SCIENCE 9 QUARTER 2

Module 1- Quantum Mechanical Model of Atom

Three physicists led the development of a better model of an atom known as Quantum
Mechanical Model. These were Louie de Broglie, Erwin Schrodinger and Werner Karl Heisenberg. De
Broglie proposed that the electron (which is thought of as a particle) could also be thought of as a wave.
Schrodinger used this idea to develop a mathematical equation to describe the hydrogen atom.
Heisenberg discovered that for a very small particle like the electron, its location cannot be exactly
known and how it is moving. This is called uncertainty principle.

Instead, these scientists believed that there is only a probability that the electron can be found in
a certain volume in space around the nucleus. This volume or region of space around the nucleus where
the electron is most likely to be found is called an atomic orbital. Thus, we could only guess the most
probable location of the electron at a certain time to be within a certain volume of space surrounding the
nucleus.

The quantum mechanical model of the atom comes from the mathematical solution to the
Schrodinger equation. The quantum mechanical model views an electron as a cloud of negative charge
having a certain geometrical shape. This model shows how likely an electron could be found in various
locations around the nucleus. However, the model does not give any information about how the electron
moves from one position to another.

Figure 1 shows that the greater color intensity an area has, the greater is the probability of finding
electrons in that area. The quantum mechanical model also gives information about the energy of the
electron. The model also describes the region of space around the nucleus as consisting of shells. These
shells are also called principal or main energy levels. The principal energy levels or shells may have one
or more sublevels. These sublevels are assigned with letters: s, p, d, f, g, h and i as shown in Table 1.
 As shown in Table 1, the principal quantum number is always equal to the number of sub-levels
within that principal energy level. That is, the principal energy level 1 will have 1 sub-level, principal
energy level 2 will have 2 sub-levels, principal energy level 3 will have 3 sub-levels, and so on. The
maximum number of electrons that can occupy a principal energy level is given by the formula 2n2,
where n is the principal quantum number. Therefore, the maximum number of electrons that can occupy
the first principal energy level is 2 ((2)12). For energy level 2, the maximum number of electrons is 8
((2)22), and for the third principal energy level, the maximum number of electrons is 18 ((2)32). The table
above lists the number of sub-levels and electrons for the seven principal energy levels.

The largest known element contains 118 electrons. Quantum mechanics sets no limit as to how many
energy levels exist, but no more than 7 principal energy levels are needed to describe the electrons of all
known atoms. Each energy level can have as many sub-levels as the principal quantum number, as
discussed above, and each sub-level is identified by a letter. Beginning with the lowest energy sub-level,
the sub-levels are identified by the letters s, p, d, f, g, h, i and so on. Every energy level will have an s sub-
level, but only energy levels 2 and above will have p sub levels. Similarly, d sub-levels occur in energy
level 3 and above, and f sub-levels in energy level 4 and above. Energy level 5 could have a fifth sub-level
named g, energy level 6 could have a sixth sub-level named h, and energy level 7 could have a seventh
sub-level named i, but all the known atoms can have their electrons described without ever using g, h,
and i sub-levels. Therefore, it is often said that there are only four sub-levels, although theoretically there
can be more than four sub-levels.

Quantum mechanics also tells us how many orbitals are in each sub-level. In Bohr’s model, an orbit was
a circular path that the electrons followed around the nucleus. In quantum mechanics, an orbital is
defined as an area in the electron cloud where the probability of finding the electron is high. Each orbital
can hold a maximum of 2 electrons. The number of orbitals in an energy level is equal to the square of the
principal quantum number. Hence, energy level 1 will have one orbital (12), energy level 2 will have 4
orbitals (22), energy level 3 will have 9 orbitals (32), energy level 4 will have 16 orbitals (42), energy level 5
will have 25 orbitals (52), energy level 6 will have 36 orbitals (62), and energy level 7 will have 49 orbitals
(72).

The s sub-level has only 1 orbital because it can only carry a maximum of 2 electrons. Each of the p sub-
levels has three orbitals because it can only carry a maximum of 6 electrons. The d sub-levels have five
orbitals, which can carry a maximum of 10 electrons. And the f sub-levels have seven orbitals, with a
maximum of 14 electrons. If we wished to assign the number of orbitals to the unused sub levels, g would
have nine orbitals, with a maximum number of 18 electrons; h would have 11 orbitals, with a maximum
number of 22 electrons; and i would have 13 orbitals that can carry a maximum of 26 electrons.

As a result, the single orbital in energy level 1 is the s orbital. The four orbitals in energy level 2 are a single
2s orbital and three 2p orbitals. The nine orbitals in energy level 3 are a single 3s orbital, three 3p orbitals,
and five 3d orbitals. The sixteen orbitals in energy level 4 are a single 4s orbital, three 4p orbitals, five 4d
orbitals, and seven 4f orbitals.

The table shows the relationship between n (the principal quantum number), the number of orbitals, and
the maximum number of electrons in a principal energy level. Theoretically, the number of orbitals and
number of electrons continue to increase for higher values of n. However, no atom actually has more
than 32 electrons in any of its principal levels.
Orbitals have specific energy values. They have
particular shapes and direction in space. The s orbitals
are spherical, and p orbitals are dumbbell-shapes, as shown
in Figure 1. Because of the spherical shape of an s orbital,
the probability of finding an electron at a given
distance from the nucleus in an s orbital does not depend
on direction, unlike the three kinds of p orbitals which are
oriented along the x, y, and z axes. So, they have different orientations in space, px, py, and pz.

ELECTRON CONFIGURATION

In an atom, electrons and the nucleus interact to make the most stable arrangement possible. The
way in which electrons are distributed in the different orbitals around the nucleus of an atom is called the
electron configuration. Filling of electrons start from lowest energy level to highest energy level.

The Electron Configuration Chart is use in writing the electron configuration of elements. There are three
parts of electron configuration; principal energy level, sublevel, and number of electrons.

Parts of an electron configuration: • Principal Energy Level – a number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

• Sublevel – a letter (s, p, d, f)

• Number of electrons – a superscript number (2, 6, 10, 14)

In writing the electron configuration, when the electrons fill the orbitals, they occupy the lowest energy
orbitals that are available. And keep in mind that each orbital can accommodate a maximum of two
electrons. Just follow the arrow in the chart, write the principal energy level, sublevel, and the number of
electrons. The electron configuration depends on the atomic number of the elements.
Now for the Carbon atom with an atomic number of 6, the electron configuration would be 1s2 2s2 2p2.
The orbital diagram looks like this:

The rule for doing this is that when electrons are placed in a set of orbitals of equal energy, they are
spread out to give as few paired electrons as possible. For Carbon, that means that the two electrons in
the 2p, would be in separate orbitals.
Basically, the above information can be summed up into 3 rules that define how electrons can be
arranged in an atom’s orbital.

1. Aufbau Principle – electrons fill the orbitals one at a time, starting with the lowest energy orbital then
proceeding to the one with higher energy.

2. Hund’s Rule – single electrons with the same spin must occupy each equal energy orbital before
additional electrons with opposite spins can occupy the same orbitals.

3. Pauli Exclusion Principle – states that only two electrons occupy an orbital, and they must have
opposite spins.

Activity 1- Principal Energy Level and Sublevel of Electrons

Answer the following questions.

1. How many types of sublevel are in principal energy level three?

2. How many atomic orbitals are in the highest sublevel of principal energy level two?

3. What are the sublevels present in principal energy level two?

4. What would be the total number of electrons in an atom, if the first energy level is

full?

5. How many orbitals are in the fourth principal energy level?

6. If the first and second principal energy levels are full, what would be the total

number of atomic orbitals?

7. How many principal energy levels are needed to describe the electrons of all known

atoms?

8. What is the total number of electrons that could occupy the fifth principal energy

level based on the electron configuration?

9. How many electrons can be contained in the “f” sublevel?

10. Based on the electron configuration, how many sublevels does the principal

energy levels 5, 6, and 7 have?

Activity 2- Electronic Configuration

Objectives: • Write the electron configuration of elements

• Determine the patterns of filling the orbitals

• Devise rules in filling up the orbitals

Procedure:

1. Write the electron configurations for the elements in the third period of the periodic

table. (Use the same template as Table 1, add columns and rows if necessary.)

2. Compare the electron configurations of the second period (see Table 1) and the

third period elements.

Guide Questions:
Q1. Do you see pattern in the distribution of their electrons?

Q2. What are these patterns you have observed?

Q3. What are the rules apply in filling up the orbitals?

Assessment

A. Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. Who proposed the probability of finding electrons in certain locations around

the nucleus of an atom?

a. Neils Bohr c. Ernest Rutherford

b. Erwin Schrodinger d. J.J. Thomson

2. Which orbital designation has the highest energy?

a. 2s b. 2p c. 3d d. 4s

3. Electrons occupy orbitals of lowest energy level first is part of what electron configuration rule?

a. Hund’s Rule c. Aufbau Principle

b. Pauli Exclusion Principle d. None of the above

4. What does the quantum number “n” represent?

a. Electron spin c. orbital

b. sublevel d. principal energy level

5. How many electrons are in the third principal energy level of vanadium?

a. 8 b. 11 c. 13 d. 15

B. Write the electronic configuration of the followingelements. An example is given.

6. Ag 9. O

7. B 10. S

8. Fe