LANGUAGE OF CHEMISTRY-CLASS 9

INTRODUCTION
Chemistry is an active, experimental and evolving science which has vital importance to our world, in both
the realm of nature and the realm of society. It deals with the study of matter and its transformations.
Although chemistry is an ancient science, its modern foundation was laid in only the nineteenth century.
During this period, intellectual and technological advances enabled scientists to break down substances into
even smaller components and consequently to explain many of their physical and chemical properties.
Development of sophisticated technology has given us even greater means to study things that cannot be
seen with the naked eye.

Almost certainly chemistry will continue to play a pivotal role in all areas of science and technology. Before
we enter into the study of matter and its transformation, let us start with the elementary chemistry, where we
can learn elements and other materials of which our world is made. We begin our chemistry with the symbols
of elements and formulae of compounds which provides the basic knowledge of chemistry. Next we discuss
how to represent a chemical substance that is taking part in a chemical change. Then we will familiarize
ourselves with the qualitative and quantitative relationship between elements involved in compound
formation as well as between reactants and products in a chemical reaction.

ELEMENTS AND COMPOUNDS

Pure substances have a constant, invariable composition, and can be classified into elements or
compounds. Element are substances that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by any physical
and chemical processes, whereas compounds can be decomposed by chemical processes into two or more
elements. Elements are the basic substances out of which all matter is composed. Some of the more
familiar elements are listed in table along with the chemical abbreviations or symbols that are used to denote
them. The symbol for an element consists of one or two letters, with the first letter capitalized. These
symbols are often derived from the English name for the element, but sometimes they are derived from a
foreign name instead.
Symbols
Each element is represented by a different symbol. For example Helium is represented with symbol He.
Table: Some common elements and their symbols

Carbon (C) Aluminum (Al) Copper (Cu, from cuprum)

Fluorine (F) Barium (Ba) Iron (Fe, from ferrum)
Hydrogen (H) Calcium (Ca) Lead (Pb, from plumbum)
Iodine (I) Chlorine (Cl) Mercury (Hg, from hydrargyrum)
Nitrogen (N) Helium (He) Potassium (K, from kalium)
Oxygen (O) Magnesium (Mg) Silver (Ag, from argentum)
Phosphorus (P) Platinum (Pt) Sodium (Na, from Natrium)
Sulfur (S) Silicon (Si) Tin (Sn, from Stannum)

FORMULAE FOR COMPOUNDS AND THEIR NAMES

Formulae
A compound is formed when different elements are joined together. Compounds are represented by a
formula. The formula shows the different elements present and the relative number of atoms of each
element.

For example Carbon dioxide is represented with formula CO 2.

In writing formulas it will be helpful to use the concept of a valence number that can be assigned to atoms or
group of atoms called radicals. Radicals, which are found in many compounds, are groups of atoms that
behave like single atoms; for example NH4 and NO3 . The valence number gives the combining power of the
atom or radical. Since the compounds as being composed of atoms so combined that the sums of the
positive and negative valence numbers is zero so that the molecule is electrically neutral.

For example , if Ca of valence number +2 is combined with Cl of valence –1, the formula of the compound, is
CaCl2; If Ca combines with N of valence number – 3, the compound has the formula Ca 3N2.
Positive Radicals and Positive valence numbers
The atoms with positive valence numbers include the metals, the hydrogen ion H +, and the ammonium
radical, ( NH4 ), which behaves as a metal. A list of the more common metal atoms and their valence
numbers follows.

Monovalent Basic radicals

Name Symbol Name Symbol

Ammonium NH4 Potassium K
Copper Cu1 Phosphonium PH4
Hydrogen H1 Rubidium Rb1
Gold Au1 Silver Ag1
Lithium Li1 Sodium Na
Mercury Hg1

Bivalent Basic radicals

Name Symbol Name Symbol

Barium Ba2 Nickel Ni2 
Calcium Ca2 Radium Ra2
2
Cobalt Co Strontium Sr 2
Cadmium Cd2 Zinc Zn2
Magnesium Mg2
Trivalent Basic radicals Tetravalent Basic radicals

Name Symbol Name Symbol

Antimony Sb3  Platinum Pt 4 
Gold Au3  Tin(stannic) Sn4 
Arsenic As3  Lead (plumbic) Pb4 
Aluminium Al3 
Chromium Cr 3 
Pentavalent Basic radicals
Cobalt Co3 Name Symbol
Manganese Mn3  Antimony Sb5 
Iron Fe3  Arsenic As5 
In naming atoms whose valence numbers vary; the root of the name of atom is followed by “ous” for the
lower valence and by “ic” for the higher valence. Thus the ferrous ion is Fe 2+ (Fe++) and Ferric acid Fe3+ (or
Fe+++).

Exercise 1: What is the symbol for mercury?

Negative Radicals and Negative valence numbers

The majority of atoms and radicals with negative valence numbers form acids when combined with H +.
Mono-atomic anions are most commonly formed from atoms of non-metallic elements. They are named by
dropping the ending of the name of the element and adding the ending “ide”. For example,
H–   Hydride ion
F–  Fluoride ion
O2–  Oxide ion
S2–  Sulfide ion
N3–  nitride ion
P3–  phosphide ion

Only a few common poly atomic ions end in “ide”.

OH–  hydroxide ion CN–  cyanide ion
O22   Peroxide ion N3  azide ion

Polyatomic ions containing oxygen are referred to as oxy anions. A particular element such as sulphur may
form more than one oxy anion. When this occurs, there are rules for indicating the relative numbers of
oxygen atoms in the anion. When an element forms only two oxy anions, the name of the one that contains
more oxygen ends in “ ate” ; the name of the one with less oxygen ends in ite : –

Example: (1) NO2  Nitrite ion (two oxygen atoms)

NO3  Nitrate ion (three oxygen atoms)
When the series of anions of a given element extends to three or four members, as with the oxyanions of the
halogens, prefixes are also employed. The prefix ‘hypo’ indicates less oxygen, and the prefix ‘per’ indicates
more oxygen.
ClO   Hypochlorite ion (one less oxygen than chlorite)
ClO2  Chlorite ion (one less oxygen than chlorate)
ClO3  Chlorate ion
ClO 4  Perchlorate ion (one more oxygen than chlorate)

Since many names of ions predate the establishment of systematic rules, there are many exceptions to
these rules. For example, the permanganate ion is MnO4 ; we thus expect that the manganate ion should be
Mn O3 ,but this ion is unknown. So the name manganate is given to the species MnO24 .

Exercise 2: What is the charge on manganate ion?

Many polyatomic anions that have high charges readily add one or more hydrogen ions (H +) to form anions
of lower charge. These ions are named by prefixing the word hydrogen or dihydrogen, as appropriate, to the
name of the hydrogen free anion. An older method is still used, by using prefix by.
HCO3 Hydrogen carbonate (or bicarbonate) ion
HSO4 Hydrogen sulfate (or bisulfate) ion
H2PO4 Dihydrogen phosphate ion

Exercise 3: What is the formula for Aluminium di hydrogen phosphate?

Monovalent Acid radicals

Name Symbol Name Symbol

Fluoride F1 Thiocyanate SCN1
Chloride Cl1 Superoxide O12
Bromide Br1 Hypophosphite H2PO12
 Iodide I1 Biphosphate H2PO14
Hypobromite BrO1 Bisulphide HS1
Bromite BrO12 Bisulphite HSO13
Bromate BrO13 Bisulphate HSO14
Perbromate BrO14 Bicarbonate HCO13
Hydride H1 Formate HCOO1
Hydroxide OH1 Acetate CH3 COO1
Cyanate CNO1 Permanganate MnO14

Bivalent Acid radicals

Name Symbol Name Symbol

Oxide O 2
Oxalate  C2 O 4  2 
Peroxide  O2  2  Molybdate  MoO4  2
Sulphide  S  2 Tetraborate  B 4 O7  2 
Carbonate  CO3  2 Tartrate  C4H4O6  2
Sulphate  SO4  2 Zincate  ZnO2  2
Sulphite  SO3  2 Fluorosilicate  SiF6  2
Thiosulphate  S 2O3  2  Titanate  TiO3  2
Tetrathionate  S 4 O6  2  Monohydrogen phosphate  HPO4  2
Perdisulphate  S 2O8  2  Monohydrogen phosphite  HPO3  2
Manganate  MnO4  2 Plumbite  PbO2  2
Stannite  SnO2  2 Plumbate  PbO3  2
Stannate  SnO3  2 Pyroantimonite  H2Sb2O7  2
Silicate  SiO3  2
Trivalent Acid radicals
Name Symbol
Aluminate  AlO3  3
Arsenite  AsO3  3
Arsenate  AsO4  3
Arsenide  As  3
Phosphite  PO3  3
Phosphate  PO4  3
Phosphide P3 
Nitride N3 
Borate BO33 

Variable valencies:
In naming atoms whose valence numbers vary, the root of the name of atom is followed by –ous for the
lower valence and by ‘–ic’ for the higher valence;
Fe2+ Ferrous ion
Fe3+ Ferric ion
The names of the compounds that these ions form with chlorine would thus be
FeCl2 ferrous chloride
FeCl3 ferric chloride
This method of naming ion has some distinct limitations. First, the –“ous” and “–ic” suffixes do not provide
information regarding the actual charges of the two cations involved. Thus the ferric ion is Fe 3+, but the cation
of copper named cupric has the formula Cu2+. In addition, the “–ous” and “–ic” designations provide names
for only two different elemental cations. Some metallic elements can assume three or more different positive
charges in compounds. Therefore, it has become increasingly common to designate different cations with
Roman numerals. The Roman numeral I indicates one positive charge, II means two positive charges, and
so on. For example manganese (Mn) atoms can assume several different positive charges:
Mn2+ : MnO manganese (II) oxide
Mn3+ : Mn2O3 manganese (III) oxide
4
Mn : MnO2 manganese (IV) oxide
Element Root name –ous –ic
Copper Cupr – Cu +

Cu Cu2 ` 
Aurum Aur – Au+ Au Au3  
Mercury Mercur– Hg2 Hg 
 Hg  2

Chromium Chrom– Cr  Cr 2   
Cr  Cr 3  
Maganese Mangan– Mn Mn2   Mn Mn3   
Iron Ferr– Fe Fe2   Fe Fe3   
Cobalt Cobalt Co  Co2    Co  Co3   
Nickel Nickel– Ni Ni2  
Ni Ni3  
Tin Stann – Sn Sn2   Sn Sn4  
Lead Plumb– Pb  Pb2   Pb  Pb  4

Arsenic Arsen– As As3    As  As  4

Antimony Antimony Sb   Sb 

3
Sb  Sb5  
Bismuth Bismuth Bi 
 Bi 3
Bi 
 Bi 
5

Exercise 4: How many variable valence are possible for Iron?

Naming Acids and Salts

The formula of any acid consists of an anionic group whose charge is balanced by one ore more H + ions, as
shown in the following table. The name of the acid is related to the names of the anion. Anions whose
names end in “–ide” have associated acids that have the hydro–prefix and an “–ic” ending.
When the H+ of an acid is replaced by a metal, the result is a salt.
Corresponding Salt
Anion Corresponding acid
(or Typical salt)
Cl HCl NaCl
 chloride   hydrochloric acid sodium chloride

2 H2S
S CuS
 sulfide   Hydro sulfuric acid Copper sulfide

F HF CsF
 fluoride   hydrofluoric acid  Cacsium fluoride 

The above acids do not contain oxygen atoms. Many of the most important acids are derived from oxyanions
(that means they contain oxygen). If the anion has an ‘–ate’ ending, the corresponding acid is given an –ic
ending. Anions whose names end in “– ite” have associated acids whose names end in “–ous”. Prefixes in
the name of the anion are retained in the name of the acid. These rules are illustrated by the oxyacids of
chloride.

Corresponding Salt
Anion Corresponding acid
(or Typical salt)
ClO  (hypochlorite ion) HClO (hypochlorous acid) NaClO (sodium hypochlorite)
ClO2 (chlorite ion) HClO2 (chlorous acid) RbClO2 (rubidium chlorite)
ClO3 (chlorate ion) HClO3 (chloric acid) Cd (ClO3)2 (cadmium chlorate)
 ClO 4 (perchlorate ion) HClO4 (perchloric acid) Mg(ClO4)2(magnesium perchlorate)

In some cases two different names seem to assigned to the same chemical formula.
HCl hydrogen chloride
HCl hydrochloric acid
The name assigned to the compound depends on its physical state. In the gaseous or pure liquid state, HCl
is a molecular compound called hydrogen chloride (exists as molecules only). When it is dissolved in water
the molecules break up into H+ and Cl– ions, in this state, the substance is called hydrochloric acid.

Some more examples:

Corresponding Salt
Anion Corresponding acid
(or Typical salt)
CrO24 (chromate ion) H2CrO4 (chromic acid ) K2Cr2O4 (Potassium chromate)
Cr2O72 (dichromate ion) H2Cr2O7 (dichromic acid) K2Cr2O7 (potassium dichromate)
C2 O42 (oxalate ion) H2C2O4 (oxalic acid ) CaC2O4 (calcium oxalate )
AsO34 (arsenate ion) H3AsO4 (arsenic acid) Ba3  AsO 4  2 (barium arsenate)
CH3COO– (acetate ion) CH3COOH (acetic acid) CH3 COONa ( sodium acetate)
Naming Binary Compounds: The element with the more positive nature is named first and also appears
first in the chemical formula. The second element is named with an –ide ending. The following are some
binary compounds containing one metal atom and another non–metal atom.

Examples: LiH lithium hydride

FeO Ferrous oxide
Sn3N4 Tin nitride
Ba3P2 Barium phosphide
Al4C3 aluminium carbide
Mg2Si magnesium silicide

Binary compounds containing two non–metals are designated by the names of the two elements followed by
the ending –ide. Before the name of the second element there is a prefix (given in the table) to indicate how
many atoms of it are in the molecule. This is never alone for the first element.

Prefixes used in naming binary compounds formed between non–metals

Prefix Number of atoms
Mono 1
Di 2
Tri 3
Tetra 4
Penta 5
Hexa 6
Hepta 7
Octa 8
Nona 9
Deca 10
When the prefix ends in ‘a’ or ‘o’ and the name of the anion begins with a vowel (such as oxide), the ‘a’ or
‘o’ is often dropped. The prefix mono is usually omitted for the first–named element
Binary compounds Name
CO Carbon monoxide
CO2 Carbon dioxide
Cl2O Chlorine monoxide
ClO2 Chlorine dioxide
NO2 Nitrogen dioxide
CCl4 Carbon tetrachloride
CS2 Carbon disulphide
P2O5 Phosphorus pentoxide
P4S10 Tetraphosphorus deca sulphide
N2O4 Dinitrogen tetroxide

Binary compounds formed by two non–metals are also called molecular compounds. All other compounds
which contain positive and negative radicals are called ionic compounds. Ionic compounds split into ions
(or radicals) when added to water.
Exercise 5: What is the binary compound of NO2?

Naming Hydrates
Hydrates are compounds that have a specific number of water molecules attached to them. For example,
each unit of copper (II) sulphate has five water molecules associated with it, in its normal state. The
systematic name for this compound is copper (II) sulphate pentahydrate, and its formula is written as
CuSO4.5H2O. The water molecules can be driven off by heating. After heating, the compound is CuSO 4.
Which is sometimes called anhydrous copper (II) sulphate. The term ‘Anhydrous’ indicates that the
compound no longer has water molecules associated with it. Some other hydrates are.
BaCl2. 2H2O Barium chloride dihyrate
LiCl. H2O Lithium chloride monohydrate
MgSO4. 7H2O Magnesium sulphate heptahydrate

HOW TO WRITE A CHEMICAL FORMULA

One has to follow the following rules to write the formula of compounds
1. Positive and negative radicals are written side by side with their charge as the subscript on the right
hand side (first positive radical and then negative radical).
2. The charges are interchanged and written as the subscript and signs are removed.
3. In the final formula there should be no sign. If the subscripts are same, it can be cancelled. No
need of writing 1 in the formula.
4. If the radical contains two or more atoms (compound radical), then it is enclosed in a bracket.

Example: (1) Calcium phosphate

Step1 Step2 Step3
Ca2 PO34 Ca3  PO4  2
Ca2  PO34
Calcium Phosphate

2. Potassium ferrocyanide
Step1 Step2 Step3
K 4 Fe  CN 6 
4
K1 Fe  CN 
 6 1+ 4
Potassium Ferrocyanide K [Fe(CN)6]

CHEMICAL EQUATIONS

Equations
A chemical reaction can be represented by a word equation or a balanced chemical equation.
The word equation for burning carbon in air is:
carbon      +      oxygen      carbon dioxide
Carbon and oxygen are the reactants. Carbon dioxide is the product.
The balanced chemical equation for this is:
C(s)      +      O2(g)       CO2(g)
One atom of carbon reacts with one molecule of oxygen to form one molecule of carbon dioxide.
The symbol in brackets refers to the state of the substance.
(g) Means it is a gas,
(s) a solid,
(l) a liquid and
(aq) an aqueous solution (solution in water).
Sometimes there is more than one product.
sulphuric acid + sodium hydroxide  sodium sulphate + water
The total mass of the products is always the same as the total mass of the reactants.
This is because the products are made up of the same atoms as the reactants.
Symbol equations must therefore be balanced. The total number of each type of atom in the reactants must
equal the number of atoms of the same element in the products.
H2SO4(aq) + 2NaOH(aq)  Na2SO4(aq) + 2H2O(l)
A balanced chemical equation indicates the exact ratio in which chemicals combine and products
are formed.
Two features are required for a balanced equation. Since atoms can be neither created nor destroyed by
chemical change, a balanced equation must show the same number of each element symbol on both sides
of the equation.

Electrical charge is also conserved during chemical change, so a balanced equation must have the same net
charge for both sides of the equation.

Simpler chemical equations can be balanced by trial and error using numerical coefficients until both
requirements for ‘balancing’ are met. More complicated equations like redox reactions, are balanced by a
systematic method, because, they take more time to balance by a trial–and–error method.

In this topic we will discuss two methods of balancing equations. They are
(1) Trial – and – error method
(2) Frequency number method.

Trial – and – error method

The following steps are required to balance simple chemical equations such as acid – base reactions or
precipitation reactions or simple combinations or decompositions.

Step – 1
When the formulas of all reactants and products are known, careful attention should be given to subscripts.
The subscripts will generally give clue to necessary coefficients.

Step – 2
First balance the species having largest subscript, except for subscripts in polyatomic ions (e. g PO34 ). If that
doesn’t immediately reveal all necessary coefficients, try multiplying all coefficients by the next largest
subscript.

Frequency number method

The number of times (or the frequency) of occurrence of various elements in an equation is called frequency
number.
For example: Pb(NO3 )2  PbO  NO2  O2
Fnumber: Pb = 2 (one place in reactant and one place in products)
N = 2 (one place in reactant and one place in products)
O = 4 (one place in reactant and three place in products)
Don’t count the number of atoms only places should be counted.

Following steps involved in this process

1. Find the Fnumber of all elements.

2. Balance the element in the increasing order of their Fnumber, is the element with lowest Fnumber
is balanced first.
(i) If two or more elements are with the same F number, first balance the metal and then
nonmetals.
(ii) If two or more elements and are metals with the same Fnumber, atomic number is balanced
first. Similarly in the case of nonmetals also.
Let us Balance K 2Cr2O7  H2SO 4  K 2SO 4  Cr2 (SO4 )3  H2O  O2

Step – 1
Writing Fnumber
Element K Cr S O H
Fnumber 2 2 3 6 2

Step – 2
K, Cr and H have same F number. Among three K and Cr are metals and Cr is with higher atomic
number. So Cr is balanced first followed by K and H. After this sulphur is balanced and then
oxygen.
(i) Balancing Cr is already balanced.
(ii) K is also balanced.
 K 2Cr2 O7  H2SO4  K 2SO4  Cr2 (SO4 )3  H2O  O2
(iii) Hydrogen also balanced
K 2Cr2 O7  H2SO4  K 2SO4  Cr2 (SO4 )3  H2O  O2
(iv) One sulphur atom is present in the reactant side where as 4 S atoms are present on the product
side. So, to balance S, H2SO4 is multiplied with 4 and to balance hydrogen H2O is multiplied with
4.
K 2 Cr2 O7  4H2SO4  K 2SO4  Cr2 (SO4 )3  4H2O  O2
(v) Balance O by atomic equation method or since oxygen occurs in pure elementary form, multiply
the whole equation by 2 except O2.
2K 2Cr2O7  8H2SO4  2K 2SO4  2Cr2 (SO4 )3  8H2O  O2
There are 46 and 40 atoms of oxygen in the reactants and products respectively. To balance O
multiply O2 with 3.
3K 2 Cr2O7  8H2 SO4  2K 2SO4  2Cr2 (SO4 )3  8H2O  3O2

Exercise 6: Write the balanced equation for the reaction between K2Cr2O7 and conc.H2SO4.

SIGNIFICANCE OF CHEMICAL FORMULA AND CHEMICAL EQUATION

Chemical formulas and chemical equations have a quantitative significance that is, the subscripts in formulas
and the coefficients in equations represent precise quantities.
For example: The formula H2O is not merely an abbreviation for the word water, it indicates that a molecule
of this substance contains exactly two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen.

The chemical equation for the combustion of ethane indicates more than the qualitative idea that ethane
reacts with O2 to form CO2 and H2O. It indicates quantitatively that two molecule of C 2H6 requires seven
molecules of O2 and produces exactly four molecules of CO2 and six molecules of water.
2C2H6 +7O2  4CO2 +6H2O
We cannot directly count atoms or molecules but indirectly we can determine. Their numbers provided that
we should know the masses of atoms. So, before we pressure the quantitative aspects of chemical formulas
or equations further we must explore the concept of atomic and molecular masses [Atomic masses we have
studied in the previous chapter].

Formula and Molecular weights

The formula weight (FW) of a substance is merely the sum of the atomic weights of each atom in its
chemical formula. For example, H2SO4, sulphuric acid, has a formula weight of 98.0 amu.

FW of H2SO4 = 2(AW of H) + (AW of S) + 4(AW of O)

= 2 x 1.0 amu + 32.0 amu + 4 x 16.0 amu
= 98.0 amu

AW represents atomic weight.

If the chemical formula of a substance is its molecular formula, then the formula weight is also called
molecular weight (MW). For example, the molecular formula of glucose is C 6H12O6. So

MW of glucose = 6 (12.0) amu + 12 (1.0) amu + 6(16.0) amu

= 180.0 amu.

With ionic substances such as NaCl that exist as three dimensional arrays of ions, in appropriate to speak of
molecules. In such a case, we use only formula weight. The formula weight of NaCl is 230 amu + 35.5 amu =
58.5 amu.

Chemical formula and percentage composition

A chemical formula can be used to compute the percentage composition of a compound, the percent by
weight contributed by each type of atom in the compound.

Let us calculate the percentage composition of C6H12O6.

In general, the percentage of a given element in a compound is given by

 Atoms of element  AW
%=  100
FW of compound
The formula weight of C6H12O6 is 180. Therefore the percentage composition is

6  12.0  amu
%C =  100  40% .
180
12  1.0  amu
%H=  100  6.66%
180

6  16.0 
%O=  100  53.34%
180

Exercise 7: Nitrogen is made up of two isotopes, N-14 and N-15. Given nitrogen's atomic weight of 14.007, what
is the percent abundance of each isotope?
ANSWERS TO EXERCISES

Excesise:1 Hg

Excesise:2 MnO24

Excesise:3 Al  H2PO4  3

Excesise:4 Five Fe2 , Fe3 , Fe4 , Fe5 , Fe6

Excesise:5 N2O4

Excesise:6 3K 2 Cr2O7  8H2SO4  2K 2SO4  2Cr2 (SO4 )3  8H2O  3O2

Excesise:7 N-14 is 99.3% and N-15 is 0.7%