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ELEMENTS, COMOUNDS, MIXTURES AND CHEMICAL EQUATIONS

ELEMENTS
An element is a substance which cannot be split up into simpler other substances and takes part in a
chemical reaction. An element is made up of atoms. There are 103 known elements of which 92 are
natural and 11 are artificial.

SYMBOLS OF ELEMENTS

A chemical symbol is a short way of representing an element. It consists of either a single capital letter
or two letters with the first being capital and the second a small letter. In most cases a symbol is the first
letter of the English name of the element

Examples

Hydrogen H Carbon C Fluorine F

Oxygen O Boron B Phosphorus P
Nitrogen N Iodine I Sulphur S

Some elements have names which begin with the same letter. These are represented with symbols
which consist of more than one letter.

Examples

Aluminium Al Argon Ar
Barium Ba Bromine Br
Magnesium Mg Manganese Mn
Calcium Ca Chlorine Cl

Some elements have their symbols derived from their Latin names.
Examples
Sodium( Natrium) Na
Potassium( Kalium) K
Copper(cuprum)) Cu
Iron(Ferrum) Fe
Lead(plumbum) Pb
Silver(Argentum) Ag
Gold(Aurum) Au
Mercury(Hydragyrum) Hg
Tin(stannum) Sn
Antimony(stobum) Sb

COMPOUND

A compound is a substance which consists of two or more elements which are chemically combined.
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Name of Elements in it
compound
Water Hydrogen and oxygen
carbon dioxide Carbon and oxygen
Carbon monoxide Carbon and oxygen
Calcium carbonate Calcium, carbon and oxygen
Sodium nitrate Sodium, nitrogen and oxygen
Potassium sulphate
Glucose
Hydrochloric acid
Sulphuric acid
Nitric acid
Sodium phosphate
Sodium carbonate
Lithium oxide

MIXTURES
A mixture is a substance which consists of two or more substances which are not chemically combined.

Examples

Name of mixture Substance in it

Salt solution Salt and water
Sugar solution Sugar and water
Sea water Salts and water
air Nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapour, rare gases and dust particles
Crude oil Many alkanes

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A COMPOUND AND A MIXTURE

Mixture
The substance in it can be separated by physical
methods
Eg distillation, evaporation and filtration
The mixture may vary In composition eg a mixture of
20g Sulphur and 50g iron or 100g sulphur and 70g iron,
are both mixtures in different proportions
Making a mixture does not produce heat energy
The properties of a mixture are the sum of the
properties of the substances in the mixture eg sulphur
is yellow ,iron is grey while the mixture is both yellow
and grey
Compound
The elements in it cannot be separated by
Any physical means
The elements in a compound are in fixed
composition eg in water(H2O), the ratio of
hydrogen and oxygen is always 2:1
Making a compound produces heat energy eg
burning magnesium in air or burning paper in
air
The properties of a compound are different
from those of the elements in it eg in water
hydrogen and oxygen are gases while water is
a liquid
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PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGE

A physical change is one in which no new substance is formed. A chemical change is one in which a new
substance is formed.
Examples of physical changes

Melting a solid to form a liquid

Evaporation of a liquid
Magnetizing iron
Heating a metal wire with electricity

Examples of chemical changes

Burning a substance in air

Rusting of iron
Explosion of natural gas
Preparation of salts
Photosynthesis
Respiration

DIFFEERENCES BETWEEN A PHYSICAL AND A CHEMICAL CHANGE

Physical change Chemical change

No new substance is formed A new substance is formed
It is reversible It is not reversible
Does not produce heat Produces heat
There is no change in mass There is a change in mass

VALENCY
The valency of an element is the number of electrons its atoms lose, gain or share, to form a compound

valenc metals symbo Non-metal symbol

y l
1 Potassium K Chlorine Cl
Sodium Na Iodine I
Silver Ag Bromine Br
Copper(I) Cu hydrogen H
mercury Hg
2 Magnesium Mg Sulphur S
Calcium Ca Oxygen O
Zinc Zn
Mercury(II) Hg
Copper(II) Cu
Iron(II) Fe
Tin(II) Sn
3 Aluminium Al Nitrogen N
Iron(III) Fe Phosphorus(III) P
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4 Lead(IV) Pb Carbon C
5 phosphorus P

Radicals

A radical is an atom or group of atoms which either exist only as ions or which have no independent
existence.
Radical Formula Charge valency
ammonium NH4+ +1 1
nitrate NO3- -1 1
-
Nitrite NO2
hydrogencarbonat HCO3-
e
hydrogensulphate HSO4-
Hydroxide OH-
Hydride H-
Fluoride F-
Chloride Cl-
Bromide Br-
Iodide I-
hydrogensulphite HSO3-
peroxide O22- -2 2
Carbonate CO32-
sulphate SO42-
sulphite SO32-
oxide O2-
sulphide S2-
Phosphate PO43- -3 3
Phosphite PO33-
nitride N3-
phosphide P3-
WRITING FORMULAE OF COMPOUNDS

A chemical formula is when symbols of elements are brought together to form a compound.For
elements which exist as molecules, the formula is the symbol of the element with the number of atoms
in one molecule written at the bottom right- hand corner of the symbol. Most of the elements that exist
as molecules are in the form of DIATOMIC MOLECULES (two atoms per molecule).

Examples
Molecule formula

Hydrogen H2
Oxygen O2
Nitrogen N2
Fluorine F2
Chlorine Cl2
Bromine Br2
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Iodine I2
Astatine At2
Rules
1 Write the symbols of the combining elements
2 Write the valency of each element or radical at its top right hand side
3 Exchange the valencies of the combining elements and radicals by writing them at the
bottom right hand side of the element or radical
4 Divide the subscript by a common factor, if they are even, and write the formula by bringing
the symbols and radicals together.
5 If the number is 1, do not write it in the formula ,and remove the bracket.

Examples

Write the formulae of zinc(II) chloride, Copper(II) nitrate , sodium hydroxide and aluminium hydroxide

Zinc(II) chloride copper(II) nitrate sodium hydroxide aluminiumhydroxide

Zn Cl Cu NO3 Na OH Al OH

Zn2 Cl1 Cu2 (NO3)1 Na1 (OH)1 Al3 (OH)1

Zn1 Cl2 Cu1 (NO3)2 Na1 (OH)1 Al1 (OH)3

ZnCl2 Cu(NO3)2 NaOH Al(OH)3

Exercise

Write the formulae of the following compounds

a) Sodium sulphate
b) Calcium nitrate
c) Copper(II) carbonate
d) Calcium hydroxide
e) Aluminium nitrate
f) Iron(II) sulphate
g) Sodium chloride
h) Potassium nitrate
i) Iron(III) sulphate
j) Iron(III) hydroxide
k) Potassium phosphate
l) Zinc(II) sulphate
m) Manganese(III) oxide
n) Sodium nitrate
o) Iron(II) sulphide
p) Sodium sulphide
q) Sodium peroxide
r) Copper(I) oxide
s) Iron(III) oxide
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t) Sodiumhydrogencarbonate
u) calciumhydrogensulphite

CHEMICAL EQUATIONS

A chemical equation represents a chemical reaction. It consists of the formulae of the reactants and
products. Reactants are substances which take part in a chemical reaction. They are written on the left-
hand side of the equation. Products are substances formed by the reaction. They are written on the
right-hand side of the reaction. The reactants and products are separated by an arrow pointing from the
reactants to the products.

A + B → C + D

The arrow means “to form”. The plus sign on the left hand side of the equation means “reacts with “and
on the right-hand side “and”.

RULES FOR WRITNG CHEMICAL EQUATIONS

1 The reactants and products are written down as a word equation

2 The formula for each reactant and each product is written.
3 The equation for the reaction is balanced using the simplest multiple of the formulae. To
balance an equation is to make the number of atoms of each kind of element on either side
of the equation equal. Never alter the formulae of reactants and products when balancing
an equation.
4 The physical state of each reactant and product are put in after the formula
i.e (s) for solid
(l) for liquid
(g) for gas
(aq) for aqueous solution(solution in water)
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Exercise

Write balanced chemical equations of the following word equations

a) Sodium + water → sodium hydroxide + hydrogen

b) Magnesium + hydrochloric acid → magnesium chloride + hydrogen
c) Potassium hydroxide + sulphuric acid → potassium sulphate + water
d) Sodium chloride + silver nitrate → silver chloride + sodium nitrate
e) Iron + sulphiric acid → iron (II) sulphate + hydrogen
f) Iron + chlorine → iron(III) chloride
g) Phosphorus + chlorine → Phosphorus (V) chloride
h) Phosphorus + oxygen → phosphorus (III) oxide
i) Sodium bromide + chlorine → sodium chloride + bromine
j) Aluminium + oxygen → aluminium oxide
k) Aluminium + hydrochloric acid → aluminium chloride
l) Copper + sulphuric acid → copper(II) sulphate + hydrogen
m) Copper(II) oxide + ammonia → copper +nitrogen + water
n) Ammonia + oxygen → nitrogen monoxide + water
o) Iron(III) oxide + carbon monoxide → iron + carbon dioxide
p) Sodium carbonate + hydrochloric acid → sodium chloride + water + carbon dioxide
q) Lead (II) nitrate + potassium iodide → lead(II) iodide + potassium nitrate
r) Copper + nitric acid → copper(II) nitrate + nitrogen dioxide + oxygen
s) Calcium nitrate → calcium oxide + nitrogen dioxide + oxygen
t) Copper(II) oxide + nitric acid → copper(II) nitrate + water
u) Aluminium sulphate + sodium hydroxide → aluminium hydroxide + sodium sulphate

IONIC EQQUATIONS

An ionic equation is one which shows those species taking part in a chemical reaction. The particles
which do not take part in the chemical reaction are known as SPECTATOR IONS. The oxidation states of
the particles which take part in the reaction change from the left side to the right side of the equation.
The oxidation states of the spectator ions do not change from left to right.

STEPS FOR WRITING IONIC EQUATIONS

1 Write a balanced chemical equation showing the symbols and formulae for the reactants
and products
2 Split the formulae of the ionic compounds which are in aqueous state into positive and
negative ions by putting a plus sign between them. The formulae of the substances in solid,
liquid and gas states must remain unchanged since there are no mobile ions present
3 The spectator ions must be cancelled out.
4 Write the net ionic equation showing only those particles that have taken part in the
chemical reaction
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5 Remember: Metals and hydrogen form positive ions. Non-metals and radicals form negative
ions. The size of the charge is equal to the valency of the atom or radical.

Examples
Write the net ionic equation of the following chemical equations

a) NaOH(aq) + HCl(aq) → NaCl(aq) + H2O(l

NaOH(aq) + HCl(aq) → NaCl(aq) + H 2O(l), split the compound along the vertical line

Na+(aq) + OH-(aq) + H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) → Na+(aq) + Cl-(aq) + H2O(l)

H+(aq) + OH-(aq) → H2O(l) net equation

b) 2KOH(aq) + H2SO4(aq) → K2SO4(aq) + 2H2O)(l)

2KOH-(aq) + H2SO4(aq) → K2SO4(aq) + 2H2O(l) ,split the compound along the vertical line

2K+(aq) + 2OH-(aq) + 2H+(aq) + SO42-(aq) → 2K+(aq) + SO42-(aq) + 2H2O(l)

2OH-(aq) + 2H+(aq) → 2H2O(l) net equation

Exercise

Write net ionic equations of the following chemical equations

1 2KOH(aq) + H2SO4(aq) → K2SO4(aq) + 2H2O(l)

2 2AgNO3(aq) + ZnCl2(aq) → 2AgCl(s) + Zn(NO3)2(aq)
3 2NaOH(aq) + CuCl2(aq) → Cu(OH)2(s) + 2NaCl(aq)
4 Zn(s) + H2SO4(aq) → ZnSO4(aq) + H2(g)
5 Al(OH)3(s) + 3HCl(aq) → AlCl3(aq) + 3H2O(l)
6 2KI(aq) + Cl2(g) → 2KCl(aq) + I2(l)
7 Fe(s) + CuSO4(aq) → FeSO4(aq) + Cu(s)
8 Na2CO3(aq) + 2HCl(aq) → 2NaCl(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)
9 CuCO3(s) + 2HNO3(aq) → Cu(NO3)2(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)
10 2NH4OH(aq) + H2SO4(aq) → (NH4)2SO4(aq) + 2H2O(l)
11 SO2(g) + 2NaOH(aq) → Na2SO3(aq) + H2O(l0
12 CuO(s) + 2HCl(aq) → CuCl2(aq) + H2O(l)
13 CaCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq) → CaCl2 + CO2(g) + H2O(l)
14 Mg(s) + 2HNO3(aq) → Mg(NO3)2(aq) + H2(g)
15 6KOH(aq) + Al2(SO4)3(aq) → 2Al(OH)3(s) + 3K2SO4(aq)
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