Chapter 2

Atoms, Molecules and Ions

The Early History of Chemistry
Before 16th Century
Greeks were the first to attempt to explain why
chemical changes occur.
Alchemy: Attempts to change cheap metals into
gold. They invented the idea of atoms, that matter
is not continuous. They discovered several
elements and learned to prepare mineral acids.

The Early History of Chemistry

16th Century
German develop the systematic metallurgy
(extraction of metal from ores)
Swiss develop the medicinal application of
minerals
17th Century
Robert Boyle: First chemist to perform
quantitative experiments

Fundamental Chemical Laws

Law of Conservation of Mass (Antoine
Lavoisier, 18th Century) Mass is neither
created nor destroyed
Law of Definite Proportion (Joseph Proust,
19th Century) A given compound always
contains exactly the same proportion of
elements by mass. This principle of constant
composition of compounds is a law of definite
proportion. Carbon tetra chloride is always 1
atom carbon per 4 atoms chlorine

Fundamental Chemical Laws

Law of Multiple Proportions (John Dalton,
19th Century) When two elements form a
series of compounds, the ratio of the masses of
the second element that combine with 1g of the
first element can always be reduced to small
whole numbers. The ratio of the masses of
oxygen in H2O and H2O2 will be a small whole
number (2).

Daltons Atomic Theory (1808)

1. Each element is made up of tiny particles called atoms
2. The atoms of a given element are identical; the atoms
of different elements are different in some fundamental
way or ways
3. Chemical compounds are formed when atoms of
different elements combine with each other. A given
compound always has the same relative numbers and
types of atoms
4. Chemical reactions involve reorganization of the atoms
changes in the way they are bound together. The
atoms themselves are not changed in a chemical
reaction.

Avogadros Hypothesis (1811)

At the same temperature and pressure,

equal volumes of different gases contain
the same number of particles
5 liters of oxygen and 5 liters of nitrogen
contain the same number of particle

Thomson Atomic Model (1903)

An atom consists of a diffuse cloud of positive

charge with the negative electrons embedded
randomly in it. This model is often called
plum (or raisin) pudding model.
Observed cathode ray (produced at the
negative electrode and repelled by the
negative pole of an applied electric field.
Cathode ray was a stream of negatively
charged particles now called electrons

Deflection of Cathode Rays by an Applied Electric Field

The Plum Pudding Model of the Atom

Rutherford Atomic Model (1911)

An atom with a dense center of positive
charge (the nucleus) with electrons moving
around the nucleus at a distance that is large
relative to the nuclear radius. Nucleus is
very small compared with the overall size of
the atom. Nucleus is extremely dense,
accounts for almost all of the atoms mass.

Radioactivity
Spontaneous emission of radiation
Gamma () rays: high energy light
Beta () particles: high speed electron
Alpha () particles (He2+): 2+ charge,
charge twice that of electron and with
opposite sign. The mass of an -particle
is 7300 times that of the electron

Rutherfords Experiment on particle Bombardment of Metal Foil

Expected and Actual Results of Rutherfords Experiment

The Modern View of Atomic Structure

The atom contains:
Electrons: move around the nucleus (mass:
9.11 X 10-31 kg, Charge 1-)
Protons: found in the nucleus, they have a
positive charge equal in magnitude to the
electrons negative charge (mass: 1.67 X 10 27 kg, charge 1+)
Neutrons: found in the nucleus, virtually
same mass as a proton but no charge. (mass:
1.67 X 10-27 kg, charge: 0)

Nuclear Atom Viewed in Cross Section

The Chemists Shorthand Atomic Symbols

Mass number
Atomic number

39

K
19

Element Symbol

Atomic number (Z): number of protons, gives

the symbol of the element (X)
Mass number (A): Total number of protons and
neutrons
Elemental form = Zero net charge
Therefore, # electrons = # of protons

Isotopes
Atoms with the same number of protons but
different number of neutrons. In nature most
elements contain mixtures of isotopes
23
24

Na : 11 protons, 11 electrons, and 12 neutrons

11

Na : 11 protons, 11 electrons, and 13 neutrons

11

Two Isotopes of Sodium

Molecules and Ions

Chemical Bonds: The forces that hold atoms

together in compounds. H2O, NO, CO2

Covalent bonds: Covalent bonds result from

atoms sharing electrons. Cl2

Ionic bonds: Force of attraction between

oppositely charged ions.
Molecule: A collection of covalently-bonded
atoms. H2, O2

Ions

Ions: An ion is an atom or group of atoms

that has a net positive charge or negative
charge particle (an unequal number of
protons and electrons) is obtained by
removing or adding electrons. Na+, Cl-

Cation: A positive ion (Na+, Mg2+, NH4+)

Anion: A negative ion (Cl-, SO42-)

Formulas

Chemical Formula: In which the symbols for

the elements are used to indicate the types of
atoms present and subscripts are used to
indicate the relative numbers of atoms.
CO2 indicates each molecule contains 1 atom of
carbon and 2 atoms of oxygen.
Structural Formula: In which the individual
bonds are shown by lines. It may or may not
indicates the actual shape of the molecules.
O=C=O

Periodic Table

Periodic table is organized based on the

properties that elements have in common with
one another.
Groups: Elements in the same vertical columns
are in the same group have similar chemical
properties.
Group 1A: Alkali metals: Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr
Group 2A: Alkaline earth metals: Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba,
Ra
Group 7A: Halogens: F, Cl, Br, I, At (astatine)
Group 8A: Noble gases: He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn (radon)

The Periodic Table

Periodic Table

Periods: The horizontal rows of elements in the

periodic table are called periods.
First period: horizontal row one contains H and He
Second period: row two contains Li through Ne
Letters in the boxes are the symbols for the
elements
Abbreviations are based on the current element
names or the original names.
The number above each symbol is the atomic
number (number of protons)

Periodic Table

Most of the elements are metals in the periodic

table.
Metals: Conduction of heat and electricity,
malleability, ductility, lustrous, form positive
ions
Nonmetals: appear in the upper right hand
corner of the periodic table except hydrogen.
Nonmetals lack the physical properties that
characterize the metal, gain electrons in
chemical reaction and form negative ions, form
covalent bond to each other.

Naming Compounds

Binary Compounds: Compounds composed of

two elements
Binary Ionic Compounds (Type 1): contains a
positive ion (cation) always written first in the
formula and a negative ion (anion)
Rules:
1. The cation is always named first and the anion
second
2. A monatomic (meaning one atom) cation takes its
name from the name of the element
3. A monatomic anion is named by taking the root of
the element name and adding ide

Binary Ionic Compounds

Compound

Ions Present

Name

NaCl

Na+, Cl-

Sodium chloride

KI

K+, I-

Potassium iodide

CaS

Ca2+, S2-

Calcium sulfide

Li3N

Li+, N3-

Lithium nitride

CsBr

Cs+, Br-

Cesium bromide

MgO

Mg2+, O2-

Magnesium oxide

Naming compounds

Binary Ionic Compounds (Type II): Metals that

form more than one type of positive ion. Fe 2+ and
Fe3+
Transition metals form several positive oxidation
states
Charge on the metal ion must be specified
Roman numeral indicates the charge of the cation.
Iron (II) chloride and iron (III) chloride
The ion with the higher charge has a name ending
in ic and the one with the lower charge has a
name ending in ous; ferrous chloride and ferric
chloride

Naming Compounds
Ionic Compounds with Polyatomic Ions:
Need to know the names of the polyatomic ions
(Table 2.5).
NH4+ ammonium, SO42- sulfate
Na2SO4 Sodium sulfate
KH2PO4 Potassium dihydrogen phosphate
Fe(NO3)3 Iron(III) nitrate
CsClO4 Cesium perchlorate
NaOCl sodium hypochlorite
Al2(Cr2O7)3 Aluminum dichromate
Sr(CN)2 Strontium cyanide

Naming compounds
Binary Covalent Compounds (Type III):
Formed between two nonmetals
Rules:
The first element in the formula is named first,
using the full elements name
Second element is name as if it were an anion
Use prefixes to denote the number of atoms
present
Never use mono prefix for naming the first
element

CO ==> carbon monoxide, not

monocarbon monoxide
P2O5 ==> diphosphorus pentoxide
S2Cl4 ==> disulfur tetrachloride
NO2 ==> nitrogen dioxide
N2O5 ==> dinitrogen penoxide

Common Cations and Anions

Formulas from Names

Name

Chemical Formula

Diphosphorus pentasulfide

P2S5 (two non metals)

Cesium peroxide

Cs2O2 (Cs1+, O22-)

Aluminum fluoride

AlF3 (Al3+, F-1)

Vanadium (v) fluoride

VF5 (V5+, F-1)

Dioxygen difluoride

O2F2 (two non metals)

Gallium oxide

Ga2O3 (Ga3+, O2-)

Ammonium dichromate

(NH4)2Cr2O7 (NH4+, Cr2O72-)

Cupric phosphate

Cu3(PO4)2 (Cu2+, PO43-)

Flowchart for Naming Binary Compounds

Acids

When dissolved in water produce a solution

containing free H+ ions (protons)
An acid is a 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
HCl Hydrochloric acid
HCN Hydrocyanic acid

Acids

If the anion contains oxygen, the acidic name is

formed from the root name of the anion with the
suffix of ic or ous depending on the anion
HNO3 Nitric acid (Nitrate anion)
H2SO4 Sulfuric acid (Sulfate anion)
H3PO4 Phosphoric acid (Phosphate anion)
HC2H3O2 Acetic acid (Acetate anion)
H2SO3 Sulfurous acid (sulfite anion)
HNO2 Nitrous acid (nitrite anion)

Flowchart for Naming Acids

Summary

Laws
Daltons atomic Theory
Avogadros Hypothesis
Various Atomic Models
Radio Activity (, , rays)
Atomic Symbol (atomic #, mass#, isotopes)
Chemical Bonds (covalent bonds, Ionic bonds)
Periodic Table
Naming various types of compounds
Formulas
Acids