PHYSICAL SCIENCES

GRADE 10
Atomic structure
27/04/2023
Exam guideline:
The knowledge area, matter and materials is examined in P2(3 hrs)
Exam Weighting:17.5% of the paper 2
Examinable Materials
• Revision of matter and classification(from grade 9)
• States of matter and KMT
• Periodic table
• Chemical bonding
.2
 Lesson objectives
After this lesson, learners should know:
• The atom: basic building blocks of matter:
• Atomic mass and diameter
• structure of an atom: protons,electrons and neutrons
• Isotopes and be able to calculate RAM
• Represents atom using the notation A ZE
• Electron configuration: sp notation of the first 20 elements, shapes of
s-orbitals and the p-orbitals.
• how to state Hund’s rule and Pauli’s exclusion principle.
 Exam guidelines
• Atomic structure
• Models of the atom
• Describe the major contributions (Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, Bohr, Chadwick) to
the atomic model used today. (trimmed on an ATP)
• Structure of the atom: protons, neutrons, electrons
• Define the atomic number as the number of protons in an atom of an element.
• Given a periodic table or suitable data, determine for an atom/ion the:
Atomic number, Number of protons, Number of electrons, Number of neutrons and
Mass number
• Show that by removing electrons from an atom the neutrality of the atom is
changed.
• Determine the charge on an ion after removing electrons from or adding electrons
to an atom.
 Exam guidelines
• Isotopes
• Define isotopes as atoms of the same element having the same
number of protons, but different numbers of neutrons.
• Define relative atomic mass as the mass of a particle on a scale where
an atom of carbon-12 has a mass of 12.
• Calculate the relative atomic mass of naturally occurring elements
from the percentage of each isotope in a sample of the naturally
occurring element and the relative atomic mass of each of the
isotopes.
• Represent atoms using the notation A ZE where E is the symbol of the
element, Z is the atomic number and A is the mass number.
 Exam guideline
Electron configuration
• Use Aufbau diagrams (orbital box diagrams) and the electron configuration
notation (sp notation) to give electronic arrangements of atoms up to Z = 20.
• Know that every orbital corresponds to a specific energy value that electrons
have when occupying it. Describe atomic orbitals as the most probable regions in
space where electrons that have the specific energy corresponding to the orbital
are found.
• Describe the shape of s-orbitals as spherical and that of p-orbitals as pairs of
dumb-bells aligned along the x-, y- and z-axes at 90° to each other.
• State Hund's rule: No pairing in p orbitals before there is not at least one
electron in each of them.
• State Pauli's Exclusion Principle: Maximum of two electrons per orbital provided
that they spin in opposite directions.
 common errors and misconceptions
• ERRORS: Learners ignore Hund’s and Pauli’s exclusion principle
when filling an Afbau diagram
• confuses mass number and atomic number
• Learners struggle with determining number of electrons if
dealing with ions.
• Leading to incorrect Afbau diagrams and sp-notations
• Misconceptions: Isotopes are not “elements” but are “atoms of
the same element” with the same atomic number but different
mass number.
 structure of an atom
• Atoms are tiny particles that makes up matter
• An atom contains of 3 sub-atomic particles, namely: protons, electrons and neutrons
particles mass charge relative charge
proton 1.67x10-27 kg 1.6x10-19 +1
neutron 1.67x10-27 kg none 0
electron 9.11x10-31 kg 1.6x10-19 -1

• The nucleus of the atom: the central part of the atom containing protons and
neutrons.
• The atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom(Z)
• Atomic number corresponds with the position of the element on the periodic table.
• Atoms that are electrically neutral have equal number of protons and neutrons
• For exampe: A Cl-atom(chlorine atom, element 17) has an atomic number of
17(Z=17) which means there are 17protons in the nucleus and 17 electrons around
the nucleus of the neutral atom.
MASS NUMBER(A)
• mass number is the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an
atom(A).
• Mass number= number of protons + number of neutrons
• A=Z+N
• We indicate the atomic number (Z) and mass number(A) by writing the following
notation: A ZE

• 35 Cl
17 indicates the following information about chlorine:
• Cl is the symbol for a chlorine atom
• mass number(A) for chlorine is 35
• The atomic number for chlorine is 17
• There are 17 protons
• There are 17 electrons
• There are 18 neutrons
 IONS OF ATOMS
Show that by removing OR adding electrons from an atom the neutrality of the atom is
changed. Determine the charge on an ion after removing electrons from or adding electrons
to an atom.
Example
Potassium ion Oxide ion

+ 2-

39 nucleons 16 nucleons
19 protons 8 protons
Atomic Number(Z) 19 Atomic Number(Z) 8
Mass Number 39 Mass Number 16
Number of electrons 18 (19-1) Number of electrons 10 (8 + 2)
39 − 19 = 20 neutrons 16 − 8 = 8 neutrons
 Isotopes
• Isotopes are atoms of the same element with the same
number of protons but different number of neutrons.
• We can also write elements as E - A where the E is the element
symbol and the A is the atomic mass of that element.
• For example Cl-35 has an atomic mass of 35 u (17 protons and
18 neutrons), while Cl-37 has an atomic mass of 37 u (17
protons and 20 neutrons)
• Example: Hydrogen have three isotopes namely protium,
deuterium and tritium.
 Example: 1

• Solution: c- it possesses the same number of protons but

different number of neutrons.
 Example: 2
•
 ELECTRON CONFIGURATION
The energy of electrons
• The electrons of an atom all have the same charge and the
same mass, but each electron has a different amount of
energy.
• Electrons that have the lowest energy are found closest to the
nucleus and the electrons that have higher energy are found
further away.
• The first energy level can hold 2 electrons, the second energy
level can hold 8 electrons and the third energy level can hold 8
electrons.
 Electron arrangement
• Electrons are arranged in energy levels (or shells) around the
nucleus of an atom.
• These energy levels are numbered 1, 2, 3, etc.
• Electrons that are in the first energy level (energy level 1) are
closest to the nucleus and will have the lowest energy.
• Electrons further away from the nucleus will have a higher
energy.
 Atomic orbital
• Within each energy level, the electrons move in orbitals.
• An atomic orbital is the region in which an electron may be
found around a single atom.
• The first energy level contains only one s orbital, the second
energy level contains one s orbital and three p orbitals and the
third energy level contains one s orbital and three p orbitals (as
well as five d orbitals).
• Within each energy level, the s orbital is at a lower energy than
the p orbitals.
• Each orbital can only hold two electrons.
• Electrons that occur together in an orbital are called an
electron pair.
• An electron will always try to enter an orbital with the lowest
possible energy.
• An electron will occupy an orbital on its own, rather than share
an orbital with another electron.
• An electron would also rather occupy a lower energy orbital
with another electron, before occupying a higher energy
orbital.
• In other words, within one energy level, electrons will fill an s
orbital before starting to fill p orbitals.
• The s subshell can hold 2 electrons
• The p subshell can hold 6 electrons
 Orbital shapes
• Each of the orbitals has a different shape. The s orbitals are
spherical and the p orbitals are dumbbell shaped.
 Core and valence electrons
• Electrons in the outermost energy level of an atom are called
valence electrons.
• The electrons that are in the energy shells closer to the nucleus
are called core electrons.
• An element that has its valence energy level full is more stable
and less likely to react than other elements with a valence
energy level that is not full.
 Aufbau diagrams
• An Aufbau diagram uses arrows to represent electrons. Steps:-
– Determine the number of electrons that the atom has.
– Fill the s orbital in the first energy level (the 1s orbital) with the first two
electrons.
– Fill the s orbital in the second energy level (the 2s orbital) with the second
two electrons.
– Put one electron in each of the three p orbitals in the second energy level
(the 2p orbitals) and then if there are still electrons remaining, go back and
place a second electron in each of the 2p orbitals to complete the electron
pairs.
– Carry on in this way through each of the successive energy levels until all
the electrons have been drawn.
 Hund’s rule and Pauli’s principle
• Hund's rule: No pairing in p orbitals before there is not at least one electron in each
of them.
• This is why when you are filling the subshells you put one electron
in each subshell and then go back and fill the subshell, before
moving onto the next energy level.
• Pauli's Exclusion Principle: Maximum of two electrons per orbital provided that they
spin in opposite directions.
• This is why we draw electrons as one arrow pointing up and one
arrow pointing down.
.
EXAMPLE 1
 ELECTRON CONFIGURATION
• Condensed version: 1s22s22p5
• Expanded notation:1s22s22px22py22pz1
• Shortened electron configuration: [He] 2s22px22py22pz1
 ELECTRON CONFIGURATION OF IONS
EXAMPLE
• Sodium ion(Na+)
• Condensed version: 1s22s22p6
• Expanded notation:1s22s22px22py22pz2
• Shortened electron configuration:
[He] 2s22px22py22pz2
 Activity 1
1.Complete the table below
Atom or ion symbol A
ZX notation Mass number Atomic nucleons protons neutrons electrons
number

Magnesium Mg 24 12

Magnesium Mg2+ 24 12
ion

O2- 16 8

2. What are isotopes? How are isotopes of particular element are alike, and how
they different?
3.Magnesium owns three naturally occurring isotopes. The relative occurrence
of the three isotopes of magnesium is given in the table below.
Calculate the relative atomic mass of magnesium
Percentage of occurrence Relative isotope mass

24Mg 78.99 23.985

25Mg 10.00 24.986

26Mg 11.01 25.985

 Activity 2
1.Draw Afbau diagrams to show the electron configuration of
each of the following elements/ions and write their sp-
notations.
1.1.Magnesium ion, potassium, sulfur, neon and nitrogen
2.Use Afbau diagrams to complete the table
element /ion No. of energy No. of core No. of valence
levels electrons electrons
Mg2+
K
S
Ne
N
Multiple choice questions
1. Choose the statement that best completes the sentence. In a neutral atom of any
element there are always …
A. equal numbers of protons and neutrons.
B. more protons than neutrons.
C. more electrons than neutrons.
D. equal numbers of protons and electrons. (2)

2. The aluminium ion 13Aℓ3+ has …

27

A.13 protons and 13 electrons.

B. 13 protons and 10 electrons.
C. 13 protons and 16 electrons.
D. 13 protons and 13 neutrons. (2)
3. Which one of the following electron configurations represents an atom in an excited
state?
A. 1s2
B. 1s22s22p5
C. 1s23s1
D. 1s22s22p63s23p1 (2)
4. How many different types of orbitals are found in energy level 3?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
5. How many neutrons are there in this
A. 19
B. 21
C. 40
D. 59 (2)
6. Which one of the following statements is correct for this ion: 1737Cℓ−? It contains:
A. more protons than neutrons.
B. more electrons than protons.
C. more protons than electrons.
D. more electrons than neutrons. (2)
 Activity 3
Longer Type Questions
1. Define the following:
a) Atomic number.
b) The mass number of an atom.
c) Relative atomic mass.
d) Isotopes
2.The element potassium has three naturally occurring isotopes with the following
abundance:
39
K = 93,26%
40
K = 0,2%
41
K = 6,57%
Calculate the relative atomic mass of potassium. (4)
3. Naturally occurring neon has three isotopes with the following abundance:
20
Ne = 90,48%
X
Ne = 0,233%
22
Ne = 9,25%
By means of calculation determine the mass number X, if the relative atomic mass of neon
is 20,18. (5)
Thank you