Chapter 2: Structure of Atom
1. Important Definitions and Concepts
● Atom: The smallest particle of an element that retains its identity in a chemical reaction.
● Fundamental Particles: Electrons, protons, and neutrons are the three primary
sub-atomic particles.
○ Electron: Negatively charged particle discovered by J.J. Thomson in a cathode ray
discharge tube experiment.
○ Proton: Positively charged particle discovered by E. Goldstein (canal ray
experiment).
○ Neutron: Neutral particle with mass slightly greater than a proton, discovered by
James Chadwick.
● Atomic Number (Z): The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. For a neutral
atom, it is also equal to the number of electrons.
● Mass Number (A): The total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.
A = Z + \text{Number of Neutrons}
● Isotopes: Atoms of the same element with the same atomic number (Z) but different
mass numbers (A). They have the same number of protons but different numbers of
neutrons.
○ Example: Protium (^1_1H), Deuterium (^2_1H), Tritium (^3_1H).
● Isobars: Atoms of different elements with the same mass number (A) but different atomic
numbers (Z).
○ Example: Argon (^{40}_{18}Ar) and Calcium (^{40}_{20}Ca).
● Isotones: Atoms of different elements that have the same number of neutrons.
○ Example: Carbon-14 (^{14}_6C) and Oxygen-16 (^{16}_8O).
● Thomson's Model of Atom (Plum Pudding Model): An atom is a uniform sphere of
positive charge with electrons embedded in it.
● Rutherford's Nuclear Model of Atom: Based on the \alpha-particle scattering
experiment.
○ Most of the atom's mass and positive charge is concentrated in a small, dense
region called the nucleus.
○ Electrons revolve around the nucleus in circular orbits.
○ The size of the nucleus is very small compared to the size of the atom.
● Bohr's Model of Atom: Postulates for the hydrogen atom.
○ Electrons revolve around the nucleus in fixed circular orbits called stationary states.
○ The energy of an electron in an orbit is quantized.
○ Electrons can jump between orbits by absorbing or emitting energy.
● Dual Nature of Matter and Radiation (de Broglie): Matter, like radiation, exhibits both
particle and wave nature.
● Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle: It is impossible to determine simultaneously the
exact position and momentum of a subatomic particle like an electron. \Delta x \cdot
\Delta p \ge \frac{h}{4\pi}
● Quantum Numbers: A set of four numbers used to describe the position and energy of
an electron in an atom.
○ Principal Quantum Number (n): Defines the main energy shell and size of the
orbital. Values: 1, 2, 3, \ldots
○ Azimuthal (Angular Momentum) Quantum Number (l): Defines the subshell and
the shape of the orbital. Values: 0, 1, 2, \ldots, (n-1) (s, p, d, f orbitals).
○ Magnetic Quantum Number (m_l): Defines the orientation of the orbital in space.
Values: -l, \ldots, 0, \ldots, +l.
○ Spin Quantum Number (m_s): Defines the intrinsic spin of the electron. Values:
+\frac{1}{2} or -\frac{1}{2}.
● Aufbau Principle: Electrons fill orbitals in order of increasing energy.
● Pauli's Exclusion Principle: No two electrons in an atom can have the same set of all
four quantum numbers.
● Hund's Rule of Maximum Multiplicity: Pairing of electrons in degenerate orbitals does
not take place until all the orbitals of a given subshell contain one electron each.
2. Important Formulas
● Planck's Equation: E = h\nu = \frac{hc}{\lambda}
○ E = Energy, h = Planck's constant (6.626 \times 10^{-34} \text{J s}), \nu = frequency,
c = speed of light (3 \times 10^8 \text{m/s}), \lambda = wavelength.
● Bohr's Model Formulas (for H-atom and H-like species):
○ Radius of nth orbit: r_n = 0.529 \frac{n^2}{Z} \text{Å}
○ Energy of nth orbit: E_n = -2.18 \times 10^{-18} \frac{Z^2}{n^2} \text{J/atom}
○ Rydberg Formula for spectral lines: \frac{1}{\lambda} = \bar{\nu} = R_H Z^2
\left(\frac{1}{n_1^2} - \frac{1}{n_2^2}\right)
■ R_H = Rydberg constant (1.097 \times 10^7 \text{m}^{-1}), n_2 > n_1.
● De Broglie Wavelength: \lambda = \frac{h}{p} = \frac{h}{mv}
○ m = mass of particle, v = velocity.
3. Numerical Problems
1. Calculate the energy of a photon with a frequency of 3 \times 10^{15} \text{Hz}.
2. A photon has a wavelength of 400 \text{nm}. Calculate its energy and frequency.
3. Calculate the radius of the third orbit of a hydrogen atom.
4. What is the energy of an electron in the second orbit of a He^+ ion?
5. What is the wavelength of the light emitted when an electron in a hydrogen atom jumps
from n=4 to n=2?
6. An electron is moving with a velocity of 2.5 \times 10^6 \text{m/s}. What is its de Broglie
wavelength? (Mass of electron = 9.1 \times 10^{-31} \text{kg})
7. The uncertainty in the position of a proton is 10^{-11} \text{m}. What is the uncertainty in
its velocity? (Mass of proton = 1.67 \times 10^{-27} \text{kg})
8. Calculate the number of electrons, protons, and neutrons in the following nuclei:
^{24}_{12}Mg and ^{56}_{26}Fe.
9. Which of the following are isotopes, isobars, and isotones? ^{14}_6C, ^{14}_7N,
^{12}_6C, ^{40}_{18}Ar, ^{40}_{20}Ca.
10.The wavelength of a spectral line is 589 \text{nm}. Calculate its wave number.
11.The ionisation energy of the hydrogen atom is 13.6 \text{eV}. What is the ionisation
energy of a Li^{2+} ion?
12.Calculate the number of electrons which will together weigh one gram.
13.Calculate the number of spherical nodes and angular nodes for a 4d orbital.
14.What is the maximum number of electrons that can be accommodated in a subshell with
l=3?
15.What are the possible values of m_l and m_s for an electron with principal quantum
number n=3 and azimuthal quantum number l=1?
16.Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of a ball of mass 100 \text{g} moving with a velocity
of 100 \text{m/s}.
17.The energy of an electron in an orbit is -1.51 \text{eV}. To which orbit does this electron
belong?
18.An electron jumps from the third to the first orbit. How many spectral lines are possible?
19.What is the energy of 1 \text{mole} of photons with a wavelength of 600 \text{nm}?
20.Calculate the wavelength of a particle moving with kinetic energy of 1.6 \times 10^{-12}
\text{J}. (Mass of particle = 6.64 \times 10^{-24} \text{g})
21.What is the frequency of a spectral line when an electron falls from the 4th to the 1st orbit
of a hydrogen atom?
22.The longest wavelength transition in the Balmer series of a hydrogen atom is 6563
\text{Å}. Calculate the wave number of the first line in the same series for a Li^{2+} ion.
23.Calculate the wavelength and frequency of the spectral line corresponding to the
transition from n=5 to n=2 in the hydrogen atom.
24.A laser emits a light with frequency 4.74 \times 10^{14} \text{s}^{-1}. Calculate the energy
of one mole of photons.
25.What is the uncertainty in the position of an electron if the uncertainty in its velocity is 5.7
\times 10^5 \text{m/s}?
26.Which orbit of a Be^{3+} ion has the same radius as the first orbit of a hydrogen atom?
27.How much energy is required to remove an electron from the second orbit of a hydrogen
atom?
28.The shortest wavelength in the Lyman series of the hydrogen spectrum is 91.2 \text{nm}.
Calculate the longest wavelength in the same series.
29.The momentum of particle 'A' is twice that of particle 'B'. If the de Broglie wavelength of 'B'
is 1.0 \times 10^{-10} \text{m}, what is the wavelength of 'A'?
30.How many unpaired electrons are present in a chromium atom (Cr, Z=24)?
4. Important Graphs and Images
● Rutherford's \alpha-Particle Scattering Experiment: A diagram showing the path of
\alpha-particles as they strike a thin gold foil.
● Bohr's Model of the Atom: A diagram showing the nucleus with electrons orbiting in
defined energy levels.
● Shapes of Orbitals: Diagrams showing the shapes of s, p, and d orbitals.
○ s-orbital: Spherical.
○ p-orbitals: Dumbbell-shaped, oriented along the x, y, and z axes (p_x, p_y, p_z).
○ d-orbitals: Double-dumbbell and complex shapes (d_{xy}, d_{yz}, d_{zx},
d_{x^2-y^2}, d_{z^2}).
● Radial Probability Distribution Curves:
○ 1s orbital: Shows a single peak with maximum probability near the nucleus.
○ 2s orbital: Shows two peaks with a radial node in between, indicating a region of
zero probability.
○ 3s orbital: Shows three peaks with two radial nodes.
● Energy Level Diagram (H-atom): Shows the different energy levels (n=1, 2, 3, \ldots)
and the transitions that correspond to the spectral series (Lyman, Balmer, Paschen, etc.).
● Energy Level Diagram of Multi-electron Atoms (Aufbau Principle): Shows the order of
filling orbitals based on the (n+l) rule. A diagram illustrating the increasing energy levels:
1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, \ldots
