ELEMENTS & ATOMIC STRUCTURE

An element is a substance that cannot be broken down further, into

simpler substance. Each element is made up of only one kind of
atom. The word atom comes from the Greek word atoms meaning
‘unsplittable’.
For example:
Aluminium is an element which is made up of only aluminium
atoms. It is not possible to obtain a simpler substance chemically
from the aluminium atoms.we can make more complicated
substances from it ,such as aluminium oxide,aluminium nitrate, or
aluminium suplhate.
There are 117 elements which have now been identified. Twenty
five of these do not occur in nature and have been made artificially
by scientists. Ninety one of these occur naturally.
Elements can be classified according to their various properties. A
simple way to do this is to classify them as metals and nonmetals.
Symbolic representation of elements:
Chemists use shorthand symbol to label the elements and their
atoms. The symbols consist of one, two or three letters, the first of
which must be a capital. Where several elements have the same
initial letter, a second letter of the name or subsequent letter is
added. For example C is used for carbon, Ca is used for calcium and
Cl is used for chlorine. Some symbols seem to have no relationship
to the name of the element, for example Na for sodium Pb for lead.
These names come from their Latin names, Natrium for sodium and
plumbum for lead.
Q1: Define matter and substance.
Matter: anything that occupies space and has mass is called matter.
Substance: Any matter that has particular set of characteristics that
differ from the characteristics of another kind of matter is called a
substance.
For example: Oxygen, water, carbon dioxide, urea, glucose are
different substances.
Q2: Define element, compound and mixture.
Element: a substance whose all atoms have the same atomic
number and that cannot be converted to other simpler substances is
called an element.
For example: oxygen, hydrogen, iron, copper etc are elements.
Compound: A compound is a pure substance that consists of two or
more elements held together in fixed proportions by natural forces
called chemical bonds. The properties of compounds are different
from the properties of the elements from which they are formed.
For example: water, carbon dioxide, sodium chloride.
Mixture: An impure substance that contains two or more pure
substances
(Elements or compounds) that retain their individual chemical
characteristics is called a mixture.
For example: soil, sea water.
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Structure of an atom
An atom consist of two parts nucleus and electron shells.
Nucleus: Nucleus is the central dense part of an atom that occupies
a very small volume of an atom.it contains the heavier subatomic
particles.
Electron shells or energy levels: These are the parts of an atom
that surrounds the nucleus where groups of electrons go around the
nucleus at certain distances.
Subatomic particles: There are three subatomic particles, proton,
neutron and electrons. The protons and neutron are the heavier
subatomic particles which are found in nucleus whereas electrons,
the lightest of subatomic particle move around nucleus very quickly
in different electron shells.
Characteristics of a proton, a neutron and an electron

Particles symbol Relative Relative

mass/amu charge

proton p 1 +1

neutron n 1 0

electron e 1/1837 -1

Q3: Define Atomic number and Mass number:

Atomic number:
The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is called atomic
number.it is represented by Z.
Mass number:
The total number of protons and neutron in an atom is known as
mass number.it is represented by A.
No of neutrons = mass number – atomic number
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Q4: What are ions?

Ions ( cation,anion)
An ion is a charged species formed from an atom or groups of atoms
by adding or removing electrons.
Positive ions:
When an atom lose electron it forms positive ion or cation. Metal
atoms form positive ions.
Negative ions:
When an atom gains electron it forms negative ion or anion. Non
metal form negative ions.
NOTE :Atoms lose or gain electrons in order to get noble gas
electronic configurations in other words to complete their valence
shell.

Note:
1.Compounds ending with –ide only contain two different elements
2. Compounds ending with –ate contain oxygen

Rules for writing formulas of ionic compouds:

1. Write the positive +ve ion on the left side and negative –ve ion on
the right side.
2. Compare the charges a. If equal , cancel them
B. If not equal , criss cross.
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Calculating molecular mass and formula mass

Q6:Define molecular mass and formula mass.
Molecular mass:
Sum of atomic masses of all the atoms present in the molecule. Term
molecular mass is used only for covalent compounds and elements
which exist as molecules.
Formula mass:
Sum of atomic masses of all atoms present in formula unit.
Term Formula mass is only used for ionic compounds.
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 MOLECULE
The atoms of some elements are joined together in small groups,
these small groups of atoms are called molecules .Molecules can be
classified as monoatomic or polyatomic .Noble gases consist of
monoatomic molecules such as He , Ne ,Ar etc A molecule that
contains only one atom is called monoatomic .Molecule that contain
two or more similar or different atoms are called polyatomic
molecules e.g H2, O2 ,HCl, NH3

EXERCISE
Q1. Calculate the number of protons neutrons and electrons in
the following atoms also draw their atomic structure?
a) Hydrogen

b) Oxygen

c) Magnesium
Q2. Write the chemical formulas of the following compounds.
1. Sodium hydroxide
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2. Sodium carbonate
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3. Sodium hydrogen carbonate
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4. Sodium nitrate
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5. Magnesium phosphate
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6. Magnesium chloride
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7. Magnesium oxide
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8. Magnesium sulphate
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9. Ammonium hydroxide
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10. Ammonium carbonate
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11. Ammonium hydrogen carbonate
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12. Ammonium nitrate
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13. Potassium phosphate
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14. Potassium chloride
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15. Potassium oxide
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16. Potassium sulphate
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Q3: Identify types of elements and number of atoms of each
element in the following compounds.
1. Sodium hydroxide
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2. Sodium carbonate
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3. Sodium hydrogen carbonate
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4. Sodium nitrate
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5. Magnesium phosphate
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6. Magnesium chloride
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7. Magnesium oxide
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8. Magnesium sulphate
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9. Ammonium hydroxide
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10. Ammonium carbonate
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11. Ammonium hydrogen carbonate
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12. Ammonium nitrate
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13. Potassium phosphate
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14. Potassium chloride
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15. Potassium oxide
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16. Potassium sulphate
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Q4: Calculate molecular and formula masses of the following
compounds.
1. Sodium hydroxide
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2. Sodium carbonate
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3. Sodium hydrogen carbonate
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4. Sodium nitrate
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5. Magnesium phosphate
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6. Magnesium chloride
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7. Magnesium oxide
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8. Magnesium sulphate
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9. Ammonium hydroxide
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10. Ammonium carbonate
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11. Ammonium hydrogen carbonate
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12. Ammonium nitrate
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13. Potassium phosphate
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14. Potassium chloride
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15. Potassium oxide
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16. Potassium sulphate
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Q5: Differentiate between monoatomic and polyatomic
molecules.
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