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The Atom The atom is considered to be the most basic building block of all matter. Atoms are composed of three subatomic particles. These three sub-atomic particles are: protons, neutrons, and electrons. These three particles will determine the properties of the specific atoms. Elements are substances composed of the same atoms with specific properties. Oxygen is an example of this. The main property that defines each element is the number of neutrons, protons, and electrons. Hydrogen and helium are examples of elements. Both of these elements have neutrons, protons, and electrons but differ in the number of those items. This difference alone accounts for the variations in chemical and physical properties of these two different elements. There are over a 100 known elements in the periodic table, and they are categorized according to their properties on that table. The kinetic theory of matter also states that the particles that make up the matter are always moving. Thermal expansion is considered in the kinetic theory and explains why matter contracts when it is cool and expands when it is hot, with the exception of water/ice. Electrons, Protons, and Neutrons At the center of the atom is the nucleus, which contains the protons and neutrons. The protons are positively charged particles, and the neutrons are a neutrally charged particle. The neutron has approximately the same mass as the proton. The third particle of the atom is the electron that is a negatively charged particle with a very small mass compared to the proton. The proton’s mass is approximately 1,837 times greater than the electron. Due to the proton and the neutron location in the central portion of the atom (nucleus) and the electron’s position at the distant periphery of the atom, it is the electron that undergoes the change during chemical reactions. Since a proton weighs approximately 1,845 times as much as an electron, the number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus determines the overall weight of an atom. The weight of an electron is not considered in determining the weight of an atom. Indeed, the nature of electricity cannot be defined clearly because it is not certain whether the electron is a negative charge with no mass (weight) or a particle of matter with a negative charge. Hydrogen represents the simplest form of an atom, as shown in Figure 10-2.
At the nucleus of the hydrogen atom is one proton and at the outer shell is one orbiting electron. At a more complex level is the oxygen atom, as shown in Figure 10-3, which has eight electrons in two shells orbiting the nucleus with eight protons and eight neutrons. When the total positive charge of the protons in the nucleus equals the total negative charge of the electrons in orbit around the nucleus, the atom is said to have a neutral charge.
Electron Shells and Energy Levels Electrons require a certain amount of energy to stay in an orbit. This particular quantity is called the electron’s energy level. By its motion alone, the electron possesses kinetic energy, while the electron’s position in orbit determines its potential energy. The total energy of an electron is the main factor, which determines the radius of the electrons orbit. Electrons of an atom will appear only at certain definite energy levels (shells). The spacing between energy levels is such that when the chemical properties of the various elements are cataloged, it is convenient to group several closely spaced permissible energy levels together into electron shells. The maximum number of electrons that can be contained in any shell or sub-shell is the same for all atoms and is defined as Electron Capacity = 2n2. In this equation n represents the energy level in question. The first shell can only contain two electrons; the second shell can only contain eight electrons; the third, 18 and so on until we reach the seventh shell for the heaviest atoms, which have six energy levels. Because the innermost shell is the lowest energy level, the shell begins to fill up from the shell closest to the nucleus and fill outward as the atomic number of the element increases. However, an energy level does not need to be completely filled before electrons begin to fill the next level. The Periodic Table of Elements should be checked to determine an element’s electron configuration. |
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