Atom And Atomic Theory Final

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Atom and Atomic Theory

Introduction

The discovery of an atom was an attempt by the human mind to illustrate the composition

of matter. The chemistry is based on modern atomic theory explains that all is made up of atoms.

The initial attempts on a bid to describe the composition of matter in terms of atoms and their

properties were Dalton's atomic theory by John Dalton around 1803 (Knight, David p2). This

study explores the discovery of atoms and subsequent experiments in regard to the composition

of matter.

The discovery of the Atom

Dalton’s atomic theory argued that all matter is composed of atoms that are indestructible

and indivisible building blocks. He explained that atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and

electrons. Further, he explained that elements have their atomic numbers which an exact number

of protons in their nucleus. Dalton’s Atomic Theory illustrated that all the atoms derived from

the same element are identical. Further, there is variation in the size and mass of atoms from

different elements (Larsen, Ask Hjorth, et al. p3).

Experiments / Observations leading to the Discovery

The experiments that led to the discovery was an attempt to explain Prior experiments by

Proust that different tin Oxides had different masses. Proust experiments recorded different

masses of their masses compositions tin (II) oxide, which consists was 88.1 percent was tin and

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oxygen 11.9 percent. Tin (iv oxide composition was 78.7 percent tin, and 21.3 percent was

oxygen. Dalton's theory, in his experiments, explained that in a 100g of tin would combine with

another 13.5g or 27 g of oxygen with a resulting ration of 1:2. Therefore, in the case of Proust's

tin oxides, one tin atom must combine with either one or two atoms oxygen (Larsen, Ask Hjorth,

et al. p3).

Contribution of the discovery to the development of the science

Dalton's exploration of the atoms set the stage for the experiments to determine the

composition of matter. For instance, in 1897, a British physicist J.J Thomas conducted a study

that contrasted Dalton’s theory. Thomas performed the cathode rays experiments that proved on

reflection and deflection of cathode rays. The results indicated that cathode rays were deflected

or bent hence illustrating that cathode rays were made of charged particles (Diercks, Christian

and Omar p2).

Conclusion

Dalton's atomic theory was the first attempt to explain all matter in terms of atoms as

well as their properties. It explained that matter consists of indivisible atoms, varied size, and

mass. The theory was based on the law of constant composition and the conservation of mass.

However, Thomas disapproved Dalton's theory stating that atoms were not the basic unit in a

matter. This is because various experiments he conducted on the cathode rays' reflections.

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Works Cited

Diercks, Christian S., and Omar M. Yaghi. "The atom, the molecule, and the covalent organic

framework." Science 355.6328 (2017): eaal1585.

Knight, David M. Atoms and elements: a study of theories of matter in England in the nineteenth

century. Routledge, 2018.

Larsen, Ask Hjorth, et al. "The atomic simulation environment—a Python library for working

with atoms." Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 29.27 (2017): 273002.

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