CH1001

CHEMISTRY: A Central Science

Department of Chemistry,
School of Pharmacy & Molecular Sciences

2 The language
of chemistry
 Measurement

• Measurements
– always have a unit
– always an associated uncertainty

• Unit
– specific standard quantity of a particular property
– used to measure all other quantities of property

Measurement

• The seven SI base units

Measurement Unit Symbol

length metre m
mass kilogram kg
time second s
temperature kelvin K
amount of substance mole mol
electric current ampere A
luminous intensity candela Cd
 Measurement

• The SI units for ANY physical quantity can

be built from the seven base units
– For example
• area = length ! width
• length and width are measured in metres
• the unit of area is square metre, m2

• Units undergo the same kinds of

mathematical operations as the numbers to
which they are attached

Measurement

EXAMPLES:

1. Volume = length x breadth x depth

The units will be metre x metre x metre = cubic metre,
designated m3

2. Speed (velocity) = distance/time

The units will therefore be metre/second, designated m/s or m s-1

3. Density = mass/volume
The units will be kilogram/cubic metre, designated kg/m3 or kg m-3
 Measurement

• SI or derived units are sometimes inconvenient

• Use prefixes that divide or multiply the unit by a

particular power of ten
Prefix Symbol Factor
mega M 106
kilo k 103
deci d 10-1
centi c 10-2
milli m 10-3
micro µ 10-6
nano n 10-9
pico p 10-12

Measurement

There is one non-SI unit that is in common

usage, particularly in an industrial and
environmental context - parts per million
(ppm)

! In solutions, it is a weight/volume measurement -

i.e. mg/litre (mg L-1)

! In solids, it is a weight/weight measurement -

i.e. mg/kg (mg kg-1)
 Measurement
• Uncertainties and significant figures
– Every measurement has an associated
uncertainty

24.3 ºC 24.32 ºC
297.45 K 297.47 K

Measurement
• Uncertainties and significant figures
– All figures up to and including the first
estimated figure are recorded
– These figures are called significant figures

24.3 ºC 24.32 ºC
297.45 K 297.47 K
 Measurement
• Uncertainties and significant figures
– Scientific notation expresses numbers in
terms of powers of ten
• 24.3 ºC is 2.43 ! 101 ºC
• 247.45 ºC is 2.4745 ! 102 ºC

24.3 ºC 24.32 ºC
297.45 K 297.47 K

Measurement
• Significant figures in calculations
– Multiplication or division of
measurements 3.14 x 2.751
= 13
0.64
NOT 13.49709375 !

! Addition or subtraction of measurements

3.247
+ 41.36
+ 125.2
169.8

NOT 169.807 !
 Measurement
• Precision
– Signifies how reproducible a
measurement is when made a number of
times

Measurement
• Accuracy
– refers to how close the value is to the
correct value
Representations of molecules
• Chemical formulas
– Show the relative number of each type of atom
present in a substance
• H2O
• C30H34AuBClF3N6O2P2PtW

Note: a subscripted number refers ONLY to

the atom immediately preceding it.
– A molecular formula is a chemical formula that
refers to a discrete molecule
– There is a standardised way of writing
chemical formulas . . .

Representations of molecules
• Binary compounds
– Element further to the left of the periodic table
appears first
• KCl, Al2S3

– Hydrogen is the exception to this rule

• LiH, NH3, H2O2, HCl

– If both elements are from the same group

the lowest element appears first
• SiC, BrF3

– In ionic compounds the cation is written first

followed by the anion
• NaBr, MgCl2
Representations of molecules

• Writing chemical formulas for

compounds containing more than two
elements requires some knowledge of
the bonding within the compound.
– Ionic compounds
– Covalent compounds

Representations of molecules

• Ionic compounds
– Cation followed by anion
– Total charge zero
Ca(NO3)2(s) " Ca2+(aq) + 2NO3-(aq)
Representations of molecules

• Covalent compounds
– Majority are carbon-based organic
compounds
– Chemical formula often written carbon
first, followed by hydrogen and then the
remaining elements in alphabetical
order, e.g. C2H6O, C4H9BrO

Representations of molecules
• Three-dimensional structures
 PICTURING MOLECULES
Water
Chemical formula - showing only relative number of atoms

Electron-dot and bond-line formulas - show a bond

between atoms as either a pair of dots or a line.
The bond-line formulas are often called structural formulas.

Ball-and-Stick models - show atoms as spheres and

bonds as sticks, with accurate angles and relative sizes,
but distances are exaggerated

Space-filling models - accurately scaled-up versions

of molecules, but do not show bonds

Electron-density models - show the ball-and-stick model

within the space-filling shape, and colour the regions of
high (red) and low (blue) electron charge

PICTURING
MOLECULES
Representations of molecules

• Structural formulas
– Attempt to show the way in which the
atoms in the molecule are bonded
together
– Chemical symbols still used for each
element present
– Constituent atoms are placed in the
order in which they are bonded together
– Bonds between neighbouring atoms are
represented as lines

Representations of molecules

• Structural formulas

– NH3
••
H H H N H H N H
N
H H
H

– Structural formulas do not necessarily

show the correct geometry of a
compound
 Nomenclature

• Nomenclature — the system for

naming of compounds
• International Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry (IUPAC)
• Some compounds are better known by
their common unsystematic name rather
than their systematic IUPAC name
– The systematic name of water is oxidane !

Nomenclature
• Naming inorganic compounds
• Nonmetallic binary compounds
– Guidelines for naming:

NO NO2 N2O5
Nitrogen monoxide Nitrogen dioxide Dinitrogen pentoxide

1. The element closer to the left of the

periodic table appears first.
If both elements are from the same
group of the periodic table, the lower
one appears first.
 Nomenclature
• Naming Inorganic compounds
• Nonmetallic binary compounds
– Guidelines for naming:

NO NO2 N2O5
Nitrogen monoxide Nitrogen dioxide Dinitrogen pentoxide

2. The element that appears first retains

its elemental name.

Nomenclature
• Naming Inorganic compounds
• Nonmetallic binary compounds
– Guidelines for naming:

NO NO2 N2O5
Nitrogen monoxide Nitrogen dioxide Dinitrogen pentoxide
3. The second element begins with a
root derived from its elemental name
and ends with the suffix –ide.
 Nomenclature
• Naming Inorganic compounds
• Nonmetallic binary compounds
– Guidelines for naming:

NO NO2 N2O5
Nitrogen monoxide Nitrogen dioxide Dinitrogen pentoxide
4. When there is more than one atom of
a given element in the formula, the
name of the element usually contains
a prefix that specifies the number of
atoms present.

Nomenclature

• Binary compounds of hydrogen

– Hydrogen requires special consideration
– It may appear first or second in the
chemical formula of a compound,
therefore first or second in the name
• Lithium hydride LiH
• Hydrogen fluoride HF
• Hydrogen sulfide H2S
• Calcium hydride CaH2
 Nomenclature
• Ionic compounds
– Binary ionic compounds are written with
the cation first and the anion, which
takes the suffix –ide, last
• Potassium iodide KI
• Calcium fluoride CaF2

– Ionic compounds may contain

polyatomic ions
• Ammonium NH4+
• Nitrate NO3-

POLYATOMIC IONS

CATIONS
NH4+ ammonium

ANIONS
OH- hydroxide O22- peroxide
NO3- nitrate HCO3- bicarbonate
CO32- carbonate MnO4- permanganate
ClO4- perchlorate Cr2O72- dichromate
SO42- sulfate C2H3O2- acetate
PO43- phosphate
 Nomenclature

• Ionic compounds
– Anions containing a central atom
surrounded by oxygen atoms are known
as oxoanions. Naming rules:
1. The name has a root taken from the
name of the central atom
• Carbonate CO32-
• Nitrite NO2-

Nomenclature
• Ionic compounds
– Anions containing a central atom
surrounded by oxygen atoms are known
as oxoanions. Naming rules:

2. When an element forms 2 different

oxoanions, the one with fewer oxygen
atoms ends in –ite, and the other
ends in –ate
• Sulfite SO32-
• Sulfate SO42-
 Nomenclature
• Ionic compounds
– Anions containing a central atom
surrounded by oxygen atoms are known
as oxoanions. Naming rules:

3. Chlorine, bromine and iodine each

form 4 different oxoanions that are
distinguished by prefixes and suffixes
• Hypobromite BrO-
• Bromite BrO2-
• Bromate BrO3-