Chemistry: The Central Science Notes

Atomic & Molecular Perspective of Chemistry

- Chemistry: study of the properties and behaviour of matter

- Matter: physical material of the universe; anything with mass and occupies space
- Property: characteristic that allow to recognise particular type of matter & to
distinguish it from others
- All matter comprised of combination of about 100 substances called elements
- Atoms: small building blocks of matter
o Each element composed of unique kind of atom
o Composition: kinds of atoms the matter contains
o Structure: arrangement of atoms
- Molecules: 2 or > atoms joined in particular shapes
- 2 realms:
o Macroscopic: ordinary-sized objects
o Submicroscopic: atoms and molecules

Classifications of Matter

- Typically characterised by:

1. Physical state (gas, liquid or solid)
2. Composition (element, compound or mixture)

States of Matter
- Gas (vapour)
o No fixed volume/shape, rather it uniformly fills its container
o Can be compressed/expanded to occupy smaller/larger volume
o Molecules are far apart & moving at high speeds, colliding repeatedly with 1
another & with walls of container
o Compressing gas <es amount of space between molecules & >es frequency of
collisions between molecules buy does not alter size/shape of molecule.
- Liquid
o Has distinct volume independent of its container
o Assumes shape of the portion of the container it occupies
o Not compressible to any appreciable extent
o Molecules are packed closely together but still move rapidly
o Rapid movement allows molecules to slide over 1 another; thus liquid pours
easily
- Solid
o Both definite shape & volume
o Not compressible to any appreciable extent
o Molecules are held tightly together, usually in definite arrangements in
which molecules can wiggle only slightly in fixed positions
o Distances between molecules similar in liquid states
- Changes in temp &/or pressure can lead to conversion of one state to another (e.g.
ice melting, water vapor condensing)
Pure Substances
- Usually referred to simply as a substance
- Matter that has distinct properties & a composition that does not vary from sample
to sample
- E.g. water, table salt
- All substances are either:
o Elements: cannot be decomposed into simpler substances. On molecular
level, each element is composed of only 1 kind of atom
o Compounds: composed of 2 or more elements & kinds of atoms. E.g. water
(hydrogen & oxygen)

- Mixtures: combinations of 2 or more substances in which each substance retains its

chemical identity

Elements
- Currently 118 are known (vary in abundance)
- Relative abundances of elements:

- Some common elements & their symbols:

Compounds
- Formed from interaction with other elements
- E.g. when hydrogen gas burns in oxygen gas, the elements H and O combine to form
the compound water. Conversely, water can be decomposed into its elements by
passing an electrical current through it
- Pure water: 11% H & 89% O
o Constant ratio; every water molecule has same no. of H & O atoms
o 2 H atoms & only 1 O atom per molecule
o H atoms are lighter than O atoms

Mixtures
- Each substance in a mixture retain its chem identity & properties
- In contrast to pure substance (fixed composition), the composition of a mixture can
vary
- Components: substances that make up a mixture
- Heterogeneous: mixtures without same composition, properties & appearance
throughout (e.g. rock & wood vary in texture & appearance)
- Homogenous: mixtures that are uniform throughout (e.g. air is mixture of nitrogen,
oxygen & smaller amounts of other gases)
o Also called solutions (can be solids, liquids or gases)

Atomic Numbers, Mass Numbers & Isotopes

- Atomic number: no. of protons (=electrons) in an atom of any element
- Mass number: number of protons + neutrons in the atom
 - All atoms of a given element have same atomic number
- Isotopes: atoms with identical atomic no. (protons) but different mass numbers
(neutrons)

The Periodic Table

- Arrangement of elements in order of >ing atomic no. with elements having similar
properties placed in vertical columns

- Periods: horizontal rows

- Groups: vertical columns
- Metallic elements/metals: all elements on left & in middle except hydrogen
o Properties: luster & high electrical & heat conductivity
o All except mercury (Hg) are solid at room temperature
- Non-metallic elements/non-metals: from boron (B) to astatine (At)
o Some are solid, gaseous and 1 is liquid at room temp & pressure
o Generally diff from metals in appearance & other physical properties
- Metalloids: along line that separates metals from non-metals

Molecules & Chemical Formulas

- Chemical formula: e.g. O2 (subscript shows 2 oxygen atoms present in each
molecule)
- Diatomic molecule: molecule made up of 2 atoms e.g. H2, N2, O2, Cl2
 - Molecular compounds: compounds that are composed of molecules containing
more than 1 type of atom e.g. CH4

Molecular & Empirical Formulas

- Molecular formulas: chemical formulas that indicate actual no. of atoms in a
molecule e.g. H2O2, C2H4
- Empirical formulas: chemical formulas that give only relative no. of atoms of each
type in a molecule e.g. HO, CH2

Picturing Molecules
- Structural formula: show how atoms are joined together

Ions & Ionic Compounds

- Ion: charged particle (electrons removed/added to atom)
- Cation: +ve charge
- Anion: -ve charge
- Polyatomic ions: consist of atoms joined as in a molecule, but carry net +ve or -ve
charge e.g. NH4+, SO42-
- Ionic compounds: compound made up of cations and anions

o Naming:

Alkanes
- Compounds containing only carbon & hydrogen called hydrocarbons
- Alkanes, simplest class of hydrocarbons, each carbon is bonded to 4 other atoms
Chemical Equations
- Used to represent chemical equations
- E.g. 2H2 + O2  2H2O
- Reactants: left of the arrow
- Products: right of the arrow
- Number in front of the formulas are called coefficients (indicate relative no. of
molecules of each kind involved in reaction)
- Needs to be balanced as atoms are nether created or destroyed in any reaction

Balancing Equations

Indicating states:
- Gas (g)
- Liquid (l)
- Solid (s)
- Dissolved in aqueous (water) solution (aq)

Avogadro’s No. & The Mole

- Mole: counting units for no. of atoms, ions or molecules in a laboratory-sized sample
o 1 mole = amount of matter that contains as many objects as the no. of atoms
in exactly 12g of isotopically pure 12C
- Avogadro’s number: no. of atoms in 1 mole of ANY ELEMENT is 6.022 x 1023
o A mole of atoms, molecules or anything else all contain this no. of objects:
E.g.

o How large is this number? Pennies placed side by side in straight line would
encircle Earth 300 trillion (3 x 1014) times
o Mole of any substance contains Avogardro’s cumber

Molar Mass
- A mole is always the same number (6.02 x 1023), but 1-mol samples of diff substances
have diff masses
- The atomic weight of an element in atomic mass units is numerically equal to the
mass in grams of 1 mol of that element. E.g. ( means therefore)
 - The mass of 1 mole, often abbreviated as 1 mol, of a substance (mass in grams per
mole) is called molar mass of the substance
o Is numerically = to its formula weight in atomic mass units for any substance

Quantitative Info from Balance Equations

- The coefficients in a balanced chem equation indicate both the relative number of
molecules/formula units in the reaction & the relative number of moles

Limiting Reactants
- When 1 reactant is used up before other, the reaction stops as soon as any reactant
id totally consumed, leaving the excess reactants as leftovers.
- Example: Mixture of 10 mole H2 & 7 mol O2 which react to form water:

o Because 2 mole H2 = 1 mole O2, the no. of moles of O2 needed to react with
all the H2 is:

o Because 7 mole O2 is available at the start of the reaction, 7 mol O2 – 5 mol

O2 = 2 mole O2 is still present when all H2 is consumed
o The reactant completely consumed in a reaction is called limiting reactant
(determines, or limits the amount of product formed)
o The mole ratio H2:O2:H2O = 10:5:10 = 2:1:2.

Theoretical & Percent Yields

- Theoretical yield: quantity of product calculated to form when all of a limiting
reactant is consumed
- Actual yield: amount of product actually obtained (ALWAYS LESS THAN) the
theoretical yield
- Reasons for diff:
o Some reactants may not react (may react in way diff from desired/side
reactions)
o Not always possible to recover all the product from reaction mixture
- Percentage yield: