Atoms, Elements and Compounds

Atoms: Atoms are the smallest particles in a chemical reaction that can't be further broken
down into a smaller substance.

Elements: Substance made up only of one atom. Elements have the same number of
protons. 118 elements found in the periodic table.
Eg → Hydrogen, Carbon

Compounds: Substance made up of 2 or more elements that have reacted chemically with
each other.
Eg → Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3), Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Mixture: Consists of 2 or more elements/substances that are not chemically combined.

Mixtures can be separated through physical means such as from evaporation or filtration.
Chemical properties of each of the substances are unchanged.
Eg → Oil and Water

Metals: Elements that react to form positive ions. Majority of elements are metals. Found to
the left and towards the bottom of the periodic table. They lose electrons in order to form
positive ions. Metals are generally conductive.

Non metals: Elements that do not form positive ions. Found towards the right and top of
the periodic table. They gain electrons in order to form negative ions. Non metals (excluding
graphite) are generally not conductive.

Alloys: A metal compound made by combining two or more metals together. This process is
carried out to give the material greater strength or resistance to corrosion. Pure copper, gold,
aluminium etc. are too soft for everyday use and so are mixed with other elements (metals)
to make them harder for everyday use.
Alloys are harder than pure metals because:
→ In a pure metal, all the positive ions are the same size and in a regular arrangement so
they can easily slide over each other.
→ In an alloy, there are positive ions from different metals, meaning they are different sizes,
which disrupts the regular arrangement and prevents the layer from sliding as easily.

Ionic bond: An ionic bond is formed when an electron is transferred from one atom to
another.
When ionic bonds are formed between group 1 and group 7:
→ group 1 atom loses electrons and forms a positive ion
→ group 7 atoms gain the electrons the group 1 atom lost and forms a negative ion.

Electronic transfer during the formation of an ionic compound can be represented by a dot
and cross diagram
Eg → NaCL (Sodium Chloride)

Formation of ionic bonds between metallic and non metallic elements

1) Metal + Non metal: electrons in the outer shell of the metals are transferred
→ Metal atoms lose electrons to gain a positive charge
→ Non metal atoms gain the electron lost by the metal atom and develop a negative
charge
Lattice structure of ionic bonds as a regular arrangement of alternative positive
and negative ions
→ Held together by the strong electrostatic force of attraction between oppositely charged
ions, which are regularly arranged
→ The forces act in all directions in the lattice, and this is called ionic bonding

Covalent bonds: A shared pair of electrons between 2 non metals

Differences in melting point and boiling point of ionic and covalent compounds
in terms of attractive force
1) Covalent compounds
→ Substances that consist of giant covalent structures are solids with very high
melting points. All the atoms in the structure are linked to other atoms by strong
covalent bonds, which must be overcome to melt or boil these substances.
→ Substances that consist of small molecules are usually gases or liquids that have
low boiling and melting points. They have weak intermolecular forces between the
molecules. These are broken in boiling or melting, not the covalent bonds.
2) Ionic compounds
→ Strong electrostatic forces of attraction between positively charged ions
→ Requires a lot of energy to overcome these force of attraction
→ Therefore, the compounds have high melting and boiling points