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Physical 1 Section 1 - Unit 1: Atomic Structure

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Total cards: 24•Content version: v4•Public deck•Updated: 8/1/2026

Card preview (24)

#1
Front (Question)

Explain why sulphur has a lower ionisation energy than phosphorus (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Sulphur’s outer 3p orbital is full so there is repulsion between the electrons • Meaning that less energy is needed to remove one of these paired electrons

#2
Front (Question)

State any differences and similarities (if any) in the atomic structure and chemistry of the isotopes of an element. (4 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Different number of neutrons • Same atomic number • Same chemical properties • Because same electron configuration

#3
Front (Question)

Explain why magnesium has a higher melting point than sodium (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Magnesium has more protons - So it attracts the delocalised electrons more strongly

#4
Front (Question)

Explain why metals are malleable (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• The attractive forces are the same throughout the metal lattice • So the ions in the lattice can slide over each other

#5
Front (Question)

Explain why S8 has a higher melting point than P4 (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Sulphur has a greater Mr - So there are stronger Van der Waals forces

#6
Front (Question)

Explain why the boiling points of Hydrogen Halides increases down a group (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• The size of the Van der Waals forces - Increases with the increasing size of the electron cloud

#7
Front (Question)

State whether aluminium or magnesium has a lower ionisation energy and explain why (3 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Aluminium • Because the outer electron is in a higher 3p subshell • Which is higher in energy and further away from the nucleus meaning that less energy is needed to remove the electron

#8
Front (Question)

Explain why the melting point decreases down group 2 (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Atomic radius increases down a group - So there is weaker metallic bonding (due to the weaker force on delocalised electrons)

#9
Front (Question)

Explain what is meant by the term relative isotopic abundance (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Ratio abundance of each isotope - Present in a sample of the element

#10
Front (Question)

Explain why silicon has a high melting point (3 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Silicon is macromolecular • Meaning that the covalent bonds need to be broken • And these bonds are very strong and require a lot of energy to be broken

#11
Front (Question)

Describe what change occurs to the motion of the ions in sodium chloride when it is heated from room temperature to a temperature below its melting point (1 mark)

Back (Answer)

• The ions vibrate faster

#12
Front (Question)

Explain why O-H is polar (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen - And this causes a higher electron density around oxygen atom

#13
Front (Question)

Explain why it is necessary to ionise molecules when measuring their mass in a TOF mass spectrometer (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Only ions will be accelerated by an electric field - Only ions will create a current when hitting the detector

#14
Front (Question)

Describe how ions are formed by electrospray in a TOF mass spectrometer (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Sample is dissolved in a polar solvent and passed through a positive terminal with a high voltage • Molecules gain a proton

#15
Front (Question)

Explain what accelerates the ions before they are deflected in mass spectrometry (1 mark)

Back (Answer)

• Electric field

#16
Front (Question)

Explain what deflects the moving ions round a curved path in mass spectrometry (1 mark)

Back (Answer)

• Magnet

#17
Front (Question)

State what is adjusted in a mass spectrometer in order to direct ions with different m/z values onto the detector (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Electric/ magnetic field - So that the deflection of ions onto the detector generates an electric current

#18
Front (Question)

Explain how ions are detected and relative abundance is measured in a TOF mass spectrometer (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Ion hits the negative plate and gains an electron - And relative abundance is proportional to the size of the current produced

#19
Front (Question)

Explain the increase in melting point from sodium oxide to magnesium oxide (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Greater charge density on magnesium ion - So there’s stronger ionic bonding

#20
Front (Question)

Explain why the melting point of the oxide of silicon is much higher than that of the highest oxide of phosphorus (3 marks)

Back (Answer)

• SiO2 is macromolecular • P4O10 is simple molecular • Covalent bonds of SiO2 are much stronger than the intermolecular forces in P4O10

#21
Front (Question)

Explain why silicon dioxide has a higher melting point than sulphur trioxide (4 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Covalent bonds in SiO2 • Van der Waals forces in SO3 • Covalent bonds are stronger than van der Waals forces • And so they require more energy to be overcome/broken

#22
Front (Question)

Explain the process of a mass spectrometer (6 marks)

Back (Answer)

• The sample is dissolved in a volatile, polar solvent • And passed through a positive terminal with a high voltage • This causes the sample to gain a proton and become positively charged • Positive ions are accelerated by an electric field • To a constant kinetic energy • The positive ions with smaller m/z values will have the same kinetic energy as those with larger m/z and will move faster • The ions hit the negative plate and gain an electron • And relative abundance is proportional to the size of the current produced

#23
Front (Question)

Define the term relative atomic mass (2 marks)

Back (Answer)

• Average mass of one atom compared to one twelfth of the mass of one atom of carbon-12

#24
Front (Question)

In a mass spectrometer, the relative abundance of each isotope is proportional to the current generated by that isotope at the detector. Explain how this current is generated (1 mark)

Back (Answer)

• Electrons transferred - From the detector to the positive ion