1. Models of the atom David Bailey 31/07/2019 © Class Leading Ltd.
Free for non-commercial educational use provided that this copyright notice is included.

2. Draw a sketch of what you think an atom looks like.

3. Here are some possible answers.
Which of these is closest to your drawing?
The dot and cross
The circle
The sphere
The orbital
The happy atom!
The very small dot or nothing at all (because atoms are very small after all!)

4. ? Models of the atom - Dalton ‘Particle’ model of atom.
Can be used to explain…
states of matter
pressure
JJ Thompson ‘Plum pudding’ model of atom.
Can be used to explain…
static electricity
conduction of electricity
Rutherford ‘Nuclear atom’
Can be used to explain…
radioactivity
high angle scattering of a
Electron ring structure
Can be used to explain…
bonding (ionic and covalent)
ionisation energies
periodic trends in atomic properties
emission spectra
metallic conduction ?
Nucleus
Quarks

5. Remember
Models are just that – they are models and they represent the atom. None of these models show what the atom actually looks like.
Each model serves a particular purpose and it is okay to use a ‘good enough’ model