Quantum theory and the atom
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This document provides an overview of Bohr's model of the atom and the development of the quantum mechanical model. It discusses key aspects of Bohr's model including discrete energy levels and allowed electron orbits. It then describes limitations of Bohr's model and the proposal of the quantum mechanical model treating electrons as waves. The quantum mechanical model uses wave functions and orbitals to describe electron location probabilities rather than defined orbits. It introduces the concepts of principal and subenergy levels characterized by quantum numbers that specify allowed electron configurations.
Quantum theory and the atom
- 1. 1 Name:…………………………………………… Grade: ……………………….. Subject: Chemistry Date: ………………………………………… CHAPTER 5 : Electrons in Atoms in Section 2 : Quantum Theory and the Atom Bohr’s Model of the Atom Energy states of hydrogen He describes electrons in terms of their energy levels: Electrons can be only certain distances from the nucleus. Each distance correspondsto a certain quantity of energy that an electron can have. An electron that is as close to the nucleus as it can is in its lowest energy level, the farther an electron is from the nucleus , the higher the energy level that the electron occupies. The difference in energy between two energy levels is known as Quantum of energy. An electron can be in only one energy level or another not between energy levels. Normally if an electron is in a state of lowest possible energy , it is in a ground state . If an electron gains energy , it moves to an excited state. An electron in an excited state will release a specific quantity of energy as it quickly falls back to its ground state. The smaller the electron’s orbit, the lower the atom’s energy state, or energy level. Conversely, the larger the electron’s orbit, the higher the atom’s energy state, or energy level. Thus, a hydrogen atom can have many different excited states, although it contains only one electron. Bohr’s idea is illustratedin figure10
- 2. 2 Bohr assigned a number, n called a quantum number, to each orbit. He also calculated the radius of each orbit. The hydrogen linespectrum: Hydrogen atom has a single electron is in the n = 1 orbit. In the ground state, the atom does not radiate energy. When energy is added from an outside source, the electron moves to a higher-energy orbit, such as the n = 2 orbit Such an electron transition raises the atom to an excitedstate. When the atom is in an excited state, the electron can drop from the higher-energy orbit to a lower-energy orbit. As a result of this transition, the atom emits a photoncorresponding to the energy difference between the two levels. The hydrogen atom’s energy levels are not evenly spaced
- 3. 3 The limitsof Bohr’s model Bohr’s model failed to explain the spectrum of any other element. Did not fully account for the chemical behavior of atoms The Quantum Mechanical Model of the Atom Electrons as waves: De Brogliesuggested that electrons have characteristics similar to those of waves. The Heisenberg uncertaintyprinciple The Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that it is fundamentally impossible to know precisely both the velocity and position of a particle at the same time. The Schrödingerwaveequation The atomic model in which electrons are treated as waves is called the wave mechanical model of the atom or, the quantum mechanical model of the atom. Compareand contrast Bohr’s model and the quantum mechanicalmodel. Like Bohr’s model, the quantum mechanical model limits an electron’s energy to certain values. However, unlike Bohr’s model, the quantum mechanical model makes no attempt to describe the electron’s path around the nucleus. Electron’s probablelocation The wave function predicts a three-dimensional region around the nucleus, called an atomic orbital which describes the electron’s probable location An atomic orbital is like a fuzzy cloud in which the density at a given point is proportional to the probability of finding the electron at that point. Figure 15a illustrates the probability map that describes the electron in the atom’s lowest energy state.
- 4. 4 Each dot represents the electron’s location at an instant in time. The high density of dots near the nucleus indicates the electron’s most probable location. However, because the cloud has no definite boundary, it is also possible that the electron might be found at a considerable distance from the nucleus. Hydrogen’s AtomicOrbitals Because the boundary of an atomic orbital is fuzzy, the orbital does not have an exact defined size. Principal quantum number The quantum mechanical model assigns four quantum numbers to atomic orbitals. The first one is the principal quantum number (n) and indicates the relative size and energy of atomic orbitals. As n increases, the orbital becomes larger, the electron spends more time farther from the nucleus, and the atom’s energy increases. Therefore, n specifies the atom’s major energy levels. Each major energy level is called a principal energy level. Up to 7 energy levels have been detected with n = 1, the atom is in its ground state. Energy sublevels Principal energy levels contain energy sublevels. Principal energy level 1 consists of a single sublevel. Principal energy level 2 consists of two sublevels, principal energy level 3 consists of three sublevels, and so on.
- 5. 5 Shapes of orbitals ; Sublevels are labeled s, p, d, or f according to the shapes of the atom’s orbitals. All s orbitalsare spherical. All p orbitalsare dumbbell-shaped. Not all d or f orbitals have the same shape. Each orbital can contain, at most, two electrons. The sublevel in energylevel 1 is designated 1S The twosublevelsin principalenergylevel 2 are designated 2s and 2p. The 2s is spherical like the 1s orbital but larger in size, as shown in Figure 17a. The 2p sublevel correspondsto three dumbbell-shaped p orbitals designated 2 p x , 2 p y , and 2 p z . Each of the p orbitals related to an energy sublevel has the same energy. Principal energy level 3 consists of three sublevels designated 3s, 3p, and 3d. Each d sublevel relates to five orbitals of equal energy The fourth principal energy level (n = 4) contains a fourth sublevel, called the 4f sublevel, which relates to seven f orbitals of equal energy. The f orbitals have complex, multilobed shapes.
- 6. 6 Note that the numberof orbitals related to each sublevel is always an odd number, The maximum numberof orbitals related to each principal energy level equals n 2 .