Hannahs Notes on Chemical Formulas

Using Symbols to write formulas 1) The symbol of the element is an abbreviation for the name of the element. a. Na = sodium b. C = Carbon c. Mg = Magnesium 2) A chemical formula is a type of notation made with numbers and chemical symbols. It tells two things: the elements making up the compounds; and the relative number of atoms of each element in the compound. a. CO2 b. H2O 3) A molecule may be a a. Single atom b. Group of two or more atoms of the same element c. Or a group of atoms of different atoms that have combined to form a compound 4) During chemical reactions the atoms in molecules rearrange themselves to form different groups. 5) One atom molecules are called monatomic. 6) Two atom molecules are called diatomic. 5 gases are diatomic molecules; hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, and fluorine. Bromine is a diatomic liquid, and iodine is a diatomic solid. 7) All monatomic elements are simply written in a chemical equation by their symbol. a. He b. C c. Na 8) All diatomic elements must be written with their symbol and the subscript 2. a. H2 b. O2 Kinds of Formulas 1) There are two ways to determine the formula of an unknown compound. a. Qualitative analysis = what elements are in the compound b. Quantitative analysis = how much mass of each element 2) An empirical formula indicates the simplest whole number ratio in which the atoms of the elements are present in the compound. 3) A molecular formula shows how many atoms of each element are present in the compound.

4) The structural formula shows the way in which atoms are joined together in a molecule. Types of Compounds and Ionic Substances 1) Metals anything left of the stair step. They have high electrical conductivity, high luster, are ductile, malleable, and all are solid at room temperature except Hg. 2) Nonmetals - those right of the stair step. They do not conduct electricity, are nonlusterous, and are liquids or gases at room temperature. 3) Compounds come in two classes: ionic and molecular. a. Ionic compounds form from a metal and a nonmetal and are also called salts. These form from the transferring of electrons. b. Molecular compounds are formed from two nonmetals and are also called binary molecular compounds. These form from the sharing of electrons. 4) The empirical formula in an ionic compound is called a formula unit. a. Sodium Chloride = NaCl b. Magnesium Chloride = MgC2 5) The symbols used to represent ions consist of the element symbol followed by a superscript that tells the charge. a. Na+ b. Mg+2 c. Cld. S-2 e. N-3 Predicting Formulas of Ionic Compounds 1) All elements want to have the same number of electrons as the closest noble gas. This is because they are the most stable configurations. This causes elements to form ions. 2) Ions are charged atoms. This occurs when there are different numbers of protons and electrons. 3) Cations are positive ions and are formed by metals. Fewer electrons than protons. a. Na+ b. Mg+2 4) Anions are negative ions and are formed by nonmetals. More electrons than protons. a. Clb. S-2 c. N-3

5) Polyatomic ions are a tightly bound group of atoms that behaves as a unit and carry a charge 6) There are specific rules for writing the formulas of binary ionic compounds. a. Write the symbols for the two elements in the compound with the cation (metal with a positive charge) first. b. Determine the charge on both the cation (+) and the anion (-). c. Select subscripts that will make the net charge zero. d. When using polyatomic ions put parenthesis around the entire polyatomic ion and the subscript is placed outside the parenthesis. Naming Ionic Compounds 1) Put the name of the cation first and then change the ending of the anion to ide. a. This can be a combination of elements and elements, polyatomic ions and elements or polyatomic ions and polyatomic ions. i. Element and element: NaCl = Sodium Chloride ii. Element and element: Na2S = Sodium Sulfide iii. Element and Polyatomic Ion MgSO4 = Magnesium sulfate 2) Some transition metals can have more than one charge. To indicate which ion is in the compound use roman numerals after the cation. a. FeS = Iron (II) Sulfide b. FeS2 = Iron (IV) Sulfide Formulas and Naming of Molecular Compounds 1) In molecular compounds electrons are shared rather than transferred. 2) When naming the molecular compound a. use the name of each element iv. CO We have Carbon and Oxygen b. the later element has the ending changed to ide v. Oxygen gets changed into oxide c. insert prefixes to correspond to the number of each element in the compound. Use the following prefixes to indicate the number of each element. Number 1 2 3 4 5 of element (subscript ) Prefix monoditritetrapenta-

d. The prefix mono is never used with the first element. vi. CO = Carbon monoxide vii. CO2 = Carbon dioxide viii. H2O = Dihydrogen monoxide