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Probing the Orbital Energy of an Electron in an Atom

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James L. Bills

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-5700

J. Chem. Educ., 2006, 83 (3), p 473

DOI: 10.1021/ed083p473

Publication Date (Web): March 1, 2006

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

This article answers an appeal for simple theoretical interpretations of atomic properties. A theoretical snapshot of an atom, showing the screened nuclear charge and the electron to be ionized at its radius of zero kinetic energy, enables anyone to approximate its ionization energy, I. The trends in the screened charges and in the electronic radii are exhibited for the twenty atoms from H to Ca. Values are also given for the ions He⁺, Be⁺, Mg⁺, Ca⁺, H^–, F^–, and Cl^–. These charges and radii are used to explain the trends in ionization energies.

Keywords (Audience):

First-Year Undergraduate / General

Keywords (Domain):

Physical Chemistry

Keywords (Feature):

Research: Science and Education

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Textbooks / Reference Books

Keywords (Subject):

Atomic Properties / Structure

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This article has been cited by 2 ACS Journal articles (2 most recent appear below).

Theoretical Basis and Correct Explanation of the Periodic System: Review and Update
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  W. H. Eugen Schwarz, Ronald L. Rich
  Journal of Chemical Education2010 87 (4), 435-443
  Long-standing questions on the theoretical basis of the periodic system have been answered in recent years. A specific type of periodicity is imposed on all elements by the main groups just before and after the noble gasses. The upper np shells of these ...
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The Full Story of the Electron Configurations of the Transition Elements
W. H. Eugen Schwarz
Journal of Chemical Education2010 87 (4), 444-448
- The Full Story of the Electron Configurations of the Transition Elements
  W. H. Eugen Schwarz
  Journal of Chemical Education2010 87 (4), 444-448
  The dominant electronic valence configurations of atoms in chemical substances of a transition element of group G in period n is (n − 1)dGns0. Transition-metal chemistry is d orbital chemistry. In contrast, the ground states of free, unbound atoms derive, ...
  Abstract | Full Text HTML | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links