Chapter 3 Atoms & Molecules

Atomic Mass

Question 1 How is the size of an atom indicated?

Question 2 Define atomic mass unit?

Question 3 What is the mass of hydrogen atom?

Question 4 Name the element used as a standard for atomic mass

scale?

Atomic Mass of an Element

Actual masses of the atoms of the elements are very very small.

For Example : The atom of hydrogen has a mass of 1.6727 x 10-27 kg. It is not
convenient to use such small and complicated figures in our calculation,therefore ,it was
necessary to define atomic masses in such a way that we get simple figures for them.

Carbon-12 is that atom of carbon which has 6 protons and 6 neutrons in its nucleus so
that so its mass number is 12.

carbon-12 atom has been assigned an atomic mass of exactly 12 atomic mass units.This
means that a carbon-12 atom has been assigned an atomic mass of exactly 12u.

Atomic Mass unit = the mass of a carbon – 12 atom

One Atomic Unit is defined as exactly

one-twelfth the mass of an atom of
carbon-12.

Carbon-12 atom is taken to be the standard.The atomic masses of all other elements are
determined by comparing the mass of their atom with the mass of a carbon-12 atom.

The atomic mass of an element is relative mass of its atom as compared with the mass
of a carbon-12 atom taken as 12 units.

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 1/1

Dalton’s atomic theory

Question 1 Name the scientist who gave atomic theory of matter?

Question 2 State the various postulates of Dalton’s Atomic theory of

matter?

Question 3 Give drawbacks of Dalton’s Atomic theory of matter?

DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

Dalton put forward his atomic theory of matter in 1808.

Postulates

1)All the matter is made up of very small particles called atoms.

2)Atoms can neither be created nor be destroyed.

3)All the atoms of a given element are identical in every respect,having same physical
and chemical properties.

4)Atoms of different elements differ in every respect ie mass,size and chemical

properties.

5)During chemical combination,atoms of different elements combine in small whole

numbers to form compounds.

Drawbacks

1)Dalton said that atoms are indivisible but they can be further divided into
electron,proton and neutron.

2)Dalton said that atoms of a given element have exactly same masses.It is however
now known that atoms of same element can have different masses(isotopes).

3)Dalton said that atom of different elements have different masses.It is however now
known that atoms of different elements can have same masses(isobars).

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 1/1

Gram molecular mass

Question 1 What is gram molecular

mass?

Gram Molecular mass

The amount of a substance whose mass in grams is numerically equal to its molecular
mass,is called gram molecular mass of that substance.

The molecular mass of a substance expressed in grams is called gram molecular mass.

To write gram molecular mass of a substance ,we write its molecular mass and then
replace the unit u by the word gram or its symbol g.

For Ex: Molecular mass of oxygen = 32u

Gram molecular mass of oxygen=32 g

The gram molecular mass of a substance represents the mass of 1 mole of molecules of
that substance.

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 1/1

Ionic compounds

Question 1 What are ionic compound?

Question 2 What are covalent compounds?

Question 3 Define chemical bond?

Question 4 Why noble gases do not react?Question

5 What are ions?

Question 6 How ions are formed?

Question 7 What are cations.How they are formed?

Question 8 Give example of cation formation?

Question 9 What are anions?

Question 10 How anions are formed.Give

example?

How do metals and non-metals react

When metals react with non-metals they form ionic compounds.
When non-metals react with other non-metals,they form covalent compounds.

The force which links the atoms or ions in a molecule is called a chemical bond.
The outermost electrons of an atom take part in a chemical reaction.
Since the noble gases are chemically unreactive,we must conclude that the electron
arrangement in their atoms are very stable which do not allow the outermost electrons
to take part in chemical reactions.

The atoms combine with other atoms to achieve the inert gas electron arrangement and
become more stable.

Ions
An ion is an electrically charged atom or group of atoms.
An ion is formed by the loss or gain of electrons by an atom,so it contains an
unequal number of electrons and protons.

There are two types of ions:

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 1/2

1)Cation:A positively charged ion is known as cation.
For Ex:Na+, Mg2+
A cation is formed by the loss of one or more electrons by an atom.

Na – +
Z=11– e ——–>Na
Z=10
2,8,1 2,8
K,L,M K,L

Mg
Z=12
2,8,2
– e– ——–>
Z=10
2,8
Mg2+
K,L,M K,L

Al
Z=13– e– ———>
2,8,3 Z=10
2,8
Al3+
K,L,M K,L

2)Anion:A negatively charged ion is known as anion.

For Ex:Cl– , O2-
An anion is formed by gain of one or more electron by an atom.

Cl + e– ——–> Cl–
Z=17 Z=18
2,8,7 2,8,8
K,L,M K,L,M

O + e– ———> 02-
Z=8 Z=10
2,6 2,8
K,L K,L

N + e– ———> N3-
Z=7 Z=10
2,5 2,8
K,L K,L

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 2/2

Ions

Question 1 What are ions?

Question 2 How an ion is formed?

Question 3 How a cation is formed.Give example?

Question 4 How an anion is formed.Give example?

Question 5 What are simple ions.Give example?

Question 6 What are complex ions.Give example?

Question 7 What are ionic compounds?

Question 8 Define formula unit of an ionic compound?

Question 9 Calculate the formula mass of calcium chloride and sodium carbonate?

Ions

An atom contains electrons,protons and neutrons.

Electron has 1 unit negative charge.

Proton has 1 unit positive charge.
Neutron has no charge.

Atom contains an equal number of negative and positive charge which make it stable.

1)If an atom has less electrons than normal,then it gets positive charge.
2)If an atom has more electrons than normal,then it gets negative charge.

An ion is a positively or negatively charged atom or group or atom.

For Ex:Sodium ion,Magnesium ion,magnesium ion,chloride ion,oxide ion etc.

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 1/3

There are two types of ions:

1)Cation:A positively charged ion is

known as cation.A cation is formed by loss
of one or more electrons by an atom.

A cation is formed by removal of electrons

from an atom therefore a cation contains
less electrons than normal atom.
Due to more protons than electrons,a
cation has positive charge on it.
All the metal atoms can lose electrons
easily,so all the metal elements form
cations.

a)If an atom loses 1 electron,then the cation formed has 1 unit of positive charge.
b)If an atom loses 2 electron,then the cation formed has 2 unit of positive charge.
c)If an atom loses 3 electron,then the cation formed has 3 unit of positive charge.

For Ex:Sodium ion,magnesium ion,aluminium ion etc.

2)Anion:A negatively charged ion is known as anion.An anion is formed by the gain of
one or more electrons by an atom.

An anion is formed by the gain of one or more electrons by an atom.

since an anion is formed by the addition of electron to an atom,therefore,an anion

contains more electrons than normal.

Due to more electrons than protons,an anion has a negative charge in it.

a)If an atom gains 1 electron,then the anion formed has 1 unit of negative charge.
b)If an atom gains 2 electrons,then the anion formed has 2 units of negative charge.
c)If an atom gains 3 electron,then the anion formed has 3 units of negative charge.
For Ex:Chloride ion.Oxide ion,nitride ion etc

Simple ions
Those ions which are formed from single atoms are called simple ions.They are called as
monoatomic ions.

For Ex:Sodium ion,chloride ion,magnesium ion,aluminium ion,oxide ion ion

etc.Compound Ions

Those ions which are formed from groups of joined atoms are called as polyatomic
ions.

For Ex:Ammonium ion,Carbonate ion,sulphate ion etc.

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 2/3

Ionic compounds
The compounds which are made up of ions are called as ionic compounds.

In an ionic compound,the positively charged ion(cation) and negatively charged

ion(anion) are held together by the strong electrostatic forces of attraction.

The forces which hold them together are called as ionic bonds or electrovalent bonds.

For Ex:Sodium Chloride(NaCl) is an ionic compound made up of equal number of

positively charged sodium ion and negatively charged chloride ion.

Aluminium chloride,calcium
chloride,potassium nitrate,calcium
carbonate etc.

Formula unit
An ionic compound is made up of
extremely large number of positively
charged ions and negatively charged ions
joined together.

The simple combination of ions that

produces an electrically neutral unit,is called a formula unit of the ionic compound.

Formula mass
The formula mass of an ionic compound is the relative mass
of its formula unit as compared with the mass of a carbon-
12 atom taken as 12 units.

or
Formula mass is the sum of atomic masses of the atoms or ions represented by its
formula.

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 3/3

Mole concept

Question 1 Define a mole?

Question 2 What is the value of Avogadro’s constant?Question

3 Define mole of an atom?

Question 4 Define mole of a molecule?

Question 5 Write the formula to calculate the number of

moles?Mole Concept

In a chemical reaction equation,it is more convenient to use quantity of substance in

number of its molecules or atoms rather than their masses,so we use a new unit called
MOLE.
If we weigh an element equal to its atomic mass in grams,then it contains 6.022×10 23
atoms of the element.The gram atomic mass of the element as well as 6.022×1023 atoms
of the element, both represent 1 mole of element.1 mole of any species
(atoms,molecules,ions) is equal to its atomic mass or molecular mass in grams.

No. of particles(atoms, molecules, ions) in 1 mole=6.022×10 23

This number is called as AVOGADRO’S CONSTANT

1 mole of atom=6.022×10 23atoms

1 mole of molecules=6.022×10 23molecules

Mole of atoms

1 mole of atoms of an element has a mass equal to the gram atomic mass of the element.

For Ex: 1 mole of oxygen atoms=16 grams

The symbol of an element represents 1 mole of atoms of that element.

o represents 1 mole of oxygen atoms.

2 o represents 2 moles of oxygen atoms.

Mole of Molecule

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 1/2

1 mole of molecules of a substance has a mass equal to the gram molecular mass of the
substance.

For Ex:The gram molecular mass of oxygen is 32 grams.​O 2 represents 1 mole of oxygen
molecule

2 ​​O2 represents 2 mole of oxygen molecule

1 mole of sulphuric acid, , H2SO4 contains 2 moles of hydrogen atom,1 mole of sulphur
atom,4 moles of oxygen atoms.

1 mole of H atom=1u=1g=6.022×10 23 H atoms

1 mole of molecule=2u=2g=6.022×1023 molecule
1 mole of water molecule=18u=18g=6.022×1023 water molecule
1 mole of sodium atom=23u=23g=6.022×1023 sodium atom

Mole represents:
1) 6.022×1023 atoms,molecules or ions of a substance.
2)The amount of a substance equal to its gram atomic mass or molecular mass.
3)A definite number of atoms,molecules or ions of a substance.

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 2/2

Molecular mass

Question 1 What is a chemical formula?

Question 2 Give few examples of formulae of elements?

Question 3 Give few examples of formulae of

compounds?Question 4 Define molecular mass?

Chemical Formula

A chemical formula represents the composition of a molecule of the substance in terms

of the symbols of elements present in the molecule.

Formulae of Elements
For Ex:Hydrogen(H2),Nitrogen(N 2),Oxygen(O2),Chlorine(Cl2),Bromine(Br2) etc

Formula of Compounds
For Ex:Water(H 2O),carbon dioxide(CO2),sulphur dioxide(SO2),ammonia(NH3),
methane(CH4),ethanol(CH3CH2OH) etc.
Molecular Mass
The molecular mass of a substance is relative mass of its molecules as compared with
mass of C-12 atom taken as 12 units.
or
The molecular mass is equal to sum of its atomic masses of all the atoms present in one
molecule of substance.
For Ex:Water(H 2O)
Atomic mass of H= 1 u
Atomic mass of O =16 u
Molecular mass of water =2 × atomic mass of H+1 × atomic mass of O
=2 × 1 + 16 × 1
= 18 u

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 1/1

Molecules

Question 1 What is a molecule.Give example?

Question 2 How do atoms usually exist?

Question 3 Why atoms form molecules or ions?

Question 4 Define covalent bond?

Question 5 What is meant by molecule of an element?

Question 6 What is meant by molecule of a compound?

Question 7 Define the term atomicity?

Question 8 What are monoatomic molecules.Give

example?Question 9 What are diatomic molecules.Give

example?Question 10 What are triatomic molecules.Give

example?Question 11 What are tetra atomic molecules.Give

example?How do Atoms Exist

Atoms of only few elements called noble gases are chemically unreactive and exist in
free state.Atoms of most of the elements are chemically reactive and do not exist in the
free state.

Atoms usually exist in two ways:

1)In the form of molecules

2)In the form of ions

When atoms form molecules or ions,they become stable(because in doing so they

acquire the stable electron arrangement of noble gases)

Molecules
A molecule is an electrically neutral group of two or more atoms chemically bonded
together.

The forces which hold atoms together in a molecule are called covalent bond.

Molecules can exist in free state because they are very stable.
Downloaded From CBSE World app. 1/2
Molecules can be formed by atoms of the same element or of different
elements.Depending on this there are two type of molecules:

1)Molecules of elements

2)Molecules of compounds

Molecules of Elements
The molecule of an element contains two or more similar atoms chemically combined
together.

For Ex:A molecule of hydrogen contains two hydrogen atoms combined together.
A molecule of oxygen contains two oxygen atoms combined together.
A molecule of ozone contains three oxygen atoms combined together.
A molecule of phosphorus contains four phosphorus atoms combined together.

The number of atoms present in a molecule of an element is called its ATOMICITY.

1)Noble gases have one atom each in their molecules,so the atomicity of noble gases is 1.
The atomicity of metal elements like sodium,magnesium,aluminum,copper,iron etc is
taken as 1.
They are called as Monoatomic molecules.

2)Hydrogen,Nitrogen,Oxygen,Chlorine,bromine etc have two atoms in their

molecules.So the atomicity is 2.They are called as diatomic molecules.

3)Ozone has 3 atoms in its molecules,so the atomicity is 3.They are called as triatomic
molecules.

4)Phosphorus has 4 atoms in its molecules,so the atomicity is 4.they are called as tetra-
atomic molecules.

Molecules of Compounds
The molecule of a compound contains two or more different types of atoms chemically
combined together.

For Ex: HCl,water,carbon dioxide,ammonia,methane etc.

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 2/2

Valency of ion

Question 1 Define the term valency?

Question 2 What are monovalent ion.Give example?

Question 3 What are divalent ion.Give example?

Question 4 What are trivalent ion.Give example?

Question 5 What do you mean by chemical formulae of a compound?

Question 6 What are the steps to write chemical formulae of a

compound?Question 7 What is gram atomic mass?

Valency of ions

The valency of an ion is equal to the charge on the ion.

If an ion has 1 unit charge,its valency is 1 and is called monovalent ion.

For Ex:Hydrogen ion,Lithium ion,Potassium ion,ammonium ion,Hydride ion,Fluoride

ion,Chloride ion,Bromide ion,hydroxide ion etc.

If an ion has 2 unit of charge,its valency is 2 and is called divalent ion.

For Ex:magnesium ion,calcium ion,Zinc ion,Oxide ion,Sulphide ion,Carbonate

ion,sulphate ion etc.

If an ion has 3 unit of charge,its valency is 3 and is called trivalent ion.

For Ex:Aluminium ion,Iron ion,Nitride ion,Phosphide ion,phosphate ion etc.

Chemical Formula
The chemical formula of a compound represents the composition of a molecule of
compound in terms of symbols of the elements present in it.

The formula of a compound tells us the kind of atoms as well as the number of atoms of
various elements present in one molecule of a compound.

Writing of chemical formula

1)In a chemical formula of a compound,the elements present are represented by their
symbols and the number of atoms of each element are indicated by writing the digits
2,3,4 etc as subscripts on the right hand side bottom of the symbol.

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 1/2

2)If we know the valencies of elements,then we can work out the formula of their
compounds by balancing the valencies of different atoms which occur in compound.

3)First we write the symbol of elements which form compound.

4)Below the symbols of each element,write down the valency.

5)Cross over the valencies of combining atoms.

For Ex:

Gram atomic mass

The atomic mass of a substance expressed in grams is called as

gram atomic mass of that substance.

To write the gram atomic mass of a substance,we write its

atomic mass and then replace the atomic mass unit u by the
word gram or its symbol g.

Atomic mass of oxygen=16 u

Gram Atomic mass of oxygen=16g

The gram atomic mass of a substance represents the mass of 1

mole of atoms(6.022×1023)of that substance.

So the number of atoms present in 1 gram atomic mass of any

substance is 6.022×1023 atoms.

Downloaded From CBSE World app. 2/2