Chapter 3

Atomic
Structure

Discover Chemistry for GCE

‘O’ Level Science and
Normal (A) Level Science
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 Lesson 3.1

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 Chapter 3: Atomic Structure
• 3.1 What Is an Atom Made Up Of?
• 3.2 How Many Sub-atomic Particles Does an Atom Have?
• 3.3 How Are Sub-atomic Particles Distributed in an Atom?

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 3.1 What Is an Atom Made Up Of?
Learning Outcome(s)
• Name the three main sub-atomic particles.
• Show where sub-atomic particles are in the structure of an atom.
• Describe sub-atomic particles in terms of their relative masses and charges.

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 3.1 What Is an Atom Made Up Of?
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• An atom is the smallest particle that can still have

the chemical characteristics of an element.
• However, within each atom, there are
even smaller particles.

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• Gold and silver are different elements.

• They behave differently because they have
different numbers of sub-atomic particles.

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 3.1 What Is an Atom Made Up Of?
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The Three Main Sub-atomic Particles

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 3.1 What Is an Atom Made Up Of?
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The Three Main Sub-atomic Particles

• Atoms are electrically neutral.
• Number of protons = number of electrons
• Protons and neutrons are in the nucleus, hence they are called nucleons.
• Electrons are found in electron shells found away from the nucleus.
Sub-atomic Particle Relative Mass Relative Charge Location in the Atom
proton 1 +1 nucleus
neutron 1 0 nucleus
1
electron –1 electron shell
1840

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 3.1 What Is an Atom Made Up Of?
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The Three Main Sub-atomic Particles

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 Summary of Lesson 3.1
• An atom is the smallest particle that can still have the chemical characteristics of
an element.
• Protons, neutrons and electrons are sub-atomic particles that exist in atoms.

Sub-atomic Particle Relative Mass Relative Charge Location in the Atom

proton 1 +1 nucleus
neutron 1 0 nucleus
1
electron –1 electron shell
1840

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 Lesson 3.2A

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 Chapter 3 Atomic Structure
• 3.1 What Is an Atom Made Up Of?
• 3.2 How Many Sub-atomic Particles Does an Atom Have?
• 3.3 How Are Sub-atomic Particles Distributed in an Atom?

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 3.2 How Many Sub-atomic Particles Does
an Atom Have?
Learning Outcome(s)
• Define proton (atomic) number and nucleon (mass) number.
• Deduce the numbers of protons, neutrons, and electrons in atoms and ions,
given proton and nucleon numbers.
12
• Interpret and use nuclide notation such as 6C.
• Define isotopes.

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 Carbon in Coal
• Coal is commonly used as a fuel.
• It comprises mainly of carbon atoms.

• What makes atoms of carbon

look the way they are?
• How can you tell what element
an atom comes from?

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an Atom Have?
• Proton (atomic) number (Z)
= Number of protons in the nucleus

• Nucleon (mass) number (A)

= Total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus

• Number of neutrons = Nucleon number (A) – Proton number (Z)

number of neutrons + protons number of protons

TAKE NOTE!
Neutron ≠ Nucleon
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an Atom Have?
Nuclide Notation
• Shows the proton (atomic) number (Z) and nucleon (mass) number (A)

nucleon (mass) number

A
Z
X atomic symbol of element

proton (atomic) number

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an Atom Have?
Nuclide Notation
Example:
12
• 6C represents a specific type of carbon atom.
• Its nucleon number is 12 and its proton number is 6.
• It has:
6 protons;
6 electrons; and
12 – 6 = 6 neutrons.
• The atomic symbol and proton number both indicate the type of element the
atom belongs to. We can write 12C for carbon-12 instead.

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an Atom Have?
Sub-atomic Particles in Ions
• An ion is the particle formed when an atom or group of atoms gains or loses
electron(s), but the number of protons and neutrons remains the same.
• We use charge numbers to indicate the number of electrons that are
gained or lost.

Example:
40 charge
• Calcium has the nuclide notation 20Ca. Ca2+ number
• It forms the positive Ca2+ ion, showing
2 more protons than electrons.
• It has 20 protons, 40 – 20 = 20 neutrons, atomic symbol
and 20 – 2 = 18 electrons. of element
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an Atom Have?
Sub-atomic Particles in Ions
Example: charge
• Oxygen has the nuclide notation 8O.
16
O2– number
• It forms the negative O2– ion, showing
2 more electrons than protons.
atomic symbol
• It has 8 protons, 16 – 8 = 8 neutrons,
and 8 + 2 = 10 electrons. of element

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 Lesson 3.2B

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an Atom Have?
Isotopes
• Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same proton (atomic)
number but different nucleon (mass) numbers.
• This means that they have different numbers of neutrons.
• Since the proton number of the isotopes remain unchanged, the isotopes belong
to the same element.
• Most elements occur naturally as isotopes.

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 3.2 How Many Sub-atomic Particles Does Textbook
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an Atom Have?
Isotopes
Example:
• Hydrogen has
three isotopes.
Isotope Hydrogen-1 Hydrogen-2 Hydrogen-3

Number of Proton(s) 1 1 1
Number of Neutron(s) 0 1 2
Number of Electron(s) 1 1 1
Proton Number 1 1 1
Nucleon Number 1 2 3
1 2 3
• They have nuclide notation of 1H, 1H and 1H respectively.
• Isotopes have similar chemical properties but may have different physical properties.
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 Summary of Lesson 3.2
• Proton (atomic) number (Z)
= Number of protons in the nucleus
• Nucleon (mass) number (A)
= Total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus
• Number of neutrons = Nucleon number (A) – Proton number (Z)
• An ion is the particle formed when an atom or group of atoms gains or loses
electron(s), but the number of protons and neutrons remains the same.
• Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same proton (atomic)
number but different nucleon (mass) numbers.

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 Lesson 3.3A

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 Chapter 3 Atomic Structure
3.1 What Is an Atom Made Up Of?
3.2 How Many Sub-atomic Particles Does an Atom Have?
3.3 How Are Sub-atomic Particles Distributed in an Atom?

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 3.3 How Are Sub-atomic Particles Distributed
in an Atom?
Learning Outcome(s)
• Assign electrons to different electron shells or energy levels.

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in an Atom?
• Electrons are constantly moving around the
nucleus in zones called electron shells.
• Electrons in the outermost shell, found
farthest away from the nucleus possess
the greatest energy.
• Inner electron shells are filled first.
• The first electron shell holds up to 2 electrons.
• The second and third shell can usually
hold up to 8 electrons each.

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in an Atom?
4
• The nuclide notation of helium is 2He.
• It has 2 electrons which fill its first (and only) electron shell.

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in an Atom?
• In the periodic table, atoms of other elements
in the same column (group) as helium have
two or more electron shells.
• They each have 8 electrons that fill their
outermost shells.
• When the outermost shell is full, the atom is
said to be stable and unreactive (inert).
• Argon has 3 electron shells and there are
8 electrons in its outermost shell.

• The outermost shell is also called the valence shell.

Outermost electrons are also known as valence electrons.

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in an Atom?
Electronic Configurations

Lithium (Li) Beryllium (Be)

• The first shell is filled with 2 electrons. • The first shell is filled with 2 electrons.
• The third electron must occupy the next • The remaining 2 electrons occupy the
electron shell. second electron shell.
• The electronic configuration or • The electronic configuration of beryllium is 2, 2.
electronic structure of lithium is 2, 1.
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in an Atom?
Electronic Configurations

Neon (Ne) Sodium (Na)

• The first shell is filled with 2 electrons. • The first shell is filled with 2 electrons.
• The remaining 8 electrons fill up the • The second shell is filled with 8 electrons.
second electron shell. • The last electron will occupy the third shell.
• The electronic configuration of neon is 2, 8. • The electronic configuration of sodium is 2, 8, 1.

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in an Atom?
Electronic Configurations
Step 1 Locate the atom by identifying its element in the periodic table.
Step 2 Identify the row (period) it is in. This tells you how many electron shells the atom has.
Identify the column (group) it is in.
• For the first 18 elements (from hydrogen to argon), use the following rules.
o Distribute the electrons based on the 2, 8, 8 rule, starting from the innermost shell.
o The first (innermost) electron shell can have a maximum of 2 electrons.
Step 3 o The second and third electron shells can usually have a maximum of 8 electrons each.
• Elements in the same group will have the same number of valence electrons.
o Elements in Groups 1 and 2 will have 1 and 2 valence electrons respectively.
o Elements in Groups 13 to 18 will have 3 to 8 valence electrons respectively.
o Helium is an exception since it is in Group 18 but has only 2 valence electrons.

• Elements with the same number of valence electrons tend to display the same
chemical properties.
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 Summary of Lesson 3.3
• Electrons fill electron shells starting from the innermost shell, which have the
lowest energy.
• After the inner shell is fully filled, the electrons fill the next electron shell.
• The first electron shell holds a maximum of 2 electrons. The second and third
electron shells can usually hold a maximum of 8 electrons each.
• We can use the electronic configuration or electronic structure to describe the
arrangement of electrons in an atom.

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