THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM
ELEMENTS
Some substances cannot be made into simpler substances. These simplest substances are called
ELEMENTS. Chemistry is the study of these simplest substances and of how they combine/react
with each other to form more complex substances (COMPOUNDS). One of the first tasks of a
chemistry student is to learn the names and symbols of commonly used elements. You should
learn the names and the symbols of the following elements.
Element Symbol Element Symbol Element Symbol
Aluminium Al Helium He Nitrogen N
Barium Ba Hydrogen H Oxygen O
Bromine Br Iodine I Phosphorous P
Calcium Ca Iron Fe Potassium K
Carbon C Lead Pb Silicon Si
Chlorine Cl Lithium Li Silver Ag
Chromium Cr Magnesium Mg Sodium Na
Cobalt Co Manganese Mn Sulfur S
Copper Cu Mercury Hg Tin Sn
Fluorine F Neon Ne Uranium U
Gold Au Nickel Ni Zinc Zn
WRITING SYMBOLS FOR THE ELEMENTS
1. The symbol is always printed.
2. If an element has more than one letter, the first letter must be in capitals and the others in
lower case.
ATOMS
Atoms are the particles that make up all substances in the universe. Atoms are so small that you
can’t see them with a normal microscope. Only a powerful scanning tunnelling microscope (STM)
allows them to be seen. However, even an STM is unable to show the smaller protons, neutrons
and electrons that make up atoms. Although these particles are ‘invisible’, scientists have gathered
evidence from which they have deduced that the particles exist and how they are arranged in the
atom. This type of evidence is known as indirect evidence and does not involve direct observation
of the particles themselves.
STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM
Atoms consist of 3 particles – PROTONS, NEUTRONS and ELECTRONS. Protons and neutrons
are extremely tightly packed in the centre or NUCLEUS of the atom. They are so tightly held they
can only vibrate about fixed positions. Neutrons are slightly heavier than protons and both are
roughly 1800 times heavier than electrons. For this reason, almost all of an atom’s mass is in its
nucleus. Protons carry a positive charge (+ve) while neutrons are neutral, having no charge. The
positive charges of all those protons in the nucleus give the nucleus a positive charge too.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM
Atoms are mostly empty space, as shown in the diagram below, through which the light and
negatively charged electrons move. The heavy nucleus typically makes up 99.9% of the mass of
the atom.
Electrons move in a region of space around the nucleus. Because of their extremely small size and
wave like properties, it is not possible to say exactly where an electron is and how fast it is moving.
Instead we describe a region of space where the electron is likely to be – this is called the
ELECTRON CLOUD. Electrons are negatively charged (–ve) and are attracted to the positive
nucleus. This attraction keeps them from wandering too far away from the nucleus but is not
enough to pull them in completely. The properties of the particles that make up atoms are
summarised in the table below.
Particle Position in the Relative mass Mass Relative
atom charge
PROTONS Nucleus 1 1.67262 × 10 –27 +1
kilograms
NEUTRONS Nucleus 1 1.67493 × 10 –27 0
kilograms
ELECTRONS Electron cloud 1 9.11 × 10 – 31 –1
1800 kilograms
THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM
ATOMIC NUMBER and MASS NUMBER
Atoms are electrically neutral and so the number of electrons is always the same as the number of
protons. The identity of each element is determined by its number of protons or ATOMIC
NUMBER. The number of particles in the nucleus of an atom is called the elements MASS
NUMBER. In a neutral atom, the atomic number also represents the number of electrons. The
structure of a particular atom is often summarised using:
23
Example: Determine the number and type of particles in an atom of the reactive metal sodium ( 11
Na).
Number of protons = atomic number (Z) = 11
Number of neutrons = mass number (A) – atomic number (Z) = 23 – 11 = 12
Number of electrons = number of protons in a neutral atom = 11
ISOTOPES
Most atoms come in more than one form. These atoms are called isotopes. They differ in the
number of neutrons contained in the nucleus. The hydrogen atom comes in three isotopic forms –
hydrogen, deuterium and tritium. The three isotopes of hydrogen are shown in the diagrams below.
The three isotopes of hydrogen have the same chemical properties as they are the same element.
They differ in mass only.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM
QUESTIONS
1. Complete the following table.
Symbol Element Atomic Mass Number of Number of Number
number (Z) number (A) protons neutrons of
electrons
12 Carbon 6 12 6 6 6
6 C
35
17 Cl Chlorine 17 35 17 18 17
40
20 Ca Calcium 20 40 20 20 20
Cr Chromium 24 52 24 28 24
Cs Caesium 55 133 55 78 55
Cu Copper 29 122 29 93 29
Cm Curium 96 247 96 151 96
Ce Cerium 58 140 58 82 58
Cd Cadmium 48 112 48 64 48
Cf californium 98 231 98 153 98
2. Name the following elements.
Symbol Element Symbol Element
He Helium Co Cobalt
Mg Magnesium Li Lithium
Ba Barium N Nitrogen
P Phosphorus Fe Iron
Si silicon Hg Mercury
3. Use the symbols and formulae Co (cobalt) and CO (carbon monoxide) to explain the differences
between elements and compounds.
The 2nd character in the symbol/formulae is different. The element’s 2 nd character is lowercase
while the compound is both uppercase to show two different elements in one.
4. Name the particles in (a) the nucleus and (b) the space around the nucleus.
Protons and neutrons are found in the nucleus and the electrons are the space around the nucleus
THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM
5. List the following in order from smallest to largest: atom, electron, proton, neutron.
Electron, proton, neutron and atom
6. You are watching a replay of a football match on TV. You cannot see the sky but immediately
deduce that it was a day match. Describe the indirect evidence that would lead you to this
conclusion.
Shadows are present, spectators shielding their eyes from the Sun, change in light intensity.
7. Deuterium and tritium are isotopes of hydrogen. How are these isotopes similar? How are they
different?
They are both the same element have the same atomic number. They are different in the amount
of neutrons found in the nucleus; their mass number
8. State if each of the following statements is true or false. If they are false, alter the statement so
that it becomes true.
(a) Protons and neutrons have approximately the same mass.
True
(b) In a neutral atom the number of protons equals the number of neutrons.
False, the number of protons equals the number of electrons
(c) The mass of an electron is one hundredth the mass of a proton.
False, the mass of an electron is a 1/1800th of a proton
(d) The nucleus consists of protons and neutrons.
true
(e) The atom is mainly empty space.
true
(f) Most of the mass of the atom exists in the electron cloud.
False, most of the mass of the atom exists in the nucleus
THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM
(g) An element is the simplest substance. It cannot be broken down into simpler substances by
chemical reactions.
True
(h) A compound contains two or more elements mixed together.
False, a compound consists of two or more elements chemically combined in fixed proportions by
mass
9. Give the symbol for the following elements.
Element Symbol Element Symbol
Lead Pb Gold Au
Carbon C Sodium Na
Chlorine Cl Tin Sn
Copper Cu Iron Fe
Potassium P Chromium Cr
10. Give the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in each of the following neutral atoms.
Symbol Number of protons Number of neutrons Number of electrons
4 2 2 2
2He
64
29 Cu 29 35 29
40
18 Ar 18 22 18
127 53 74 53
53 I
197
79 Au 79 118 79
236 92 144 92
92 U
FINDING THE SYMBOLS FOR ELEMENTS
Dalton was the first scientist to give symbols to elements. He used a letter or two letters in a circle.
In about 1808 Swedish chemist Berzelius suggested using only letters because they were easier to
write and print in textbooks. He wrote: I shall take, therefore, for the chemical sign, the initial letter
of the Latin or English name of each elementary substance, but as several have the same initial, I
shall distinguish them in the following manner:
1. In the class which I call metalloids, I shall employ the initial letter only, even when this letter is
common to the metalloid and some metal.
2. In the case of metals, I shall distinguish those that have the same initials with another metal or
metalloid, by writing the first two letters of the word.
3. If the first two letters be common to two metals, I shall, in that case, add to the initial letter the
first consonant which they have not in common.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM
Berzelius’s reference to metalloids is any element that is not a metal (semi-metals or non-metals,
as we call them now). Berzelius’s symbols are used today, with some modifications. Only eleven
elements have symbols that are based on their old name or Latin name. They are:
Natrium (sodium) – Na
Ferrum (iron) – Fe
Plumbum (lead) – Pb
Aurum (gold) – Au
Kalium (potassium) – K
Cuprum (copper) – Cu
Stannum (tin) – Sn
Argentum (silver) – Ag
Stibium (antimony) – Sb
Wolfum (tungsten) – W
Hyrargyrum (mercury) – Hg
New elements are now named using three letters based on the Latin for their atomic number. The
first letter is a capital and the name ends with – ium. Below is a list of the Latin terms for the
numbers 0 to 9.
0 = nil- 5 = pent-
1 = un- 6 = hex-
2 = bi- 7 = hept-
3 = tri- 8 = oct-
4 = quad- 9 = enn-
QUESTIONS (YOU NEED A PERIODIC TABLE FOR THIS)
11. Identify three elements that use only the first letter of their English name.
Hydrogen, Boron, Carbon
12. Identify three elements that use the first and second letter of their English name.
Barium, Lithium, Calcium
13. Explain how the symbols for magnesium (Mg) and manganese (Mn) were formed.
If the first two letters be common to two metals, I shall, in that case, add to the initial letter the first
consonant which they have not in common.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM
14. Explain how the symbols for chlorine (Cl) and chromium (Cr) were formed.
If the first two letters be common to two metals, I shall, in that case, add to the initial letter the first
consonant which they have not in common.
15. Explain why sodium was given the symbol Na. Propose a reason it was not given the symbol
N.
In the case of metals, I shall distinguish those that have the same initials with another metal or
metalloid, by writing the first two letters of the word. Sodium is a metal so therefore its Latin
derivative has been used as its symbol name.
6. About ten elements have names that honour famous scientists. Identify 5 of these and the
scientists they were named after.
Einsteinium, bohrium, curium, lawrencium and rutherfordium
17. A scientist has just created a new element with 183 protons and 182 neutrons. Predict the
number of electrons it would have. Propose a name and symbol for the element.
183 electrons. The name could be derived from the scientist that discovered it, using the first two
letters of his name.
