Atomic Structure and Ionization Energy

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to atomic structure and ionization energies, essential for understanding the topic.

Proton

A sub-atomic particle located in the nucleus with a relative mass of 1 and a positive charge of +1.

Neutron

A sub-atomic particle located in the nucleus with a relative mass of 1 and no charge.

Electron

A sub-atomic particle located in orbitals with a relative mass of 1/1840 and a negative charge of -1.

Atomic Number (Z)

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.

Mass Number (A)

The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom.

Isotopes

Atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons, resulting in different masses.

Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer

A device used to determine isotopes present in a sample of an element by measuring their mass/charge ratios.

Ionisation

The process of removing an electron from an atom or molecule to form a positive ion.

Acceleration (in mass spectrometry)

The stage where positive ions are accelerated by an electric field to achieve constant kinetic energy.

Detection (in mass spectrometry)

The stage when ions reach the detector, generating current for analysis related to ion abundance.

Relative Atomic Mass (R.A.M)

A weighted average of all the isotopes of an element, calculated based on isotopic mass and abundance.

First Ionisation Energy

The enthalpy change when one mole of gaseous atoms forms one mole of gaseous ions with a single positive charge.

Factors Affecting Ionisation Energy

Includes nuclear attraction (number of protons), distance of electrons from the nucleus, and shielding by inner-shell electrons.

Periodic Trends in Ionisation Energy

Patterns in ionisation energy across periods and groups, influenced by atomic structure and electron shielding.

Positive Ion

An ion formed by the loss of one or more electrons from an atom.

Negative Ion

An ion formed by the gain of one or more electrons by an atom.

Molecular Ion

The ion resulting from the complete molecule's mass in mass spectrometry.

Sub-levels

Energy levels within principal energy levels in an atom, labeled as s, p, d, and f.

Electron Configuration

The distribution of electrons in an atom's orbitals.

Orbital

A mathematical probability distribution representing where an electron is likely to be found.