Particulate Nature of Matter

Basic Compositions of Matter

Basic compositions of matter
• Atoms, molecules and ions
• An atom is the smallest particle of an elements that can take part in a
chemical reaction.
• An atom is an electrically neutral particle.
• In a neutral atom, the number of electrons is equal to the number of
protons.
Molecules
• A molecule is a group of two or more atoms chemically combined.
• Molecules can be homonuclear e.g. O2, O3, H2 etc or heteronuclear
eg. HCl, NH3,
Basic compositions of matter
• The number of atoms combined in one molecule of a substance is its
atomicity.
• Monatomic molecules contains only one atom. e.g. Ne, Ar, Kr etc.
• Diatomic molecules contain only two atoms e.g. O2, H2 Cl2, N2, HCl, CO
• Triatomic molecules contain three atoms e.g. O3 (ozone)
• Tetratomic molecule contains four atoms e.g. P4 (Phosphorus)
• Octatomic molecule contains eight (8) atoms e.g. S8 (Sulphur)
• The number of atoms in a molecule is placed as a right subscript of
the symbols of the element. For example, O2, P4, F2 etc.
Basic compositions of matter

• An ion is an electrically charged particle (atom or group of atoms).

Atoms of many elements can gain or lose electrons.
• Cation is formed when an atom loses an electron. e.g. Na+ , Cu2+, Ca2+
, Al3+ etc.
• Anion is formed an atom gains / accepts one or more electrons and
become negatively charged e.g. Cl− ,O2− , N 3− etc.
Evidence of the particulate nature of matter
• Brownian motion
• Crystallization
• Melting
• Evaporation
• Diffusion
Question
Classify the following substances, Na, H2O, SO42- , H2, and Ca2+ as
(i) atoms
(ii) ions
(iii) molecules
Classification of matter
ELEMENTS

• An element is a pure substance containing only one kind of atom

which cannot be broken down into simpler substance.
• For example, aluminium is an element which is made up of only
aluminium atoms. Iron, silver, gold, sulphur, oxygen, and copper are
other familiar examples of elements.
• There are 118 chemical elements. They are listed on the periodic table
in specific order.
ELEMENTS
• All elements can be classified into metals, non – metals and semi -
metals according to their various properties.
• Metals are found on the left and in the middle of the periodic table,
whereas non-metals are on the right.
ELEMENTS
• Chemists use symbols of one or two letters to represent the elements.
• The symbols of some elements are derived from their Latin names, for
example,
Au from aurum (gold),
Fe from ferrum (iron),
Na from natrium (sodium)
• However, most of the elements derive their names from English words
e. g. Oxygen (O), Hydrogen (H), Nitrogen (N) etc.
ELEMENTS
• Some elements exist as individual atoms e. g. Helium, Neon, Argon
and the metals
• Some exist as molecules e.g. Oxygen, Nitrogen, Sulphur, Hydrogen
etc.
COMPOUNDS
• A compound is a pure substance formed from two or more different
elements chemically combined in a fixed proportions.
• Water is a simple compound formed from the elements hydrogen and
oxygen
• Each compound can be represented by a chemical formula.
• The chemical formula is made up of the symbol of the elements that is
combined with the numbers to show the ratio in which the different
atoms are present
COMPOUNDS
• EXAMPLES OF COMPOUNDS WITH THEIR CHEMICAL FORMULAE
SEPARATION OF COMPOUNDS
• Compounds can be separated into their constituent elements by
chemical reactions, for example,
electricity
• Electrolysis of water H2O H2 + O2
and thermal decomposition CaCO3 CO2 + CaO
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPOUNDS AND
ELEMENTS