Chapter 30 The Nature of the Atom

Chapter 30
THE NATURE OF THE ATOM
PREVIEW
The atom is the smallest particle of an element that can be identified with that element.
The atom consists of a nucleus surrounded by electrons which are in quantized, or
discrete, energy levels. An electron can only change energy levels when it absorbs or
emits energy. The energy emitted as a result of a downward energy level transition is
typically in the form of a photon, the smallest particle of light, and the energy of the
emitted photon is equal to the difference between the initial and final energy of the
electron.
The content contained in sections 2, 3, 4, and 11 of chapter 3 of the te!tboo" is included
on the A# #hysics $ e!am.
QUICK REFERENCE
Important Terms
atom
the smallest particle of an element that can be identified with that element% the
atom consists of protons and neutrons in the nucleus, and electrons in orbitals
around the nucleus.
eletron
the smallest negatively charged particle% electrons orbit the nucleus of the atom
ener!" le#el
amount of energy an electron has while in a particular orbit around the
nucleus of an atom
e$%te& state
the energy level of an electron in an atom after it has absorbed energy
!ro'n& state
the lowest energy level of an electron in an atom
%on%(at%on ener!"
the energy needed to completely remove an electron from its orbital in an atom
l%ne spetr'm
discrete lines which are emitted by a cool e!cited gas
pr%n%pal )'ant'm n'm*er
an integer number n which determines the total energy of an atom
)'ant'm mo&el o+ the atom
atomic model in which only the probability of locating an electron is "nown
$ , ra"s
high frequency and energy electromagnetic waves which are produced when high
& energy electrons stri"e a metal target in an evacuated tube
'2
Chapter 30 The Nature of the Atom
E)'at%ons an& -"m*ols
i f photon
E E E
f c
hc
hf E
=
=
= =

where
E ( energy of a photon
c ( speed of light ( 3 ! 1
'
m)s
f ( frequency of light
( wavelength of light
Ef Ei ( difference between a final
energy level of an electron in an
atom and its initial energy
Ten Home.or/ Pro*lems
*hapter 3 #roblems ', +, 11, 12, 3+, 4, 41, 4,, ,2, ,3
0I-CU--ION OF -E1ECTE0 -ECTION-
3023 1%ne -petra
The ancient -ree"s were the first to document the concept of the atom. They believed
that all matter is made up of tiny indivisible particles. .n fact, the word atom comes from
the -ree" word atomos, meaning /uncuttable0. $ut a wor"ing model of the atom didn1t
begin to ta"e shape until 2.2. Thomson1s discovery of the electron in 1'+3. 4e found that
electrons are tiny negatively charged particles and that all atoms contain electrons. 4e
also recogni5ed that atoms are naturally neutral, containing equal amounts of positive and
negative charge, although he was not correct in his theory of how the charge was
arranged.
6ou may remember studying Thomson1s /plum7pudding0 model of the atom, with
electrons floating around in positive fluid. A significant improvement on this model of the
atom was made by 8rnest 9utherford around 1+11, when he decided to shoot alpha
particles :helium nuclei; at very thin gold foil to probe the inner structure of the atom. 4e
discovered that the atom has a dense, positively charged nucleus with electrons orbiting
around it.
'3
<ucleus
electron in
orbit
Chapter 30 The Nature of the Atom
.n 1+13, <iels $ohr made an important improvement to the 9utherford model of the
atom. 4e observed that e!cited hydrogen gas gave off a spectrum of colors when viewed
through a spectrosope. $ut the spectrum was not continuous that is, the colors were
bright, sharp lines which were separate from each other. .t had long been "nown that
every low pressure, e!cited gas emitted its own special spectrum in this way, but $ohr
was the first to associate the !right"line spectra of these gases, particularly hydrogen,
with a model of the atom. =ection 3.2 in your te!tboo" has e!cellent photographs of
continuous and bright7line spectra.
4e proposed that the electrons orbiting the nucleus of an atom do not radiate energy in
the form of light while they are in a particular orbit, but only when they change orbits.
>urthermore, an electron cannot orbit at ?ust any radius around the nucleus, but only
certain selected :quanti5ed; orbits.
3023 The 4ohr Mo&el o+ the H"&ro!en Atom
The two postulates of the $ohr model of the atom are summari5ed below@
1. 8lectrons orbiting the nucleus of an atom can only orbit in certain quanti5ed orbits,
and no others. These orbits from the nucleus outward are designated n (1, 2, 3A, and
the electron has energy in each of these orbits E# E$ E3, and so on. The energies of
electrons are typically measured in electron"volts %e&'( The lowest energy :in the orbit
nearest the nucleus; is called the ground state energy E#. :>ig. A;
2. 8lectrons can change orbits when they absorb or emit energy.
:a; Bhen an electron absorbs e)actly enough energy to reach a higher energy level, it
?umps up to that level. .f the energy offered to the electron is not e)actly enough
to raise it to a higher level, the electron will ignore the energy and let it pass.
:>ig. $;
:b; Bhen an electron is in a higher energy level, it can ?ump down to a lower energy
level by releasing energy in the form of a photon of light. The energy of the
emitted photon is e!actly equal to the difference between the energy levels the
electron moves between.
:>ig. *;
'4
n ( 1
n ( 2
8
1
8
2
>ig. A >ig. $ >ig. *
8
1
8
2
8
3
photon
8
1
8
2
8
3
photon 8 ( 8
2
78
1
Chapter 30 The Nature of the Atom
E$ample 5
*onsider the energy level diagram for a particular atom shown below@
An electron begins in the ground state of this atom.
:a; 4ow much energy must be absorbed by this electron to reach the 4
th
energy levelC
:b; 4ow many possible photons can be emitted from this atom if the electron starts in the
4
th
energy levelC ="etch the possible transitions on the diagram above using arrows to
indicate a transition between levels.
:c; The electron drops from 84 to 82 and emits a photon, then drops from 82 to 81 and
emits a second photon.
i. *alculate the frequency and wavelength of the photon emitted when the electron
drops from 84 to 82.
ii. *alculate the frequency and wavelength of the photon emitted when the electron
drops from 82 to 81.
:d; Are either, both, or neither of the photons emitted in part :c; above in the visible
rangeC 4ow can you tellC
-ol't%on
:a; 8 ( 84 & 81 ( 3 eD & eD ( 3 eD
:b; =i! possible transitions
',
8nergy above
ground state
8
1
(
8
2
( 4 eD
8
3
( E eD
8
4
( 3 eD
8
1
(
8
2
( 4 eD
8
3
( E eD
8
4
( 3 eD
Chapter 30 The Nature of the Atom
:c; i. 842 ( 84 & 82 ( 3 eD & 4 eD ( 3 eD
m )
*z )
s m )
f
c
*z )
*z e& )
e&
h
E
f
3
14
'
14
1,
1 1 . 4
1 2 . 3
) 1 3
1 2 . 3
) 1 14 . 4
3

= = =
= = =

ii. 821 ( 82 & 81 ( 4 eD & eD ( 4 eD

m )
*z )
s m )
f
c
*z )
*z e& )
e&
h
E
f
3
14
'
14
1,
1 1 . 3
1 3 . +
) 1 3
1 3 . +
) 1 14 . 4
4

= = =
= = =

:d; The range of visible wavelengths is about 4 ! 1

73
m to 3 ! 1
73
m. The photon emitted
in the transition from 84 to 82 is in this visible range, but the photon emitted in the
transition from 82 to 81 is not in this range.
CHAPTER 30 REVIEW QUE-TION-
+or each of the multiple choice questions !elo, choose the !est ans,er(
1. An emission spectrum is produced
when
:A; electrons in an e!cited gas ?ump up
to a higher energy level and release
photons.
:$; electrons in an e!cited gas ?ump
down to a lower energy level and
release photons.
:*; electrons are released from the outer
orbitals of an e!cited gas.
:F; an unstable nucleus releases energy.
:8; light is shined on a metal surface and
electrons are released.
'E
Chapter 30 The Nature of the Atom
2. *onsider the electron energy level
diagram for a particular atom shown. An
electron is in the ground state energy
level. .f a photon of energy E eD is given
to the electron, which of the following
will occurC
:A; The electron will ignore the photon
since the photon1s energy does not
match the energy levels.
:$; The electron will absorb the photon,
?ump up to the ,7eD level shown,
and convert the remainder of the
photon1s energy into "inetic energy,
but will stay in the ,7eD energy
level.
:*; The electron will absorb the photon,
?ump out of the atom completely,
and convert the remainder of the
photon1s energy into "inetic energy.
:F; The electron will absorb the photon,
?ump up to the ,7eD level, then bac"
down to the 4 eD level.
:8; The electron will ?ump up to the 37
eD level, then immediately bac"
down the ground state.
3. *onsider the electron energy level
diagram for hydrogen shown. An
electron in the ground state of a
hydrogen atom has an energy of
7 13.E eD. Bhich of the following
energies is <GT a possible energy
for a photon emitted from hydrogenC
:A; 1.+ eD
:$; 13.E eD
:*; .E, eD
:F; 11.1 eD
:8; 1.2 eD
4. The reason why electrons can only
orbit at certain circumferences is
:A; some electrons are larger than others
:$; the energy of electrons gets smaller
as the circumference gets larger
:*; electrons do not radiate energy when
they are in a particular orbit
:F; the atom is mostly empty space
:8; a whole number of de $roglie
wavelengths of the electron must fit
into the orbit.
'3
8nergy above
ground state
8
1
(
8
2
( 2 eD
8
3
( 3 eD
8
4
( 4 eD
8
,
( , eD
8
1
( 713.E eD
8
2
( 73.4 eD
8
3
( 71., eD
8
4
( 7.', eD
8
,
( 7.,4 eD
Chapter 30 The Nature of the Atom
Free Response Q'est%on
-irections. /ho, all ,or0 in ,or0ing the follo,ing question( The question is ,orth #0
points and the suggested time for ans,ering the question is a!out #0 minutes( The parts
,ithin a question may not have equal ,eight(
1. :1 points;
The energy level diagram for hydrogen is shown above. A free electron comes close
enough to the hydrogen atom that it is captured and ma"es a transition to the third energy
level of the atom. Then the electron ma"es a transition to the first energy level.
:a; ="etch arrows on the diagram above representing the two transitions made by the
electron.
:b; *alculate the wavelength of the photon emitted as the electron ma"es the transition to
the third energy level.
Bhile the electron is in the ground state it absorbs a 137eD photon.
:c; $riefly describe what happens to the electron as a result of absorbing the 137eD
photon.
:d; *alculate the de $roglie wavelength of the electron after absorbing the 137eD photon.
''
8
1
( 713.E eD
8
2
( 73.4 eD
8
3
( 71.,1 eD
8
4
( 7 .', eD
8 (
Chapter 30 The Nature of the Atom
AN-WER- AN0 E6P1ANATION- TO CHAPTER 30 REVIEW QUE-TION-
M'lt%ple Cho%e
1. $
Bhen electrons ?ump bac" to lower energy levels, they emit energy as photons.
2. *
Bhen an electron absorbs enough energy to completely escape the atom we say that the
atom is ionized, and the energy remaining, in this case 1 eD, is converted to "inetic
energy.
3. F
An electron emits a photon of energy which corresponds e!actly to the difference in two
energy levels, and 11.1 eD does not correspond to any energy differences in the hydrogen
atom.
4. 8
.f a whole number of electron wavelengths does not fit into a particular circumference,
the electron wave would destructively interfere and could not e!ist in that orbit.
Free Response Q'est%on -ol't%on
:a; 2 points
:b; 3 points
nm
e&
nm e&
E
hc
E
hc
2 . '21
,1 . 1
124

3
= =

= =

:c; 2 points
.t ta"es 13.E eD to release the
electron from the ground state,
and the remaining energy of 3.4 eD
is the "inetic energy of the freed electron.
:d; 3 points
The speed of the e?ected electron is
( ) ( )
s m )
0g )
e& 1 ) e&
m
2E
v ) 1 . 1
1 1 . +
) 1 E . 1 3 2 2
E
31
1+
= = =

( )( )
m )
s m ) 0g )
*z 1 )
mv
h
1
E 31
34
1 1 . 3
) 1 . 1 1 1 . +
) 1 E . E

= = =
'+
8
1
( 713.E eD
8
2
( 73.4 eD
8
3
( 71.,1 eD
8
4
( 7 .', eD
8 (
photon
photon