Question
Question: How do electrons move in the electrons cloud?...
How do electrons move in the electrons cloud?
Solution
Electrons are the negatively charged species which are present around the nucleus to balance the positive charge of the nucleus. The number of electrons is equal to the number of protons for a neutral atom.
Complete step by step answer:
An atom is subdivided into subatomic particles. The particles are known as electrons, protons and neutrons. These are the fundamental units which constitute an atom.
The electrons are known as the negatively charged species which revolve around the nucleus. The protons are the positively charged species which reside inside the nucleus. The neutrons are neutral species which carry no charge.
The electrons are positioned in different orbits which are occupied following the octet rule. The orbits are labeled as orbitals like 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 3d, 4s, 4p and so on. The first orbital is the 1s which contains a maximum of two electrons. The second and third orbitals are 2s and 2p which contains a maximum of eight electrons.
Such types of electron orbitals are referred to as electron clouds. It is only a graphical representation to locate the electrons around the nucleus. The orbits around the nucleus were given by Bohr’s model of an atom. Later on applying quantum mechanics and theories like de-Broglie relation and Heisenberg uncertainty principle, it was decided by the chemists to represent the electrons as clouds around the nucleus.
The “cloud” model shows the range of finding an electron or the probability of the position of an electron at a particular time in its orbit about the nucleus. The electrons are fast moving particles which are considered as planets which move around a star.
Note: The electrons move from negatively charged electrode to a positively charged electrode when connected in a circuit. An electrode is referred to as negatively charged spices if it contains extra electrons and it is referred as positively charged species if it absorbs extra electrons.