Atoms, Elements,

Molecules & Compounds

All substances are made of atoms

All substances are made of very tiny particles called atoms.
Many substances are made up of different types of atoms.

hydrogen (H)
and oxygen (O)
atoms

carbon (C) and

hydrogen (H)
atoms

Iron (Fe),
aluminium (Al),
silicon (Si),
oxygen (O) and

Carbon (C),
nitrogen (N),
hydrogen (H),
oxygen (O) and

Atoms in elements
An element is a substance made up of only one type of atom.

Copper (Cu) is an
element made up of
copper atoms only.

Carbon (C) is an
element made up of
carbon atoms only.

Helium (He) is an
element made up of
helium atoms only.

There are about one hundred Elements that form all substances

How to write symbols for

elements

Two important rules should be followed when writing the

symbols of elements so that there is no confusion.
1. The first letter of an elements symbol is always
a capital letter.
e.g.

N (not n) for nitrogen

2. If there are two letters in the elements symbol,

the second letter is always a small letter.
e.g.

Co for cobalt (not CO)

No, Watson! It was

carbon monoxide
poisoning not cobalt.

Symbols of elements
A standard set of symbols is used to represent elements:
The symbol for many of the more common elements uses
just the first letter of the name.

H = hydrogen
C = carbon
F = fluorine
Others elements have
the first two letters.

Li = lithium
Al = aluminium
He = helium

O = oxygen
N = nitrogen
I = iodine
Some of the symbols are not
always as you might expect.

Pb = lead
Au = gold
Ag = silver

Molecules
An element is a substance made up of only one type of atom.
Eg. H, O, N, Cl, Br
A molecule is formed of a group of 2 atoms or more of the
same element that are joined together.
Eg. H2, O2, N2, Cl2, Br2
Oxygen is an
element made up of
oxygen atoms only.
Q. How many atoms
are there in an
oxygen molecule?

Compounds
A compound is formed of a group of different elements that
are joined together.
Eg. H2O, CO2, NH3

Q. How many atoms

are there in a water
molecule?
Q. How many elements
are there in a water
molecule?

Molecules versus Compounds

All compounds are molecules but not all
molecules are compounds.
Molecular hydrogen (H2), molecular oxygen (O2) and

molecular nitrogen (N2) are not compounds because each

is composed of a single element. Water (H2O), carbon
dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are compounds because
each is made from more than one element.

Q. Which is a molecule and which is a compound?

NaCl, H2SO4, Cl2,

Atomic Number, Mass

Number & Isotopes

Subatomic Element
Particle

Symbol

Charge

Relative
Mass
0

Electron

e-

1-

Proton

p+

Neutron

10

Location of Subatomic Element

Electrons
nucleus

Protons

Neutrons

11

Atomic number & Mass number

Atomic number (Z) = number of protons in nucleus

Mass number (A) = number of protons + number of neutrons

= atomic number (Z) + number of neutrons
Mass Number
Atomic Number
8

15

O
16

8 p+
8n
8 e-

A
Z

Element Symbol

30

Zn

31

65

15 p+
16 n
15 e-

30 p+
35 n
30 e-

2.3

Isotopes
Isotopes are atoms of the same element (X) with
different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus

Proton

Neutron

Electron

2.3

Do You Understand Isotopes?

How many protons, neutrons, and electrons are in 146

C?

How many protons, neutrons, and electrons are in 116

C?

2.3

Noble Gas
Halogen

Group

Alkali Metal

Alkali Earth Metal

Period

2.4

2.5

Electropositive elements
are the elements which have tendency to
lose electrons. e.g. Metals (Na, K, Al, Mg)

Electronegative elements are

those which have tendency to attract the
electrons of the bond. e.g. Non metals
(Cl, Br, I)
In the periodic table from left to right
Electropositivity decreases
Electronegativity increases upto group
7A
2.5

States of matter
There are three major states of matter: solid,
liquid, and gas.
Solid: is something that has a definite shape and
volume.
Liquid: has a definite volume but takes the
shape of its container.
Gas: takes the shape of its container and it
expands to fill the entire container.
2.5

A molecule is an aggregate of two or more atoms in a

definite arrangement held together by chemical bonds

H2

H2O

NH3

CH4

A diatomic molecule contains only two atoms

H2, N2, O2, Br2, HCl, CO

A polyatomic molecule contains more than two atoms

O3, H2O, NH3, CH4
2.5

An ion is an atom, or group of atoms, that has a net

positive or negative charge.
cation : is an ion with a positive charge (+ve)
If a neutral atom loses one or more electrons
it becomes a cation.
Na

11 protons
11 electrons

Na+

11 protons
10 electrons

Anion: is an ion with a negative charge (-ve)

If a neutral atom gains one or more electrons
it becomes an anion.
Cl

17 protons
17 electrons

Cl-

17 protons
18 electrons
2.5

A monatomic ion contains only one atom

Na+, Cl-, Ca2+, O2-, Al3+, N3-

A polyatomic ion contains more than one atom

OH-, CN-, NH4+, NO3-

2.5

Do You Understand Ions?

+
27
3
How many protons and electrons are in 13 Al ?

13 protons, 10 (13 3) electrons

2- ?
Se
How many protons and electrons are in 78
34

34 protons, 36 (34 + 2) electrons

2.5

2.6

Molecular formula: it shows the exact number of

atoms of each element in the smallest unit of a
substance
Empirical formula: it shows the simplest
whole-number ratio of the atoms in a substance
molecular

empirical

H2O

H2O

C6H12O6

CH2O

O3

N2H4

NH2
2.6

Ionic compounds consist of a cation (+ve) and an

anion (-ve)
the formula is always the same as the empirical formula
the sum of the charges on the cations and anions in each
formula unit must be equal zero

The ionic compound NaCl

2.6

Some Polyatomic Ions (Table 2.3)

NH4+

ammonium

SO42-

sulfate

CO32-

carbonate

SO32-

sulfite

bicarbonate

NO3

nitrate

ClO3-

chlorate

NO2-

nitrite

Cr2O72-

dichromate

SCN-

thiocyanate

CrO42-

chromate

OH-

hydroxide

HCO3

2.7

Chemical Nomenclature
Ionic Compounds
often a metal + nonmetal
anion (nonmetal), add ide to element name

BaCl2

barium chloride

K2O

potassium oxide

Mg(OH)2

magnesium hydroxide

KNO3

potassium nitrate

2.7

 Transition metal ionic compounds

indicate charge on metal with Roman numerals

FeCl2

Anion
2 Cl- -2 so Fe is +2

Cation
iron(II) chloride

FeCl3

3 Cl- -3 so Fe is +3

iron(III) chloride

Cr2S3

3 S-2 -6 so Cr is +3

chromium(III) sulfide

2.7

Molecular Compounds
HI

hydrogen iodide

NF3

nitrogen trifluoride

SO2

sulfur dioxide

N2Cl4

dinitrogen tetrachloride

NO2

nitrogen dioxide

N2O

dinitrogen monoxide

TOXIC!

Laughing gas

2.7

Acid can be defined as a substance that yields

hydrogen ions (H+) when dissolved in water.
e.g. HCl (hydrogen chloride orhydrochloric acid)
It dissolves in water to (H+ Cl-)
Oxoacid is an acid that contains hydrogen, oxygen,
and another element.
HNO3

nitric acid

H2CO3

carbonic acid

H2SO4

sulfuric acid
2.7

Base can be defined as a substance that yields

hydroxide ions (OH-) when dissolved in water.

NaOH

Sodium hydroxide

Na+ OH-

KOH

Potassium hydroxide

K+ OH-

Ba(OH)2

Barium hydroxide

Ba++ (OH)2-

2.7