CHEM 11/L

Chemistry for Engineers

Module 2 - Part 1

Prepared by:
Manuel L. Cabiguen, Jr.
Faculty
Petroleum Engineering Department
2021
COURSE OVERVIEW

Welcome to Chemistry for Engineers! This course is a mandatory for all engineering
programs in the Philippines that is accredited by Commission of Higher Education
(CHED). To be able to understand the lessons in Chemistry for Engineers, fundamental
concepts in General Chemistry must be learn first.
From this module, you will learn about atomic theory, atomic structure, the periodic table,
and ions.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, you are expected to achieve the following objectives:

COURSE OUTCOMES
Discuss the fundamentals concepts of chemistry that are relevant to engineering.

INTENDED LEARING OUTCOMES

1. Describe Dalton’s atomic theory

2. Illustrate the atomic structure with its subatomic particles

3. Differentiate among atomic number, mass number, and isotopes, and which of these
distinguish one element from another

4. Describe the periodic table

5. Differentiate among atoms, molecules, and ions

MODULE CONTENT

CHAPTER 2: ATOMS, MOLECULES, AND IONS

Dalton’s atomic theory

Atomic Structure

Subatomic particles (protons, electrons, neutrons)

The Periodic Table

Molecules and Ions

DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

Many scientists have contributed theories that serve as foundation of the latest
technologies. One of them is John Dalton. An English meteorologist and chemist, a
pioneer in the development of modern atomic theory.

Dalton’s ideas are called the modern atomic theory because the concept of atoms is very
old. The Greek philosophers Leucippus and Democritus originally introduced atomic
concepts in the fifth century BC. (The word atom comes from the Greek word atomos,
which means “indivisible” or “uncuttable.”) Dalton had something that the ancient Greek
philosophers didn’t have, however; he had experimental evidence, such as the formulas
of simple chemicals and the behavior of gases. In the 150 years or so before Dalton,
natural philosophy had been maturing into modern science, and the scientific method was
being used to study nature. When Dalton announced a modern atomic theory, he was
proposing a fundamental theory to describe many previous observations of the natural
world.

Dalton's Theory was a powerful development as it explained the three laws of chemical
combination (above) and recognized a workable distinction between the fundamental
particle of an element (atom) and that of a compound (molecule). Six postulates are
involved in Dalton's Atomic Theory:

1. All matter is made up of very tiny particles called atoms.

2. Atoms are indivisible particles which cannot be created nor destroyed in a chemical
reaction.

3. Atoms of a given element are identical in mass and chemical properties

4. Atoms of different elements have different masses and chemical properties.

5. Atoms combine in a ratio of small whole numbers to form compounds

Ex. H2O (2 Hydrogen, 1 Oxygen. Can never 0.5 Hydrogen or ½ Hydrogen)

6. The relative number and kinds of atoms are constant in a given compound.
ATOMIC STRUCTURE

Atoms are consisting of 3 subatomic particles: protons, electrons, and neutrons. The
nucleus (center) of the atom contains the protons (positively charged) and the neutrons
(no charge). The outermost regions of the atom are called electron shells and contain the
electrons (negatively charged). Atoms have different properties based on the
arrangement and number of their basic particles. The figure above is the atomic structure
of helium.

Subparticles

Protons and neutrons have approximately the same mass, about 1.67 × 10-24 grams.
Scientists define this amount of mass as or one Dalton. Although similar in mass, protons
are positively charged, while neutrons have no charge. Therefore, the number of neutrons
in an atom contributes significantly to its mass, but not to its charge.

Electrons are much smaller in mass than protons, weighing only 9.11 × 10-28 grams, or
about 1/1800 of an atomic mass unit. Therefore, they do not contribute much to an
element’s overall atomic mass. When considering atomic mass, it is customary to ignore
the mass of any electrons and calculate the atom’s mass based on the number of protons
and neutrons alone.
Electrons contribute greatly to the atom’s charge, as each electron has a negative charge
equal to the positive charge of a proton. Scientists define these charges as “+1” and “-1.”
In an uncharged, neutral atom, the number of electrons orbiting the nucleus is equal to
the number of protons inside the nucleus. In these atoms, the positive and negative
charges cancel each other out, leading to an atom with no net charge.

Electron Shells

An electron shell may be thought of as an orbit followed by electrons around an

atom nucleus. A shell must fill completely before electrons can be added to an
outer shell. 1st shell may only contain 2 electrons and then next shells can have up
to 8 electrons.

Here is the atomic structure for Aluminum. It has 13 electrons. 1st shell has 2 electrons,
2nd has 8, the last shell has 3.

Electrons in the outer most shells are called valence electrons.

Atomic Number and Mass Number

The atomic number is the number of protons in an element, while the mass number is the
number of protons plus the number of neutrons.

Neutral atoms of an element contain an equal number of protons and electrons. The
number of protons determines an element’s atomic number (Z) and distinguishes one
element from another. For example, carbon’s atomic number (Z) is 6 because it has 6
protons.

An element’s mass number (A) is the sum of the number of protons and the number of
neutrons. The small contribution of mass from electrons is disregarded in calculating the
mass number. This approximation of mass can be used to easily calculate how many
neutrons an element has by simply subtracting the number of protons from the mass
number. Protons and neutrons both weigh about one atomic mass unit or amu
Isotopes

Isotopes are various forms of an element that have the same number of protons but a
different number of neutrons. Some elements, such as carbon, potassium, and uranium,
have multiple naturally-occurring isotopes. Isotopes are defined first by their element
and then by the sum of the protons and neutrons present.

• Carbon-12 (or 12C) contains six protons, six neutrons, and six electrons; therefore,
it has a mass number of 12 amu (six protons and six neutrons).
• Carbon-14 (or 14C) contains six protons, eight neutrons, and six electrons; its
atomic mass is 14 amu (six protons and eight neutrons).
SELF-CHECK #1
List the 6 postulates and discuss it.

Illustrate the atomic structure of neon which has an atomic number of 10. Label the
subatomic particles and indicate their charge. Determine the following:

a. Number of protons
b. Number of neutrons
c. Number of electrons
d. Mass number

Discuss what is an isotope?

THE PERIODICTABLE

Since you reached college, I’m a pretty sure that you’ve encountered the periodic table
of elements. It is a tabular display of all chemical elements. a chart in which elements
having similar chemical and physical properties are grouped together. The elements can
be divided into three categories—metals, nonmetals, and metalloids. A metal is a good
conductor of heat and electricity, whereas a nonmetal is usually a poor conductor of heat
and electricity. A metalloid has properties that are intermediate between those of metals
and nonmetals.

ATOMS, MOLECULES, AND IONS

Good job! Now, let’s proceed to the next lesson. In Chapter 1, we learned about atoms
and molecules. In this module, I would like to introduce to you “ions.”

Atoms are single neutral particles and Molecules are neutral particles made of two or
more atoms bonded together. An atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense
nucleus composed of positively charged protons and neutral neutrons, which is
surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. If an atom has the same number
of protons and electrons, it is electronically neutral. However, if the total number of
electrons does not equal the number of protons, the atom has a net electrical charge.
Any atom or molecule with a net charge, either positive or negative, is known as an ion.
An ion consisting of a single atom is a monoatomic ion; an ion consisting of two or more
atoms is referred to as a polyatomic ion. The positive electric charge of a proton is equal
in magnitude to the negative charge of an electron; therefore, the net electric charge of
an ion is equal to its number of protons minus its number of electrons.

There are specialized types of ions. Anions have more electrons than protons and so
have a net negative charge. Cations have more protons than electrons and so have a
net positive charge. Anions are generally larger than the parent molecule or atom,
because the excess electrons repel each other and add to the physical size of the electron
cloud. Cations are generally smaller than their parent atom or molecule due to the smaller
size of their electron clouds.
SELF-CHECK #2
What are the three groups on the periodic table of elements? Describe them.

Classify the following if it is an atom, a molecule, or an ion:

a. He
b. N2
c. C12H22O11
d. CO
e. Mg2+
f. O2-
g. Ar
h. H2O 2
i. PO42-
j. NH4
LET’S SUM IT UP…
John Dalton introduces the modern atomic theory. The model has six postulates:
1. All matter is made up of very tiny particles called atoms.
2. Atoms are indivisible particles which cannot be created nor destroyed in a chemical
reaction.
3. Atoms of a given element are identical in mass and chemical properties
4. Atoms of different elements have different masses and chemical properties.
5. Atoms combine in a ratio of small whole numbers to form compounds
6. The relative number and kinds of atoms are constant in a given compound.

An atom consists of subatomic particles:

a. Neutrons (no charge)
b. Protons (positive)
c. Electrons (negative)

Neutrons and protons are located in the nucleus while the electrons are in the shells
around the nucleus.
1st shell can contain up to 2 electron and the following shell can contain up to 8 electrons.
Atomic number is the number of protons and the mass number is the total number of
protons and neutrons.
Isotopes are various forms of an element that have the same number of protons but a
different number of neutrons.
The periodic table of elements is a tabular display of all chemical elements. It is a chart
in which elements having similar chemical and physical properties are grouped together.
Atoms are single neutral particles and Molecules are neutral particles made of two or
more atoms bonded together. If the total number of electrons does not equal the number
of protons, the atom has a net electrical charge and we call them ions. A negatively
charged ions are called anion while cations are ions that carrying a positive charge.
ANSWERS TO MODULE 1
Self-Check #1
1. atom
2. molecule
3. molecule
4. atom
5. refer to page 8

Self-Check #2
1. Physical – Intensive
2. Physical – Extensive
3. Physical – Intensive
4. Chemical
5. Physical – Intensive

Self-Check #3
1. Pure Substance – Compound
2. Mixture – Homogenous
3. Pure substance – Element
4. Mixture – Heterogenous
5. Mixture – Homogenous

Self-Check #4
1. Magnetic
2. Sieving
3. Decantation
4. Filtration
5. Evaporation