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1.0 SYMBOLS, FORMULAE, AND EQUATIONS

1.1 SYMBOLS AND FORMULAE

Each element is represented by a symbol either a capital letter alone or a capital letter and a small
letter. Each Compound is represented by a formula which indicates the number of different atoms
it contains.

1.2 Formulae of Compounds

Compounds are combination of positive and negative ions. Subscripts are used to identify how
many atoms make up a molecule of a Compound.
The formula of many Compounds can be found by use of the list of ions shown in the table below.
POSITIVE IONS Valence NEGATIVE IONS
Lithium; Li+ Chloride; Cl-
Sodium; Na+ Bromide; Br-
+
Potassium; K Iodide; I-
Hydrogen; H+ Hydride; H-
+
Silver; Ag Hydroxide; OH-
Ammonium; NH4+ 1 Nitrite; NO2-
Nitrate; NO3-
Chlorate C1O3-
+
Copper (I); Cu Bicarbonate; HCO3-
Cyanide; CN-
Dihydrogenphosphate; H2PO4-
Permanganate; MnO4-
Acetate CH3COO-
Thiocyanate; SCN-
Hydrogensulphate; HSO4-
2+
Magnesium; Mg Oxide; O2-
Calcium; Ca2+ Sulphide; S2-
Barium; Ba2+ Sulphite; SO32-
Zinc; Zn2+ Sulphate; SO42-
2
Mercury(II); Hg2+ Ethanedioate(Oxalate); C2O42-
Copper(II); Cu2+ Carbonate; CO32-
Iron(II); Fe2+ Dichromate; Cr2O72-
Manganese(II); Mn2+ Chromate; CrO42-
Tin(II); Sn2+ Hydrogenphosphate; HPO42-
Lead(II); Pb2+
Aluminium; AI3+ Nitride; N3-
Iron(III); Fe3+ 3 Phosphate; PO43-
Chromium(III); Cr3+
Cerium, Ce3+
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POSITIVE IONS Valence NEGATIVE IONS

Tin. Sn4+
Lead, Pb4+
Germanium, Ge4+ 4
Silicon, Si4+

If an element can form more than one positive ion, the Charge is indicated by Roman numeral in
brackets followed by the word “ion”
Examples: Fe2+ = Iron(II) ion, Fe3+ = Iron(III) ion, Cu+ = Copper(I) ion, Cu2+ = Copper(II) ion.
Examples of finding the formula.

Compound Ions present Formula

Sodium sulphate Na+ SO2- Na2SO4
Copper(II) oxide Cu2+ O2- CuO
Ammonium sulphate NH4+ SO42- (NH4)2SO4
Potassium manganate(VII) K+ MnO4- KMnO4
3+ 2-
Iron(III) oxide Fe O Fe2O3
Aluminium sulphate Al3+ SO2−
4 A12(SO4)3
Hydrochloric acid H+ Cl- HCl
Sulphuric acid H SO42- H2SO4
Calcium chloride Ca2+ Cl- CaCI2
Calcium hydroxide Ca2+ OH- Ca(OH)2

(i) A small number after a bracket (subscript) multiplies everything inside the bracket, e.g.
(NH4)2SO4

(ii) When combining cations and anions into an ionic Compound, you always put the cation
name first and then the anion name.

Examples:
Na+ + Cl- → NaCl
Sodium + Chloride = Sodium chloride
Cu2+ + SO42- → CuSO4
Copper (II) + sulphate = Copper(II)sulphate
Al3+ + 3NO3- → Al(NO3)3
Aluminium + nitrate = aluminium nitrate

Naming Binary Molecular Compounds

 Each prefix indicates the number of each atom present in the Compound.
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Number of atoms Prefix

1 Mono
2 di
3 Tri
4 Tetra.
5 Penta
6 hexa

Examples:

CO = Carbon monoxide, CO2 = Carbon dioxide, SO2 = Sulphur dioxide

SO3 = Sulphur trioxide, N2O4 = Dinitrogen tetraoxide, CS2 = Carbon disulphide
N2O = Dinitrogen monoxide
Naming Acids
 All Acids have hydrogen ions as the only positively charged ions.
 The name of the acid is derived from the name of the anion.
 The name of the acid ends in ‘ic acid’ or ‘ous acid’ when the ic acid has one oxygen
atom less.

cation Anion formula name

H+ SO4 sulphate H2SO4 Sulphuric acid
SO3 sulphite H2SO3 Sulphurous acid
NO3 nitrate HNO3 Nitric acid
NO2 nitrite HNO2 nitrous
PO4 phosphate H3PO4 Phosphoric acid
PO3 phosphite H3PO3 phosphorous
CO3 carbonate H2CO3 Carbonic acid
C2O4 oxalate H2C2O4 oxalic
Cl chloride HCl Hydrochloric acid
Br bromide HBr Hydrobromic acid
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1.3 CHEMICAL EQUATIONS

An equation is a useful summary of a chemical reaction. It is only possible to obtain the equation
if you know the end products in a particular reaction. The steps in writing a chemical equation
are as follows:
Exchanging ions of reactants to form products
a) Write the correct formula for the reactants on the left hand side of the equation.
b) Exchange the positive and negative ions of the reactants to get the products.
Examples
i. Sulphuric acid reacts with sodium hydroxide to form sodium sulphate and water.
H2SO4 (aq) + 2NaOH (aq) Na2SO4 (aq) + 2H2O (l)
ii. Silver nitrate reacts with sodium chloride solution to form silver chloride and sodium
nitrate
AgNO3 (aq) + NaCl (aq) AgCl (s) + NaNO3 (aq)
iii. Hydrogen reacts with oxygen to form water
2H2 (g) + O2 (aq) 2H2O (l)
iv. Magnesium metal when heated reacts dry chlorine gas to form magnesium oxide
Mg (s) + Cl2 (g) MgCl2 (s)

Reactions of water as liquid or steam

 In liquid water we exchange H+ and OH- ions
(H2O(l) = H+ and OH-)
 In steam we exchange H+ and O2- ions
(H2O (g) = H+ and O2-)
 Equations in which gases of a single kind of atom, are formed as products, they are
diatomic e.g. N2, H2, O2, Cl2, Br2, I2
(a) Liquid water, exchange H+ and OH- ions

2Na (s) +2 H2O (l) → 2NaOH (aq) +H2 (g)

2Na (s) +2 H2O (l) → 2NaOH (aq) +H2 (g)
(H+ OH-)
Ca (s) +2 H2O (l) → Ca(OH)2 (aq) +H2 (g)
Cl2 (g) + H2O (l) → HCl (aq) + HOCl (aq)
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Mg3N2 + 6H2O (l) → 3Mg(OH)2 + 2NH3 (g)

(b) In steam we exchange H+ and O2- ions
Mg (s) +H2O (g) → MgO (aq) +H2 (g)
Mg (s) +H2O (g) → MgO (aq) +H2 (g)
(H+ O2-)
Reactions leading to formation of unstable compounds which decompose to give the stable
products.
Unstable stable
H2CO3 (aq) → CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
M(OH)4 (aq) → MO2 (g)
NH4OH (aq) → NH3 (g) + H2O (l)
2HOF (aq) → 2HF (g) + O2 (g)
Examples
Step1 MgCO3 (s) + 2HCl (aq) → MgCl2 (aq) + H2CO3 (aq)
Step 2 MgCO3 (s) + 2HCl (aq) → MgCl2 (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
NaHCO3(aq) + HCl (aq) → NaCl (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
Ca(OH)2 (s) +2 NH4Cl (s) → CaCl2 (aq) + 2NH3 (g) +2H2O (l)
NH4OH (aq) → NH3 (g) + H2O (l)
2F2 (g) + 2H2O (l) → 4HF (g) + O2 (l)
2HOF (aq) → 2HF (g) + O2 (l)
Reactions of dilute acids. (HCl, HNO3, H2SO4, CH3COOH etc)
Dilute acids can react with: -
a) Reactive and moderately reactive metals above Hydrogen in the reactivity series.
Zn (s) + 2HCl (aq) → ZnCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)
b) Metal oxides
ZnO (s) + 2HCl (aq) → ZnCl2 (aq) + H2O(g)
c) Metal hydroxides
NaOH (aq) + HCl (aq) → NaCl (aq) + H2O (l)
d) Metal carbonates
Na2CO3 (s) + 2HCl (aq) → 2NaCl (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
e) Metal hydrogen carbonates
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NaHCO3(s) + HCl (aq) → NaCl (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)

f) Metal hydrides
NaH (s) +HCl (l) → NaCl (aq) +H2 (g)
Note: dilute acids do not react with non-metals (C, S, P etc.)
Reactions of hot concentrated hydrochloric acid.
This acid is not an oxidizing agent, but it can itself be oxidized.
(a) With non-metals (C, S, P etc.) there is no reaction

(b) Reaction with metals ( exchange ions)

Zn (s) + 2HCl (aq) → ZnCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)
Pb (s) + 2HCl (aq) → PbCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)
(c) Reaction with oxidizing agents ( products are metal chloride, water and chlorine gas)

(i) Oxidation of Concentrated hydrochloric acid with manganese(IV) oxide.

MnO2 (s) + 4HCl (l) → MnCl2 (aq) + 2H2O (l) + Cl2 (g)
PbO2 (s) + 4HCl (l) → PbCl2 (aq) + 2H2O (l) + Cl2 (g)
2KMnO4 (s) + 16HCl (l) → 2KCl (aq) + 2MnCl2 (aq) + 8H2O (l) + 5Cl2 (g)

Reactions of hot concentrated nitric acid.

It is an oxidizing agent (forms products in a higher valency)
(a) Reaction with metals ( products are metal nitrate, water and nitrogen dioxide)
Concentrated nitric acid reacts with copper to form copper(II) nitrate and giving off nitrogen
dioxide gas.
4HNO3 (l) + Cu (s) → Cu(NO3)2 (aq) + 2H2O (l) + 2NO2 (g)
If the acid is 50% concentrated (equal volume of water as the volume of acid), nitrogen monoxide
is formed.
3Cu (s) + 8HNO3 (aq) →3Cu(NO3)2 (aq) + 4H2O (l) + 2NO (g)
(b) Reaction with nonmetals and group IV metals ( products are oxide in a higher
valency, water and nitrogen dioxide gas)
(i) When a piece of red-hot charcoal is put into concentrated nitric acid, it continues to
burn and brown fumes are formed.
C (s) + 4HNO3 (l) →CO2 (g) + 4NO2 (g) + 2H2O (l)
(ii) When a piece of tin metal is put into concentrated nitric acid, it reacts to form tin(IV)
oxide and brown fumes.
Sn (s) + 4HNO3 (l) →SnO2 (g) + 4NO2 (g) + 2H2O (l)
(iii) Concentrated nitric acid reacts with sulphur to give brown fumes of nitrogen dioxide.
S (s) + 6HNO3 (l) →H2SO4 (aq) + 2H2O (l) + 6NO2 (g)
(iv) When red phosphorus is gently heated with moderately dilute nitric acid, brown
fumes are formed.
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P (s) + 5HNO3 (aq) → H3PO4 (aq) + H2O (l) + 5NO2 (g)

Reactions of hot concentrated sulphuric acid
1. As an oxidizing agent
When concentrated and hot, it acts as an oxidizing agent to both metals and nonmetals and it is
reduced to sulphur dioxide. It accepts electrons or supplies oxygen in its reaction.
a) Reaction with metals ( products are metal sulphate, water and sulphur dioxide gas)
It oxidizes copper to copper(II) sulphate. Reaction with zinc and iron produces similar results.

Cu (s) +2H2SO4 (l) → CuSO4 (aq) + 2H2O (l) + SO2 (g)

b) Reaction with non-metals, ( products are oxide of nonmetal in higher valence, water
and sulphur dioxide gas)
It oxidizes sulphur and carbon to their oxides.
3S (s) + 2H2SO4 (l) → 2SO2 (g) + SO2 (g) 2H2O (l)
C (s) + 2H2SO4 (l) → CO2 (g) + 2SO2 (g) + 2H2O (l)
2. As a dehydrating agent
Sulphuric acid has a high affinity for water.
It can be used as a drying agent for most gases.
a) Reaction with sugar
When concentrated sulphuric acid is poured onto sugar (sucrose) in a beaker the sugar
turns yellow then brown and finally a black spongy mass of charcoal rises filling the
beaker. Steam is given off and the whole mass becomes very hot. The acid takes out the
elements of water from sugar leaving a black mass of carbon.
C12H22O11 (s) → 12C (s) + 11H2O (l)
Black mass of carbon
Similar reactions take place when other carbohydrates are used
C6H12O6 (s) → 6C (s) + 6H2O (l)
b) Reaction with hydrated copper(II) sulphate
When concentrated sulphuric acid is added to blue crystals of hydrated copper(II)
sulphate and warmed, the crystals change from blue to a white anhydrous copper(II)
sulphate as water of crystallisation is removed by concentrated sulphuric acid.

CuSO4 .5H2O (s) → CuSO4 (s) + 5H2O (l)

Blue white
c) Other substances which are dehydrated by concentrated sulphuric acid include ethanol,
methanoic acid and oxalic aid

C2H5OH (l) → C2H4 (g) + H2O (l)

Ethanol ethene

HCOOH (l) → CO (g) + H2O (l)

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Methanoic acid carbon monoxide

H2C2O4 (s) → CO (g) + CO 2 (g) + H2O (l)

Oxalic acid carbon monoxide carbon dioxide

3. As a volatile acid
Concentrated sulphuric acid displaces hydrochloric acid from metallic chlorides; and nitric
acid from nitrates.
(i) Metal chlorides.
It reacts with sodium chlorides when heated forming white fumes of hydrogen chloride gas
which dissolves in water forming hydrochloric acid.
2NaCl (s) + H2SO4 (aq) → Na2SO4 (aq) + 2HCl (g)
(With heating)
NaCl (s) + H2SO4 (aq) → NaHSO4 (aq) + HCl (g)
(Without heating)
ii) Reaction with metal nitrates.
It also reacts with sodium nitrate to form nitric acid.
NaNO3 (s)+ H2SO4 (aq) → NaHSO4 (aq) + HNO3 (aq)

Balancing the equations

 A balanced equation is the one in which the number of atoms on the left hand side is
equal to the number of atoms on the right hand side for each kind of element.
 Eliminate the odd numbers from the equations by multiplying it by 2, then balance the
remaining atoms
 If there are more than one odd numbers, eliminate the highest odd number, then balance
the rest of the atoms

Examples
Balanced equation is H2 (g) + O2 (g) → H2O (l)
Balanced equation is H2 (g) + O2 (g) → H2O (l)
Balanced equation is 2H2 (g) + O2 (g) → 2H2O (l)

Balances equation is Na (s) + O2 (g) →Na2O (s)

Balances equation is Na (s) + O2 (g) →Na2O (s)
Balances equation is 4Na (s) + O2 (g) →2Na2O (s)

Balancing equations with odd numbers

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Fe (s) + Cl2 (g) → FeCl3 (s)

2Fe (s) + 3 Cl2 (g) → 2FeCl3 (s)

KNO3 (s) → KNO2 (s) +O2 (g)

2KNO3 (s) → 2KNO2 (s) +O2 (g)

Na (s) + H2O (l) → NaOH (aq) +H2 (g)

2Na (s) +2 H2O (l) → 2NaOH (aq) +H2 (g)

Mg3N2 + H2O (l) → Mg(OH)2 + NH3 (g)

Mg3N2 + 6H2O (l) → 3Mg(OH)2 + 2NH3 (g)

Ca(OH)2 (s) + NH4Cl (s) → CaCl2 (aq) + NH3 (g) +H2O (l)
Ca(OH)2 (s) +2 NH4Cl (s) → CaCl2 (aq) + 2NH3 (g) +2H2O (l)

KMnO4 (s) + HCl (l) → KCl (aq) + MnCl2 (aq) + H2O (l) + Cl2 (g)
2KMnO4 (s) + 16HCl (l) → 2KCl (aq) + 2MnCl2 (aq) + 8H2O (l) + 5Cl2 (g)

HNO3 (l) + Cu (s) → Cu(NO3)2 (aq) + H2O (l) + NO2 (g)

4HNO3 (l) + Cu (s) → Cu(NO3)2 (aq) + 2H2O (l) + 2NO2 (g)

C (s)+ H2SO4 (l)→CO2 (g) + SO2 (g) + H2O (l)

C (s)+ 2H2SO4 (l)→CO2 (g) + 2SO2 (g) + 2H2O (l)

Balancing equations by doubling an odd number to make it even in another compound on

same side of the equation.
Red = first
Green = second
Blue = third
Yellow = fourth
Cl2(g) + NaOH (aq) → NaCl (aq) + NaClO3 (aq) + H2O (l)
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Cl2(g) + NaOH (aq) → NaCl (aq) + NaClO3 (aq) + H2O (l)

3Cl2(g) + 6NaOH (aq) → 5NaCl (aq) + NaClO3 (aq) + 3H2O (l)

Al (s) + H2SO4 (l) → Al2(SO4)3 (aq)+ SO2 (g) + H2O (l)

2Al (s) + 6 H2SO4 (l) → Al2(SO4)3 (aq)+ 3SO2 (g) + 6H2O (l)

(i) Addition of sodium carbonate solution.

A white precipitate of aluminium hydroxide is formed with evolution of a colourless gas
that turns moist blue litmus red and lime water milky.
Al3+(aq) + CO32-(aq) + H2O(l) CO2(g) + Al(OH)3(s)
3+ 2-
Al (aq) + CO3 (aq) + H2O(l) CO2(g) + Al(OH)3(s)
3+ 2-
2Al (aq) + 3CO3 (aq) + 3H2O(l) 3CO2(g) + 2Al(OH)3(s)
(ii) Addition of ammonium sulphide solution.
A white precipitate of aluminium hydroxide is formed with evolution of a colourless gas
that turns moist blue litmus red and lime water milky.
Al3+(aq) + S2-(aq) + H2O(l) SO2(g) + Al(OH)3(s)
3+ 2-
Al (aq) + S (aq) + H2O(l) SO2(g) + Al(OH)3(s)
3+ 2-
2Al (aq) + 3S (aq) + 3H2O(l) 3SO2(g) + 2Al(OH)3(s)
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1.4 IONIC EQUATIONS

Taking the reaction between magnesium and copper(II) sulphate Solution as an example. The
full molecular equation is:

Mg(s) + CuSO4(aq) → MgSO4(aq) + Cu(s)

Cross out the ions appearing on both sides of the equation.

Mg(s) + (Cu2+SO2− 2−
4 )(aq) → (Mg SO4 )(aq) + Cu(s)
2+