CT R ON I C

EL E MS
E O F A T O
RUC T U R
ST
Group 6
Vallena, Charles
Sadang, Michael David
Zabala, Breshe Jane
Unajan, Jeannica
Vinson, Eljay
Essential
Essential Topics
Topics to
to be
be discussed
discussed
• The Nature of Waves
• Electromagnetic Radiation
• Planck’s Quantum Theory
• Bohr’s Theory
• Dual Nature of Electrons
• Quantum Mechanics
• Quantum Numbers
• Atomic Orbitals
• Electron Configuration
 To understand quantum theory, we must
first know something about the nature of waves.
 Wave can be thought of as a vibrating
disturbance by which energy is transmitted.
– Wavelength(λ) is the distance between identical
points on successive waves.
– Frequency(v) is the number of waves that pass
through a particular point in one second.
– Amplitude is the vertical distance from the
midline of a wave to a peak or a trough.
 λ v = speed of a wave

Wavelength is usually
expressed in units of meters,
centimeters, or nanometers, and
frequency is measured in
hertz (Hz), where

1 Hz = 1 cycle/s
 In 1873 James Clerk Maxwell proposed that
visible light consists of EM waves. He theorized that an
EM wave has an electric field component and magnetic
field component, both in the same wavelength,
frequency, and speed, but in perpendicular planes.

Check it out!
 Electromagnetic Radiation is the emission and
transmission of energy in the form of EM
waves.
– EM waves travel 3.00x108 m/s or known as the
speed of light, or 186,000 miles/s.
Example 1
The wavelength of the green light from a
traffic signal is centered at 5.22x10-7 m. What is
the frequency of this radiation?
Solution:
v = c/ λ
substituting in the wavelength and the
speed of light (3.00x108 m/s),
3.00x10 m/s
8

v = 5.22x10 m
-7

= 5.75 x 1014/s or 5.75 x 1014 Hz

Practice Exercises
Electromagnetic Radiation
Practice Exercise:
1. What is the wavelength (in meters) of an electromagnetic wave
whose frequency is 3.64x107 Hz?

2. What is the frequency of a particular radiation having a

wavelength of 522nm?
Answers to Practice Exercises
1. What is the wavelength (in meters) of an electromagnetic
wave whose frequency is 3.64x107 Hz?
v=c/λ
3.00x108 m/s
λ = v λ = 3.64x107 Hz
λ = 8.24 m
2. What is the frequency of a particular radiation having a
wavelength of 522nm?
1x10-9 m ,
λ = 522nm X = 5.22 x 10-7 m
1nm

3.00x108 m/s ,
v=c/λ= 5.22x10-5.75 Hz
 Planck said that atoms and molecules could
emit(or absorb) energy only in discrete quantities.
He gave the name quantum to the smallest
quantity of energy that can be emitted(or
absorbed) in the form of electromagnetic radiation.
E = hv
Where h is called Planck’s constant, equal to
6.63x10-34 J . S, and v is the frequency of radiation
equal to c/ λ.
 Planck found that the energy released in
the electronic transitions is only released in
distinct packets, which he called "quanta", and
that these packets of energy are related to a
constant (now called Planck's constant, and the
frequency or wavelength of the radiation
released.
Practice Exercises
1. Calculate the energy (in joules) of a photon
with a wavelength of 5.x104 nm (infrared
region).

2. The energy of a photon is 5.87x10-20­ J. What

is its wavelength?
 Solutions
1. E = hv
v = c/ λv
λ = 5.x10 nm x
4 = 5x10-5 m
1x10-9 m 12,
v = c/ λ = = 6x10
1nm
Hz
E=hv = (6.63x10 -34 J . 8S)(6x1012 cycle/s)
3.00x10 m/s ,
= 3.978x10 J -215x10 -5
m
 Einstein’s work, the photoelectric effect,
paved the way for the solution regarding the EM
radiation.
Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist, presented a
theoretical explanation of the emission
spectrum of an atom. Bohr’s theory is very
complex and no longer considered to correct in
all its details.
• Bohr proposed that electrons n=3

e - e n=2
-

were confined to orbits of e

n=1
-

e
-

well defined radius around e

- e
e
-
e
-
-

the nucleus. e
e
-
-

• Classical theory predicts that e

an electron orbiting a nucleus should radiate
energy and spiral inwards.
• Bohr proposed that the electron could only adopt
orbits with certain radii
– r = k n2, where k is a constant (52.9 pm) and n is any
integer. n is a quantum number.
» Distance is quantized. Only certain distances are allowed.
Atomic spectra
• When atoms are excited by heating or in an electric discharge they emit light
at discrete wavelengths
• When atoms are exposed to white light they one absorb certain wavelengths
• Both phenomena arise from transitions between different energy levels
• Atomic spectra are characteristic of an atom. Useful for chemical analysis

Excite sample

White light Source

Emission spectrum of hydrogen

ΔE is the transition energy

R is the Rydberg constant
~ 13.6 eV or 109678 cm-1
 Bohr’s model of atoms included the idea of electrons moving in
circular orbits.
Nucleus

Electron

Orbit

Energy Levels
 Increasing energy
n=3 of orbits

e- n=2 e-

n=1 e-
e-
e-
e- e
-
e-

e-
e-
e-
A photon is emitted
with energy E = hf

The Bohr model of the atom, like many ideas in

the history of science, was at first prompted by
and later partially disproved by experimentation.
• Bohr’s model works reasonably well in
describing one electron atoms and ions
– It does not work for multi-electron
atoms
• A more sophisticated approach was needed
– later theories do not use classical
Newtonian mechanics to describe what is
going on
According to classical physics, light
should be emitted as the electron
circles the nucleus. A loss of energy
would cause the electron to be drawn
closer to the nucleus and eventually
spiral into it.
Thomson model Rutherford model
In the nineteenth century, Thomson described In the early twentieth century, Rutherford
the atom as a ball of positive charge containing showed that most of an atom's mass is
a number of electrons. concentrated in a small, positively charged
region called the nucleus.

Bohr model Quantum mechanical model

Modern atomic theory described the
After Rutherford's discovery, Bohr proposed
electronic structure of the atom as the
that electrons travel in definite orbits around
probability of finding electrons within
the nucleus.
certain regions of space.
 Bohr’s theory enables us to explain the line
spectrum of the hydrogen atom.
Radiant energy absorbed by the atom
causes the electron to move from a lower-
energy state (characterized by a lower n
value) to a higher-energy state (characterized
by a larger n value).
 Increasing energy
Because in the emission n=3 of orbits

of a photon of a photon e- n=2 e-

e-
Frequency V and e-
n=1

e-
energy hv, we could have e- e
-
e-

the equation, e-
e-

ΔE = hv = RH (1/n2i -- 1/n2f)

where RH(Rydberg constant) is equal to 2.18x10-18 J

Defined terms:
• Photoelectric effect is a phenomenon in which electrons are
ejected from the surface of certain metals exposed to light of
at least a certain minimum.
• Emission spectra is either continuous or line spectra of
radiation emitted by substances.
• Line spectra are the light emission only at specific
wavelengths.
• Ground state/ground label the lowest energy state of a
system.
• Excited state/ excited level higher in energy than the ground
stat.
Let’s Check your Understanding
1. What is the wavelength of a photon (in
nanometers) emitted during a transition
from the ni= 5 state to the nf= 2 state in the
hydrogen atom?

2. What is the wavelength (in nanometers) of a

photon emitted during a transition from ni=6
to nf=4 state in the H atom?
• There is considerable experimental evidence that things that
are often viewed as particles, such as electrons, also have
wave like properties
– electrons are diffracted by crystalline materials
» diffraction is the result of interference between waves

• Also light has some particle like properties

– photoelectric effect shows that electromagnetic radiation comes in
quantized ‘packets’ (photons)
 Dual Nature of Electrons
Practice Exercise
1.Calculate the wavelength of the “particle” in the
following two cases: (a) The fastest serve in tennis is
about 150miles/h, or 68m/s. (b) Calculate the
wavelength associated with an electron
(9.1094x10-31kg) moving at 63m/s.
2.Calculate the wavelength (in nanometers) of a H
atom (mass= 1.674x10-27 kg) moving at 7.00x102 cm/s.
• Consequently we can not think of electrons as
following well defined trajectories in atoms
– this requires that we know both position and
momentum
• We describe electron in terms of a probability
of being at some place in space
– this probability distribution is called an orbital rather
than an orbit
Describes the arrangement and space occupied
by electrons in atoms
• Describes the arrangement of electrons in
atoms in terms of:
 Main or principal energy levels (n)
 Energy subshells (l)
 Orbitals –space occupied within the atom
(ml)
 Heisenberg uncertainty principle states
that: “It is impossible to know simultaneously
both the momentum and the position of a
particle with certainty.
Schrodinger’s equation launched a new
field, the quantum mechanics.
Schrödinger Equation
The probability distributions and allowed energy
levels for electrons in atoms and molecules can be
calculated using the Schrödinger equation.

– equation has a large number of different solutions

» each corresponds to a different possible probability
distribution for the electron
The Wave Function
• Electron density gives the probability that an electron
will be found in a particular region of an atom.
• An atomic orbital can be thought of as the wave
function of an electron in an atom.
• Atomic wavefunctions are usually
expressed in spherical polar coordinates
– give value of ψ at any point in space
specified by r, θ and φ
 In quantum mechanics, three quantum
numbers are required to describe the
distribution of electrons in hydrogen and other
atoms.
•Principal quantum number,
•Angular momentum; and
•Magnetic quantum number
• Each of the solutions to the Shrödinger
equation is labeled by a set of quantum
numbers n, l and ml
– n - principal quantum number, l - angular
momentum quantum number, ml - magnetic
quantum number
Electrons in atoms are arranged as

SHELLS (n)

SUBSHELLS (l)

ORBITALS (ml)
 The first momentum is the fundamental
momentum of the interaction of the electron with the
positive nucleus as described by Bohr for the Hydrogen
atom.
The principal quantum number can have integral
values 1, 2, 3, and so forth. Its value (n) determines the
energy of an orbital.
The larger n, is the greater the average distance
of the electron from the nucleus.
 Principal Quantum Numbers (shells)

 Contain electrons that are similar in energy

and distance from nucleus
 Low energy electrons are closest to the
nucleus
 Identified by numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…..
 The first shell (1) is lowest in energy, 2nd level
next and so on 1<2<3<4
 Number of Electrons
• Maximum number of electrons in any electron
level = 2n2

n =1 2(1)2 = 2
n =2 2(2)2 = 8
n =3 2(3)2 = 18
 Some possible electron transitions for the first three
energy levels are shown below. The negative value
means that the electron in the atom has a lower
energy than a free electron
Energy Level Energy, E
n=3 ___________________ (-) 2.420 x 1019 J

n=2 __________________ (-) 5.445 x 1019 J

n=1 __________________ (-) 2.178 x 1018 J

Learning Check 1
A. What energy change (J) takes place when an
electron in a hydrogen atom moves from the
first (n=1) to the second shell (n=2)?

B. What energy change (J) takes place when

the electron moves from the third shell to
the second shell?
Learning Check 2
Indicate the number of electrons in the final
notation of the electron configuration for each:

A. O 1) 4 2) 6 3) 8

B. Al 1) 13 2) 3 3) 1

C. Cl 1) 2 2) 5 3) 7
Answers for LC1
A. What energy change takes place when an electron
in a hydrogen atom moves from the first (n=1) to the
second shell (n=2)?
1.634 x 10-18 J of energy must be absorbed.
B. What energy change takes place when the electron
moves from the third shell to the second shell?
(-5.445 x 10-19J ) - (2.2420 x 10-19 J) = -3.025 x 1019J will
be emitted as electron falls from a higher to a lower
energy state
Answers for LC2
Indicate the number of electrons in the final
notation of the electron configuration for each:

A. O 2) 6

B. Al 2) 3

C. Cl 3) 7
Learning Check 3
For phosphorus, indicate if each configuration
is (1) correct or (2) incorrect. Explain why or
why not?

A. 2, 2, 8, 5 1 or 2
B. 2, 8, 3 1 or 2
C. 2, 8, 5 1 or 2
D. 2, 6, 7 1 or 2
Answers to LC3
For phosphorus, indicate if each configuration
is (1) correct or (2) incorrect. Explain why or
why not?

A. 2, 2, 8, 5 2 Shell 2 holds 8e-

B. 2, 8, 3 2 P has 15 electrons
C. 2, 8, 5 1 Correct arrangement
D. 2, 6, 7 2 Shell 2 holds 8e-
Learning Check 4
Specify if each pair has chemical properties that
are similar (1) or not similar (2):
A. Cl and Br
B. 2 - 5 and 2 - 8 - 7
C. 2 - 4 and 2 - 8 - 4
D. P and S
E. O and S
Answers to LC4
Specify if each pair has chemical properties that
are similar (1) or not similar (2):
A. Cl and Br 1
B. 2 - 5 and 2 - 8 - 7 2
C. 2 - 4 and 2 - 8 - 41
D. P and S 2
E. O and S 1
 The angular momentum quantum number (l)
Tells us the “shape” of the orbitals. The values
of
l depend on the value of the principal quantum
number, n. l=n-1
The value of l is generally designated by
the
n letters s,1 p, d,2 … as3 follows:
4 5 6

l 0 1 2 3 4 5

Name of orbital s p d f g h
 Thus, if l = 0, we have an s orbital; if l = 1, we
have a p orbital; and so on.
For example,
the shell with n = 2 is composed of two
subshells, l = 0 and 1. These subshells are
called the 2s and 2p subshells where 2
denotes the value of n, and s and p denote the
values of l.
 Energy sublevels within energy level
 All electrons in a subshell have the same
energy
 Designated s, p, d, f ..
 Sublevel energy: s<p<d<f
Main
Energy
Levels Sublevels
n=4 4s, 4p, 4d, 4f

n=3 3s, 3p, 3d

n=2 2s, 2p

n=1 1s
 3d
n=3 3p
3s

2p
n=2 2s

n=1 1s
 All electrons in the same sublevel have the same
energy.
 All 2s electrons have the same energy. All 2p
electrons have the same energy which is slightly
higher than the energy of the 2s electrons
s sublevel 2 electrons
p sublevel 6 electrons
d sublevel 10 electrons
f sublevel 14 electrons
 s1 s2 p1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p6
1
2
3 d1 - d10
4
5
6

f1 - f14
 Total energy of a subshell =
energy of the main shell + the subshell
 The 4s energy < 3d energy
4p ___
3d ___ (finishes the n=3 shell)
4s ___ (starts the n=4 shell)
3p ___
3s ___
2p ___
2s ___
1s ___
The magnetic quantum number (ml) describes
the orientation of the orbital in space. The
number of ml values indicates the number of
orbitals in a subshell with a particular l value.
if n = 2 and l = 1, it indicates that we have a 2p
subshell, and in this subshell we should have
three 2p orbitals because there are three
values of ml, given by -1, 0, and 1.
 Magnetic Quantum Number
For example,
if we have n = 1 and l = 0, there is only a 1s orbital.

Another example is if n = 2, then l = 1, there would be

three 2p orbitals.

-1 0 +1
 Magnetic Quantum Number

Each orbital can be assigned no more

than 2 electrons!
This is tied to the existence of a 4th
quantum number, the electron spin
quantum number, ms.
 Electron
Spin
Quantum
Number,
ms
Can
Canbebeproved
provedexperimentally
experimentallythat
thatelectron
electron
has
hasaaspin.
spin. Two
Twospin
spindirections
directionsare
aregiven
givenby
by
m
msswhere
wherem mss==+1/2
+1/2and
and-1/2.
-1/2.
• The solutions of the Shrödinger equation for the
hydrogen atom are characterized (labeled) by the
quantum numbers n, l and ml
– this is not enough to give agreement with experiment
– Stern and Gerlach showed that a beam of silver atoms splits
into two components on passing through a magnetic field
» can be explained by introducing the idea of electron spin
• A fourth quantum number, ms, the spin quantum
number had to be introduced
– ms can either be +1/2 or -1/2
 Quantum Numbers
Electron Spin Quantum Number

Diamagnetic
Diamagnetic::NOT
NOTattracted
attractedtotoaamagnetic
magneticfield
field
Paramagnetic
Paramagnetic::substance
substanceisisattracted
attractedto
toaa
magnetic
magneticfield.
field.Substance
Substancehas
hasunpaired
unpairedelectrons
electrons..
 QUANTUM
QUANTUM
NUMBERS
NUMBERS

nn --->
---> shell
shell 1,
1,2,
2,3,
3,4,4,...
...
ll --->
---> subshell
subshell 0,0,1,
1,2, 2,...
...nn--11
m
ml l --->
---> orbital
orbital -l-l ...
...00...
...+l
+l
m
mss --->
---> electron
electronspin
spin +1/2
+1/2and
and-1/2
-1/2
 A 3 dimensional space around a nucleus in
which electrons are most likely to be found
 Shape represents electron density (not a path
the electron follows)
 Each orbital can hold up to 2 electrons.
 Atomic Orbitals
• The orbital shape quantum number has the
following values and designations for the shape of the
probability region in which the electrons are most
probably to be found.

• The sub-shell designations stand for sharp,

principal, diffuse, and fundamental. The probability regions
described by these sub-shells are to be discussed as
follows:
• s - orbitals - are spherical shaped probability
regions. The radius of these spherical regions
increases with increasing principal quantum
number, n. Again, each of these orbitals can
contain a maximum of 2 electrons.
• p - orbitals - these can only be present if the
principal quantum number is 2 or greater. There are 3
different types of p orbitals, designated px, py, and
pz. These are approximately peanut shaped orbitals,
with the axis oriented vertically (pz ) and horizontally
(px & py).
• Since 2 electrons can occur in each of the
different p orbitals, a maximum of 6 electrons are
associated with p-orbitals in each principal shell.
p Orbitals
• d - orbitals - These can only be present if the
principal quantum number is 3 or greater. There
are 5 different probability regions of d orbitals.
These are seen in the next page, and are
designated dz2, dx2 - y2, dxy, dyz, and dxz.

• Since 2 electrons can occur in each of the

different d orbitals, a maximum of 10 electrons can
occur in d-orbitals for each principal shell.
d Orbitals
d Orbitals
d Orbitals
• f - orbitals - these are more difficult to
describe in a graphical sense, but it turns out
there are 7 possible f -orbitals, each being
able to contain 2 electrons, for a maximum
total of 14 electrons. Only shells with principal
quantum numbers of 5 or greater can contain
f -orbital electrons.
Check Your Understanding
Practice Exercise:
1.Give the values of the quantum numbers
associated with the orbitals in the 3p subshell.
2.What is the total number of orbitals
associated with the principal quantum number n
= 3?
• As the atomic number (number of protons) in an atom
increases, the shells and sub-shells with lower energy are filled first. The drawing at the right
illustrates qualitatively the energy relationships between the various shells and sub-
shells of atoms. Thus 1s sub-shells with the lowest energy are filled first. These are
followed
by 2s orbitals, then 2p orbitals. As the
principal quantum number increases to 3,
the 3s, 3p, and 3d orbitals are filled. But,
beginning with n = 4, there is overlap
between the energies of s and d orbitals,
and thus the 4s orbital is filled before the
3d orbitals, and the 4p orbitals do not
contain electrons until the 3d orbitals are
filled. This overlap continues in a similar
way for higher principle quantum number shells.
 • Electron configuration is how the electrons are
distributed among the various atomic orbitals.
 List of subshells containing electrons
 Written in order of increasing energy
 Superscripts give the number of electrons

Example: Electron configuration of neon

number of electrons

1s2 2s2 2p6

main shell subshell

H 1s1

He 1s2

Li 1s2 2s1

C 1s2 2s2 2p2

S 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p4

• Electrons fill the lowest energy levels first.
Ex. For Calcium(Ca)
4d
5s
E 4p
N 3d
4s
E 3p
R 3s
2p
G 2s
Y 1s
Electron
Filling
Order
• No two electrons in an atom can have the
same quantum numbers n, l and ml and ms
– this means that an orbital can never have more than two
electrons in it
• if n, l and ml are the same, ms must be
different such that the electrons have opposite spins.
Ex. for He for Li
1s2 1s2 2s1
 Shielding Effect
• In many electron atoms, each electron is
partially “shielded” from the nucleus by the
repulsion of the other electrons.
• Effective nuclear charge (Zeff) – the nuclear
charge an electron actually experiences
 Shielding Effect

The effect of
another electron
in the same
orbital
 Shielding Effect
The effect of
another electron
in the same
orbital
Inner electrons
shield outer
electrons more
effectively than
electrons in the
same sublevel
• The value of the shielding constant and hence
the effective nuclear charge experienced by a given
electron depends on which orbitals are occupied
 Hund’s rule (after the German physicist
Frederick Hund) states that the most stable
arrangement of electrons in subshells is the one
with the greatest number of parallel spins.
For ex., to find the orbital diagram for (Z=6)
1s22s22p2
a.) b.) c.)
2px 2py 2pz 2px 2py 2pz 2px 2py 2pz
 Hund’s Rule
None among the given arrangements
violates the Pauli exclusion Principle, so we must
determine which one will give the greatest
stability.
Among the given (c) satisfies the condition
for Hund’s rule.
• It dictates that as protons are added one by
one to the nucleus to build up the elements,
electrons are similarly added to the atomic
orbitals.
• The orbitals of lower energy are filled in first
with the electrons and only then the orbitals of
high energy are filled.
 Aufbau Principle/ Building-Up
Principle
• In multielectron
atoms, the electrons
fill up the available
energy levels
(orbitals) starting
with the lowest
available level.
 Aufbau Principle/ Building-Up
Principle
• Each added electron is subject to the electric field created
by the positive charge of atomic nucleus and the negative
charge of other electrons that are bound to the nucleus.
• Orbitals with the highest angular momentum are further
from the nucleus, however, orbitals with a low angular
momentum (s- and p-orbitals) have are closer to the
nucleus and feel on average a stronger nuclear charge.
• This explains why 4s orbitals are filled before even 3d
orbitals.
• When considering consecutive neutral atoms
the electron shells fill up on the order of the
quantum number sum ‘n + l’ For electrons in
states of equal ‘n + l’ the order of filling goes
with increasing n.
• This rule is obeyed remarkably well over the
whole periodic table.
4s ‘n + l’ = 4 vs. 3d ‘n + l’ = 5