Atoms, Molecules and Chemical

Reactions
Week 2
 ATOMS
• These are the smallest constituent unit of
matter which posses properties of the
chemical element.
– Atoms are defined as the basic building blocks of matter.
• Atoms do not exist independently, rather, they
form molecules and ions which then combine
in large numbers to form matter that we are
able to see, feel and touch.
• The human eye is incapable of seeing an atom, instead,
experiments are carried out to find out their structure,
and behavior e.g. a scanning electron microscope (SEM)
• All atoms of the same element are identical
and different elements have different types of
atoms.
• All the elements listed in the periodic table
are made of atoms.
• An example is with Aluminum on the periodic table.
• A rearrangement of atoms is what leads to a
chemical reaction.
• Atoms are the building blocks of everything
we see around us yet we cannot see an atom
or even a billion atoms with the naked eye.
 Daltons Atomic Theory
• All matter is made of tiny particles called atoms
• All atoms of a given element are similar to one
another and different from atoms of other
elements
• Atoms of two or more different elements
combine to form compounds. e.g. with H2O. A
particular compound is made up of the same
kinds of atoms and always has the same number
of each kind of atom.
• A chemical reaction involves the rearrangement,
separation, or combination of atoms. Atoms are
never created or destroyed during a chemical
reaction.
 Subatomic Particles
• By the early twentieth century, experiments
showed that atoms were composed of even
smaller bits of matter called the subatomic
particles. They include:
– Proton: This carries the positive charge (+)
– Neutron: This has no charge, it is neutral
– Electron: This carries the negative charge
» Q: Why are the electrons attracted to the protons in the
nucleus of an atom?
 Parts of an Atom
• An atom contains equal number of protons
and electrons therefore an atom has no
charge.
• The Nucleus of an atom contains Protons and
Neutrons only, therefore it is positively
charged. The electrons occupy the region of
space around the nucleus, for this reason,
most of the mass is concentrated within the
nucleus.
• The center of the atom is what we call the
Nucleus, this is the part that contains the
neutrons and protons that give the atom its
weight.
• The atomic number of an element is the
number of protons or positive charges in the
nucleus.
• The Atomic weight on the other hand is
determined by combining the total number of
protons and neutrons in the nucleus.
• A Proton carries a single positive charge
• An Electron carries a single negative charge.
• If an atom were to be the size of a football stadium, the
nucleus will be the size of a golf ball.

Atomic Radius is
measured in
nanometers
i.e. x10^-9
• The number of protons in the nucleus of an
atom is equal to the atomic number (Z).
• The number of electrons in a neutral atom is
equal to the number of protons.
• The mass number of the atom (M) is equal to
the sum of the number of protons and
neutrons in an atom
• The number of neutrons is equal to the
difference between the mass number of the
atom (M) and the atomic number (Z).
 Atomic Number
• What differentiates the atoms that make up
one element from another is the in the
composition of the subatomic particles.
• The atoms of each element have a
characteristic number of protons.
• The number of protons in the nucleus of an
atom of any particular element is called the
“Atomic Number”.
 PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. How many Protons, Neutrons and Electrons

are in (a) an atom of 197 Au (atomic number is 79)
(b) an atom of strontium-90 (Atomic number
38)?

2. Magnesium has three isotopes, with the mass

numbers 24, 25 and 26. (a) write the complete
chemical symbol of (Superscript and subscript) for
each of them.
(b) how many neutrons are in the atoms of
each isotope?
 Answers
• The subscript 197 is the mass number (Protons+
Neutrons), according to the periodic table of
elements, gold has an atomic number of 79. This
means Au has 79 protons and electrons. The
number of neutrons is 197-79=118.

• Atomic number = 38, number of protons = 38,

number of electrons 38. The strontium-90
isotope has 90 – 38 = 52 neutrons.
 Practice Questions
• How many protons, neutrons and electrons
are in 138Ba atom

• How many protons, neutrons and electrons

are in an atom of phosphorus- 31.

• Give the complete chemical symbol for the

atom that contains 82 protons, 82 electrons
and 126 neutrons.
 Answers
• 56 protons, 56 electrons and 82 neutrons
• 15 protons, 15 electrons and 16 neutrons
• 20882Pb
• The existence of isotopes violates one of the
original ideas of Dalton’s atomic theory. Which
one?

• How are electrons and protons similar? How

are they different?

• How are protons and neutrons similar? How

are they different?
 Ans

• Dalton originally thought that all atoms of a particular

element had identical properties, including mass. Thus, the
concept of isotopes, in which an element has different
masses, was a violation of the original idea. To account for the
existence of isotopes, the second postulate of his atomic
theory was modified to state that atoms of the same element
must have identical chemical properties.

• Both are subatomic particles that reside in an atom’s nucleus.

Both have approximately the same mass. Protons are
positively charged, whereas electrons are negatively charged.

• Both are subatomic particles that reside in an atom’s nucleus.

Both have approximately the same mass. Protons are
positively charged, whereas neutrons are uncharged.
• Give the number of protons, electrons, and
neutrons in neutral atoms of each of the
following isotopes:
a. 73Li

b. 125 Te
52

c. 109 Ag
47

d. 15 N
7

e. 31 P
15
 Ans
(a) 3 protons, 3 electrons, 4 neutrons;
(b) 52 protons, 52 electrons, 73 neutrons;
(c) 47 protons, 47 electrons, 62 neutrons;
(d) 7 protons, 7 electrons, 8 neutrons;
(e) 15 protons, 15 electrons, 16 neutrons
 Molecules
• Most matter is composed of molecules or
ions, both of which are formed from atoms.

• A molecule is the assembly of two or more

atoms tightly bound together.

• An example is oxygen which is normally found

in air, it consists of molecules which contain
two oxygen atoms O2.
 Molecules and Chemical Formulas
• Many elements found in nature are in the molecular
form, often involving two or more of the same type of
atom bound together. An example is oxygen found in
air which consists of molecules that contain two
oxygen atoms, O2 and Ozone, O3. The subscript tells us
the number of atoms of oxygen in each molecule.

• A diatomic molecule is a molecule that is made up of

two atoms e.g. Oxygen, Hydrogen, nitrogen and
Halogens.

• Molecular compounds are compounds that are

composed of molecules which contain more than one
type of atom e.g. water, H2O and Hydrogen Peroxide,
H2O2.
• Compounds which contain more than one type of
atom are known as molecular compounds.

• An example is the molecule of water having two

hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom.

The subscript to the

right of the element
tells the number of
atoms of that
element in the
compound.
 Chemical Reactions
• A chemical reaction is the formation of chemical
compounds, their decomposition, and their
interactions with one another.

• To a very large extent, chemistry is the study of

chemical reactions expressed on paper as
chemical equations.

• A chemical equation is a sentence of chemistry,

made up of words consisting of chemical
formulas.
• A chemical reaction might involve the combination of
two elements to form a compound.

• An example of this is the reaction of elemental

hydrogen and oxygen to produce the compound water.

• Passage of an electrical current through water can

cause the compound to break down and produce
elemental hydrogen and oxygen.

• Energy is involved in chemical reactions; some

reactions produce energy, others require it in order for
them to occur.
 Types of Formulas
• Empirical formulas give the lowest whole-
number ratio of atoms of each element in a
compound.
• Molecular formulas give the exact number of
atoms of each element in a compound.
Example: ethane:
– Empirical formula: CH3
– Molecular formula: C2H6
• Molecular formulas provide more information
about a molecule than the empirical formulas e.g.
with Ethanol and hexane.

• Whenever we know the molecular formula of a

compound, we can determine its empirical
formula.

• The converse is not true, if you know the

empirical formula of a substance, you cannot use
it to determine the molecular formula, in this
case you need more information.

• If these subscripts are not in the lowest whole-number

ratio, divide them by the greatest common factor.
 STRUCTURAL FORMULA

• Structural formulas
show the order in which
atoms are bonded.

• Perspective drawings
also show the three-
dimensional array of
atoms in a compound.
Q. Write the molecular and empirical formulas
of the following compounds:
a)
b)

c)

d)
 Ans
• (a) molecular CO2, empirical CO2;
• (b) molecular C2H2, empirical CH;
• (c) molecular C2H4, empirical CH2;
• (d) molecular H2SO4, empirical H2SO4
• Determine the empirical formulas for the
following compounds:
a) Caffeine, C8H10N4O2
b) Fructose, C12H22O11
c) Hydrogen Peroxide, H2O2
d) Glucose, C6H12O6
e) Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), C6H8O6
 Ans
a) C4H5N2O

b) C12H22O11

c) HO

d) CH2O

e) C3H4O3
 Questions
• Write the empirical formulas for the following
compounds:
– A)

– B)
 Ans
a) CH2O
b) C2H4O

Note: Compounds are always electrically neutral!!

 Writing Formulas

• Since at this point we know that compounds

are electrically neutral, one can determine the
formula of a compound this way:
– The charge on the cation becomes the subscript
on the anion.
– The charge on the anion becomes the subscript on
the cation.
– If these subscripts are not in the lowest whole-
number ratio, divide them by the greatest
common factor.
Mg2+ O2- MgO and not Mg2O2
 Ions and Ionic Compounds
• We already know that the nucleus of an atom is uncharged,
however, some atoms can readily gain or loose electrons.

• An ion is formed when electrons are removed or added to a

neutral atom.

• An ion with a positive charge is known as a Cation.

• A negatively charged ion is known as an Anion.

• A Radical could be positive, negative or even neutral. E.g.

nitrogen having an odd number of protons and electrons,
one is always left unpaired. This makes nitrogen in its free
state a radical.
• First, each element that forms cations is a metal,
except for one (hydrogen), while each element
that forms anions is a nonmetal.

• This is actually one of the chemical properties of

metals and nonmetals: metals tend to form
cations, while nonmetals tend to form anions.

• A few elements, all metals, can form more than

one possible charge. For example, Iron atoms (Fe)
can form 2+ cations or 3+ cations. Cobalt (Co) is
another element that can form more than one
possible charged ion (2+ and 3+), while Lead (Pb)
can form 2+ or 4+ cations.
 Naming Ions
• Naming an ion is straightforward.

• For a cation, simply use the name of the element and add
the word ion (or if you want to be more specific,
add cation) after the element’s name. So Na+ is the sodium
ion; Ca2+ is the calcium ion.

• If the element has more than one possible charge, the

value of the charge comes after the element name and
before the word ion. Thus, Fe2+ is the iron two ion, while
Fe3+ is the iron three ion.

• In print, we use roman numerals in parentheses to

represent the charge on the ion, so these two iron ions
would be represented as the iron (II) cation and the iron
(III) cation, respectively.
• For a monatomic anion (nonmetal elements),
use the root of the element name and append
the suffix -ide to it, and then add ion e.g.
Oxide ion.

• This is similar to how we named molecular

compounds. Thus, Cl− is the chloride ion, and
N3− is the nitride ion.
 Example
1) Name each species (Anion, Elemental or Cation):
a) O2−
b) Co
c) Co2+

2) Name each species.

a) P3−
b) Zn2+
 Solution
1. -This species has a 2− charge on it, so it is an anion.
Anions are named using the stem of the element name
with the suffix -ide added. This is the oxide anion.

– Because this species has no charge, it is an atom in its

elemental form. This is cobalt.

– In this case, there is a 2+ charge on the atom, so it is a

cation. Cobalt cations can have two possible charges, so
the name of the ion must specify which charge the ion has.
This is the cobalt(II) cation.

2- The phosphide anion

The Zinc Cation
• Ionic formulas are chemical formulas for ionic compounds. A
proper ionic formula has a cation and an anion in it; an ionic
compound is never formed between two cations only or two anions
only (ionic compounds contain both cations and anions).

• The key to writing proper ionic formulas is simple: The total positive
charge must balance the total negative charge. Because the charges
on the ions are characteristic, sometimes we have to have more
than one of a cation or an anion to balance the overall positive and
negative charges.

• It is conventional to use the lowest ratio of ions that are needed to

balance the charges.
 Ionic Compounds Vs. Molecular
Compounds
• The composition of a material is what tells us
whether that material is ionic or molecular.
Cations are made up of metal ions while anions
are nonmetal ions.

• Ionic compounds are generally a combination of

metals and nonmetals, as in NaCl.

• Molecular compounds are generally composed of

nonmetals only, as in H2O.
 Example
• Which of the following compounds would you expect
to be ionic:
– N2O
– Na2O
– CaCl2
– SF4

• Which of the following compounds are molecular:

– CBr4
– FeS
– P4O6
– PbF2
 Answers
– Na2O and CaCl2
• They are ionic because they are composed of
a metal combined with a nonmetal. The other
two compounds are composed entirely of
nonmetals which makes them molecular
compounds.

– CBr4 and P4O6

• These two are composed entirely of
nonmetals
• For example, consider the ionic compound between Na+ and Cl−. Each
ion has a single charge, one positive and one negative, so we need only
one ion of each to balance the overall charge.

• When writing the ionic formula, we follow two additional conventions:

– Write the formula for the cation first and the formula for the anion
next
– Do not write the charges on the ions. Thus, for the compound
between Na+ and Cl−, we have the ionic formula NaCl.

• The formula Na2Cl2 also has balanced charges, but the convention is to
use the lowest ratio of ions, which would be one of each. (Remember
from our conventions for writing formulas that we do not write a 1
subscript if there is only one atom of a particular element present.)

• For the ionic compound between magnesium cations (Mg2+) and oxide
anions (O2−), again we need only one of each ion to balance the
charges. By convention, the formula is MgO.
• For the ionic compound between Mg2+ ions and Cl− ions,
we now consider the fact that the charges have different
magnitudes, 2+ on the magnesium ion and 1− on the
chloride ion. To balance the charges with the lowest
number of ions possible, we need to have two chloride
ions to balance the charge on the one magnesium ion.
Rather than write the formula MgClCl, we combine the
two chloride ions and write it with a 2 subscript: MgCl2.

• What is the formula MgCl2 telling us? There are two

chloride ions in the formula. Although chlorine as an
element is a diatomic molecule, Cl2, elemental chlorine is
not part of this ionic compound. The chlorine is in the
form of a negatively charged ion, not the
neutral element. The 2 subscript is in the ionic formula
because we need two Cl− ions to balance the charge on
one Mg2+ ion.
 Examples
1) Write the proper ionic formula for each of the
two given ions.
– Ca2+ and Cl−
– Al3+ and F−
– Al3+ and O2−

2) Write the proper ionic formulas for each of

the two given ions.
– Fe2+ and S2−
– Fe3+ and S2−
 Ans

1. - We need two Cl− ions to balance the charge on

one Ca2+ ion, so the proper ionic formula is
CaCl2.
– We need three F− ions to balance the charge on the
Al3+ ion, so the proper ionic formula is AlF3.
– With Al3+ and O2−, note that neither charge is a
perfect multiple of the other. This means we have to
go to a least common multiple, which in this case will
be six. To get a total of 6+, we need two Al3+ ions; to
get 6−, we need three O2− ions. Hence the proper ionic
formula is Al2O3.

• 2.
– FeS
– Fe2S3
 Naming Ionic Compounds

• Naming ionic compounds is simple: combine the name

of the cation and the name of the anion, in both cases
omitting the word ion. Do not use numerical prefixes if
there is more than one ion necessary to balance the
charges. NaCl is sodium chloride, a combination of the
name of the cation (sodium) and the anion (chloride).
MgO is magnesium oxide. MgCl2 is magnesium
chloride—not magnesium dichloride.
• In naming ionic compounds whose cations can have
more than one possible charge, we must also include
the charge, in parentheses and in roman numerals, as
part of the name. Hence FeS is iron(II) sulfide, while
Fe2S3 is iron(III) sulfide. Again, no numerical prefixes
appear in the name. The number of ions in the formula
is dictated by the need to balance the positive and
negative charges.
 Example

1. Name each ionic compound.

– CaCl2
– AlF3
– Co2O3

2. Name each ionic compound.

• Sc2O3
• AgCl
Ans

1. - Using the names of the ions, this ionic compound is

named calcium chloride. It is not calcium(II)
chloride because calcium forms only one cation when it
forms an ion, and it has a characteristic charge of 2+.
– The name of this ionic compound is aluminum
fluoride.
– We know that cobalt can have more than one possible
charge; we just need to determine what it is
– The proper name for this ionic compound is cobalt(III)
oxide.

2. - Scandium Oxide
- Silver Chloride