Chapter 2: Atoms and Molecules

2-1 Elements and Their Chemical Symbols

- an element is a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances
o a substance that consists only of atoms with the same nuclear charge
o can be divided into two broad classes: metals and nonmetals
metals have a characteristic luster, can be cast into various shapes,
are good conductors of electricity and heat, are malleable (can be
rolled or hammered into sheets) and ductile (can be drawn into wires)
all metals except mercury are solid at room temperature
nonmetals vary greatly in their appearance; over half are gases at
room temp while others are solids; bromine is a liquid
nonmetals have the opposite characteristics of metals
- a compound is a substance that can be broken down into two or more elements
- chemical symbols are abbreviations used to designate the elements
- a diatomic molecule is a molecule consisting of just two atoms joined together
o hydrogen(H2), nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine
o only diatomic molecules have the gen or ine ending
- a unit consisting of two or more atoms joined together is called a molecule
- oxygen (O2) vs an oxygen atom (O)
2-2 The States of Matter Include Solids, Liquids, and Gases
- states of matter: solids, liquids, and gases
- solid: can be characterized as having a fixed volume and a fixed shape because the
particles that make up a solid are held together in a rigid, well-defined lattice
o not all solids are hard or rigid
o is denoted by placing an italics s; Fe(s)
- liquid: a substance that has a definite volume, but not a specific shape
o the particles in a liquid are not fixed in their positions but are free to move
about within the volume of the liquid
- gas: a substance that fills the entire volume of its container and thus has no definite
shape
o the particles comprising a gas tend to be widely separated and move rapidly
about within the volume of the gas
o its relatively easy to change the volume of a gas by altering the size of its
container
2-3 A Mixture Can Be Separated by Taking Advantage of the Different Physical Properties of
Its Components
- most substances in nature occur as mixtures, in which the component substances
exist together without combining chemically
o air is a mixture containing nitrogen, oxygen, argon, water vapor, and carbon
dioxide
- a mixture is heterogeneous if it is not uniform from point to point
- dissolution: sugar dissolves in water to form a solution of sugar and water
- a solution is a homogenous mixture of two or more components
o a solution could be a solid, liquid, or gas
- the most common type of solution is a solid dissolved in a liquid
o the solid that is dissolved is called the solute
o the liquid in which it is dissolved is called the solvent
o the most common solvent encountered in chemistry is water
o when a substance is dissolved in water, we say that it forms an aqueous
solution and denote its states using (aq)
o we denote the chemical formula of sugar in the solution as C12H22O11 (aq) to
indicate that it is dissolved in water
- filtration: filtering a mixture through the use of filer paper
- evaporation: evaporating the water, leaving recrystallized sugar, salt, etc

sluice-box technique and panning: to filter sand from gold

distillation: boiling away mercury, leaving solid gold behind process of heating and
cooling
o distillation of salt water, laving behind solid salt
- condensation: mercury vapors are cooled and thereby converted back to liquid in a
condenser
- in distillation, the liquid is the only component that vaporizes or, is the only volatile
component
- the separation of a solution with two or more volatile components is achieved by a
process called fractional distillation
2-4 The Law of Constant Composition States That the Relative Amount of Each Element in a
Compound Is Always the Same
- mass percentage of each element is equal to the (mass of the element / mass of
compound) * 100
o the mass of the present elements add up to 100%
- the law of multiple proportions states that when a given element X combines with
another element Y, to form to different compounds, then X combines in such a way
that for a fixed mass of X, the ratio of the masses of Y in the two compound consists
of smaller numbers
2-5 Daltons Atomic Theory Explains the Law of Constant Composition
- postulates of Daltons atomic theory
o matter is composted of small, indivisible particles called atoms
o the atoms of a given element all have the same mass and are identical in all
respects, including chemical behavior
o the atoms of different elements differ in mass and in chemical behavior
o chemical compounds are composed of two or more atoms of different
elements joined together; the particle that results when two or more atoms
join together is a called a molecule
led to law of constant composition
o in a chemical reaction, the atoms involved are rearranged, separated, or
recombined to form new substances; no atoms are created or destroyed, and
the atoms themselves are not changed
led to law of conservation of mass
- mass % of calcium is 55.6% and 44.4% for sulfur
o mass of calcium atom / mass of sulfur atom = 55.6 / 44.4 = 1.25
o mass of calcium atom = 1.25 * mass of sulfur atom
o based on assumption that there is one atom of calcium for each atom of sulfur
in calcium sulfide
- atomic mass ratio (atomic mass): the ratio of the mass of a given atom to the mass
of some particular reference atom
o because atomic masses are actually ratio of masses. They have no units but
its sometimes useful to assign to atomic masses a unit called the atomic
mass unit
o the particular values assigned to atomic masses depend on the reference
atom chosen tot set up the scale
2-6 Molecules Are Groups of Atoms Joined Together
- diagrams showing how atoms are neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions; they
are simply rearranged into new molecules, in accordance with the conservation of atoms
and of mass in chemical reactions
2-7 Compounds Are Named by an Orderly System of Chemical Nomenclature
- the system for the assignment of names to compounds is called chemical
nonmenclature
- the system of naming compounds consisting of two elements, binary compounds

when the two elements that make up a binary compound are a metal and a nonmetal
that combine in only one fixed ratio, we name the compound by first writing the
name of the metal and that of the nonmetal, with the ending of the name of the
nonmetal changed to ide
o calcium sulfide
many binary compounds involve combinations of two nonmetals
o because more than one binary compound may result from the combination of
the same two nonmetallic elements, we distinguish the various possibilities by
means of Greek numerical prefixes
CO(g) and CO2(g)
Mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta-, octa-, nona-, deca The final a or o is dropped from the prefix when it is combined with a
name beginning with a vowel except for di- and tri
Penta + iodide = pentiodide; boron triiodide

When naming binary compounds the prefix mono- is not used for naming the first
element and is generally dropped from the second
o Exceptions are NO(g) nitrogen monoxide and CO(g) carbon monoxide
- hydrogen can act either as a metal or a non-metal
o when hydrogen is listed first in a binary formula, it is generally treated as a
metal
o when its listed at the end of a binary formula, it is treated as a non-metal
2-8 Molecular Mass Is the Sum of the Atomic Masses of the Atoms in a Molecule
- we can make our explanation of the law of constant composition still clearer and
more useful by introducing the idea of molecular mass
- the sum of the atomic masses of the atoms in a molecule is called the molecular
mass of the substance
- molecular mass of H2O = 2 (atomic mass of H) + (atomic mass of O) = 2 (1.008) +
(16.00) = 18.02
2-9 Most of the Mass of an Atom is Concentrated in Its Nucleus
- new experimetns indicated that an atom is composed of even smaller subatomic
particles
- the electron was the first subatomic particle o be discovered
- radioactivity is the process in which certain atoms break apart
- nuclear model of the atom: all the mass of an atom Is concentrated in the
nucleus
2-10 Atoms Consist of Protons, Neutrons and Electrons
- the number of protons in an atom is called the atomic number of the atom and is
denoted by
- in a neutral atom, the number of electron
- the total number of protons and neutrons are the mass number
- the mass percentage in the nucleis of a hydrogen atom is given by the ratio of the
mass of a proton to the mass of a proton plus the mass of an electron, multiplied by
100
2-11 Most Elements Occur in Nature as Mixtures of Isotopes
- isotopes are atomos of one element that contain the same number of protons but
different numbers of neutrons
- an atom or molecule that gains or loses one or more electrons becomes charged and
is called an ion
- the naturally occurring percentages of the isotopes of a particular element are
referred to as the natural abundances of that element
- the atomic mass of chlorine is the sum of the masses of each isotope, each multiplied
by its natural abundance = the weighted average
2-12 Ions Are Charged Particles
- positively charged ions are called cations

negatively charaged ions are called anions