4 Postulates
Gen-Chem 1. Matter is made up of extremely small indivisible
L1. ATOMS particles called atom.
-Robert Boyle -Indivisibility of an atom was proved wrong;(protons, neutrons, and
Element as the simplest composition of electrons.) However, an atom is the smallest particle in chemical
matter that cannot be broken down further by any reactions.
chemical means. 2. Atoms of the same elements are identical, and are
Suggested that atoms of elements combine to form different from those of the other elements.
different Compounds. - Atoms of some elements may vary in their masses and
densities. These atoms of different masses are called
Isotopes-different mass numbers but the same atomic number.
Laws of chemical changes Elements that have the same atomic mass are known as Isobars.
3. Compounds are formed when atoms of
a.Law of Conservation of Mass different elements combine in certain whole
-In a chemical reaction, no change in mass takes place. number ratios.
E. g (32g S + 56 Fe => 88 FeS) -not observed in complex organic compounds like table sugar.
4. Atoms rearrange only during a chemical reaction to
b. Law of Definite Proportion form new compounds.
-A compound always forms from a fixed ratio of its - Atoms are not created nor destroyed. The same
elements. number and kind of atoms must be present before and
E.g after a chemical reaction.
Merits of Dalton’s Atomic Theory
- The atomic theory explains the laws of chemical
combination.
- Dalton was the first person to recognize a workable
distinction between the fundamental particle of an element
(atom) and that of compound.
c. Law of Multiple Proportion
-If two elements can combine to form more than L2 INSIDE A ATOM
one compound, the combined masses of the elements Atom’s subatomic particles
are in a ratio of small whole numbers. - a particle which is smaller than an atom in size
E.g Electron(-) Neutron(=) Proton(+)
-In carbon monoxide, 1.00 g carbon combines with 1.33 g
oxygen In 1897, British physicist Joseph John Thomson (1859-
-In carbon dioxide, 1.00 g carbon combines with 2.66 g 1940)
oxygen. -discovered the electron.
It can be seen that the ratio is 1:2 He observed that
cathode ray tube (CRT),
Laws are derived from experimental results. Are deflected by a
A theory is formulated to provide an explanation to the negatively charged plate
laws. and attracted by a
positively charged plate
Dalton’s Atomic Theory as if the rays consisted of
1808 Theory by John Dalton. The first theory to relate negatively charged
chemical changes to events at the atomic level. particles.
He concluded that the atom is divisible after all.
PLUM PUDDING MODEL L3. Molecules and Ions
This discovery led Thomson to propose the plum pudding A molecule is an aggregate of two or more atoms in a
model of the atom definite arrangement held together by covalent bonds.
Characteristics of Molecules
A molecule can be a compound or an element.
It may contain:
1. Atoms of the same element .
2. Atoms of two or more elements joined in a fixed ratio.
; the bread represents the atom having a Molecules are electrically neutral.
diffuse positive charge, with the plums depict the negative • Molecules can be diatomic which means
electrons.
containing only two atoms. (Ex. Cl2, N2, HCl, CO,
Robert Millikan’s Oil-drop Experiment and NaCl)
In 1910, He published the result of his oil drop experiment • Molecules can be polyatomic which means
through which determined the actual charge of the containing more than two atoms.
electron.
An ion is an atom or a group of atoms that has gained net
The discovery of X-ray by German Physicist positive or negative charge. Atoms become ions when it
Roentgen Wilhelm Conrad (1845-1923) and the loses or gains an electron.
radioactivity of uranium by French physicist Henri Two types of Ions:
Becquerel (1852-1908) prompted many scientists to 1. Cation - loses one or more electrons. Positive charge
radiation. 2. Anion - gains one or more electrons. Negative charge
lons can also be classified as:
British physicist Ernest Rutherford(1871-1937) • Monoatomic ions contain only one atom.
discovered and described the alpha and beta rays as • Polyatomic on the other hand are ions containing more
positively and negatively charged radiations. than one atom.
Chemical formulas use chemical symbols to show the
In 1902, He discovered the proton. He then thought that composition of molecules and ionic compound.
there must be another subatomic particle in the Two Types of Chemical Formula:
nucleus that holds the protons together. Molecular-shows the exact number of atoms of each
element in a molecule.
British physicist James Chadwick(1891-1974),former
student of Rutherford who later became his co-researcher, Empirical-shows the simplest whole number ratio of the
discovered the other type of particle in the nucleus – the atoms present in a compound.
neutron.
Rules in writing the formulas of ionic compounds.
1.lonic compounds are electrically neutrals
2.The formulas of ionic compounds are their empirical
formulas, the subscripts must always be reduced to the
smallest ratios.
Rules in naming Ionic Compounds
1. Name the metal by its elemental name.
2. Name the non-metal by its elemental name and add
an –ide ending
Nonmetals
• The monatomic anions are named by attaching the suffix
–ide to the first few letters (root) of the non-metal name.
• Elements in Group 7A (halogens) and Group 6A (oxygen
family) accept one and two electrons, respectively.
L4. Ions and Molecules part 2.
Ions
-When a neutral atom gains or loses one or more
electrons, it becomes an electrically charged particle
called ion.
-Metals tend to lose electrons and become positively
charged cations.
-Non-metals, on the other hand, gain electrons and
become negatively charges anions.
-The number of electrons lost or gained is the charge
number.
Alkali metals Group 1A
produce ions with positive one (+1) charge,
Alkaline earth Group 2A
metals produce positive two (+2) ions. The ions are named
simply as the name of the metal.
E.g
Transition metals Groups 1B to 8B
vary in the number of electrons they tend to lose, resulting
in a variety of electrical charges of their ions.
• As such, a systematic method of naming their ions is
employed.( lower charge = -ous higher charge = -ic )
(and not in its English name)
• In the stock method, a Roman numeral indicating the
charge is written in parentheses after the English name of
the metal.
