Atomic Structure: Chapter 1 Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering atomic structure, subatomic particles, isotopes, ions, wave properties, modern atomic theory, and electron configurations.

Kinetic Energy ($\text{KE}$)

The energy that matter has due to motion.

Potential Energy

Stored energy in matter due to its position or state.

Thermal Energy

The total kinetic energy ($\text{KE}$) of all the particles in a substance.

Chemical Potential Energy

The energy stored in chemical bonds that hold atoms together.

Proton

A positively charged ($+$) subatomic particle located in the nucleus with a mass of $1\,\text{amu}$.

Neutron

A subatomic particle located in the nucleus with neutral or no charge and a mass of $1\,\text{amu}$.

Electron

A negatively charged ($-$) subatomic particle located in the electron cloud with negligible mass ($\emptyset$).

Atomic Number

The number of protons in an atom, which defines the identity of the element.

Atomic Mass

The total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom ($\text{mass} = \text{protons} + \text{neutrons}$).

Isotopes

Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Cation

A positively charged ion formed when an atom has more protons than electrons ($\text{protons} > \text{electrons}$).

Anion

A negatively charged ion formed when an atom has fewer protons than electrons ($\text{protons} < \text{electrons}$).

Atomic Emission Spectrum

The pattern formed when light emitted by an element is separated into its different wavelengths.

Wavelength

The distance between a point in a wave and its corresponding point on the next cycle.

Frequency

The number of waves that pass through a given point per unit of time.

Energy Levels

The fixed amounts of energy an electron can have, between which electrons can transition.

Quantum

The specific amount of energy an electron must gain or lose to transition from one energy level to another.

Ground State

The lowest energy state an electron can occupy.

Excited State

A state in which an electron has absorbed energy and occupies a higher energy level than its ground state.

Quantum Mechanical Model

The mathematical description of the behavior of electrons in atoms.

Atomic Orbitals

Regions in space around the nucleus where an electron is most likely to be found.

Nucleus

The dense, positively charged center of an atom discovered by Rutherford.

Aufbau Principle

A principle stating that electrons must fill lower energy levels before occupying higher energy levels.

Pauli Exclusion Principle

A principle stating that an orbital can hold a maximum of two electrons, and they must have opposite spins (one up and one down per orbital).

Hund's Rule

A rule stating that electrons occupy separate orbitals within a sublevel before pairing up.

s Orbital Capacity

A single orbital sublevel that can hold a maximum of $2$ electrons.

p Orbital Capacity

A set of three orbitals that can hold a maximum of $6$ electrons.

d Orbital Capacity

A set of five orbitals that can hold a maximum of $10$ electrons.

f Orbital Capacity

A set of seven orbitals that can hold a maximum of $14$ electrons.