General Chemistry (CHEM 111)

Chapter 2

Elements and Compounds

Xueying Qin

Atoms
— "Atom" means "unable to be
divided”, first proposed by an ancient
Greek philosopher, Demokritos (~
B.C. 500).

— First scientific theory of atom

(atomism) described in 1808 by John
Dalton (UK, 1766 - 1844).

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 What is an atom?

— The smallest unit of an element that retains its

chemical properties.
— The smallest unit in a chemical reaction.
— A chemical reaction does not create or destroy atoms. It simply
rearrange them.
— It requires a nuclear reaction to change atoms.

— How small?
— Weight ~ 10-27 kg
— Radius ~ 10-10 m
— One drop of water
STM image of a 40-nm logo of NIST made
~ 1021 molecules with cobalt atoms on copper surface, Science, 2004
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Atomic Structure

— Consist of subatomic particles

— Atomic mass unit or amu:

— 1 amu = 1.67 x 10-27 kg = 1 dalton (John Dalton)

— equal to 1/12 the mass of carbon atom

— Electron only weights about 1/1840 amu, they move around so fast that
they make what looks like a big cloud, called an electron cloud
[Link] 4

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 Atoms are Tiny

§ Atoms are about 10-10 m (1 ) in

diameter

In relative terms, if the nucleus

were the size of a quarter (about 10-2 m),
one atom would have a radius of about 1000
m ~ ½ mile, roughly the size of the UMass
campus

§ There are huge number of atoms in even

a small sample of an element

A ½ carat diamond (100 mg) has ~ 5

x 1021 atoms

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Atoms of Elements C
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12.011
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C
— Atomic number (Z): number of protons
— Equal number of electrons in charge neutral state
— Can gain or lose some electrons during chemical reactions
— Number of neutrons can vary: isotopes
— Mass number (A)~ total number of protons and neutrons
— All atoms of the same element have same number of protons

— Symbols: one or two-letter abbreviations

— Ion: atom w/ unequal # of protons and electrons

— Cation: overall positive charge (more proton than electron)
— Anion: overall negative charge (more electron than proton)
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 — Which of the following is correct about charges on
subatomic particles?
A. Proton charge +1, neutron charge +1, electron charge -1

B. Proton charge +1, neutron charge 0, electron charge -1

C. Proton charge +1, neutron charge -1, electron charge -1

D. Proton charge 0, neutron charge +1, electron charge -1

E. Proton charge -1, neutron charge 0, electron charge +1

Which of the following atoms contains the largest number of protons?

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A.
20
Ca
28
B.
14
Si
64
C.
29
Cu
83
D.
36
Kr

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 How many electrons and neutrons are there in Iodine?

127
53
I
A. 53, 74
B. 53, 53
C. 53, 127

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Isotopes
§ Atoms with same atomic number (same number of protons, hence same
element), but different masses (different number of neutrons)

• Example:
12C (6 protons + 6 neutrons)
13C (6 protons + 7 neutrons)
14C (6 protons + 8 neutrons)

§ The total percentage abundance of all the isotopes of an element

should equal 100%
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 Which of the following are isotopes?

24 27
A.
12
Mg 13
Al
87 88
B.
38
Sr 38
Sr
138 138
C.
57
La 56
Ba
65 65
D.
29
Cu 30
Zn

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Atomic Weight

§ Due to the existence of isotopes, the mass of a collection of atoms of

an element has an average value

§ This average mass = atomic weight

§ Weighed average of the atomic masses of all isotopes for an element

Atomic weight = Abundance of isotope A × mass of isotope A + Abundance

of isotope B × mass of isotope B + …………

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 Chlorine has two naturally occurring isotopes. The average mass of Cl is
35.45 u. If 75.78% of Cl is found as Cl-35 (34.96885 u), what is the mass of
the other isotope?
Avg. mass = abun. of A × mass of A + abun. of B × mass of B

Abundance of isotope B = 100% - 75.78% = 24.22%

75.78% × 34.96885 + 24.22% × 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠! = 35.45

0.7578 × 34.96885 + 0.2422 × 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠! = 35.45

26.50 + 0.2422 × 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠! = 35.45

0.2422 × 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠! = 35.45 − 26.50 = 8.95

8.95
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠! = = 36.96 𝑢
0.2422
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I: alkali metals VII: halogens

II: alkaline earth metals Periodic Table VIII: noble gases
Metallic Less Metallic
1A 2A 3B 4B 5B 6B 7B 8B 1B 2B 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A 8A
group

period

A: Main groups
B: Transition group Interactive periodic table: [Link] 14

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 Group I: alkali metals
• shiny, malleable substances
• excellent conductor for electricity and
heat
• react violently with water to form
strong basic solutions
• lose electron to form cations
[Link] 15

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Group VII: halogens

• nonmetal: do not conduct
electricity
• highly reactive
• form strong acids w/ water
• gain electron to form anions

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 Group VIII: noble gases
• helium, neon, argon, krypton,
xenon, radon
• difficult to react with anything

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 Long Periodic Table

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Periodic Table

Group/Period Name
Group 1 (1A) Alkali metals

Group 2 (2A) Alkaline earth metals

Group 16 (6A) Chalcogens
Group 17 (7A) Halogens
Group 18 (8A) Noble gases
Groups 4 – 12 (3B – 8B, 1B and 2B) Transition elements
Portion of period 6 (57 – 71) Lanthanides

Portion of period 7 (89 – 103) Actinides

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 Classification of the Elements
Metals
— solids at room temperature (except for Hg)
— shiny, conduct electricity, ductile and malleable, form alloys In
chemical reactions, they tend to give up electrons.
Nonmetals
— Except for hydrogen (H), they lie on the right side of the Periodic
Table.
— Except for graphite, do not conduct electricity.
— In chemical reactions, they tend to accept electrons.
Metalloids
— have some of the properties of metals and some of nonmetals; for
example, they are shiny like metals but, unlike metals, do not conduct
electricity.
— Six elements are classified as metalloids: boron, silicon, germanium,
arsenic, antimony, and tellurium.
— silicon is a semiconductor; it does not conduct electricity under certain
applied voltages, but becomes a conductor at higher applied voltages. 21

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Valence Electrons
§ All elements have a certain number of total electrons (equal to the
number of protons in neutral atoms)

Valence electrons

§ These electrons can be separated onto two types:

§ Valence electrons: Electrons found in the outermost layer/shell of the
element
§ Core electrons: Any other electrons in an atom, located deeper down

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 Valence Electrons
§ For an uncharged atom in groups 1A-8A (we are excluding transition
elements) the number of valence electrons is same as group number
1A 2A 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A 8A

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Compounds

§ Combination of at least two or more atoms of different elements bonded

together in a defined ratio

AB or AB2 or A2B

§ The physical and chemical characteristics of the compounds differ from

the properties of the individual elements that constitute the compound

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 Ionic Compounds
§ Held together by strong attractive forces between cations and anions

§ Cations (X+): Positively charged ions (when an atom loses electrons)

§ Anions (A-): Negatively charged ions (when an atom gains electrons)

§ The type of bond formed between the cation and anion is called
Ionic bond

§ Generally between metals and nonmetals

§ Example: NaCl is made of

Na+ cation and Cl- anion

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Ionic Compounds

Na Cl Atoms

Ions
Na+ Cl- Ions

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 Ionic compounds in life

Baking soda: NaHCO3 Tin fluoride: SnF2

Sapphire and rubies red in

Mineral supplement: FeSO4 gems are made of Al2O3
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Predicting Ion’s Charge

§ Why does an atom tend to gain or loose electrons?

§ Atoms want to “feel” like noble gases (group 8A), i.e. they want to
react chemically to have eight valence electrons in the outer shell.
This is called the octet rule.

+1 +2 -2 -1 0
In general
§ Metals (Na) lose electrons forming cations
§ Non-metals (F) gain electrons forming anions 28

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 Monoatomic Ions
§ When an atom gains or looses electrons, monoatomic ions are
formed (containing only 1 atom)

𝑁𝑎! 𝐶𝑙 " 𝑀𝑔#!

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How many protons, electrons and neutrons are there in 23Na+?

A. 11 protons, 11 electrons and 12 neutrons

B. 12 protons, 10 electrons and 12 neutrons
C. 11 protons, 10 electrons and 12 neutrons
D. 11 protons, 12 electrons and 12 neutrons

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 — Based on octet rule, which of the following prediction of ion
charge is NOT correct?
A. Na in group I tend to have +1 charge, forming Na+

B. Cl in group VII tend to have +1 charge, forming Cl+

C. O in group VI tend to have -2 charge, forming O2-

D. Ar in group VIII tend to have zero charge, won’t form ion

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Naming Monoatomic Ions

§ Cations: Name of the element followed by cation/ion

§ K+ : potassium ion; Al3+ : aluminum ion

§ Transition metal cations: Name of the element followed by (charge in

Roman numbers), followed by the word ion
§ Cr2+ : chromium(II) ion; Cr3+ : chromium(III) ion

§ Exception: no need to indicate charge for ions with only 1 stable

charge, such as Ag+, Zn2+, and Sc3+

§ Anions: the first part of element name followed by

suffix –ide, followed by the word ion

§ Br- : bromide ion; O2- : oxide ion

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 Polyatomic Ions
§ Group of atoms that have a charge (positive or negative)

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Ionic Compounds Formula

§ Ionic compounds are represented by the simplest ratio of cation to anion

§ Rule 1: In an ionic compound cation is written first followed by anion
§ Rule 2: In neutral ionic compounds total cationic positive charge is
balanced by total anionic negative charge

NaCl
(Na+ Cl-)
Sodium chloride

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 Ionic compounds

A Simple Rule: The magnitude of the charge on each ion is used as the
subscript for the other ion in the formula for the substance.

NaCl Na2O Na3N

CaCl2 CaO Ca3N2
AlCl3 Al2O3 AlN

— Molecular formula only represents combining ratio

— Does not show how the compound actually exist in nature
— Only shows the ratio of the ions combined

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Ionic Compounds Formula

§ Write the formula of Barium chloride?

𝐵𝑎#! 𝐶𝑙 "

𝐵𝑎 𝐶𝑙 𝐵𝑎 𝐶𝑙#

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 What is the formula of aluminum oxide?

A. Al4O6
B. Al2O3
𝐴𝑙 $! 𝑂#"
C. AlO
D. AlO2 𝐴𝑙 𝑂 𝐴𝑙# 𝑂$
E. Al1/2O3/2

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What are the ions of which Na2CO3 is formed from?

A. Na+, C2-, O3-

B. Na+, C2+, O2+
C. Na+, CO2-
D. Na+, CO32-
E. Na+, CO3-

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 Ionic Compounds Naming
§ Ionic Compounds: cation name + anion name, the word “ion” is
dropped, prefixes are NOT used to indicate the # of ions

§ NaNO3: sodium nitrate; Co2O3: cobalt(III) oxide

§ Write the name of FeCl3?

𝐶𝑙 " 𝐹𝑒 $! Iron(III) chloride

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Which of the following compounds are named

correctly? (choose all that apply)

A. KCl, potassium chloride 𝐾! 𝐶𝑙 "

B. CoO, cobalt(III) oxide 𝐶𝑜 #! 𝑂#"
C. BaI2, barium(I) iodide 𝐵𝑎#! 𝐼 "
D. FeBr3, iron(II) bromide 𝐹𝑒 $! 𝐵𝑟 "

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 Ionic Compounds: Formula and Naming

Lithium phosphate
𝐿𝑖 ! 𝑃𝑂%$"

𝐿𝑖 𝑃𝑂% 𝐿𝑖$𝑃𝑂%

Iron(III) perchlorate
𝐹𝑒 $! 𝐶𝑙𝑂%"

𝐹𝑒 𝐶𝑙𝑂% 𝐹𝑒(𝐶𝑙𝑂%)$

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Ionic Compounds: Formula and Naming

AlPO4

𝐴𝑙 $! 𝑃𝑂%$" Aluminum phosphate

Fe(MnO4)3

𝐹𝑒 $! 𝑀𝑛𝑂%" Iron(III) permanganate

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 What is the formula of Cobalt(II) carbonate?

A. Co3(CO3)2

B. Co(CO3)2
𝐶𝑜 #! 𝐶𝑂$#"
C. CoCO3

D. Co(CO3)3
𝐶𝑜 𝐶𝑂$

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Which of the following compounds are named correctly?

A. Al2(SO4)3, aluminum trisulfate

B. Cu3(PO4)2, copper(II) phosphate

C. CoPO4, cobalt(II) phosphate 𝐶𝑜 $! 𝑃𝑂%$"

D. Mg(CN)2, magnesium(II) cyanide

E. Ni(NO3)2, nickel nitrate 𝑁𝑖(𝐼𝐼)

iclicker
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 Covalent Compounds
§ When atoms are held together by covalent bonds

§ When two or more non-metals bond with each other, they share
their electrons, the resulting bonds are called covalent bonds
§ Example: H2 molecule

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Representing Covalent Compounds

Molecular formula Structural formula Ball-and-stick model

connectivity
geometry

Space-filling model Cluster of water

molecules

Relative size
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 Covalent Compounds
§ Molecular covalent compounds
§ H2O

§ Network covalent compounds

§ Atoms held together by a network of covalent bonds
§ Example: Silicon Dioxide

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Naming Compounds
§ Rule 1: The first element in the formula is named first, followed by
the second element using the –ide ending as in the nomenclature
for salts
§ Rule 2: Use prefixes to show the # of each type of atoms
§ Rule 3: Do not use “mono” on first element
§ What is the name of BCl3?

Boron tri chloride

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 Naming Compounds

Dinitrogen trioxide

𝑁! 𝑂"

PI3
𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑢𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑖𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑒

CBr4

𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑒
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Covalent Compounds: Common Names

H2O, water H2O2, hydrogen peroxide

NH3, ammonia N2H4, hydrazine Nitric oxide

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 Which of the following formulas match the given names ? (choose all
that apply)

A. dinitrogen tetraoxide, NO4

B. silicon tetrachloride, SiCl4

C. cobalt(II) sulfate, Co2SO4 𝐶𝑜𝑆𝑂%

D. carbon tetrachloride, CCl4

E. aluminum chloride, AlCl2 𝐴𝑙𝐶𝑙$

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What is the formula of dinitrogen tetrafluoride?

A. NF4

B. N2F3

C. N2F4

D. N3F4

E. N5F6

iclicker
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 Which of the following compounds are named
correctly? (choose all that apply)

A. SF6, sulfur hexafluoride

B. CuBr2, copper bromide
C. BCl3, boron chloride
D. PCl5, phosphorus pentachloride
E. Fe2O3, iron oxide

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Allotropes
§ Allotropes are different forms of the same element that differ in
physical and chemical properties
Example: Allotropes of Carbon

Diamond Graphite Fullerene, C60

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 Hydrocarbons

§ Certain hydrocarbons (made of carbon and hydrogen) have

formula CnH2n+2

CH4, methane C2H6, ethane

C5H12, pentane C6H14, hexane

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Inorganic Acids

§ Inorganic acids produce H+ ion when dissolved in water

§ In general, hydrogen is the first element in the formula of inorganic
acids

Carbonic acid H2CO3

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