2.3 Atomic Structure and Subatomic Particles

The development of modern atomic theory revealed much about the inner structure of atoms.  It was learned that an atom contains a very small nucleus composed of positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons, surrounded by a much larger volume of space containing negatively charged electrons.  The nucleus contains the majority of an atom’s mass because protons and neutrons are much heavier than electrons, whereas electrons occupy almost all of an atom’s volume.  The diameter of an atom is on the order of 10−10 m, whereas the diameter of the nucleus is roughly 10−15 m—about 100,000 times smaller.  For a perspective about their relative sizes, consider this: If the nucleus were the size of a blueberry, the atom would be about the size of a football stadium.

Figure 2.10. If an atom could be expanded to the size of a football stadium, the nucleus would be the size of a single blueberry.

Atoms—and the protons, neutrons, and electrons that compose them—are extremely small.  For example, a carbon atom weighs less than 2 × 10−23 g, and an electron has a charge of less than 2 × 10−19 C (coulomb).  When describing the properties of tiny objects such as atoms, we use appropriately small units of measure, such as the atomic mass unit (amu) and the fundamental unit of charge (e). The amu was originally defined based on hydrogen, the lightest element, then later in terms of oxygen.  Since 1961, it has been defined with regard to the most abundant isotope of carbon, atoms of which are assigned masses of exactly 12 amu. (This isotope is known as “carbon-12” as will be discussed later in this module.)  Thus, one amu is exactly 1 / 12 of the mass of one carbon-12 atom: 1 amu = 1.6605 × 10−24 g.  The Dalton (Da) and the unified atomic mass unit (u) are alternative units that are equivalent to the amu.  The fundamental unit of charge (also called the elementary charge) equals the magnitude of the charge of an electron (e) with e = 1.602 × 10−19 C.

A proton has a mass of 1.0073 amu and a charge of 1+.  A neutron is a slightly heavier particle with a mass 1.0087 amu and a charge of zero; as its name suggests, it is neutral.  The electron has a charge of 1− and is a much lighter particle with a mass of about 0.00055 amu (it would take about 1800 electrons to equal the mass of one proton.  

Table 1. Properties of subatomic particles.

Activity:

Go to the following link and Perform Rutherford’s experiment as well as Plum Pudding model experiment. 

1. Click on the  atom from left side menu
2. Click on Traces  from the left top corner side menu
3. Adjust the alpha particle trace.
4. Click on the “play” button at the bottom of the page

What difference do you notice when you perform both experiments?

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/rutherford-scattering/latest/rutherford-scattering_en.html

Questions

1. What postulate of atomic theory is partially correct and needs to be modified? Why?
2. What is the main discovery of Rutherford’s experiment?

Ans: 1. Isotopes, atoms of same elements but not identical

2.Nucleus in an atom