Skip to content

7. Atomic structure and periodicity

Electromagnetic radiation

electromagnetic radiation: light; radiant energy that has wavelike behavior and travels at the speed of light in a vacuum
e.g. light from sun, microwave, X rays, radiant heat from fireplace
waves have three primary characteristics
wavelength (λ, lambda): distance between two consecutive peaks or troughs in a wave
frequency (ν, nu): number of waves (cycles) per second that pass a given point in space
shortest wavelength has highest frequency
longest wavelength has lowest frequency
speed
λ: wavelength (m)
ν: frequency (cycles/s)
c: speed of light (2.9979 × 10⁸ m/s)
hertz (Hz): 1 cycle per second (1/s)
cycles are implied

Nature of matter

initial definitions of matter and energy
end of 19th century: matter and energy were distinct
matter: particles
had mass
position in space could be specified
energy: waves
massless
delocalized; position in space could not be specified
beginning of 20th century
German Max Planck: studied radiation profiles emitted by solid bodies heated to incandescence
results could not be explained in terms of the present physics (that matter could absorb or emit any quantity of energy)
Planck’s constant:
energy can be gained or lost only in whole-number multiples of hν
change in energy for a system:
n: integer
h: Planck’s constant
ν: frequency fo electromagnetic radiation absorbed or emitted
quantization: energy transfer can only occur in discrete quanta (packets)
photon: quantum of electromagnetic radiation
h: Planck’s constant
ν: frequency of radiation
λ: wavelength of radiation

Photoelectric effect

Screenshot 2024-10-18 at 1.10.01 PM.png
photoelectric effect: electrons emitted from the surface of a metal when light strikes it
no electrons are emitted by a given metal below a specific threshold frequency (ν₀)
for light with frequency lower than the threshold frequency, no electrons are emitted regardless of the intensity of the light
for light with frequency greater than the threshold frequency, the number of electrons emitted increases with the intensity of the light
for light with frequency greater than the threshold frequency, the kinetic energy of the emitted electrons increases linearly with the frequency of the light
explanation
assume:
electromagnetic radiation is quantized (consists of photons)
threshold frequency represents the minimum energy required to remove the electron from the metal’s surface
m: mass of electron
v: velocity of electron
hν: energy of incident proton
hν₀: energy required to remove electron from metal’s surface
intensity of light is a measure of the number of protons present in a given part of the beam, so a greater intensity means that more photons are available to release electrons (as long as ν > ν₀)
Einstein’s special theory of relativity:
m: mass
c: speed of light
energy has mass
can calculate mass associated with given quantity of energy
calculate apparent mass of photon
energy of each photon:
duel nature of light: electromagnetic radiation exhibits wave properties and certain characteristics of particulate matter as well
does particulate matter exhibit wave properties?
mass and wavelength
particle with velocity
de Broglie’s equation
allows you to calculate wavelength for a particle
diffraction: light scattered from a regular array of points or lines
different colors result
various wavelengths of visible light are not all scattered in the same way
colors “separated” like light passing through a prism
diffraction pattern: caused by scattered radiation; bright spots and dark patterns
can only be explained in terms of waves, so proves that matter obeys de Broglie’s equation
all matter exhibits both particulate and wave properties

Atomic spectrum of hydrogen

a sample of hydrogen gas receives a high-energy spark → H₂ molecules absorb energy → some H—H bonds are broken → excited hydrogen atoms
contain excess energy that is released by emitting light of various wavelengths to produce emission spectrum
continuous spectrum: contains all the wavelengths of visible light
when light passes through a prism
line spectrum: a few lines of light
each line corresponds to a discrete wavelength
only certain energies are allowed for the electron in the atom (quantized)

Bohr model

quantum model: electrons move around the nucleus only in certain allowed circular orbits
energy levels available to electron in hydrogen atom
n: integer (larger value → larger orbit radius)
Z: nuclear charge
negative: energy of electron bound to nucleus is lower than if at infinite distance, where there is no interaction and energy is 0
ground state: lowest possible energy state
two important points about Bohr model
model correctly fits quantized energy levels of hydrogen atom and postulates only certain allowed circular orbits for the electron
as the electron becomes more tightly bound, its energy becomes more negative relative to the zero-energy reference state (infinite distance from the nucleus). As the electron is brought closer to the nucleus, energy is released from the system
Screenshot 2024-10-19 at 2.47.25 PM.png
does not work when applied to atoms other than hydrogen; electrons do not move around the nucleus in circular orbits

Quantum mechanical model of atom

standing wave: stationary; waves do not travel
wave or quantum mechanics: electron in hydrogen atom imagined to be standing wave
ψ: wave function
function of the coordinates (x, y, z) of the electron’s position in three-dimensional space
Ĥ: operator
set of mathematical intsructions
produces total energy of the atom when the mathematical terms are applied to the wave function
E: total energy of the atom
potential energy due to attraction between proton and electron
kinetic energy of moving electron
orbital: specific wave function, characterized by a particular value of E
quantum (wave) mechanical model
do not know the pathway of the orbitals
Heisenberg uncertainty principle: there is a fundamental limitation to just how precisely we can know both the position and momentum of a particle at a given time
Δx: uncertainty in a particle’s position
Δ(mv): uncertainty in a particle’s momentum
h: Planck’s constant
more accurately we know a particle’s position, the less accurately we can know its momentum and vice versa

Physical meaning of a wave function

the square of the function indicates the probability of finding an electron near a particular point in space
e.g. relative probability of finding electron at positions 1 and 2
substitute x, y, z for the two positions, square function value, compute ratio
N₁/N₂: ratio of probabilities of finding the electrons at positions 1 and 2
probability distribution: intensity of color used to indicate probability value near a given point in space
a.k.a. electron density map
electron density and electron probability mean the same thing
Screenshot 2024-10-20 at 1.33.28 PM.png
radial probability distribution: plots total probability of finding the electron in each spherical shell versus the distance from the nucleus
maximum occurs because:
probability of finding an electron at particular position greatest near nucleus
volume of spherical shell increases with distance from the nucleus
when moving away from the nucleus, probability decreases but summing more positions
Screenshot 2024-10-20 at 1.34.10 PM.png
describing size of hydrogen 1s orbital: radius of the sphere that encloses 90% of the total electron probability
orbital is a wave function, but most helpful to picture as three-dimensional electron density map

Quantum numbers

quantum numbers: describe various properties of the orbital
principal quantum number (n): integral values
related to size and energy of orbital
as n increases:
orbital becomes larger
 
Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.
Try clicking the ··· in the right corner or using a keyboard shortcut (
CtrlP
) instead.