Atoms, Molecules and Ions

FIS 1314 Chemistry I

Early Ideas about atoms
• All matter consists of tiny and uncuttable particles

Atomos = “uncuttable””
John Dalton’s Postulates (1808)
 Each element is composed of extremely small
particles called atoms.
 Atoms are the smallest unit of an element

Tiny balls make up the world

John Dalton’s Postulates
 All atoms of a given element are identical to one another in
size, mass and chemical properties
 atoms of one element are different from the atoms of all
other elements.
John Dalton’s Postulates
• atoms are not created or destroyed in chemical
reactions.
• A chemical reaction involves the separation,
combination or rearrangement.

16 red atoms 8 blue atoms

John Dalton’s Postulates
Compounds are formed when atoms of more
than one element combined in a fixed ratio

H N
NH3
ammonia
3:1
Chemistry happens when the balls rearrange
 Law of Constant Composition

• Also known as the law of definite proportions.

• The elemental composition of a pure substance
never varies.
• The relative amounts of each element in a
compound doesn’t vary.

H N
NH3
ammonia

ammonia always has 3 H and 1 N.

Law of Conservation of Mass

The total mass of substances present at the end of

a chemical process is the same as the mass of
substances present before the process took place.

3H2 + N2 2NH3
ammonia

The atoms on the right all appear on the left

Early Experiments to Characterize the Atom
J. J. Thomson (1898—1903)
• Discovered the existence of electrons using cathode-ray tubes
experiment.
• The atom must also contain positive particles that balance exactly
the negative charge carried by particles that we now call electrons.
Cathode-Ray Tube Experiment

Negatively charged cathode rays

(electrons) are attracted to the
positive electrode.
Thomson’s plum-pudding model
Early Experiments to Characterize the Atom
Robert Millikan (1909)
• Performed experiments involving charged oil drops.
• Determined the magnitude of the charge on a
single electron.

Charge of 1 electron = -1.602 x 10-19 Coloumbs

Discovery of the Nucleus

Ernest Rutherford shot  particles

with positively charge at a thin
sheet of gold foil and observed the
pattern of scatter of the particles.
The Nuclear Atom

The protons must be

contained in a small and
positively charged region
at the center of the atom,
called nucleus.
Other Subatomic Particles
• Protons were discovered by Rutherford in 1919. Have the positive
charge in the atom.
• Neutrons were discovered by James Chadwick in 1932. Have mass
like proton, but no charge.
 The Modern View of Atomic Structure
• The atom contains:
 Electrons – found outside the nucleus; negatively charged.
 Protons – found in the nucleus; positive charge equal in
magnitude to the electron’s negative charge.
 Neutrons – found in the nucleus; no charge; virtually same
mass as a proton.
• The nucleus is:
 Small compared with the overall size of the atom.
 Extremely dense; accounts for almost all of the
atom’s mass.
Subatomic Particles
• Protons and electrons are the only particles that have
a charge.
• Protons and neutrons have essentially the same mass.
• The mass of an electron is so small we ignore it.
Particle Symbol Mass/kg Relative mass Charge/C Relative
charge
Proton p 1.67 x 10−27 1 a.m.u +1.6 x 10−19 +1

Electron e 9.11 x 10−31 1 -1.6 x 10−19 -1

𝑎. 𝑚. 𝑢
1834
Neutron n 1.67 x 10−27 1 a.m.u 0 0
Symbols of Elements

Elements are symbolized by one or two letters.

Atomic Number

All atoms of the same element have the same number of protons.
Atomic Mass

Mass number / nucleon number = number of protons + number of

neutrons in a nucleus
Isotopes:
• Elements are defined by the number of protons.
• Atoms of the same element with different masses.
• Isotopes have different numbers of neutrons.

11 12 13 14
# 6C 6C 6C 6C
Neutrons 5 6 7 8

Same proton number but different neutron number!

Isotopes
• Atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of
neutrons.
• Show almost identical chemical properties; chemistry of atom is due to
its electrons.
• In nature most elements contain mixtures of isotopes.
Average Atomic Mass
• Because in the real world all the elements exist as mixtures of
isotopes.
• Average atomic mass is calculated from the isotopes of an
element weighted by their relative abundances.
 Average atomic mass, example
Isotope Relative Atomic mass
abundance
24Mg 78.99% 23.98504 amu
25Mg 10.00% 24.98584 amu
26Mg 11.01% 25.98259 amu
Given the above data, what is the average atomic mass of magnesium (Mg)?

(mass of isotope A x % natural abundance) + (mass of isotope A x % natural abundance) +⋯

Average atomic mass = 100

78.99(23.98504)+10(24.98584)+11.01(25.98259)
Average atomic mass = 100
= 24.31 amu
Chemical Formulas

The subscript to the right of the

symbol of an element tells the
number of atoms of that element in
one molecule of the compound.
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, C2H6

Empirical formula: CH3

Molecular formula: C2H6
Types of Formulas
• Structural formulas show the order
in which atoms are bonded.
• Perspective drawings also show the
three-dimensional array of atoms in
a compound.
An Introduction to the Periodic Table
• Metals vs. Nonmetals
• Groups or Families – elements in the same vertical columns; have
similar chemical properties
• Periods – horizontal rows of elements
Ions

• When atoms lose or gain electrons, they become ions.

Often they lose or gain electrons to have the same number
of electrons as the nearest noble gas.
• Cations are positive and are formed by elements on the left side of
the periodic chart.
• Anions are negative and are formed by elements on the right side
of the periodic chart.
Mono-atomic ions

metals
nonmetals

• Metals usually become cations (+)

• Nonmetals usually become anions (-)
Ionic compounds
• A metal will give up electrons to a nonmetal
forming a cation (+) (the metal), and an anion (-)
(the nonmetal).
Na + Cl Na+ + Cl- NaCl

Mg + 2Cl Mg2++2Cl- MgCl2

Note, everybody gains or loses electrons to be like the nearest noble gas.

Compounds are always electrically neutral!!

Writing Formulas

• Because 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 Not Mg2O2

Common Cations
* *
*
*
*
*

*
*
*
*

*You should know these.

Common Anions

* *
* *
** *
* *
* *
* *
* * ClO2 Chlorite

* * ClO Hypochlorite
*
*
*
*
*
*

*You should know these.

Naming Compounds
• Binary Compounds
 Composed of two elements
 Ionic and covalent compounds included
• Binary Ionic Compounds
 Metal—nonmetal
• Binary Covalent Compounds
 Nonmetal—nonmetal
 Common Names only: H2O & NH3
Binary Ionic Compounds (Type I)
1. The cation is always named first and the anion second.
2. A monatomic cation takes its name from the name of the parent
element.
3. A monatomic anion is named by taking the root of the element
name and adding –ide.
(Group 1, 2, 13) Metal cation—nonmetal anion
e.g. Na - Cl
• Examples:
KCl Potassium chloride

MgBr2 Magnesium bromide

CaO Calcium oxide

 Binary Ionic Compounds (Type II)
If metal cation is transition metals (Group 3 -12)!

• Metals in these compounds form more than one type of positive

charge.
• Charge on the metal ion must be specified.
• Roman numeral indicates the charge of the metal cation.
• Transition metal cations usually require a Roman numeral.
• Examples:
CuBr Copper(I) bromide

FeS Iron(II) sulfide

PbO2 Lead(IV) oxide

Polyatomic Ions
• Examples of compounds containing polyatomic ions:
NaOH Sodium hydroxide
Mg(NO3)2 Magnesium nitrate
(NH4)2SO4 Ammonium sulfate
Binary Covalent Compounds (Type III)
• Formed between two nonmetals.
1. The first element in the formula is named first, using the full
element name.
2. The second element is named as if it were an anion (-ide).
3. Prefixes are used to denote the numbers of atoms present.
4. The prefix mono- is never used for naming the first element.
• Examples:
CO2 Carbon dioxide

SF6 Sulfur hexafluoride

N2O4 Dinitrogen tetroxide

N2O Dinitrogen monoxide

Flowchart for Naming Binary Compounds
Acids
• Acids can be recognized by the hydrogen that appears first in the
formula—HCl.
• Acids contain hydrogen atoms and an anionic group.
• Molecule with one or more H+ ions attached to an anion.
• If the anion does not contain oxygen, the acid is named with the prefix
hydro– and the suffix –ic.
• Examples:
HCl Hydrochloric acid Cl⁻  chloride ------chloric
HCN Hydrocyanic acid CN⁻  cyanide ------cyanic
H2S Hydrosulphuric acid S²⁻ sulphide------sulphuric
• If the anion does contain oxygen:
 The suffix –ic is added to the root name if the anion name ends
in –ate.
• Examples:
HNO3 Nitric acid NO₃⁻  nitrate ------nitric
H2SO4 Sulphuric acid SO₄²⁻  sulphate ------ sulphuric
HC2H3O2 Acetic acid C₂H₃O₂⁻ acetate------acetic
• If the anion does contain oxygen:
 The suffix –ous is added to the root name if the anion name ends
in –ite.
• Examples:
HNO2 Nitrous acid NO₂⁻  nitrite ------nitrous
H2SO3 Sulphurous acid SO₃²⁻  sulphite ------ sulphurous
HClO2 Chlorous acid ClO₂⁻ chlorite------chlorous
Naming oxoacids and oxoanions

• Oxoacids are acids that contain hydrogen,

oxygen, and another element.

• Oxoanions, the anions of oxoacids.

• E.g. HNO3-nitric acid, H2CO3-carbonic acid,
H2SO4-sulfuric acid, HClO4-perchloric acid
 e.g. Perchlorate ion, ClO4⁻
e.g. Perchloric acid, HClO4

e.g. Chlorate,ClO3-
e.g. Chloric acid, HClO3

e.g. Chlorite,ClO2-
e.g. Chlorous acid, HClO2

e.g.Hypochlorite,ClO-
e.g. Hypochlorous acid, HClO
Flowchart for Naming Acids