2.
Atoms, Molecules and Ions
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Introduction
In the fifth century B.C. the Greek philosopher Democritus
expressed the belief that all matter consists of very small,
indivisible particles, which he named atomos (meaning uncuttable
or indivisible). Although Democritus’ idea was not accepted by
many of his contemporaries (notably Plato and Aristotle)
Dalton’s work marked the beginning of the modern era of chemistry
based on three laws, i.e law of conservation of mass, law of
definite proportion & law of multiple proportion
Law of conservation of mass states matter neither created nor
destroyed, but transformed from one form to another.
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Law of definite proportion states that different samples of the
same compound always contain its constituent elements in the
same proportion by mass.
Law of multiple proportion states if two elements can combine to
form more than one compound, the masses of one element that
combine with a fixed mass of the other element are in ratios of
small whole numbers.
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Dalton’s Atomic Theory (1808)
1. Elements are composed of extremely small particles
called atoms.
2. All atoms of a given element are identical, having the
same size, mass and chemical properties. The atoms of
one element are different from the atoms of all other
elements.
3. Compounds are composed of atoms of more than one
element. In any compound, the ratio of the numbers of
atoms of any two of the elements present is either an
integer or a simple fraction.
4. A chemical reaction involves only the separation,
combination, or rearrangement of atoms; it does not
result in their creation or destruction.
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2.1. Atomic structure and symbolism
The concept of atomic structure was developed on the basis of
early exp’ts to characterize the atom, i.e. discovery of electron,
proton & neutron.
The characterization be CRT, α-scattering gold foil &
bombardment exp’t.
Atoms contains a very small nucleus composed of positively
charged protons & uncharged neutrons, surrounded by a much
larger volume of space containing negatively charged electrons.
The nucleus contains the majority of an atom’s mass because
protons and neutrons are much heavier than electrons, whereas
electrons occupy almost all of an atom’s volume
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.
When describing the properties of tiny objects such as atoms, we
use appropriately small units of measure, such as the atomic mass
unit (amu) and the fundamental unit of charge (e).
The amu was originally defined based on hydrogen, the lightest
element, then later in terms of oxygen.
Since 1961, it has been defined with regard to the most abundant
isotope of carbon, atoms of which are assigned masses of exactly
12 amu.
Thus, one amu is exactly 1/12 of the mass of one carbon-12 atom:
1 amu = 1.6605 × 10−24 g.
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Atomic number, Mass number and Isotopes
Atomic number (Z) = number of protons in nucleus
Mass number (A) = number of protons + number of
neutrons
A = atomic number (Z) + number of neutrons
• Isotopes are atoms of the same element (X) with
different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei
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Eg. 1 2 3
1H 1H (D) 1H (T)
How many protons, neutrons, and electrons are in
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6𝐶 ?
Answer: P= Z= 6,
A= p+n↔ n=A-p=14-6=8
e=p-charge=6-0=6
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Atomic mass unit and average atomic mass
Because each proton and each neutron contribute approximately
one amu to the mass of an atom, and each electron contributes far
less, the atomic mass of a single atom is approximately equal to
its mass number (a whole number).
However, the average masses of atoms of most elements are
not whole numbers because most elements exist naturally as
mixtures of two or more isotopes.
average mass = (fractional abundance × isotopic mass)i
i
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Example:A sample of magnesium is found to contain 78.70% of
24Mg atoms (mass 23.98 amu), 10.13% of 25Mg atoms (mass 24.99
amu), and 11.17% of 26Mg atoms (mass 25.98 amu). Calculate the
average mass of a Mg atom. An ion of platinum has a mass number
of 195 and contains 74 electrons. How many protons and neutrons
does it contain, and what is its charge?
Sol: Average mass
Mg= (fractional abundanceMg × isotopic massMg)
= 23.98 amu *78.7/100 + 24.99 amu *10.13/100 + 25.98 amu
*11.17/100
= 23.53
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Chemical Symbols
A chemical symbol is an abbreviation that we use to indicate an
element or an atom of an element. For example, the symbol for
mercury is Hg.
structural formula for a compound gives the same information
as its molecular formula (the types and numbers of atoms in the
molecule) but also shows how the atoms are connected in the
molecule.
Molecular formula tells which elements are
present in the compound and the actual number of
each. 12
Empirical Formula tells us what elements are
present in the compound in the simplest whole number ratio of
elements.
Example :A sample weighing 1.587 g of a compound contains 0.483
g N and 1.104 g O. What is the empirical formula of the
compound?
Solution:This compound has the formula NxOy.
Step1. We need to convert the mass of N and O to moles of N
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑁
and O. 0.483 g N x = 0.0345 mol N
14 𝑔 𝑁
1 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑂
1.104 g x = 0.06900 O
16 𝑔 𝑂
Step2. divide each by the smallest mole to get a whole
𝟎.𝟎𝟑𝟒𝟓 𝟎.𝟎𝟔𝟗𝟎𝟎
number ratio. N= =1 O= =2
𝟎.𝟎𝟑𝟒𝟓 𝟎.𝟎𝟑𝟒𝟓
The empirical formula is N2O 13
A molecular formula shows the exact number of atoms of each
element in the smallest unit of a substance
An empirical formula shows the simplest whole-number ratio of
the atoms in a substance
molecular empirical
H2O
C6H12O6 H2O
CH2O
O3
O
N2H4
NH2
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The Periodic Table
Historical development of the periodic table
As early chemists worked to purify ores and discovered more
elements, they realized that various elements could be grouped
together by their similar chemical behaviors.
One such grouping includes lithium (Li), sodium (Na), and
potassium (K):
These elements all are shiny, conduct heat and electricity well,
and have similar chemical properties.
A Russian chemist Mendeliv tried to defined on the basis of there
mass number means elements are periodic function of their
atomic mass. 15
The Modern Periodic Table
According to modern periodic table; the properties of the
elements are periodic functions of their atomic numbers.
A modern periodic table arranges the elements in increasing
order of their atomic numbers and groups atoms with
similar properties in the same vertical column.
The elements are arranged in 7 horizontal rows, called
periods or series, and 18 vertical columns, called groups.
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Transition elts
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Classification of elements in the periodic table
C
I r
c y
s
o t
s a
a l
l
g o
e g
n e
n
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Ionic and Molecular Compounds
The transfer and sharing of electrons among
atoms govern the chemistry of the elements.
During the formation of some compounds, atoms
gain or lose electrons, and form electrically
charged particles called ions.
Atom that has lost its electron is said to be
cation, while that gain electron is anion.
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compounds
Molecular
Ionic cpds
cpds
Mono Polyatomic
atomic ion ion
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Nomenclature of compounds
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Molecular compounds
1. Compounds composed of two elements
Molecular cpds are formed from two or more non-
metal elements by the means of covalent bond.
Eg. CO2, CO, NO2
In naming as such cpds the name of more
electropositive atom come first like metal in ionic
cpds.
Eg. In naming CO2 the name of C atom come first
as it is more metallic than O.
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2. Binary Acids
Binary acids are cpds composed of one H atom
& other one non-metal atom
In naming such a cpds we have to follow three
rules
i)The word “hydrogen” is changed to the prefix
hydro-
ii)The other nonmetallic element name is modified
by adding the suffix –ic
iii)The word “acid” is added as a second word
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Names of Some Simple Acids
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3. Oxyacids
compounds that contain hydrogen, oxygen, and at least one other
element.
To name oxyacids:
1. Omit “hydrogen”
2. Start with the root name of the anion
3. Replace –ate with –ic, or –ite with –ous
4. Add “acid”
For example, consider H2CO3 (which you might be tempted to call
“hydrogen carbonate”). To name this correctly, “hydrogen” is
omitted; the –ate of carbonate is replace with –ic; and acid is
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added-so its name is carbonic acid.
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