1.2.1

Fundamental Particles

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History of Atomic Theory

Our understanding of atoms has changed over time. Important models were developed by John Dalton, J.J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, and Niels Bohr.

John Dalton

John Dalton

  • John Dalton was an English schoolteacher, who first wrote that atoms were the basic unit of chemistry.
  • He thought that atoms were spherical, and different spheres constituted different elements.
  • Dalton thought atoms were the fundamental unit of matter and were indivisible.
J.J. Thomson

J.J. Thomson

  • 90 years after Dalton's ideas, J.J. Thomson discovered that atoms were divisible.
  • Thompson discovered and measured the mass of, the electron.
  • The electron was measured to be several orders of magnitude lighter than an atom, proving that smaller particles than atoms existed.
  • This lead to the plum pudding model, where the atom was viewed to be a large positively charged sphere, with embedded smaller, negatively charged, electrons.
Ernest Rutherford

Ernest Rutherford

  • Ernest Rutherford fired alpha particles at a thin film of gold.
  • Were the plum pudding model true, the particles would have been deflected by the gold.
  • Instead, most particles passed straight through the film.
  • This led to the nuclear model, where the atom was viewed as being mostly empty space, with a positive nucleus and orbiting electrons.
Niels Bohr

Niels Bohr

  • The nuclear model had a problem; classically, an electron should spiral into the nucleus, and atoms should collapse.
  • Niels Bohr solved this problem by developing the first quantum theory of the atom, with electrons assigned to fixed orbits of defined energy.
  • When electrons move between orbits, they must emit or absorb electromagnetic radiation of a particular frequency.

Subatomic Particles

Atoms are made of protons, neutrons, and electrons. These different subatomic particles have different properties.

Units

Units

  • Subatomic particles are so small that conventional SI units aren't very useful.
  • For example, a proton weighs 1.6726219 × 10-27kg - this is not a nice number to use!
  • We define certain units for use with atoms - the atomic mass unit (amu) is defined as one twelfth the mass of a single carbon-12 atom.
  • The elementary charge unit (e) is equal to the charge on an electron.
Protons

Protons

  • A proton has a mass of 1.0073amu.
  • It has a charge of +1e.
Neutrons

Neutrons

  • A neutron has a mass of 1.0087amu.
  • A neutron has no electric charge.
  • A neutron is very slightly heavier than a proton, but the difference is so small we often take the masses to be the same, and equal to 1amu.
Electrons

Electrons

  • An electron has a charge of -1e.
  • The mass of an electron is so small it is usually approximated to zero.
  • The mass of an electron is approximately 0.00055amu.

Subatomic Particles

Atoms are made of a nucleus and shells of electrons.

Nucleus

Nucleus

  • The nucleus of an atom contains protons and neutrons.
  • Most of the mass of an atom is in the nucleus.
  • The nucleus is positively charged.
Electron shells

Electron shells

  • Electron shells are further split into sub-shells.
  • Each sub-shell has a slightly different energy.
  • Electron shells occupy most of the space of the atom.
Jump to other topics
1

Physical Chemistry

1.1

Atoms, Molecules & Stoichiometry

1.1.1Relative Masses1.1.2The Mole1.1.3Mass Spectrometry1.1.4Empirical & Molecular Formulae1.1.5Balanced Equations1.1.6Molar Volume1.1.7End of Topic Test - Amount of Substance
1.2

Atomic Structure

1.2.1Fundamental Particles1.2.2Isotopes & Mass Number1.2.3Electron Shells, Sub-Shells & Orbitals1.2.4Electron Configuration1.2.5Ionisation Energy1.2.6Factors Affecting Ionisation Energies1.2.7Trends of Ionisation1.2.8Specific Impacts on Ionisation Energies1.2.9Electron Affinity1.2.10End of Topic Test - Atomic Structure1.2.11A-A* (AO2/3) - Atomic Structure
1.3

Chemical Bonding

1.3.1Ionic Bonding1.3.2Covalent & Dative Bonding1.3.3Shapes of Molecules1.3.4Intermolecular Forces1.3.5Intermolecular Forces 21.3.6Electronegativity1.3.7Bond Length, Bond Energy, & Bond Polarity1.3.8Metallic Bonding1.3.9Physical Properties1.3.10End of Topic Test - Bonding1.3.11A-A* (AO2/3) - Bonding
1.4

States of Matter

1.4.1Simple Covalent Molecules1.4.2The Ideal Gas Equation1.4.3States of Matter1.4.4Particle Diagrams1.4.5The Liquid State1.4.6Giant Ionic Lattices1.4.7Giant Metallic Lattices1.4.8Giant Covalent Structures1.4.9Graphene & Fullerene1.4.10Recycling
1.5

Chemical Energetics

1.5.1Calorimetry1.5.2Bond Enthalpies1.5.3Enthalpy Changes1.5.4Hess' Law1.5.5Born-Haber Cycles1.5.6Born-Haber Cycle Calculations1.5.7Entropy1.5.8Free Energy1.5.9End of Topic Test - Energetics
1.6

Electrochemistry

1.6.1Electrochemical Cells1.6.2Electrochemical Series1.6.3Commercial Application1.6.4Nernst Equation1.6.5Redox
1.7

Equilibria

1.7.1Dynamic Equilibrium & Le Chatelier1.7.2Kc1.7.3Kp1.7.4pH1.7.5The Ionic Product of Water1.7.6Weak Acids & Bases1.7.7Introduction to Solubility Equilibria1.7.8Solubility Equilibria Calculations1.7.9Free Energy of Dissolution1.7.10pH and Solubility1.7.11Common-Ion Effect1.7.12End of Topic Test - Kp & Electrochemistry1.7.13A-A* (AO2/3) - Electrochemical Cells
1.8

Partition Coefficient

1.8.1Kpc
1.9

Reaction Kinetics

1.9.1Collision Theory1.9.2Orders, Rate Constants & Equations1.9.3Rate Graphs1.9.4Rate Determining Step1.9.5Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution1.9.6Catalysts1.9.7Homogeneous Catalysts1.9.8Heterogeneous Catalysts1.9.9End of Topic Test - Kinetics1.9.10End of Topic Test - Rate Equations1.9.11A-A* (AO2/3) - Rate Equations
2

Inorganic Chemistry

2.1

The Periodic Table

2.1.1The Periodic Table2.1.2Trends in the Periodic Table2.1.3End of Topic Test - Periodicity & Trends2.1.4Ceramics2.1.5Period 3 Elements & Oxides2.1.6Period 3 Oxides2.1.7End of Topic Test - Period 3
2.2

Group 2

2.2.1Group 2 Chemistry
2.3

Group 17

2.3.1Introduction to Halogens2.3.2Reactions of Halogens2.3.3Chlorine & Chlorate(I)2.3.4End of Topic Test - Group 172.3.5A-A* (AO2/3) - Periodicity, Group 2 & 17
2.4

Transition Metals

2.4.1General Properties2.4.2Titrations2.4.3Shapes of Complex Ions2.4.4Variable Oxidation States2.4.5Ligands2.4.6Colours of Ions2.4.7Stereoisomerism of Complex Ions2.4.8Cisplatin2.4.9Ligand Substitutions & Kstab2.4.10End of Topic Test - Transition Metals2.4.11A-A* (AO2/3) - Transition Metals
2.5

Nitrogen & Sulfur

2.5.1Nitrogen & Ammonia2.5.2Formulated vs Manure Fertilisers2.5.3Nitrogen Containing Fertilisers2.5.4Fertilizers & Eutrophication2.5.5Common Atmospheric Pollutants & Their Properties2.5.6Catalytic Converters2.5.7Atmospheric Oxides
3

Organic Chemistry & Analysis

3.1

Introduction to Organic Chemistry

3.1.1Naming Conventions3.1.2Mechanism3.1.3Isomerism3.1.4End of Topic Test - Introduction to Organic Chem
3.2

Hydrocarbons

3.2.1Fractional Distillation3.2.2Cracking3.2.3Combustion3.2.4Chlorination3.2.5End of Topic Test - Alkanes3.2.6Introduction to Alkenes3.2.7Reactions of Alkenes3.2.8Polymerisation Reactions3.2.9End of Topic Test - Alkenes3.2.10Arenes3.2.11Evidence for Structure of Arenes3.2.12Reactions of Benzene3.2.13End of Topic Test -Arenes
3.3

Halogen Derivatives

3.3.1Properties of Haloalkanes3.3.2Substitution Reactions of Haloalkanes3.3.3Environmental Impacts of Haloalkanes3.3.4End of Topic Test - Halogenoalkanes
3.4

Hydroxy Compounds

3.4.1Types of Alcohol3.4.2Oxidation 13.4.3Oxidation 23.4.4Elimination3.4.5Acids & Esters3.4.6Acyl Chlorides & Acylation3.4.7Phenols & Their Reactions3.4.8End of Topic Test - Alcohols
3.5

Carbonyl Compounds

3.5.1Carbonyls3.5.2Hydrogen Bonding & Carbonyls3.5.3Aldehydes & Ketones3.5.4Tri-Iodomethane Reaction3.5.5End of Topic Test -Carbonyls
3.6

Carboxylic Acids & Derivatives

3.6.1Properties of Carboxylic Acids3.6.2Esters3.6.3Acyl Chlorides3.6.4End of Topic Test - Carboxylic Acids
3.7

Nitrogen Compounds

3.7.1Nature & Preparation of Amines3.7.2Basicity & Nucleophilicity3.7.3Amides3.7.4Reactions of Amino Acids3.7.5Amino Acids
3.8

Polymerisation

3.8.1Properties of Addition Polymers3.8.2Condensation Polymerisation3.8.3Effects of Side-Chains on Polymers3.8.4Hydrolysis of Ester & Amide Groups3.8.5Proteins3.8.6DNA3.8.7Adhesive & Conducting Polymers3.8.8End of Topic Test - Amines & Proteins
3.9

Analytical Techniques

3.9.1Chromatography3.9.2High-Performance Liquid Chromatography3.9.3Gas Chromatography3.9.4IR Spectroscopy3.9.5Uses of IR Spectroscopy3.9.6Mass Spectrometry3.9.7Mass Spectrometry Analysis3.9.8Nuclear Magnetic Resonance3.9.9Carbon-13 NMR3.9.10Proton NMR I3.9.11Proton NMR II3.9.12End of Topic Test - Analytical Techniques3.9.13A-A* (AO2/3) - Analytical Techniques
3.10

Organic Synthesis

3.10.1Chirality & Drug Synthesis3.10.2Organic Synthesis3.10.3Examples of Synthetic Routes3.10.4End of Topic Test - Organic Synthesis

Practice questions on Fundamental Particles

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Features of the Bohr model:True / false
  2. 2
    Who disproved the plum pudding model of the atom as a result of an experiment with gold foil?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    Evolution of the Atomic ModelPut in order
  4. 4
    What is the definition of the atomic mass unit?Multiple choice
  5. 5
    Name the subatomic particles which make up atoms:Fill in the list
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End of Topic Test - Amount of Substance

Isotopes & Mass Number