CHAPTER 2: Structure of atom
Some important terms relating to Atomic structure
⮚ Atomic Number: It is the number of protons present in the nucleus or
number of electrons present outside the nucleus.
⮚ It is denoted by the symbol ‘Z’.
Atomic number (Z) = nuclear charge or number of protons (p)
= number of electrons (e)
⮚ Mass Number: It is the total number of protons and neutrons in atom. Or, it
is the total number of nucleons in an atom.
⮚ It is denoted by ‘A’.
i.e. Mass number (A) = no. of protons (p) + no. of neutrons (n)
or, A = p + n
Also The number of neutrons as: n = A – Z
Symbolic representation of elements
If an element X has the atomic number Z and the mass number A, it is denoted as:
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RELATION BETWEEN FREQUENCY AND WAVE LENGHT
Wave number = 1/
Time period T = 1/v
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C= 3x108 m/s for electromagnetic radiations
Q. Explain draw backs of wave nature of electromagnetic radiation.
Some of the experimental phenomenon like diffraction and interference can be
explained by the wave nature of the electromagnetic radiation. But some
phenomena like black body radiation, photoelectric effect, variation of heat
capacity of solids with temperature, line spectra of atoms etc. could not be
explained by wave nature of emr.
Black body radiation
An ideal body which emits and absorbs all frequencies of radiations is called a
black body and the radiation emitted by such a body is called black body radiation.
Eg: As the temperature is raised, a higher proportion of short wavelength (blue
light) is generated. For example, when an iron rod is heated in a furnace, it first
turns to dull red and then progressively becomes more and more red as the
temperature increases. As this is heated further, the radiation emitted becomes
white and then becomes blue as the temperature becomes very high.
The frequency distribution of radiation emitted from a black body depends only on
its temperature.
At a given temperature, intensity of radiation emitted increases with the increase of
wavelength, reaches a maximum value at a given wavelength and then starts
decreasing with further increase of wavelength, as shown in Fig.
Particle Nature of Electromagnetic Radiation: Planck’s Quantum Theory
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Q. What is mean by threshold frequency?
ANS: For each metal, there is a minimum frequency (known as threshold
frequency [ν0] below which photoelectric effect is not observed.
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Q. What is mean by threshold energy or work function?
The striking photon has energy equal to hν and the minimum energy required to
eject the electron is hν0 (also called work function, W0).
When electromagnetic radiation interacts with matter, atoms and molecules may
absorb energy and reach to a higher energy unstable state. To attain stability, they
emit radiations in the form of spectrum. Such a spectrum is called atomic
spectrum.
Emission and Absorption Spectra
The spectrum of radiation emitted by a substance that has absorbed energy is called
an emission spectrum. Atoms, molecules or ions that have absorbed radiation are
said to be “excited”. To produce an emission spectrum, energy is supplied to a
sample by heating it or irradiating it and the wavelength (or frequency) of the
radiation emitted is recorded.
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An absorption spectrum is like the photographic negative of an emission spectrum.
Here a continuum of radiation (like white light) is passed through a sample which
absorbs radiation of certain wavelengths. The missing wavelengths leave dark
spaces in the bright continuous spectrum.
The study of emission or absorption spectra is referred to as spectroscopy.
Line spectra
The emission spectra of atoms in the gas phase do not form a continuous spectrum.
The excited atoms emit light only at specific wavelengths with dark spaces
between them. Such spectra are called line spectra or atomic spectra.
Q. Line emission spectra are also called finger print of atoms. Why?
Line emission spectra are very useful in the study of electronic structure of atoms.
Each element has a unique line emission spectrum. The characteristic lines in
atomic spectra can be used in chemical analysis to identify unknown atoms in the
same way as finger prints are used to identify people. So line emission spectra are
also called finger print of atoms.
Line Spectrum of Hydrogen
When an electric discharge is passed through gaseous hydrogen, the H2 molecules
dissociate and the energetically excited hydrogen atoms produced emit
electromagnetic radiation of discrete frequencies. The first five series of lines are
Lyman, Balmer, Paschen, Brackett and Pfund series. Among these lines, the
Balmer series is the only series that we can be visible (since it lies in the visible
region of emr).
Johannes Rydberg proposed an equation for finding the wave number of the
different lines in Hydrogen spectrum.
The expression is:
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