Basis for Dalton's theory

Dalton based his theory on two laws: the law of conservation of mass and the law of
constant composition.

▪︎Law of conservation of mass

-it says that matter is not created or destroyed in a closed system. That means if we
have a chemical reaction, the amount of each element must be the same in the starting
materials and the products. We use the law of conservation of mass every time we
balance equations.

▪︎Law of constant composition

- it says that a pure compound will always have the same proportion of the same
elements. For example, table salt, which has the molecular formula \text{NaCl}NaClstart
text, N, a, C, l, end text, contains the same proportions of the elements sodium and
chlorine no matter how much salt you have or where the salt came from. If we were to
combine some sodium metal and chlorine gas—which I wouldn't recommend doing at
home—we could make more table salt which will have the same composition.

Dalton's atomic theory

Part 1: All matter is made of atoms.

Dalton hypothesized that the law of conservation of mass and the law of definite
proportions could be explained using the idea of atoms. He proposed that all matter is
made of tiny indivisible particles called atoms, which he imagined as "solid, massy, hard,
impenetrable, movable particle(s)".

It is important to note that since Dalton did not have the necessary instruments to see
or otherwise experiment on individual atoms, he did not have any insight into whether
they might have any internal structure. We might visualize Dalton's atom as a piece in a
molecular modeling kit, where different elements are spheres of different sizes and
colors. While this is a handy model for some applications, we now know that atoms are
far from being solid spheres.

Part 2: All atoms of a given element are identical in mass and

properties.
Dalton proposed that every single atom of an element, such as gold, is the same as
every other atom of that element. He also noted that the atoms of one element differ
from the atoms of all other elements. Today, we still know this to be mostly true. A
sodium atom is different from a carbon atom. Elements may share some similar boiling
points, melting points, and electronegativities, but no two elements have the same
exact set of properties.

Part 3: Compounds are combinations of two or more different types

of atoms.
In the third part of Dalton's atomic theory, he proposed that compounds are
combinations of two or more different types of atoms. An example of such a compound
is table salt. Table salt is a combination of two separate elements with unique physical
and chemical properties. The first, sodium, is a highly reactive metal. The second,
chlorine, is a toxic gas. When they react, the atoms combine in a 1:1 ratio to form white
crystals of \text{NaCl}NaClstart text, N, a, C, l, end text, which we can sprinkle on our
food.

Since atoms are indivisible, they will always combine in simple whole number ratios.
Therefore, it would not make sense to write a formula such as \text{Na}_{0.5}\
text{Cl}_{0.5}Na0.5Cl0.5start text, N, a, end text, start subscript, 0, point, 5, end
subscript, start text, C, l, end text, start subscript, 0, point, 5, end subscript because you
can't have half of an atom!

Part 4: A chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms.

In the fourth and final part of Dalton's atomic theory, he suggested that chemical
reactions don't destroy or create atoms. They merely rearranged the atoms. Using our
salt example again, when sodium combines with chlorine to make salt, both the sodium
and chlorine atoms still exist. They simply rearrange to form a new compound.

Summary
• Dalton's atomic theory was the first complete attempt to describe all matter in terms
of atoms and their properties.

• Dalton based his theory on the law of conservation of mass and the law of constant
composition.

• The first part of his theory states that all matter is made of atoms, which are
indivisible.

• The second part of the theory says all atoms of a given element are identical in mass
and properties.

• The third part says compounds are combinations of two or more different types of
atoms.

• The fourth part of the theory states that a chemical reaction is a rearrangement of
atoms.

• Parts of the theory had to be modified based on the existence of subatomic particles
and isotopes.