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Atoms and Molecules

What is atom?
 Atom is the smallest particle of matter that can take part in a chemical reaction.

 Atom is not capable of independent existence.

 Two or more atoms combine together to form molecules.
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
By observing the laws of chemical combination discussed above, John Dalton (1808) proposed atomic theory of
matter. The main points of Dalton’s atomic theory are as follows:
 Matter is made up of extremely small, indivisible particles called atoms.
 Atom of same substance are identical in all respect i.e. they posses same size, shape, mass, chemical
properties etc.
 Atom of different substances are different in all respect i.e. they posses different shape, size, mass and
chemical properties etc.
 Atom is the smallest particle that takes part in chemical reactions.
 Atom of different elements may combine with each other in a fixed, simple, whole number ratio to form
compound atoms.
 Atom can neither be created nor destroyed i.e. atoms are indestructible.

Limitations of Dalton’s Atomic Theory

The main failures of Dalton’s atomic theory are:
 Atom was no more indivisible. It is made up of various sub-atomic particles like electrons, proton and
neutron etc.
 It failed to explain how atoms of different elements differ from each other.
 It failed to explain how and why atoms of elements combine with each other to form compound atoms or
molecules.
 It failed to explain the nature of forces that bind together different atoms in molecules.

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 It failed to explain Gay Lussac’s law of combining volumes.

 It did not make any distinction between ultimate particle of an element that takes part in reaction (atoms)
and the ultimate particle that has independent existence (molecules).

Modern Atomic theory or Modified Atomic Theory

 Atom is no longer supposed to be indivisible. Atom has a complex structure and is composed of sub-atomic
particles such as electrons protons and neutrons.
 Atom of the same element may not be similar in all respects e.g. isotopes.
 Atom of different elements may be similar in one or more respects e.g. isobars.
 Atom is the smallest unit which takes part in chemical reactions.
 The ratio in which atoms unite may be fixed and integral but may not be simple. e.g. In sugar molecules
, the ratio of C, H and O atoms is 12:22:11 which is not simple.
 Atom of one element can be changed into atoms of other element for e.g. transmutation.
 Mass of atom can be changed into energy.

According to Einstein mass energy relationship, mass and energy are inter-convertible. Thus atom is no
longer indestructible.

What is Molecule?

Molecule can be defined as the smallest particle of matter which is capable of independent existence. A molecule
is assembly of two or more atoms bonded together tightly.
Molecules can be classified into two groups depending on the type the elemental atoms.

 Homoatomic Molecules:These are the molecules of elements and are made up of one type of atoms only
Examples : H2, O2, N2, S8
 Heteroatomic Molecules: These are the molecules of compounds and are made up of more than one type of
elements.
Examples : NH3, H2O, CH4

Atomic Weight/Mass:
As atoms are very tiny particles, their absolute masses are difficult to measure. However it is possible to
determine the relative masses of different atoms if small unit of mass is taken as standard (previously, this
standard was mass of one atom of hydrogen and taken as unity. Later on it was part of oxygen atom and
now it is part of C-12 atom).
The atomic mass of an element can be defined as the number which indicates how many times the mass of one
atom of the element is heavier in comparison to the mass of one atom of hydrogen.

Atomic mass of an element

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Atomic mass is not absolute but relative to the weight of the standard reference element C-12.

Atomic Mass Unit: The quantity mass of an atom of carbon-12 is known as the atomic mass unit and is
abbreviated as amu. The actual mass of one atom of carbon-12 is
or

Thus 1 amu

Atomic mass of an element

Actual mass of an element

Molecular Weight:
Molecular weight is the number of times a molecule of any compound is heavier than 1/2th of an atoms of C-12.
Molecular weight of an element =

Molecular weight is calculated by adding the atomic weights of all the atoms present in a molecule.

Example, Molecular weight of water (H2O) = 2 x Atomic Weight of H + Atomic Weight of Oxygen = 2 x 1 + 16 =
18.

# This part is only for competitive study#

Determination of Atomic Weights
Atomic Weight is determined by Dulong and Petit method.

It states that “The product of atomic weights and specific heat of an element is 6.4 approximately.”

Atomic Weight x Specific Heat = 6.4

Step 1: Atomic weight (app.) = 6.4/Specific heat
Step 2: Valency = Atomic weight / Equivalent weight
Step 3: Correct atomic weight = Equivalent weight x Valency
Average Atomic Mass
Elements are found in different isotopic forms (atoms of same elements having different atomic mass), so, one
can say that atoms of same elements which have same atomic numbers but different mass numbers are called
isotopes.

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In case of isotopes, atomic mass of the element is average of relative masses of different isotopes of the element.

Average atomic mass

Example:
There are two isotopes of chlorine Cl35 and Cl37.

Isotopes Relative Masses Relative Abundance (RA)

Cl35 35 3

Cl37 37 1
Atomic Mass of Chlorine = (Atomic mass of Cl35 x3) +(Atomic mass of Cl37 x1)/ (3+1) = 35.3
When atomic mass of any element is reported in grams, it is called Gram Atomic Mass( GAM)
1 GAM of Na = 23 gm of Na
1 GAM of Ca = 40 gm of Na
Similarly Carbon has two isotopes C-12 and C-13.
Refer to the following video for average atomic mass

Determination of Atomic Mass :

 Applying Dulong and Petit’s law.
 Cannizzaro’s methods
 By mitscherlich’s law of isomorphism.
 By measurement of V.D. of volatile chloride or bromide.

Dulong & Petits Law:

The product of specific heat of pure element and atomic mass of the element is equal to 6.4.

i.e. Atomic mass ´ specific heat = 6.4 (approx)

But this law is not applicable to lighter element like boron, carbon, silicon. To obtain correct atomic mass of
element first of all equivalent mass of the element is known by any other method and their atomic mass = eq.
weight ´ valency

In which valency has whole number value which can be deduced by dividing approximate by equivalent mass.

Dulongs and Petit’s Law:

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Solved Example

Question: 1

The specific heat of a metal of atomic mass 32 is likely to be:

a. 0.25

b. 0.24

c. 0.20

d. 0.15

Solution:

Specific heat =

Hence (C) is correct.

_______________________________________________

Question: 2

On dissolving 6 gm of metal in sulphuric acid, 13.53g of the metal sulphate was formed. The specific heat of metal is
What is equivalent mass of metal, valency and exact atomic mass?

Solution:

Equivalent mass of sulphate

Eq. weight of metal

Approximate atomic mass

Valency

Exact atomic mass

Cannizzaro’s methods
If an element has several compound with other same or different elements of known atomic mass then the
compound that has minimum presence of former element indicate the atomic mass of former element.

Procedure

 First of all the molecular mass of all compounds known by applying V.D ´ 2 = mol. weight
 By analysis the presence of the desired element in each compound is known.
 The mass that is lowest among all the compound indicate the atomic mass of that element.
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Solved Example

Question
Estimate the atomic mass of nitrogen given that vapour density of NH3 = 8.5, Nitrous oxide = 22, Nitric oxide = 15, Nitro
peroxide = 23, Nitrogen

trioxide = 38.

Solution:

Compound V.D. Molecular weight of Nitrogen mass Least presence of

compound in compound nitrogen

Ammonia 8.5 17 14

Nitrous oxide 22 44 28
So atomic mass of
Nitric oxide 15 30 14 nitrogen = 14

Nitrogen peroxide 23 46 14

Nitrogen trioxide 38 76 28

Law of Isomorphism
When two or more compound forms similar type of crystals or able to form mixed crystals, they are known as
isomorphs. For examples: MgSO4.7H2O, ZnSO4.7H2O and FeSO4.7H2O are isomorphs of each other as their
crystals posses same shape.

According to Mitscherlich [year 1819].

The valency of elements that are similarly placed to that of other elements in their isomorphs are always same.

In the above example Fe, Zn and Mg have same valency [2] and equal ratio of water molecule in each
isomorphs.

If equivalent mass of one element is known then atomic mass can be calculated by knowing the valency of other
isomorphs key element.

Solved Example

Question
Which pair of the following substances is said to be isomorphous?

a. White vitriol and blue vitriol

b. Epsom salt and Glauber’s salt

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c. Blue vitriol and Glauber’s salt

d. White vitriol and Epsom salt

Solution

Epsom salt (MgSO4.7H2O) and White vitriol (ZnSO4.7H2O) contains divalent cation Mg2+ and Zn2+ and same number of w
molecules as water of crystallization which hold criteria for isomorphism.

Hence (D) is correct.

Atomic mass from vapour density of a chloride:

The following steps are involved in this method

 Vapour density of chloride of the element is determined

 Equivalent mass of the element is determined

Let the valency of the element be x. The formula of its chloride will be

Molecular weight of chloride = Atomic mass of M + 35.5 x

So

Determination of Molecular Weights

Vapour density method:
Vapour Density = (Weight of certain volume of gas or vapour under certain temperature and pressure)/(
Weight of the same volume of H2 under same temperature and pressure)

Molecular Weight = 2 x Vapour Density

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Diffusion Method:
It is based on Graham’s Law of Diffusion.
The law states that “under similar conditions of temperature and pressure, the rates of diffusion of gases are inversely
proportional to the square roots of their densities (or molecular weights).”

The rate of diffusion (r) of a gas at constant temperature is directly preoperational to its pressure
r ∝ P at constant temperature

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r ∝ 1 / √d at constant temperature

When molecular mass of a compound is expressed in grams, it is called Gram Molecular mass (GMM) or Gram
Molecular weight (GMW)

Writing Chemical Formulae of Compounds

Rule 1: Cross multiply the valencies of elements to form a compound.

Rule 2: If compound consist of metal and non-metal than metal is written first.
For example; in calcium chloride (CaCl2) and zinc sulphide (ZnS), calcium and zinc are metals, so
they are written first, whereas chlorine and sulphur are non-metals.

Rule 3: If compound is formed with polyatomic ions then polyatomic ions are written in brackets.
For example; in aluminium sulphate [Al2(SO4)3], the polyatomic sulphate ion SO42- is enclosed in a
bracket before writing the subscript 3.
Here, the bracket with a subscript 3 indicates that three sulphate groups are joined to two
aluminium atoms.

Note - Compounds made up of metal and non - metal are called salts. All the above examples are
of salts.

Mole

The quantity of a substance is expressed in terms of mole. One mole is also defined as the amount
of substance which contains 6.023 x 1023 units of particle.
1 mole = 6.023 x 10 units
23 (Avogadro’s Number N A)
For examples; one mole of oxygen atoms represents 6.023 x 10 23 atoms of oxygen and 5 moles of
oxygen atoms contain 5 x 6.023 x 1023 atoms of oxygen.

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Molar mass :

The mass of 1 mole of substance is called molar mass. Atomic mass or molecular mass in gram is
equal to molar mass.

Example:

 Atomic mass of Fe is 56 amu

Molar mass of Fe is 56 gram

 Molecular mass of H2O is 18 amu

Molar mass of H2O is 18 gram

Numberofmoles=GivenmassMolarmass
For example; number of moles in 112 gm of iron will be

GivenmassMolarmass=11256=2 moles or 2 x 6.023 x 1023 atoms

Calculating number of atoms of each type and total number of atoms from given
mass or moles:

Percentage of an element in a compound

A compound is composed of different elements and it tells that how much percentage of different
elements is present in a compound.

Percentageofelement=massofelementtotalmassofcompound×100
Laws of Chemical Combination

Compounds are formed by chemical combination of reactants (atoms or molecules) in fixed

proportion by weight or by volume. This is achieved by following certain laws known as Laws of
chemical combination.

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1. Law of Conservation of Mass:

The law of conservation of mass states, “Mass can neither be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction”.

Total mass of reactants = Total mass of products

As there is no loss of mass of substances, i.e. mass is conserved, that’s why Lavoisier called this the
law of conservation of mass.

2. Law of Constant Proportion:

Law of Constant Proportion states that “a chemical compound always contains exactly the same
proportion of elements by mass”.

This law is also known as Law of definite proportions. Joseph Louis Proust gave this law hence, this
law is also known as Proust’s Law.

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