Chapter 3 Atoms, Molecules and Ions

Democritus who first proposed the idea of atom. ~ Basic Law of Matter~
1700, chemist started to explain chemical behavior
in terms of atoms. The ancient greeks first proposed the idea that the
Joseph and Antoine Lavoisier, on 1785 he total amount of matter in the universe is constant.
formulated the law of conservation of mass which
states that “In any closed system of all transfer of Antoine Lavoiser described the law of conservation
matter and energy, the mass of system remains of mass ( or the principle of mass/matter
constant.” conservation) as a fundamental principle of physics
This means that in a chemical reaction under a
in 1789.
closed system, the mass of the initial substance (s)
will be equal to the mass of the final substances(s).
This law states that, despite chemical reactions or
In 1803, an English chemist, John Dalton proposed
and developed the atomic theory. physical transformations, mass is conserved. That is,
it cannot be created or destroyed within an isolated
~ Dalton’s Atomic Theory ~ system. In other words, in a chemical reaction, the
mass of the products will always be equal to the
Five simple assumptions: mass of the reactants.
1. All matter consist of tiny particles called
atoms. The law of conservation of Mass-Energy
2. Atoms cannot be destroyed nor created.
3. Elements are characterized by the weight of This law was later amended by Einstein in the law of
their atoms. conservation of mass-energy, which describes the
4. In any chemical reactions, atoms combine
fact that the total mass and energy in a system
in small, whole-number ratios.
5. When elements react, their atoms combine remain constant. ( the mass and energy can be
in more than one whole-number ratio. converted from one to another.)
John Dalton’s atomic theory was accepted because
it explained the laws of conservation of mass, The law of conservation of mass remains a useful
definite proportions which states “ a chemical concept in chemistry, since the energy produced or
compound contain exactly the same amount of consumed in a typical chemical reaction accounts for
elements by mass, and sometimes called Prout’s law a minute amount of mass.
or the law of definite composition.
Chemical reaction as the rearrangement of atoms
and bonds, while the number of atoms involved in a
The law of multiple proportions whish states the “ if
reaction remains unchanged.
two elements form more than one compound Chemical reaction as a balanced equation, in which
between them, then the ratios of the masses of the the number of moles of any element involved is the
second element which combine with fixed mass of same on both sides of the equation.
the first element will be ratios of a small whole
numbers”.
An additional useful application of this law is the
determination of the masses of gaseous reactants
and products. If the sums of the solid or liquid
reactants and products are known, any remaining
mass can be assigned to gas.
~ Atomic Structure~  1n 1926, Erwin Schodinger proposed the
planetary model of atomic structure. He
The structure of the matter were not based on described that electrons the possibility that
laboratory findings. electrons are found in a space at a given
time. He also proposed the wave mechanic
 In 1803, Dalton’s atomic theory is
as mathematical model for his proposed
comparable to billiard ball, it is called a
atomic structure.
marble model since the mass is
 The earlier theories of the atomic structure
concentrated at the center known as
were not experimentally based. The
nucleus. He believed that the element is
beginning of the development of the atomic
made up of very tiny, invisible particles.
structure started when scientist studied the
 In 1904, J.J Thomson, presented an
relationship on several phenomena such as
obsolete atomic structure which was
electricity and magnetism.
devised after the discovery of electrons and
 Leucippus and Democritus started the
before the discovery of the neutral particles
study of the atomic structure – that made
called neutrons. He believed that electrons
up of very tiny,
reside within a sphere uniform positive
invisible particles, called atoms.
charge. His model is called plum pudding
model. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) they
 In 1911, Ernest Rutherford reversed mounted their scientific views in harmony with their
Thomson’s model with his gold-foil religious views together with Newtoon – believed
experiment. He explained that atom has a that the universe was like a massive clock built by
tiny, heavy nucleus which contains all the God and set into motion. He also believed that the
masses of an atom. He made use of alpha universe was a vast machine composed of
particles which are emitted by radioactive interacting objects. His views of the universe was
elements to prove the never seen world of based on the concept of inertia.
atomic structure. It was known as nuclear
model. In 1803, John Dalton proposed an atomic theory
 In 1913, Niels Bohr proposed a model called with spherical solid atoms based on measurable
the planetary model base on quantum properties but it was in 1808 that his theory was
theory, energy is transferred only in certain finally published.
well defined quantities and electrons move
around the nucleus in a given orbits.
~ Subatomic Particles~
( protons, electrons and neutrons)
Particle Charge Mass(gram) Mass(amu) Discoverer
Proton =1 1.627 x 10-24 1.0077316 Rutherford (1919)
Neutron 0 1.6750 x 10-24 1.008701 Chadwick (1932)
Electron -1 9.110 x 10-28 0.000549 Thomson (1897)
Properties of Sub-Atomic Particles

The particles that are smaller than the atom are called subatomic particles. Those are proton, neutron and
electrons. The central part of the atom is called the nucleus.

e.g..,

1. 2311Na1= Sol’n: 4. 12852Te2- Sol’n:

np= = 11 np= = 52
 nn0 = 23- 11 = 12 nn0 = 112- 52 = 76
ne- = 11 - 1 = 10 ne = 52 + 2 = 54
2. 8035Br1- Sol’n: 5. 201
52Hg
2+
Sol’n:
np= = 35 np= = 80
nn0 = 80-35 = 45 nn0 = 121
ne- = 35 + 1 = 36 ne- = 78
3. 12248Cd2+ Sol’n:
np= = 48
nn0 = 112 – 48 = 64
ne- = 48-2 = 46

~ molecules and Ions ~ From the illustration above, a cation is formed when
an atom loses electron(s) and an anion is formed
Molecule is composed of two or more atoms bound when an atom gains electron(s) to meet the octet
together a chemical bond, either ionic or covalent
rule and become stable.
bond.
Ion is a charge atom or an atom with unbalanced
~CHEMICAL FORMULAS~
electrostatic charge. It is either a cation, a positive
ion or an anion, a negative ion.
Chemical compound is formed when two or more
Let us now look at chlorine atom,17Cl0.its electron
ions combine. Let as try calcium chloride. The
configuration 1s22s22p63s22p2,valence electron is 7 symbol and the charge of calcium and chloride ions
and lewis structure of: Cl:.for chlorine atom to are Ca2+ and Cl1-, respectively. To write the chemical
become stable ,it has to gain (1) electron as shown formula, the first step is to identify thr and the
below: charges of the ions in the compound,
Ca2= Cl1-
nd
Cl0 + 1e- C11- The 2 step is to balance the charges (only the
numerical value) by identifying multiplier or
Why is chloride ion negative or an anion (because it multipliers.
gains electron) Ca2=(1) Cl1-(2)
Then finally write the multiplier as subscript of the
Cl0 + 1e- Cl1_ elements.
17 protons 17 protons Ca1Cl2 or CaCl2
17 electrons 18 electrons
When neutral = 0 charge anion=1- (since it
gains electrons)

Unlike cation, the name of the anion changes from

its original name to a name ending in “ide”.
Table 3.3 summarizes the steps in writing chemical formula of compounds

Example: Aluminum sulfide

Step 1: identify the symbol and charges of the electrons Al3= S2
Step 2: balance the charges by looking for multiplier(s) Al3=(2) S2-(3)
Step 3: write the multiplier(s) as subscript of each Al2,S3
Element
Ex: determine the chemical formula of the following compounds.

1. Sodium oxide solution:

Na1=(2 O2-(1) Na2O
 2. Barium fluoride solution:
Ba2=(1) F1-(2) BaF2
3. Zinc hydroxide solution:
Zn2=(1) OH1-(2) Zn(OH)2
Notice that OH is in enclosed in a parenthesis because it is a polyatomic ion or radical (a group of atoms
acting as one)
4. Potassium phosphate sol’n:
K1-(3) PO43-(1) k3PO4

5. Aluminum sulfate sol’n:

Al3=(2) SO42-(3) Al2(SO4)3

In writing chemical formula of a compound, there metal. This method is a little bit easier to
are few methods to consider, namely: use than the traditional method since the
charge of the metal is already given.
1. Traditional or Stack Method ( for metals a. e.g.., iron ( ) oxide = Fe2Cl3
with two or more charges) this method b. e.g.., iron ( ) chloride = FeCl2
utilizes the ending
a. “ic” which means that the higher Using Latin prefixes this method is much easier than
charge is used. the first two methods since one can still identify the
e.g.., ferric oxide – charges of Fe are 3+ chemical formula of a compound even without
and 2+ identifying the charges.
Fe3+(2) O2-(3) = Fe2O3
b. “ous” which means the lower charge is O Mono – one Tetra – four
O Di – two Penta – five
used
O Tri – three Hexa – six
e.g.., ferrous chloride a. e.g.., carbon dioxide CO2 ( since Di means
Fe2=(1) Cl1(-2) = FeCl2 two)
2. Roman Numerals this method uses Roman b. e.g.., phosphorous pentabromide PBr5 (
numerals to represent the charge of the petra means five)

~ Naming Compounds~ e.g.., NaCl: Sodium Chloride

The process of naming compounds allows chemists if the anion is polyatomic and contains oxygen, then
to communicate formulae in words rather than in the suffix is ‘ate’
chemical symbols. e.g.., Na2CO3 : sodium carbonate

Ionic compounds
If the compound ionic, then the name of the cation hydrogen compounds
(usually metal) comes first, followed by the
‘compound’ name of the anion. To find the if the compound contains hydrogen and a metal,
compound name of an anion, replace the end of the the metal comes first, followed by the word
elements name with ‘ide’ “hydride”, to denote the hydrogen component.
Name of cation + name of anion,
suffix ‘ide’ Metal + hydride
E.g. NaH: sodium, the metal, first, followed by comes first, followed by the element’s name
hydrogen changed with the suffix ‘ide’ sodium replaced with the ’ide’ suffix.
hydride
Hydrogen + non-metal , suffix ‘ide’
If the compound contains hydrogen and a non-metal
and does not contain water (H2O) then the hydrogen
E.g. HF: hydrogen first, followed by fluorine changed , it starts with the ‘hydro’ prefix followed by the element’s
name replaced with an ‘ic’ suffix, followed by ‘acid’.

Hydro(name of the element suffix ‘ic’) acid

E.g. HCI: hydro, then chlorine with am ‘ic’ suffix, then ‘acid’= hydrochloric acid

Oxygen compounds

When naming ionic compounds that contains oxygen the basic rule is similar. If the compound contains hydrogen
and an oxygen anion (oxyanion) and does not contain water, then hydrogen comes first, followed by the element’s
name with suffix ‘ate’.

Hydrogen + element, suffix ‘ate’

E.g. HCO3: hydrogen followed by carbon with the suffix ‘ate’ =hydrogen carbonate

Oxygen Level Prefix Suffix

A little oxygen hypo- -ite
Some oxygen Element -ite
More oxygen -ate
A lot of oxygen per- -ate
Naming more than one type of oxygen compound

e.g.., Chlorine forms four different oxyanions named:

ClO = hypochlorite
ClO2 = chlorine
ClO3 = chlorate
ClO4 = perchlorate
Oxygen level Prefix Suffix
A little oxygen hypo- -ous
Same oxygen Element -ous Acid
More oxygen -ic
A lot of oxygen per- -ic
Naming more than one type of hydrogen oxyanion acid

e.g.., chlorine and oxygen plus hydrogen

HClO = hypochlorous
HClO2 = chlorous acid
HClO3 = chloric acid
HClO4 = perchloric acid
Covalent Compounds 3. The number of atoms of each element is
If a compound contains two non-metals in a covalent indicated by a prefix.
bond, then: 4. If the first element only has one atom the
1. The least electronegative element is named prefix is not used.
first. 5. The name of the element has the suffix
2. If the compound contains hydrogen, ‘ide’.
hydrogen is named first. 6. Least electronegative + number prefix, most
electronegative element, suffix ‘ide’.

The prefixes used to number the atoms come from Greek and are as follows:
1=mono- or mon- 6= hexa-
2= di- 7= hepta-
3= tri- 8 = octa-
4= tetra- 9= nona-
5= penta- 10= deca-

E.g. CO: carbon, the least electronegative atom, first, followed by the prefix ‘mon’ to indicate one atom of oxygen,
the most electronegative atom, with the suffix ‘ide’ = carbon monoxide.

CO2 carbon, the least electronegative atom, first, followed by the prefix ‘di’ to indicate two atoms of oxygen, the
most electronegative atom, with the suffix ‘ide’ = carbon dioxide.

H20 the prefix ‘di’ to indicate two atoms of hydrogen, which has naming priority, followed by ‘mon’ to indicate one
atom of oxygen = dihydrogen monoxide.

Common Names

There are a number of common names that chemists like to use instead of the proper scientific names. Most
common names and formulae are well-known. It is recommended that common names and formulae be written
down as they are encountered so they can be memorized later.

Here are a few examples:

Common Name Proper Name Chemical Formula

Water Dihydrogen monoxide H2O
baking soda sodium hydrogen carbonate NaHCO3
Table salt Sodium chlorine NaCl
Limestone Calcium carbonate CaCO3
Quartz Silicon dioxide SiO2