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This simple model captures important features and enables us to begin to consider how atoms interact with one another to form molecules and how those molecules can be rearranged—real chemistry!
- 1.6: The Divisible Atom
The discovery of the electron made the old idea of an atom...
- 1.6: The Divisible Atom
Jan 13, 2024 · The number of each electron in this shell determines how an atom combines with other atoms to form compounds. When atoms combine, they gain, lose or share electrons in such a way that the outer shells become chemically complete.
Oct 8, 2024 · Once the way atoms are put together is understood, the question of how they interact with each other can be addressed—in particular, how they form bonds to create molecules and macroscopic materials. There are three basic ways that the outer electrons of atoms can form bonds: Electrons can be transferred from one atom to another.
Apr 24, 2017 · The protons and neutrons make up the central core of the atom, while the electrons circle the core in defined orbitals called energy levels. Very few atoms have the quantity of electrons they need, so to get their full complement of electrons, they'll bond with other atoms to form molecules.
How do atoms make compounds? Typically they join together in such a way that they lose their identities as elements and adopt a new identity as a compound. These joins are called chemical bonds. But how do atoms join together? Ultimately, it all comes down to electrons.
When atoms interact with one another to form molecules or larger structures, the molecules have different properties than their component atoms; they display what are often referred to as emergent properties, where the whole is more than, or different from the sum of its parts.
The electrons of the outermost energy level determine the atom’s energetic stability and its tendency to form chemical bonds with other atoms to form molecules. Under standard conditions, atoms fill the inner shells first, often resulting in a variable number of electrons in the outermost shell.
