Note on Atoms, Molecules, Valency and Radicals

Atoms
John Dalton was the first to enunciate matter to be composed of invisible particles called atoms. Atoms means which
cannot be cut (uncut). So, an atom may be defined as the smallest particle of an element or chemical substance
which generally participates in the chemical reaction but it may or may not have an independent existence. This
means an atom is unstable. For example- Hydrogen gas is the smallest molecule which is composed of two atoms of
hydrogen. Similarly, Helium, Neon, Argon, etc. are examples of an atom.
Characteristics of atoms:
1) An atom is the smallest unit of an element.
2) It takes part in the chemical reaction.
3) It is composed of three subatomic particles namely proton, electron, and neutron.
4) It generally doesn't exist in nature independently because they are reactive and the life span of an atom is very
short.
5) It is electrically neutral particle because the total number of protons are equal to the total number of electrons.
Molecules
A molecule can be defined as the smallest particle of an element or a compound, which does not generally
participate in a chemical reaction but has an independent existence. This means a molecule is stable. The term
'molecule' was given by Avogadro. The properties of one molecule are same as the whole of the compound i.e. the
properties of a compound is determined by molecule, not by atoms.
For example- H2, O2, N2are the diatomic molecules.
He, Ne, Ar are monoatomic molecules.
O3 and S8 are polyatomic molecules.
CH4 and PCl5 are heteroatomic molecules.
Symbols and formulae and their significances
Symbols can be defined as the short representation of an element.
Example: Iron= Fe, Hydrogen= H, Oxygen= O, Sodium= Na, Gold= Au etc.
Elements having symbols derived from latin names.
Element Symbol Latin name
Sodium Na Natrium
Potassium K Kalium
Iron Fe Ferrum
Copper Cu Cuprum
Silver Ag Argentum
Gold Au Aurum
Mercury Hg Hyragyrum
Antimony Sb Stibnum
Tin Sn Stannum
Lead Pb Plumbum
Elements having name based on scientist
Element Scientist's name Symbol
Curium Pierre Curie Cm
Einsteinium Albert Einstein Es
Fermium Enrico Fermi Fm
Mendelevium Dmitri Mendeleeve Md
Nobelium Alfred Nobel No
Lawrencium Ernest Lawrence Lr
Significance of a symbol
A symbol is not only for an abbreviation for the full name of the element but it has qualitative and quantitative
significance. For example- The symbol Na stands for qualitatively.
1) The element sodium quantitatively signifies-
 One atom of sodium
 One atomic weight of sodium (i:e 23, parts by weight of sodium)
 One gram atomic weight of sodium (i:e 23 gram of sodium or 6.023× 10 23. sodium ions).
Molecular formula
It is the short representation of a molecule.
Example: Water = H2O, Ammonia = NH2
The name and formulae of some common compounds are given below:
General Name Chemical name Formula
Caustic soda Sodium hydroxide NaOH
Caustic potash Potassium hydroxide KOH
Common salt Sodium chloride NaCl
Vinegar Acetic acid CH3COOH
Litharge Lead Oxide PbO
Quick lime Calcium oxide CaO
Slaked lime Calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2
Washing soda Sodium carbonate Na2CO3
Baking soda Sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3
Sand Silicon dioxide SiO2
Marble chips Calcium carbonate CaCO3
Lunar caustic Silver nitrate AgNO3
Blue vitrol Copper sulphate CuSO4.5H2O
Green vitrol Ferrous sulphate FeSO4.7H2O
Significances of molecular formula or formulae
A chemical molecular formula has both qualitative and quantitative significance. A chemical formula gives the
following information:
Let us take NH3 for example:
1) Qualitatively a chemical formula represents:
 The compound is ammonia.
 Ammonia is composed of nitrogen and hydrogen.
2) Quantitatively the chemical formula represents:
 One molecule of ammonia.
 One mole of ammonia contains 6.023× 10 23molecules of ammonia.
 One molecule of ammonia contains one atom of nitrogen and 3 atoms of hydrogen.
 The molecular weight of ammonia is 17 (14+3).
 17 parts by weight of ammonia contain 14 parts by weight of nitrogen and 3 parts by weight of hydrogen.
Valency
Valency (according to the classical concept):Different elements combine together to give millions of compounds.
Each element has its own combining capacity to other elements which is known as valency. The valency of an
element is combining the capacity of an element which is measured in terms of the number of the hydrogen atom or
its equivalent that combine to one atom of an element. Consider the following compound-
Hydrogen chloride = HCl
Water = H2O
Ammonia = NH3
Methane = CH4
In these compounds, one atom of Cl, O, N, and C are combined with 1, 2, 3, and 4 atoms of hydrogen respectively.
So, the valency of Cl, O, N, and C are 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively. Certain elements do not combine with hydrogen. For
such elements combining capacity is measured with reference to chlorine. For example- NaCl, AlCl 3. In these
compounds, one atom of Na and Al combines with 1 and 3 atoms of chlorine respectively. So the valency of Na and
Al is 1 and 3 respectively.
In H2O, the combining capacity of oxygen is twice that of hydrogen. So, twice the number of oxygen that combines
with 1 atom of elements is also called valency. For example- in MgO, 1 atom of Mg combines with 1 atom of oxygen
which is equivalent to 2 atoms of hydrogen, so the valency of Mg is 2.
In summary,the number of hydrogen atoms or the number of chlorine atoms or twice that number of the oxygen
atom that combine with one atom of elements give the valency of that element.
Variable valency
Certain elements can have more than one valency. For instance, iron combines with chlorine to give ferrous chloride
( FeCl2) and ferric chloride (FeCl3). So, iron has the valency of 2 and 3 respectively in these compounds. The
compound with the metal having the lower valency is called -ous compound and metal having higher the valency is
called -ic compound.
Name of element Valency
Cuprous 1
Copper
Cupric 2
Iron Ferrous 2
 Ferric 3
Plumbous 2
Lead
Plumbic 4
Stannous 2
Tin
Stannic 4
Aurous 1
Gold
Auric 3
Radicals
The atoms or a group of atoms which behave as a single unit during a chemical reaction and carry positive or
negative charge are called radicals.
Most of the inorganic components are made up if two oppositely charged units. For example- FeSO 4consists of two
parts Fe2+and SO42-which are called radicals. Similarly, MgCl2 consists of Mg++and Cl- which is also called radicals. The
radicals may be classified into-
a) Simple radicals: The radicals which contain only one atom are called simple radicals. Magnesium (Mg ++), calcium
(Ca++), oxide (O2-) are examples of simple radicals.
b) Compound radicals: The radicals which contain more than one atom are called compound radicals. Ammonium
(NH4+), sulphate (SO4--), nitrate (NO3-) are examples of compound radicals.
Depending upon the charge present in it, radicals are of two types:
Radicals containing a positive (+) charge orElectropositive/basic radicals.Like: NH 4+, Ca++etc.
Radicals containing a negative (-) the charge or Electronegative/acidic radicals.Like: SO 42-, NO2-etc.
References:
Adhikari, Rameshwar; Khanal, Santosh; Subba , Bimala; Adhikari, Santosh; Khatiwada, Shankar Pd. Universal
Chemistry XI. First. Vol. 1st. Kathmandu: Oasis Publication, 2069.
Chaudhary, Ganga Ram; Karna, Shila Kant Lal; Sharma, Kanchan; Singh, Sanjay; Gupta, Dipak Kumar. A Textbook of
Higher Secondary Chemistry XI. Ed. 2nd. Kathmandu: Vidyarthi Pustak Bhandar, 2069 (2012).

Things to Remember
 John Dalton was the first to enunciate matter to be composed of invisible particles called atoms.
 An atom may be defined as the smallest particle of an element or chemical substance which generally
participates in the chemical reaction but it may or may not have an independent existence. 
 A molecule can be defined as the smallest particle of an element or a compound, which does not generally
participate in a chemical reaction but has an independent existence.
 The term 'molecule' was given by Avogadro. 
 A symbol is not only for an abbreviation for the full name of the element but it has qualitative and
quantitative significance.
 The valency of an element is combining the capacity of an element which is measured in terms of the
number of the hydrogen atom or its equivalent that combine to one atom of an element. 
 Certain elements can have more than one valency. 
 The atoms or a group of atoms which behave as a single unit during a chemical reaction and carry positive or
negative charge are called radicals.