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Q1) Which scientist came up with the idea of anu and paramanu?
Ans) The idea that matter is made up of very small particles was given by the
ancient Indian philosopher Maharishi Kanada. He named the smallest particle of
matter anu. He also believed that an anu may be made up of sub particles which he
called paramanu.
Q2) What was Dalton’s Atomic Theory?
Ans) In 1803, John Dalton, an English scientist, presented his famous atomic theory,
which was a turning point in the study of matter. The principal ideas of Dalton’s
atomic theory are as follows:
i) All elements are made up of very tiny, indivisible particles called atoms.
ii) Atoms can neither be created nor destroyed during chemical reaction.
iii) All atoms of an element are identical, but the atoms of an element differ from the
atoms of other elements.
iv) Atoms of different elements combine in fixed, small whole number ratios to form
compounds. E.g. 1 atom sodium combines with 1 atom of chlorine to form NaCl ; 2
atoms of hydrogen combine with 1 atom of oxygen to form H2O.
v) In Chemical Reactions, the atoms themselves do not change. Chemical reactions
only rearrange the way the atoms are combined to form new compounds.
Q3) How did William Crookes to discovered Cathode ray?
Ans) In 1879, William Crookes, a British chemist, carried out studies in a glass tube
from which air had been removed. In the tube, two metal plates called electrodes
were inserted one at each end of the tube. The electrode connected to the negative
terminal of the voltage source is called cathode and the other one connected to the
positive terminal is called the anode.
When high voltage was applied, the glass tube began to glow. Crookes also observed
that the beam in the tube was deflected when a magnet was placed near the
discharge tube. He believed that this glowing beam called cathode ray consisted of
charged particles.
Q4) How Electron discovered and what are its properties?
Ans) In 1897 J J Thompson performed experiments to study the properties of
cathode rays by applying an electric field. He observed that the cathode rays were
attracted by the positive plate and repelled by the negative plate. This showed that
the rays must consist of negatively charged particles. Thomson named these
negatively charged particles as electrons. Thomson also showed that the properties of
the cathode ray generated from the cathodes made from different metals were the
same. Thus electrons were regarded as the constituents of all matter. Thomson was
unable to measure neither the mass nor the charge of electrons. However he was bale
Structure of the Atom || Chapter 1 || Chemistry
to measure the ration of the charge (e) to the mass(m) of electrons.The e/m value of
electron is 1.78*108 C/g
Properties of Electron
i) The electron is a negatively charged particle.
ii) It carries a negative charge (-1), which is considered the basic unit of electric
charge.
iii) The mass of an electron is 9.11* 10-31 Kg which is only 1/1840 of mass of an
hydrogen atom. Therefore, an electron is considered nearly mass less.
Q5) How was Proton discovered and what are its properties?
Ans) In 1886 Eugen Goldstein worked with modified discharge tube provided with
perforated cathode ( containing extremely small holes).When a large electric field was
applied between the electrodes he observed that not only the electrons emitted by
the cathode, but also some luminous rays in the region behind the cathode. These
rays ere called canal rays or positive rays as they contained positively charged
particles. These positively charged particles were later called Protons.
Properties of Proton are:
i) The proton is appositively charged particle.
ii) The Proton has appositive charge (+1) equal to the magnitude of a unit of electron
charge.
iii) The mass of proton is equal to that of Hydrogen that is 1.672* 10 -27 Kg.
Q6) What was Thomson’s model of atom?
Ans) J J Thomson was the first to propose a model for the inner structure of an atom
to explain the arrangement of Protons and electrons in an atom. Thomson proposed
the plum pudding model of the atom in 1904. According to this model , the atom is a
sphere of positive charges and the electrons are spread out inside like plums in
spherical pudding.
Q7) Explain Rutherford’s alpha scattering experiment?
Ans) In 1911, Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealand born British physist conducted an
experiment in order to find the arrangement of electrons and protons in an atom.
In this experiment, fast moving alpha (α) particles (discovered by Rutherford in 1899)
were made to strike on a thin gold foil (about 0.00004 cm thick) .
Observations:
i) Most of the alpha particles passed through the foil without any deflection from
their path.
ii) Some of the alpha particles were sharply deflected at different angles after passing
through the foil. A few of the alpha particles turned back directly on their original
path.
Conclusions:
Structure of the Atom || Chapter 1 || Chemistry
(1) Most of the Alpha particles passed straight through the foil, which implied that
the atom consist of a lot of empty space inside it.
(2) Some of the alpha particles were deflected from their path at different angles,
which suggested that the atom has a tiny but heavy positively charged core
which repels positively charged alpha particles. The atom has its mass
concentrated in its tiny central core, which Rutherford called the nucleus.
Q8) Describe Rutherford’s nuclear model of the atom?
Ans) Rutherford’s experiment described the structure of the atom as follows:
i) There is appositively charged core in the center of an atom called the nucleus.
Nearly, all the mass of the atom is concentrated in it.
ii) The electrons revolve around the nucleus in well defined circular paths called
orbits, like planets revolving around the sun. Hence this model is also called the
planetary model of the atom.
iii) Since the atom is neutral, the number of electrons (which are negatively charged
particles) is equal to the number of protons (which are positively charged particles
) in the nucleus.
Q9) Describe Bohr’s Atomic model?
Ans) Danish physicist Niels Bohr further developed Rutherford’s model. In 1913, he
proposed his model of the atom. According to Bohr’s model, electrons revolving
around the nucleus occupy particular orbits , which are also called shells. He labeled
the shells as K, L,M,N ,……starting from the innermost shell.
Each orbit or shell is associated with a fixed or definite amount of energy. Hence these
shells are called energy levels. The energy associated with energy levels increases as
we go further away from the nucleus. ( Amount of energy of K < L < M < N…..)
Q10) Write briefly about Discovery of Neutron and its properties.
Ans) In 1932 , James Chadwick an English physicist discovered the subatomic
particle called neutron for which he received the Noble prize for physics in 1935.He
found that it has no electrical charge and has mass approximately equal to that of
proton.
Properties of neutron:
i) The neutron carries no charge, that is , it is electrically neutral.
ii) The mass of the neutron is slightly greater than the mass of the proton. The mass
of the neutron is 1.675*10-27Kg.
Q11) Compare an electron, a proton and a neutron in respect of their nature , mass and
charge.
Structure of the Atom || Chapter 1 || Chemistry
The process of splitting of the The process in which two light nuclei
nucleus of heavy atoms is combine at an extremely high
called nuclear fission. temperature and pressure to form a
stable nucleus, with the release of an
It is applied for making atom
enormous amount of energy, is
bombs and in nuclear
called nuclear fusion. It is used in the
reactors for the production of
production of hydrogen bomb which
electricity.
produces 1000 times the energy
produced by an atom bomb.
Q32) What are the harmful effects of radioactivity and safety requirements against
radioactive radiations?
Ans) The harmful effects of radioactivity are:
i) Harmful gene mutation in living organisms.
ii) Skin and other types of cancer.
iii) Large-scale destruction when uncontrolled.
iv) Birth of deformed babies.
The following safety requirements should be taken against radioactive radiations.
(1) There should be a special concrete wall or a thick shield of lead around nuclear
reactors so as to prevent leakage of radioactive radiations.
(2) Workers in nuclear power plants should wear lead lined aprons and gloves and
special lead glasses to protect their bodies and eyes from radiation.
(3) The nuclear materials should be kept in either aluminium or stainless steel cans
and away from each other to avoid any explosion.
Ans. Isotopes are atoms of the same element having same atomic number but different mass
number. Thus, isotopes have the same number of protons and electrons but different number of
neutrons.
viii) Gamma radiations are used in medical applications to destroy cancerous tumors.
Ans. Gamma radiations are highly penetrating radiations and in general affect abnormal cells
more than healthy cells. Hence, they are used in controlled measures by doctors to destroy
abnormal cells in cancerous tumors.
ix) Uranium whose atomic number is 92 and mass number 235 is considered radioactive, but
sodium whose atomic number is 11 and mass number 23 is not considered radioactive.
Ans. Uranium contains a heavy atomic nucleus. The nucleus of uranium is unstable since the
electrostatic repulsion between the positively charged protons and the attractive force between
the neutrons and protons are not balanced. Thus, uranium is radioactive while sodium whose
nucleus is stable, is not radioactive.
x) Nuclear reactors are used as power plants.
Ans. Nuclear energy obtained during nuclear fission is converted intomechanical and electrical
energy by a turbine and a generator respectively. Since nuclear fission takes place in nuclear
reactors, they are used as power plants.
xi) Addition of a neutron to the nucleus of an atom would increase its mass number.
Ans. Mass number of an atom is equal to the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the
atom of an element. Therefore, addition of a neutron to the nucleus of an atom increases its mass
number.
xii) The atomic number of an element accounts for the number of positive charges in the
nucleus.
Ans. The atomic number of an element is equal to the number of protons present in the atom of
an element. Since protons are the only positively charged particles present in the nucleus of an
atom, therefore atomic number accounts for the number of positive charges in the nucleus.
xiii) Covalent compounds have low melting and boiling points.
Ans. Covalent compounds are formed by the sharing of electrons between the atoms of elements.
These compounds are usually neutral and their intermolecular forces are weak. It is easy to break
these forces and therefore, these compounds have low melting and boiling points.
xiv) A nuclear reactor is surrounded with thick steel and concrete.
Ans. To prevent the leakage of radioactive radiations, thick steel and concrete walls are built
around nuclear reactors as these radiations are very harmful.
xv) There is no charge on the atom of an element, although every atom contains negatively
charged particles.
Ans. An atom of an element has equal number of negatively and positively charged particles.
Thus, it is electrically neutral and there is no charge on the atom.
xvi) Nuclear fusion cannot be used to generate electricity.
Ans. Nuclear fusion takes place at extremely high temperature and pressure. There is no way
to produce such a high temperature or obtain materials that can withstand such high
temperatures. So, nuclear fusion cannot be used to generate electricity.
Structure of the Atom || Chapter 1 || Chemistry
xv) The scientist whose contribution lead to the discovery of the atomic nucleus. Rutherford
xvi) The sub-atomic particle having no charge. Neutron
xvii) The shell of an atom which can accommodate a maximum of two electrons. K Shell
xviii) The type of element [i.e. metal, non-metal or noble gas] to which an element ‘X’
having electronic configuration 2,8,8 belongs. Noble Gas
xix) A radioactive element other than uranium and radium. Thorium
xx) A slow moving particle used for splitting nucleus of an atom of uranium. Neutron
xxi) A charged particle formed by the donation of electrons from the valence shell. Cation
xxii) A phenomenon due to which hydrogen atoms fuse in the sun. Nuclear Fusion
xxiii) A charged particle having +2 electric charge and 4 amu mass. Alpha Particle
xxiv) A highly penetrating radiation given by radioactive elements. Gamma Radiation
xxv) The outermost shell of an element. Valence Shell
xxvi) The phenomenon due to which an atom spontaneously gives radiations. Radioactivity
xxvii)