Science 9 Electronic Structure of Matter

Q2-Module 1

Lesson Quantum Mechanical Model of Atom

What I Need to Know

Competency: Explain how the Quantum Mechanical Model of the atom described
the energies and positions of the electrons.

In this lesson, you will specifically:

a. Describe quantum mechanical model of atom.

b. State the relationship between the principal quantum number (n), the number of orbitals, and
the maximum number of electrons in a principal energy level.
c. Identify the rules in writing electron configuration.
d. Write electron configurations using orbital diagrams, and electron configuration.

What’s In
You have learned about Rutherford’s atomic model which pictures the atom as mostly as empty
space and its mass is concentrated in the nucleus, where you find the protons and the neutrons.
Niels Bohr refined Rutherford’s model of an atom. Based on his experiments, Bohr described the electron
to be moving in definite orbits around the nucleus. Much later, scientists discovered that it is impossible to
determine the exact location of electrons in an atom.
Bohr considered the electrons as particles moving around the nucleus in fixed circular orbits. These orbits
are found at definite distances from the nucleus. The orbits are known as the energy levels, n, where n is a
whole number 1, 2, 3… and so forth.
Electrons in each orbit have a definite energy, which increases as the distance of the orbit from the
nucleus increases. As shown in figure 1, when an electron of an element absorbs extra energy, this electron
moves to a higher energy level. At this point the electron is at its excited state. Once excited, the atom is unstable.

n=3 absorption of energy

n=2

n=1 e--
n
Emission of energy
e-
Figure 1. Shorter arrows denote the movement of the electron

What’s New
In 1926 Erwin Schrödinger, an Austrian physicist, took the Bohr atom model one step
further. Schrödinger used mathematical equations to describe the likelihood of finding an electron in a certain
position. This atomic model is known as the quantum mechanical model of the atom.
The quantum mechanical model views an electron as a cloud of negative charge having a certain
geometrical shape. This model shows how likely an electron could be found in various locations around the
nucleus. However, the model does not give any information about how the electron moves from one position to
another.
 Figure 1 shows that the darker region indicates the higher probability of finding the electron while the
lighter region further from the nucleus indicates a lower probability of finding the electron. But there is zero
probability that you will find the electron within the nucleus. The quantum mechanical model also gives
information about the energy of the electron. The model also describes the region of space around the nucleus
as consisting of shells. These shells are also called principal or main energy levels. The principal energy levels
or shells may have one or more sublevels. These sublevels are assigned with letters: s, p, d, f, and g.
An atomic orbital is defined as the region within an atom that encloses where the electron is likely to be
90% of the time. Orbitals have specific energy values. They have particular shapes and direction in space, s
orbitals are spherical, and p orbitals are dumbbell-shaped.

Exercises 1:

1. What is quantum mechanical model of atom?

a. a model that explains how electrons exist in atoms and how those electrons determine the chemical
and physical properties of elements.
b. any of a variety of mathematical inequalities asserting a fundamental limit to the precision with which
the values for certain pairs of physical quantities of a particle
c. function describing the location and wave-like behavior of an electron in an atom.
d. a law in quantum mechanics that limits how accurately you can measure two related variables.
2. An area of high probability of finding an electron 90% of the time is called____.
a.) nucleus b.) atomic orbital c. sublevel d.) energy level

What Is It
The principal quantum number is always equal to the number of sublevels within that principal energy
level. The maximum number of electrons that can occupy a principal energy level is given by the formula 2n2,
where n is the principal quantum number. The third quantum number is the magnetic quantum number (m l) and
the fourth is the spin quantum number (s).

Table 1. Principal Energy Levels and Sublevels of Electrons in an Atom

Principal Number of Type of sublevel and number of Maximum

Energy Level (n) Sublevels (l) orbitals number of
electrons
1 1 (s) 1s (1 orbital) 2
2 2 (s, p) 2s (1 orbital), 2p (3 orbitals) 8
3 3 (s, p, d) 3s (1 orbital), 3p (3 orbitals) 18
3d (5 orbitals)
4 4 (s, p, d, f) 4s (1 orbital), 4p (3 orbitals), 32
4d (5 orbitals), 4f (7 orbitals)
5 5 (s, p, d, f, 5s (1 orbital), 5p (3 orbitals), 50
g) 5d (5 orbitals), 5f (7 orbitals)
5g (9 orbitals)

Exercises 2:

1. What is the relationship between the principal quantum number (n) and the maximum number of
electrons in a principal energy level?
a. If the principal energy level increases and electrons decreases. They are inversely proportional.
b. If the principal energy level increases and electrons also increases. They are directly
proportional.
 c. If the principal energy level increases and electrons remain as is.
d. No relation at all.
2. How many total orbitals are there in the sublevel 3?
a. 5 b. 9 c. 14 d. 28

What’s More
The table below shows the main energy levels and sublevels available for the filling up of electrons in
an atom.

Complete the table below with the missing data in spaces labelled A to J.

Main energy Number and Kinds of Number of Maximum number of

level sublevels orbitals electrons
1
1
(s) A. 2
B.
2 (s) 1 C.
(p) D. 6
3
(s) 1 2
E.
(p) 3 F.
(d) G. 10
H.
(s) 1 2
4 (p) 3 6
(d) 5 I.
(f) J. 14

What I Have Learned

Rules in writing Electron Configuration
 Aufbau (“structure”) Principle:
- electron occupy the lowest available energy levels.
- states that in the ground state of an atom or ion, electrons fill atomic orbitals of the lowest available
energy levels before occupying higher levels.
- each element builds on the element before it
- according to this principle, electrons are filled in the following order: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p,
5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p, 7s, 5f, 6d, 7p…

Example: carbon has 6 electrons and its electronic configuration is 1s22s22p2

 Pauli Exclusion Principle

- orbitals can contain at most two electrons, and they must have opposite spin
- Electrons have an intrinsic property called spin, and an electron can have one of two possible spin
values: spin-up or spin-down.

Example: 2 He 1s2

 Hund’s Rule:
- every orbital in a sublevel is singly occupied before any orbital is doubly occupied. All of
the electrons in singly occupied orbitals have the same spin. That if 2 or more degenerate (i.e. same
 energy) orbitals are available, one electron goes into each until all of them are half full before pairing
up.

- Example: 8O = 1s2 2s2 2px2 2py1 2pz1

1s2 2s2 2px2 2py1 2pz1
-Low Energy to High Energy (# of electrons)
– 1s (2) – 4s (2) - 5p (6) - 7s (2)
– 2s (2) – 3d (10) - 6s (2) - 5f (14)
– 2p (6) - 4p (6) - 4f (14) - 6d (10)
– 3s (2) - 5s (2) - 5d (10) - 7p (6)
– 3p (6) - 4d (10) - 6p (6) – Continues for the
whole periodic table

Exercise 3:

1. What is Pauli Exclusion Principle?

a. An atomic orbital can only hold a maximum of 2 electrons, each with opposite spins.
b. An atomic orbital can hold a maximum of 6 electrons, each with the same spin.
c. An atomic orbital can hold a minimum of 6 electrons, each with opposite spins.
d. An atomic orbital can hold a minimum of 2 electrons, each with opposite spin.
2. What electron configuration rule states that electrons occupy orbitals of lowest energy level first before
occupying higher energy levels?
a. Hund’s rule b. Pauli Exclusion Principle c. Aufbau Principle d. Octet rule

What I Can Do
In an atom, electrons and the nucleus interact to make the most stable arrangement possible.
The way in which electrons are distributed in the different orbitals around the nucleus of an atom is
called the electron configuration.

Table 2. Arrangement of electrons in the atoms of the first 10 elements

O R B T A L
Chemical
I Electron Configuration
Symbol
1s 2s 2px 2py 2pz
1H 1s1
2He 1s2
3Li 1s2 2s1
4Be 1s2 2s2
5B 1s2 2s2 2px1
6C 1s2 2s2 2px1py1
7N 1s2 2s2 2px1py1pz1
8O 1s2 2s2 2px2py1pz1
9F 1s2 2s2 2px2py2pz1
10Ne 1s2 2s2 2px2py2pz2

1H = element hydrogen with an atomic number 1.

Atomic number is the number of protons = the number of electrons for an atom.

Exercises 4:

Write the electron configuration using orbitals and electron configuration of the following elements:
1. 11 Na
2. 14 Si

O R B I T A L
Chemical Symbol Electron Configuration
1s 2s 2px 2py 2pz 3s 3px1 3px3
11 Na
14 Si