Compounds & Molecules

Molecule: The smallest identifiable

unit that retains the physical and
chemical properties of the pure
substances.

NaCl, salt Ethanol, C2H6O

Buckyball, C60
Compounds & Molecules

• COMPOUND is a combination of 2 or
more elements in definite ratios by mass.
• The character of each element is lost when
forming a compound (e.g., think of NaCl).

• MOLECULES are the smallest units of a

compound that retains the characteristics of
the compound.
 MOLECULAR FORMULAS
• Formula for glycine is C2H5NO2
(description of the composition)
• In one molecule there are
– 2 C atoms
– 5 H atoms
– 1 N atom
– 2 O atoms
 CONDENSED FORMULAS
• Formula for glycine is NH2CH2CO2H
(composition and functional groups)
• In one molecule there are
– 1 NH2 (amine group)
– 1 CH2 group
– 1 CO2H group
 STRUCTURAL FORMULAS
• Show how the atoms are attached within a
molecule
• The lines between atoms represent chemical
bonds that hold the atoms together.
 WRITING FORMULAS
• Can also write glycine as the condensed formula
H2NCH2COOH
showing functional groups (atom ordering and
connectivity)
• or in the form of a structural formula
H H O
H N C C O H
H

showing how atoms are attached to each other

(bond orders)
MOLECULAR MODELING
An even higher level of structural detail

H H O
H N C C O H Drawing of glycine
H

Ball & stick Space-filling

 Resources for
Molecular Modeling
• Modeling software
–CAChe (General Chemistry Interactive
CD-ROM)

–Rasmol
–Molden
–Gaussview
–Maestro
 MOLECULAR WEIGHT
AND MOLAR MASS
Molecular weight = sum of the
atomic weights of all atoms in the
molecule.
Molar mass = molecular weight in
grams per mol.
What is the molar
mass of ethanol,
C2H6O?

1 mol contains
2 moles of C (12.01 g C/1 mol) = 24.02 g C

6 moles of H (1.01 g H/1 mol) = 6.06 g H

1 mol of O (16.00 g O/1 mol) = 16.00 g O

TOTAL = molar mass = 46.08 g/mol

Tylenol

• Formula = C8H9NO2
• Molar mass = 151.2 g/mol
Molar Mass
How many moles of alcohol (C2H6O)
are there in a “standard” can of beer
if there are 21.3 g of C2H6O?
(a) Molar mass of C2H6O = 46.08 g/mol
(b) Calc. moles of alcohol

1 mol
21.3 g • = 0.462 mol
46.08 g
How many molecules of alcohol are
there in a “standard” can of beer if
there are 21.3 g of C2H6O?
We know there are 0.462 mol of C2H6O.

6.022 x 1023 molecules

0.462 mol •
1 mol

= 2.78 x 1023 molecules

How many atoms of C are there in
a “standard” can of beer if there are
21.3 g of C2H6O?
There are 2.78 x 1023 molecules.
Each molecule contains 2 C atoms.
Therefore, the number of C atoms is
23 2 C atoms
2.78 x 10 molecules •
1 molecule

= 5.57 x 1023 C atoms

 Molecular & Ionic Compounds
NaCl
Heme

Molecular compounds consist of discrete molecules

Ionic compounds consist of discrete ions
IONS AND IONIC COMPOUNDS

• IONS are atoms or groups of atoms with a positive

or negative charge.
• Taking away an electron from an atom gives a
CATION with a positive charge
• Adding an electron to an atom gives an ANION

with a negative charge.

 Forming Cations & Anions
A CATION forms An ANION forms
when an atom when an atom
loses one or gains one or
more electrons. more electrons

Mg --> Mg2+ + 2 e- F + e- --> F-

oxidation reduction
 oxidation

reduction
 PREDICTING ION CHARGES

In general

• metals (Mg) lose electrons ---> cations

• nonmetals (F) gain electrons ---> anions
 Charges on Common Ions
Anion charge=group #-8
Cation charge=group # -4 -3 -2 -1
+1
+2
+3

By losing or gaining e-, atom has same number of

electrons as nearest Group 8A atom.
Predicting Charges on Monatomic Ions
 METALS
M ---> n e- + Mn+
where n = periodic group
Na+ sodium ion
Mg2+ magnesium ion
Al3+ aluminum ion
Transition metals --> M2+ or M3+
are common
Fe2+ iron(II) ion
Fe3+ iron(III) ion
 NONMETALS
NONMETAL + n e- ------> Xn-
where n = 8 - Group no.

Group 4A Group 5A Group 6A Group 7A

C4-,carbide N3-, nitride O2-, oxide F-, fluoride

S2-, sulfide Cl-, chloride

Br-, bromide

I-, iodide
 Ion Formation

Reaction of
aluminum
and
bromine
POLYATOMIC IONS
CD Screen 3.6

Groups of atoms with a charge.

MEMORIZE the names and formulas of common

polyatomic ions listed in Table 3.1, page 107 (next slide)
 Polyatomic Ions
NH4+
ammonium ion

One of the few common

polyatomic cations
 Polyatomic Ions
(oxoanions)

HNO3 NO3-
nitric acid nitrate ion
Prefix per- and suffix –ate: largest #
Suffix -ate : greater # of oxygen atoms
Suffix -ite : smaller # of oxygen atoms
Prefix hypo- and suffix –ite: smallest #
 Polyatomic Ions
SO42-
sulfate ion

SO32-
sulfite ion
Polyatomic Ions

NO3-
nitrate ion

NO2-
nitrite ion
Polyatomic Ions
CO32-
carbonate ion

HCO3-
bicarbonate ion
hydrogen carbonate
Polyatomic Ions

PO43-
phosphate ion

CH3CO2-
acetate ion
COMPOUNDS CATION +
FORMED ANION --->
FROM IONS COMPOUND

Na+ + Cl- --> NaCl

A neutral compd.
requires
equal number of +
and - charges.
IONIC COMPOUNDS

NH4 +

Cl-

ammonium chloride, NH4Cl

 Some Ionic Compounds
Ca2+ + 2 F- ---> CaF2

Mg2+ + NO3- ----> Mg(NO3)2

magnesium nitrate
calcium fluoride

Fe2+ + PO43- ----> Fe3(PO4)2

iron(II) phosphate
Properties of Ionic Compounds
Forming NaCl from Na and Cl2
• A metal atom can
transfer an
electron to a
nonmetal.
• The resulting
cation and anion
are attracted to
each other by
electrostatic
forces.
 Electrostatic Forces

The oppositely charged ions in ionic compounds are

attracted to one another by ELECTROSTATIC
FORCES.
These forces are governed by COULOMB’S LAW.
 Electrostatic Forces
COULOMB’S LAW
(charge on +)(charge on -)
Force of attraction =
(distance between ions)2

As ion charge increases, the attractive force

_______________.
As the distance between ions increases, the
attractive force ________________.
This idea is important and will come up
many times in future discussions!
 Importance of Coulomb’s Law

NaCl, Na+ and Cl-, MgO, Mg2+ and O2-

m.p. 804 oC m.p. 2800 oC
ELEMENTS THAT EXIST AS
MOLECULES

Allotropes of C

See SCREEN 3.2

on the CD-ROM
Screen 3.2
 ELEMENTS THAT EXIST AS
DIATOMIC MOLECULES (gases)
 ELEMENTS THAT EXIST AS
POLYATOMIC MOLECULES

S8 sulfur
molecules
White P4 and polymeric
red phosphorus
 Molecular Compounds
Compounds without Ions

CO2 Carbon dioxide

CH4 methane BCl3 boron trichloride

 Naming Molecular
Compounds
All are
formed from
CO2 Carbon dioxide two or more
nonmetals.
Ionic
compounds
generally
involve a metal
BCl3
CH4 methane boron trichloride
and nonmetal
(NaCl)
 Empirical & Molecular
Formulas
A pure compound always consists of the
same elements combined in the same
proportions by weight.
Therefore, we can express molecular
composition as PERCENT BY
WEIGHT
Ethanol, C2H6O
52.13% C
13.15% H
34.72% O
 Percent Composition
Consider some of the family of nitrogen-
oxygen compounds:
NO2, nitrogen dioxide and closely
related, NO, nitrogen monoxide (or
nitric oxide)
Chemistry of NO,
nitrogen monoxide

Structure of NO2
 Percent Composition
Consider NO2, Molar mass = ?
What is the weight percent of N and of
O?
14.0 g N
Wt. % N = • 100% = 30.4 %
46.0 g NO2

Wt. % O  2 (16.0 g O per mole ) x 100%  69.6%

46.0 g

What are the weight percentages of

N and O in NO?
How to Determine a Formula?

Mass spectrometer
 Mass Spectrum of Ethanol
Mass Spectrum of Ethanol
(from the NIST site)

CH2O+
31
CH3CH2O+
45

CH3CH2OH+
46
Determining Formulas
In chemical analysis we determine
the % by weight of each element in a given
amount of pure compound and derive the
EMPIRICAL or SIMPLEST formula.
PROBLEM: A compound of B and H
is 81.10% B. What is its empirical
formula?
A compound of B and H is 81.10% B. What is
its empirical formula?

• Because it contains only B and H, it

must contain 18.90% H.
• In 100.0 g of the compound there are
81.10 g of B and 18.90 g of H.
• Calculate the number of moles of each
constitutent.
A compound of B and H is 81.10% B. What is
its empirical formula?

Calculate the number of moles of each

element in 100.0 g of sample.
1 mol
81.10 g B • = 7.502 mol B
10.81 g

1 mol
18.90 g H • = 18.75 mol H
1.008 g
A compound of B and H is 81.10% B. What is
its empirical formula?

Now, recognize that atoms combine in the

ratio of small whole numbers.
1 atom B + 3 atoms H --> 1 molecule BH3
or
1 mol B atoms + 3 mol H atoms --->
1 mol BH3 molecules
Find the ratio of moles of elements in
the compound.
A compound of B and H is 81.10% B. What is
its empirical formula?

Take the ratio of moles of B and H. Always

divide by the smaller number.

18.75 mol H 2.499 mol H 2.5 mol H

= =
7.502 mol B 1.000 mol B 1.0 mol B
But we need a whole number ratio.
2.5 mol H/1.0 mol B = 5 mol H to 2 mol B
EMPIRICAL FORMULA = B2H5
A compound of B and H is 81.10% B.
Its empirical formula is B2H5. What is
its molecular formula?
Is the molecular formula B2H5, B4H10,
B6H15, B8H20, etc.?

B 2H 6

B2H6 is one example of this class of compounds.

A compound of B and H is 81.10% B. Its empirical
formula is B2H5. What is its molecular formula?

We need to do an EXPERIMENT to find

the MOLAR MASS.
Here experiment gives 53.3 g/mol
Compare with the mass of B2H5
= 26.66 g/unit
Find the ratio of these masses.
53.3 g/mol 2 units of B2H5
=
26.66 g/unit of B2H5 1 mol

Molecular formula = B4H10

 Determine the formula of a
compound of Sn and I using the
following data.

• Reaction of Sn and I2 is done using excess Sn.

• Mass of Sn in the beginning = 1.056 g
• Mass of iodine (I2) used = 1.947 g
• Mass of Sn remaining = 0.601 g
 Tin and Iodine Compound
Find the mass of Sn that combined with
1.947 g I2.
Mass of Sn initially = 1.056 g
Mass of Sn recovered = 0.601 g
Mass of Sn used = 0.455 g
Find moles of Sn used:
1 mol
0.455 g Sn • = 3.83 x 10-3 mol Sn
118.7 g
Tin and Iodine Compound
Now find the number of moles of I2 that
combined with 3.83 x 10-3 mol Sn. Mass
of I2 used was 1.947 g.
1 mol
1.947 g I2 • = 7.671 x 10-3 mol I2
253.81 g

How many mol of iodine atoms?

-3 2 mol I atoms
7.671 x 10 mol I2  
 1 mol I2 

= 1.534 x 10-2 mol I atoms

Tin and Iodine Compound
Now find the ratio of number of moles of moles
of I and Sn that combined.

1.534 x 10-2 mol I 4.01 mol I

=
3.83 x 10-3 mol Sn 1.00 mol Sn

Empirical formula is SnI4