Lesson 5: Atoms and Atomic Structure

In this lesson, we will explore the structure of atoms in some detail. We will begin with a look at the evidence that lead to the discovery of protons, neutrons, and electrons, the fundamental particles of which atoms are made, and learn something about their properties.

We will see how these fundamental particles are arranged inside the atom and how the overall properties of the atom - its mass and net charge - are determined by the numbers of each of the three particles it contains.

We will learn what makes an atom be a particular element and what isotopes are. We will also explore atomic spectra - which are the result of the way light interacts with matter - and what they tell us about the arrangement of electrons inside atoms.

We will look at two models of electron arrangement, the Bohr model and wave mechanics, and see how they were able to explain the characteristics of atomic spectra

Finally, we will begin to look at what these same models have to say about the regular and predictable behavior of the elements that we first examined earlier in the course.

This is a long lesson and will require some careful and concentrated study. Be sure to follow along with the objectives as you work through the nine sections that make up this lesson.