General Chemistry I

CHEMY 101
Textbook: CHEMISTRY by Chang and Overby, 14th Edition, McGraw Hill
Online Platform: Cengage

Spring Semester Dr. Kheireddine El-Boubbou

2023-2024
Atoms, Molecules, and Ions

Chapter 2
2.2 The Structure of the Atom

Atom is the basic unit of an element that can enter into chemical combination. Atom is electrically neutral
as it contains an equal number of positive and negative charges. So, atoms are made up of smaller
particles, which are called subatomic particles (electrons, protons, and neutrons).

Nucleus: small, dense, positively charged region in the center of the atom
containing: protons (positively charged particles) and neutrons (uncharged neutral particles).
Electrons: negatively charged particles located outside the nucleus.

Most of the atom is an empty space. The mass of a nucleus constitutes most of the mass of the entire
atom, but the nucleus occupies only about 1/1013 of the volume of the atom. Electrons are the lightest
particles.
 Composition of the Atom
Atom
(Diameter = 200 pm)
proton − positive charge
mass = 1.673 x 10-27 kg
+

neutron − no charge
mass = 1.675 x 10-27 kg

– electron − negative charge

mass = 9.109 x 10-31 kg
Picometer (pm) = 1 × 10−12 m, or one trillionth
(11000000000000) of a meter, which is the SI unit of length.
2.3 Atomic Number, Mass Number, and Isotopes

The atomic number (Z) is the number of protons in the nucleus of each atom of an element.
In a neutral atom the number of protons is equal to the number of electrons, so the atomic number also
indicates the number of electrons present in the atom.

The chemical identity of an atom can be determined from its atomic number. For example, the atomic
number of fluorine is 9. This means that each fluorine atom has 9 protons and 9 electrons.

The mass number (A) is the total number of neutrons and protons present in the nucleus of an atom of an
element. Except for the most common form of hydrogen, which has one proton and no neutrons, all atomic
nuclei contain both protons and neutrons.
Symbolic Representation of an Element
Mass
Number
A
Atomic Z X Symbol of
the atom
Number

• Atomic number (Z) - the number of protons in the atom

• Mass number (A) - sum of the number of protons and neutrons
 Examples
Calculate the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in each
of the following:

11
5 B

55
26 Fe
 Isotopes
• Isotopes - atoms of the same element having different masses.
– contain same number of protons (same atomic number Z)
– contain different numbers of neutrons (i.e. different mass number A)

Isotopes of Hydrogen

Hydrogen Deuterium Tritium

 Isotopes
Chemical properties of an element are determined primarily by the protons and electrons in its atoms;
neutrons do not take part in chemical changes under normal conditions. Therefore, isotopes of the same
element have similar chemistries, forming the same types of compounds and displaying similar reactivities.

In the periodic table, the atomic mass is the weighted average of the masses of
all the isotopes that make up the element.
2.4 The Periodic Table
Periodic table is a chart in which elements having similar chemical and physical properties are grouped together.
Elements are arranged by atomic number (Z) (shown above the element symbol) in horizontal rows called periods and
in vertical columns known as groups or families, according to similarities in their chemical properties.
 Classification of Elements
The elements can be divided into three categories: metals, nonmetals,
and metalloids.

A metal is a good conductor of heat and electricity

A nonmetal is usually a poor conductor of heat and electricity.

A metalloid has properties that are intermediate between those of

metals and nonmetals.
The majority of the known elements are metals; only 17 elements are nonmetals, and 8
elements are metalloids.

Some element groups have been given special names. The Group 1A elements (Li, Na,
K, Rb, Cs, and Fr) are called alkali metals, and the Group 2A elements (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr,
Ba, and Ra) are called alkaline earth metals. Elements in Group 7A (F, Cl, Br, I, and At)
are known as halogens, and elements in Group 8A (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, and Rn) are
called noble gases, or rare gases.
Elements in groups 3-12 are called transition elements.
 Using the Periodic Table
Most periodic tables give the element symbol, atomic number, and atomic
mass.

1) Identify the group and period to which each of the following belongs:
a. P
b. Element 31

2) Element “Cr” belongs to which class in the periodic table?

2.5 Molecules and Ions
Of all the elements, only the six noble gases in Group 8A of the periodic table (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, and Rn) exist in
nature as single atoms. For this reason, they are called monatomic (meaning “one atom”) gases. Most matter is
composed of molecules or ions formed by atoms.

Molecules
A molecule is an made of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by chemical forces
(also called chemical bonds). A molecule may contain atoms of the same element or atoms of two or more
elements joined in a fixed ratio.

Hydrogen gas, for example, exists as pure element, and it is made up of two H atoms each. Water, on the
other hand, is a molecular compound that contains hydrogen and oxygen in a ratio of two H atoms and one
O atom. Like atoms, molecules are electrically neutral.
The hydrogen molecule (H2) is called a diatomic molecule, because it contains only two atoms. Other
elements that normally exist as diatomic molecules are nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), fluorine (F2), chlorine
(Cl2) etc. Diatomic molecule can also contain atoms of different elements. Examples HCl and CO.
 Polyatomic Molecules
The vast majority of molecules contain more than two atoms. They can be atoms of the same element, as
in ozone (O3), which is made up of three atoms of oxygen, or they can be combinations of two or more
different elements. Molecules containing more than two atoms are called polyatomic molecules.
Examples: Methane (CH4), water (H2O) and ammonia (NH3) are polyatomic molecules.
 Ions
• Ions - electrically charged atoms or group of atoms that has a net positive or
negative charge. The number of positively charged protons in the nucleus of
an atom remains the same during ordinary chemical changes (called chemical
reactions), but electrons may be lost or gained.

• Cation - positively charged

• result from the loss of electrons
• Na → Na+ + 1e−
• Anion - negatively charged
• results from the gain of electrons
• Cl + 1 e− → Cl−
 Ions
An atom can lose or gain more than one electron. Examples of ions formed by the loss or gain of more
than one electron are Mg2+, Fe3+, S2-, and N3-. These ions, as well as Na+ and Cl-, are called monatomic
ions, because they contain only one atom. Metals tend to form cations and nonmetals form anions.
In addition, two or more atoms can combine to form an ion that has a net positive or net negative charge.
Polyatomic ions such as OH- (hydroxide ion), CN- (cyanide ion), and NH4+ (ammonium ion) are ions
containing more than one atom.
 Composition of Matter

• Element - a pure substance that cannot be changed into a simpler form of

matter by any chemical reaction.
• Compound - a pure substance resulting from the combination of two or more
different elements in a definite, reproducible way, in a fixed ratio
Compound is a pure substance composed of two or more different elements chemically united in fixed
proportions. The compound can be ionic compound or molecular compound.
- Ionic compounds are made up of cations (positive ions) and anions (negative ions). Sodium chloride
(NaCl), ordinary table salt, is called an ionic compound, because it is formed from cations and anions.
- Molecular compounds contain individual molecular units. They are usually composed of nonmetallic
elements.
Metal + Non-metal → ionic compound (usually)
Non-metal + non-metal → Molecular compounds (usually)
Hydrogen +non-metal → Molecular compounds (usually)

Question: classify the following compounds as ionic or molecular compounds

a) NaCl b) FeCl3 c) SO2 d) P4O10

a) Ionic (M+N) b) Ionic (M+N) c) Molecular(N+N) d) Molecular(N+N)

2.6 Chemical Formulas
Chemists use chemical formulas to express the composition of molecules and ionic compounds in terms
of chemical symbols. Here we are concerned with two types: molecular formulas and empirical formulas.
Molecular Formulas
A molecular formula shows the exact number of atoms of each element in the smallest unit of a
substance. Thus, H2 is the molecular formula for hydrogen, O2 is oxygen, O3 is ozone, and H2O is water.
The subscript numeral indicates the number of atoms of an element present. There is no subscript for O in
H2O because there is only one atom of oxygen in a molecule of water.
Oxygen (O2) and ozone (O3) are allotropes of oxygen. An allotrope is one of two or more distinct forms of
an element. Two allotropic forms of the element carbon—diamond and graphite—are dramatically different
not only in properties but also in their relative cost.
Structural formula
shows how atoms are bonded to one another in a molecule. For example, it is known that each of the two
H atoms is bonded to an O atom in the water molecule. Therefore, the structural formula of water is
H—O—H. A line connecting the two atomic symbols represents a chemical bond.
Molecular Models
Molecules are too small for us to observe directly. An effective means of visualizing them is to use
molecular models. Two standard types of molecular models are currently in use: ball-and-stick models and
space-filling models.

In ball and-stick model

kits, the atoms are wooden
or plastic balls with holes in
them.

Sticks or springs are used

to represent chemical
bonds.

With the exception of the H

atom, the balls are all the
same size and each type of
atom is represented by a
specific color.
Empirical Formulas
The molecular formula of hydrogen peroxide is H2O2. This formula indicates that each hydrogen peroxide
molecule consists of two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms. The ratio of hydrogen to oxygen atoms in
this molecule is 2:2 or 1:1. The empirical formula of hydrogen peroxide is HO.

Thus, the empirical formula tells us which elements are present and the simplest whole-number ratio of
their atoms, but not necessarily the actual number of atoms in a given molecule.

As another example, consider the compound hydrazine (N2H4). The empirical formula of hydrazine is
NH2. Only the molecular formula tells us the actual number of N atoms (two) and H atoms (four) present
in a hydrazine molecule.
Empirical formulas are the simplest chemical formulas; they are written by reducing the subscripts in
the molecular formulas to the smallest possible whole numbers. Molecular formulas are the true formulas
of molecules. If we know the molecular formula, we also know the empirical formula, but the reverse
is not true.

For many molecules, the molecular formula and empirical formula are one and the same. Some
examples are water (H2O), ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4).
Formula of Ionic Compounds
The formulas of ionic compounds are usually the same as their empirical
formulas. For example, a solid sample of sodium chloride consists of equal
numbers of Na+ and Cl- ions arranged in a three-dimensional network called a
lattice. In such a compound there is a 1:1 ratio of cations to anions.

In fact, each Na+ ion is equally held by six surrounding Cl- ions and vice versa.
Thus, NaCl is the empirical formula for sodium chloride.

For ionic compounds to be electrically neutral, the sum of the charges on the cation and anion in each
formula unit must be zero. If the charges on the cation and anion are numerically different, we apply the
following rule to make the formula electrically neutral: The subscript of the cation is numerically equal to
the charge on the anion, and the subscript of the anion is numerically equal to the charge on the cation. If
the charges are numerically equal, then no subscripts are necessary.

• Potassium Bromide. Potassium cation K+ and Bromine anion Br - combine. The formula is KBr.
• Zinc Iodide. The zinc cation Zn2+ and the iodine anion I- combine together. The formula is ZnI2.
• Aluminum Oxide. The cation is Al3+ and the oxygen anion is O2-. The formula is Al2O3.
 Formulas of Ionic Compounds
Monatomic ions: ions consisting of a single charged atom such as H+ and Cl-.
Common Monatomic Cations and Anions
Cation Name Anion Name
H+ Hydrogen ion H- Hydride ion
Li+ Lithium ion F- Fluoride ion
Na+ Sodium ion Cl- Chloride ion
K+ Potassium ion Br- Bromide ion
Cs+ Cesium ion I- Iodide ion
Be2+ Beryllium ion O2- Oxide ion
Mg2+ Magnesium ion S2- Sulfide ion
Ca2+ Calcium ion N3- Nitride ion
Ba2+ Barium ion P3- Phosphide ion
Al3+ Aluminum ion
Ag+ Silver ion
Note: You should memorize the charges, formulas, and names of the ions.
Polyatomic ions: ions composed of 2 or more atoms bonded together with an overall
positive or negative charge. Within the ion itself, the atoms are bonded using covalent
bonds.
Common Polyatomic Cations and Anions
Ion Name Ion Name
H3O+ Hydronium CO32– Carbonate
NH4+ Ammonium HCO3– Bicarbonate
NO2– Nitrite ClO– Hypochlorite
NO3– Nitrate ClO2– Chlorite
SO32– Sulfite ClO3– Chlorate
SO42– Sulfate ClO4– Perchlorate
HSO4– Hydrogen sulfate CH3COO– (or Acetate
C2H3O2–)
OH– Hydroxide MnO4– Permanganate
CN– Cyanide Cr2O72– Dichromate
PO43– Phosphate CrO42– Chromate
HPO42– Hydrogen phosphate O22– Peroxide
H2PO4– Dihydrogen phosphate
Note: You should memorize the charges, formulas, and names of the ions.
 Formulas of Ionic Compounds
Ex. 1 Predict formula of the ionic compound
a) Formed by barium with iodine.
b) Containing a transition metal with a +1 charge in period 4 and group 11 and oxide ions.
c) Containing an alkaline earth in period 5 and nitrogen.
d) Containing ammonium and phosphate ions.

BaI2

Cu2O

Sr3N2

(NH4)3PO4
 Formulas of Ionic Compounds
Ex. 2. Predict the formula of the ionic compounds formed from combining ions of the
following pairs of elements:

1. sodium and oxygen → (Na+ and O2-) → 𝑁𝑎2 𝑂

2. lithium and bromine → (Li+ and Br-) → 𝐿𝑖𝐵𝑟

3. aluminum and oxygen → (Al3+ and O2-) → 𝐴𝑙2 𝑂3

4. barium and fluorine → (Ba2+ and F-) → 𝐵𝑎𝐹2

5. calcium and nitrogen → (Ca2+ and N3-) → 𝐶𝑎3 𝑁2

6. magnesium and bromine → (Mg2+ and Br-) → 𝑀𝑔𝐵𝑟2

7. aluminum and bromine → (Al3+ and Br-) → 𝐴𝑙𝐵𝑟3

Formulas of Ionic Compounds
Ex. 3 Write the formula of each compound

1. Sodium sulfate Na2SO4

2. Aluminum oxide Al2O3
3. Magnesium phosphate Mg3(PO4)2
4. Calcium carbonate CaCO3
5. Barium chloride BaCl2
6. Ammonium sulfide (NH4)2S
2.7 Naming Compounds
Organic compounds contain carbon, usually in combination with elements such as hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, and sulfur. All other compounds are classified as inorganic compounds.

We can divide inorganic compounds into four categories: ionic compounds, molecular compounds, acids
and bases, and hydrates.

2.7.1. Ionic Compounds

Ionic compounds are made up of cations (positive ions) and anions (negative ions). With the important
exception of the ammonium ion, NH4+, the names of all cations take their names from the elements.
Many ionic compounds are binary compounds, or compounds formed from just two elements. For binary
ionic compounds the first element named is the metal cation, followed by the nonmetallic anion. Thus,
NaCl is sodium chloride.

The anion is named by taking the first part of the element name (chlorine) and adding “-ide.”
Potassium bromide (KBr), zinc iodide (ZnI2), and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) are also binary compounds.

The “-ide” ending is also used for certain anion groups containing different elements, such as hydroxide
(OH-) and cyanide (CN-). Thus, the compounds LiOH and KCN are named lithium hydroxide and
potassium cyanide, respectively. These and a number of other such ionic substances are called ternary
compounds, meaning compounds consisting of three elements.
Certain metals, especially the transition metals, can
form more than one type of cation. Iron can form two
cations: Fe2+ and Fe3+. The Roman numeral I is used
for one positive charge, II for two positive charges,
and so on. This is called the Stock system. In this
system, the Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions are called iron(II)
and iron(III), and the compounds FeCl2 (containing
the Fe2+ ion) and FeCl3 (containing the Fe3+ ion) are
called iron-two chloride and iron-three chloride,
respectively.
As another example, manganese (Mn) atoms can assume several different positive charges:

These compound names are pronounced manganese-two oxide, manganese-three oxide, and
manganese-four oxide.

Examples:
• FeCl3 is iron(III) chloride
• FeCl2 is iron(II) chloride
• Cu2O is copper(I) oxide
• CuO is copper(II) oxide
2.7.2. Molecular Compounds
Unlike ionic compounds, molecular compounds contain discrete molecular units. They are usually
composed of nonmetallic elements. Many molecular compounds are binary compounds.

Naming binary molecular compounds is similar to naming binary ionic compounds. We place the name of
the first element in the formula first, and the second element is named by adding “-ide” to the root
of the element name.

It is quite common for one pair of elements to form several different

compounds. In these cases, confusion in naming the compounds is avoided
by the use of Greek prefixes to denote the number of atoms of each element
present.
The following guidelines are helpful in naming compounds with prefixes:
• The prefix “mono-” may be omitted for the first element. For example, PCl3 is named phosphorus
trichloride, not monophosphorus trichloride. Thus, the absence of a prefix for the first element usually
means there is only one atom of that element present in the molecule.
• For oxides, the ending “a” in the prefix is sometimes omitted. For example, N2O4 may be called
dinitrogen tetroxide rather than dinitrogen tetraoxide.

Exceptions to the use of Greek prefixes are molecular compounds

Some Common Names:
containing hydrogen. Traditionally, many of these compounds are called
either by their common, non-systematic names or by names that do not
specifically indicate the number of H atoms present:
Summary:
2.7.3. Acids and Bases
Naming Acids
An acid can be described as a substance that yields hydrogen ions (H+) when
dissolved in water.
Formulas for acids contain one or more H atoms and an anionic group. Anions whose
names end in “-ide” have associated acids with a “hydro-” prefix and an “-ic” ending.

In some cases, two different names are assigned to the same chemical formula. For
instance, HCl is known as both hydrogen chloride and hydrochloric acid. The name used
for this compound depends on its physical state.

In the gaseous or pure liquid state,

HCl is a molecular compound
called hydrogen chloride.

When it is dissolved in water, the

molecules break up into H+ and
Cl- ions; in this condition, the
substance is called hydrochloric
acid.
Oxoacids are acids that contain hydrogen, oxygen, and another element (the central element) are
called. The formulas of oxoacids are usually written with the H first, followed by the central element and
then O. We use the following five common oxoacids as our reference in naming oxoacids:
Often two or more oxoacids have the same central atom but a different number of O atoms. Starting
with the oxoacids whose names end with “-ic,” we use these rules to name these compounds.

1. Addition of one O atom to the “-ic” acid: The acid is called “per . . . -ic” acid. Thus, adding an O
atom to HClO3 changes chloric acid to perchloric acid, HClO4.

2. Removal of one O atom from the “-ic” acid: The acid is called “-ous” acid. Thus, nitric acid, HNO3,
becomes nitrous acid, HNO2.

3. Removal of two O atoms from the “-ic” acid: The acid is called “hypo . . . -ous” acid. Thus, when
HBrO3 (Bromic acid) is converted to HBrO, the acid is called hypobromous acid.
The rules for naming anions of oxoacids, called oxoanions, are
1. When all the H ions are removed from the “-ic” acid, the anion’s name ends with “-ate.” For
example, the anion CO32- derived from H2CO3 is called carbonate.

2. When all the H ions are removed from the “-ous” acid, the anion’s name ends with “-ite.” Thus,
the anion ClO2- derived from HClO2 is called chlorite.

3. The names of anions in which one or more but not all of the hydrogen ions have been removed
must indicate the number of H ions present. For example, consider the anions derived from phosphoric
acid:
Naming Bases
A base can be described as a substance that yields hydroxide ions (OH-) when dissolved in water.

Ammonia (NH3), a molecular compound in the gaseous or pure liquid state, is also classified as a common
base. At first glance this may seem to be an exception to the definition of a base. But note that as long as a
substance yields hydroxide ions when dissolved in water, it need not contain hydroxide ions in its
structure to be considered a base. In fact, when ammonia dissolves in water, NH3 reacts partially with
water to yield NH4+ and OH- ions. Thus, it is properly classified as a base.
Thio- implies replacing an oxygen atom with a sulfur atom
OCN- cyanate SO42- sulfate
SCN- thiocyanate S2O32- thiosulfate

Replacing the first element in the formula with another element from the same group gives a
polyatomic ion with the same charge, and a similar name:

Group 17 Group 16

ClO3- chlorate SO42- sulfate

BrO3- bromate SeO42- selenate
IO3- iodate TeO42- tellurate
Group 15 Group 14

PO43- phosphate CO32- carbonate

AsO43- arsenate SiO32- silicate
Hydrates
Hydrates are compounds that have a specific number of water molecules attached to them.

For example, in its normal state, each unit of copper(II) sulfate has five water molecules associated with it.
The systematic name for this compound is copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate, and its formula is written as
CuSO4.5H2O. The water molecules can be driven off by heating. When this occurs, the resulting
compound is CuSO4, which is sometimes called anhydrous copper(II) sulfate; “anhydrous” means that
the compound no longer has water molecules associated with it.
Familiar Inorganic Compounds
Some compounds are better known by their common names than by their systematic chemical names.