Atoms, Molecules and Ions

• Law of Conservation of Mass states that for

any system closed to all transfers of matter
and energy, the mass of the system must
remain constant over time, as a system’s mass
cannot change, so quantity cannot be added
nor removed. Hence, the quantity of mass is
conserved over time.
• The Law of Conservation of mass states that
mass in an isolated system is neither created
nor destroyed by chemical reactions or
physical transformations. According to the law
of conservation of mass, the mass of the
products in a chemical reaction must equal
the mass of the reactants.
• The Law of Conservation of Mass dates from
Antoine Lavoisier’s 1789 discovery that mass
is neither created nor destroyed in chemical
reactions. In other words, the mass of any one
element at the beginning of a reaction will
equal the mass of that element at the end of
the reaction.
• The Law of definite composition was proposed
by Joseph Proust based on his observations on
the composition of chemical compounds.
Proust proposed that a compound is always
composed of the same proportions of
elements by mass.
• The Law of Multiple Proportions states that
when two elements combine with each other
to form more than one compound, the
weights of one element that combine with a
fixed weight of the other are in a ratio of small
whole numbers.
• For example, there are five oxides of nitrogen,
and the weights of oxygen in combination
with 14grams of nitrogen are, in increasing
order 8, 16, 24, 32, and 40 grams, or in a ratio
of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. the law was announced (1803)
by the english chemist John Dalton, and its
confirmation for a wide range of compounds
served as the most powerful argument in
support of Dalton’s theory that matter
consists of indivisible atoms.
• Dalton’s atomic theory was the first complete
attempt to describe all matter in terms of
atoms and their properties.
• Dalton based his theory on the law of
conservation of mass and the law of constant
composition.
 Dalton’s Atomic Theory
• Dalton’s atomic theory proposed that all
matter was composed of atoms, indivisible
and indestructible building blocks. While all
atoms of an element were identical, different
elements had atoms of differing size and
mass.
• atomic number- the number of protons in the
nucleus of an atom, which determines the
chemical properties of an element and its
place in the periodic table.
• The great importance of the atomic number
derives from the observation that all atoms
with the same atomic number have nearly, if
not precisely, identical chemical properties
• Mass number- the total number of protons
and neutrons in a nucleus

• Isotopes- are variants of a particular chemical

element which differ in neutron number, and
consequently in mass number. All isotopes of
a given element have the same number of
protons in each atom.
• Isotope notation, also known as nuclear
notation, is important because it allows us to
use a visual symbol to easily determine an
isotope's mass number, atomic number, and
to determine the number of neutrons and
protons in the nucleus without having to use a
lot of words.
•
• Molecules are groups of two or more atoms
that are chemically bonded. Ions are atoms or
molecules that have gained or lost one or
more of their valence electrons and therefore
have a net positive or negative charge. ...
There are distinct differences between an
atom and an ion.
• An atom is first identified and labeled according
to the number of protons in its nucleus.
• An Atom is the smallest particle of a chemical
element that can exist. Electrons, protons and
neutrons are its sub-atomic particles. While the
protons and neutrons are in the nucleus, the
electrons revolve around the nucleus in fixed
orbits in their shells. Example of atoms are: O -
atom of oxygen, H - atom of hydrogen etc.
• A chemical formula is an expression that
shows the elements in a compound and the
relative proportions of those elements. Water
is composed of hydrogen and oxygen in a 2:1
ratio. The chemical formula for water is
\(\ce{H_2O}\). Sulfuric acid is one of the most
widely produced chemicals in the United
States and is composed of the elements
hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. The chemical
formula for sulfuric acid is \(\ce{H_2SO_4}\).
• Certain groups of atoms are bonded together to
form what is called a polyatomic ion that act as a
single unit. Polyatomic ions are discussed in more
detail in section 5.5. Polyatomic ions are enclosed
in parenthesis followed by a subscript if more
than one of the same ion exist in a chemical
formula. The formula Ca3(PO4)2 represents a
compound with the following:
• 3 Ca atoms
• + 2 PO43- ions
• To count the total number of atoms for
formulas with polyatomic ions enclosed in
parenthesis, use the subscript as a multiplier
for each atom or number of atoms.
• Ca3(PO4)2
• 3 Ca + 2 x1 P + 2 x 4 O = 3 Ca atoms + 2 P
atoms + 8 O atoms
 Chemical Formula
• A chemical formula is a way of presenting
information about the chemical proportions of
atoms that constitute a particular chemical
compound or molecule, using chemical
element symbols, numbers, and sometimes
also other symbols, such as parentheses,
dashes, brackets, commas and plus and minus
signs.
• A chemical formula tells us the number of
atoms of each element in a compound. It
contains the symbols of the atoms of the
elements present in the compound as well as
how many there are for each element in the
form of subscripts.
 Structural formula
• The structural formula of a chemical
compound is a graphic representation of the
molecular structure, showing how the atoms
are arranged. The chemical bonding within
the molecule is also shown, either explicitly or
implicitly.
• Condensed structural formula: The
condensed structural formula still uses lines
between bonded atoms, but is an easier and
shorter way to draw the line-bond structural
formula because it omits the carbon and
hydrogen bonds.
• Molecular model
• A molecular model, in this article, is a
physical model that represents molecules and
their processes. ...
• Physical models of atomistic systems have
played an important role in
understanding chemistry and generating and
testing hypotheses.
• The empirical formula of a compound is
defined as the formula that shows the ratio
of elements present in the compound, but not
the actual numbers of atoms found in the
molecule. The ratios are denoted by subscripts
next to the element symbols.
• Also Known As: The empirical formula is also
known as the simplest formula because the
subscripts are the smallest whole numbers
that indicate the ratio of elements.