Atomic Structure & Bonding Assignment : Lab-Based Element Analysis and Molecular Case Study

Scenario One

You are working in a laboratory, and a series of samples is received, which you are asked to identify. The samples are provided by an organisation that does not have specialised chemistry knowledge, so your essay should include significant information to enable them to understand how you have identified the samples, as well as an explanation of the basic structure of an atom. Through experimentation, you discover that the samples have the following atomic numbers:

• 9
• 36
• 47
• 56

You must explain the concepts of ‘mass number’ and ‘relative atomic mass’, and explain what the difference is between them.

Finally, you have been asked to calculate the ‘nucleon number’ for each of these samples and explain what this means.

Scenario Two

Consider the same four elements that you identified in scenario one. For each of these, you need to write their electron configurations in terms of s, p, d and f shells, and then explain your reasoning.

Review the periodic table below.

There are 5 elements identified with a black circle. Deduce the electron structure of all five based upon their positions in the periodic table and explain your reasoning.

Scenario Three

Read the following extract:

Atmospheric ions are electrically charged particles that occur naturally in the atmosphere. They form in the upper atmospheric layers mainly because of the action of ultraviolet radiation from the sun, as well as in lower atmospheric layers as a result of radioactive radiation and cosmic rays. These cause ionisation of neutral molecules or atoms. As a result, ions are formed. These ions almost instantaneously combine to form molecules with ionic bonds.”

The extract mentions ‘ions’. Explain what these are in terms of their electronic
structure, and how this is different from an atom.

The extract mentions ‘ionic bonds’. Explain what these are and how they form in terms of electron structure.

Scenario Four

Read the following extract:

“A polymer is a substance which has a molecular structure comprising a large number of identical molecules covalently bonded together to form a long chain structure. Many synthetic organic materials are polymers, such as nylon, polythene and Kevlar.”

The extract mentions ‘covalent bonds’. Explain what these are, and the formation of different types that can exist, i.e. single, multiple, etc.

Do some research and identify 4 simply covalently bonded molecules. Draw dot and cross diagrams of each to show the bond formation of each of your 4 examples.