger and heavier than electrons.  
In 1932, James Chadwick discovered a third type of subatomic particle, which he named the neutron. Neutrons help stabilize the protons in the atom's nucleus. Because the nucleus is so tightly packed together, the positively charged protons would tend to repel each other normally. Neutrons help to reduce the repulsion between protons and stabilize the atom's nucleus. Neutrons always reside in the nucleus of atoms and they are about the same size as protons. However, neutrons do not have any electrical charge; they are electrically neutral.
Atoms are electrically neutral because the number of protons (+ charges) is equal to the number of electrons (- charges) and thus the two cancel out.  As the atom gets larger, the number of protons increases, and so does the number of electrons (in the neutral state of the atom). 
Each element has its own distinct line spectra.  
To Bohr, the line spectra phenomenon showed that atoms could not emit energy continuously, but only in very precise quantities (he described the energy emitted as quantized). Because the emitted light was due to the movement of electrons, Bohr suggested that electrons could not move continuously in the atom (as Rutherford had suggested) but only in precise steps. Bohr hypothesized that electrons occupy specific energy levels. When an atom is excited, such as during heating, electrons can jump to higher levels. When the electrons fall back to lower energy levels, precise quanta of energy are released as specific wavelengths (lines) of light.
Under Bohr's theory, an electron's energy levels (also called electron shells) can be imagined as concentric circles around the nucleus. Normally, electrons exist in the ground state, meaning they occupy the lowest energy level possible (the electron shell closest to the nucleus). When an electron is excited by adding energy to an atom (for example, when it is heated), the electron will absorb energy, "jump" to a higher energy level, and spin in the higher energy level. After a short time, this electron will spontaneously "fall" back to a lower energy level, giving off a quantum of light energy. Key to Bohr's theory was the fact that the electron could only "jump" and "fall" to precise energy levels, thus emitting a limited spectrum of light.

Properties of elements repeat periodically. Similar elements form a group.

I
II

III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII

H







He

1







2

Li
Be

B
C
N
O
F
Ne

3
4

5
6
7
8
9
10

Na
Mg

Al
Si
P
S
Cl
Ar

11
12

13
14
15
16
17
18

K
Ca

Ga
Ge
As
Se
Br
Kr

19
20
Transition
31
32
33
34
35
36

Rb
Sr
metals
In
Sn
Sb
Te
I
Xe

37
38

49
50
51
52
53
54

Cs
Ba

Tl
Pb
Bi
Po
At
Rn

55
56

81
82
83
84
85
86


            Formation of compounds
All things are made up of tiny particles called atoms. Helium, neon, argon, krypton are inert gases. They have 2, 8, 8, and 8 electrons respectively in their outermost shell. If any atom gets eight electrons in the outer shell, it becomes stable. This is the octet rule.
Oxygen has six electrons in the outermost shell. They are called valence electrons. If however, there are eight electrons in its valence shell, it becomes stable. The electron affinity of oxygen is more. By losing electrons into the neighborhood or gaining electrons from the neighborhood, atoms become stable in form [compounds].

Sl no
Name
Symbol
configuration
1
Hydrogen
H
             1
2
Carbon
C
      2,    4
3
oxygen
O
      2,    6
4
Sodium
Na
      2,    8,   1
5
Chlorine
Cl
      2,    8,   7

Atoms can share electrons to form molecules.
Example:- H2, O2, N2, CO2 [covalent bond formation]
            H─H,  O═O, N≡N,  O═C═O
Atoms can donate electrons to form molecules.[transfer of electrons]
Example:- NaCl , NaOH, CaCO3, NH4OH [ ionic bonds]
            Na+ Cl-  , Na+ OH-  ,  Ca2+CO32-        NH4OH-                
Sodium donated its outer shell electron to chlorine and both have now eight electrons in their outer shell and therefore they are stable.
The earth's atmosphere has N2, O2, CO2, and H2O molecules as gases.
Sea water is H2O with many dissolved compounds like NaCl, MgCl2, CaCl2, MgSO4 CaSO4 etc. Water is a polar molecule and a good solvent.
When oxides of non-metals dissolve into water, the water becomes acidic due to an excess of H+ ions in water. [Acid is formed]. The acids are more reactive.
When hydroxides dissolve in water, the water becomes basic due to an excess of OH- ions.
[Base is formed]. The bases are more reactive.
Therefore compounds can form by;
  • Only covalent bonds.
  • Only ionic bonds.
  • By the combination of both, covalent and ionic bonds.
Chemistry is all about understanding the nature of atoms and the formation of bonds.


Enthalpy change:
While forming new bonds, energy is liberated. Therefore bond formation is exothermic.
(for Carbon to Carbon bond formation, energy is needed from an external source.)
Breaking bonds need energy. Therefore bond breaking is endothermic.
In a chemical change either energy is given out or energy is taken in. Energy is conserved.
Hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water. This is an exothermic reaction.
2H2(g) + O2(g) → 2H2O(l). two molecules of hydrogen gas combine with one molecule of oxygen to form two molecules of water.   

Oxidation and reduction:
Oxidation: - loss of electrons by any species is oxidation.

4Al (s) + 3O2 (g) → 2Al2O3 (s)

Aluminum is oxidized to Al2O3

Reduction: - a gain of electrons by any species is reduction.

            ZnO (s) + C (s) →Zn (s) + CO2 (g)
           
            Zinc oxide is reduced to Zn

The Earth's crust:
According to calculations by F. W. Clarke, a little more than 47 percent of Earth's crust consists of oxygen. It occurs mainly in the form of oxides, particularly silica, alumina, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, potash, and soda. Silica functions principally as an acid, forming silicates, and the most common minerals of igneous rocks are silicates. From a computation based on 1,672 analyses of all kinds of rocks, Clarke arrived at the following values for the average percentage composition: SiO2=59.71; Al2O3=15.41; Fe2O3=2.63; FeO=3.52; MgO=4.36; CaO=4.90; Na2O=3.55; K2O=2.80; H2O=1.52; TiO2=0.60; and P2O5=0.22. (The total of these is 99.22 percent). All other constituents occur in very small quantities, usually much less than one percent.
The oxides combine in various ways. Some examples are given below.
§                     Potash and soda combine to produce mostly feldspars, but may also produce nepheline, leucite, and muscovite.
§                     Phosphoric acid with lime forms apatite.
§                     Titanium dioxide with ferrous oxide gives rise to ilmenite.
§                     Magnesia and iron oxides with silica crystallize as olivine or enstatite, or with alumina and lime form the complex ferromagnesian silicates (such as the pyroxenes, amphiboles, and biotites).
§                     Any silica in excess of that required to neutralize the bases separates out as quartz; excess alumina crystallizes as corundum.
These combinations must be regarded only as general tendencies, for there are numerous exceptions to the rules. The prevalent physical conditions also play a role in the formation of rocks.

Clarke also calculated the relative abundances of the principal rock-forming minerals and obtained the following results: apatite=0.6 percent, titanium minerals=1.5 percent, quartz=12.0 percent, feldspars=59.5 percent, biotite=3.8 percent, hornblende, and pyroxene=16.8 percent, for a total of 94.2 percent. These figures, however, can only be considered rough approximations




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