INORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Organic chemistry is usually defined as the chemistry of compounds of carbon, inorganic

chemistry being then the chemistry of all the other elements. This distinction is not a
completely satisfactory one, however, since there are many compounds of carbon that are
quite different from those studied by organic chemists (e.g. tungsten carbide, used for tipping
cutting tools) and there are many compounds of other elements that are very similar to those
studied under organic chemistry (e.g. the silicon analogues of the hydrocarbons). It is best,
therefore, to think of inorganic chemistry as the chemistry of all the elements, with organic
chemistry as being a more detailed study of certain important aspects of one of them - viz. the
hydrocarbons and their derivatives

Inorganic chemistry deals with the synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic
compounds.

Inorganic chemistry: a branch of chemistry concerned with substances that contain little or no
carbon

"Inorganic chemistry is defined as the branch of chemistry that studies molecules that do not
contain carbon or hydrogen atoms.

"Inorganic chemistry is the study of the behaviour of compounds that do not contain carbon-
hydrogen atoms, such as metals, salts, and chemical substances, as well as their physical and
chemical properties.

Common applications of Inorganic Chemistry:

There is an application of inorganic chemistry in medicine and healthcare institutions.

The most commonly used salt is sodium chloride

Inorganic compounds are used in the ceramic industry's manufacturing process.

ATOMIC STRUCTURE

HISTORY OF ATOMS

Scientists and Their Contribution to the Model of an Atom

DEMOCRITUS
(460 BC – 370 BC)
  Proposed an Atomic Theory (along with his mentor Leucippus) which states that all
atoms are small, hard, indivisible and indestructible particles made of a single material
formed into different shapes and sizes.
 Aristotle did not support his atomic theory

ANTOINE LAVOISIER
(1743 – 1794)

 Known as the “Father of Modern Chemistry”

 Was the first person to generate a list of thirty-three elements in his textbook

 Devised the metric system

 Was married to a 13-year old Marie-Anne Pierette Paulze; she assisted him with much of
his work

 Was a tax-collector that was consequently guillotined during the French Revolution

 Discovered/proposed that combustion occurs when oxygen combines with other

elements

 Discovered/proposed the Law of Conservation of Mass (or Matter) which states, in a

chemical reaction, matter is neither created nor destroyed

JOHN DALTON
(1766 – 1844)

 In 1803, proposed an Atomic Theory which states:

o All substances are made of atoms; atoms are small particles that cannot be
created, divided, or destroyed.

o Atoms of the same element are exactly alike, and atoms of different elements
are different

o Atoms join with other atoms to make new substances

 Calculated the atomic weights of many various elements

 Was a teacher at a very young age

 Was color blind

J.J. THOMSON
(1856 – 1940)

 Proved that an atom can be divided into smaller parts

  While experimenting with cathode-ray tubes, discovered corpuscles, which were later
called electrons

 Stated that the atom is neutral

 In 1897, proposed the Plum Pudding Model which states that atoms mostly consist of
positively charged material with negatively charged particles (electrons) located
throughout the positive material

 Won a Nobel Prize

ERNEST RUTHERFORD
(1871 – 1937)

 In 1909, performed the Gold Foil Experiment and suggested the following
characteristics of the atom:

o It consists of a small core, or nucleus, that contains most of the mass of the atom

o This nucleus is made up of particles called protons, which have a positive charge

o The protons are surrounded by negatively charged electrons, but most of the
atom is actually empty space

 Did extensive work on radioactivity (alpha & beta particles, gamma rays/waves) and
was referred to as the “Father of Nuclear Physics”

 Won a Nobel Prize

 Was a student of J.J. Thomson

 Was on the New Zealand $100 bill

NIELS BOHR
(1885 – 1962)

 In 1913, proposed the Bohr Model, which suggests that electrons travel around the
nucleus of an atom in orbits or definite paths. Additionally, the electrons can jump from
a path in one level to a path in another level (depending on their energy)

 Won a Nobel Prize

 Worked with Ernest Rutherford

ERWIN SCHRODINGER
(1887-1961)
  In 1926, he further explained the nature of electrons in an atom by stating that the
exact location of an electron cannot be stated; therefore, it is more accurate to view the
electrons in regions called electron clouds; electron clouds are places where the
electrons are likely to be found

 Did extensive work on the Wave formula  Schrodinger equation

 Won a Nobel Prize

JAMES CHADWICK
(1891 – 1974)

 Realized that the atomic mass of most elements was double the number of protons 
discovery of the neutron in 1932

 Worked on the Manhattan Project

 Worked with Ernest Rutherford

 Won a Nobel Prize

THE ATOM

Is the smallest possible unit into which matter can be divided, while still maintaining its
properties.

Made up of:

– protons

– neutrons

– electrons

The solar system is commonly used as an analogy to describe the structure of an atom

Atoms are so small that…

 It would take a stack of about 50,000 aluminum atoms to equal the thickness of a sheet
of aluminum foil from your kitchen.

 if you could enlarge a penny until it was as wide as the US, each of its atoms would be
only about 3 cm in diameter – about the size of a ping-pong ball

 A human hair is about 1 million carbon atoms wide.

 A typical human cell contains roughly 1 trillion atoms.

  A speck of dust might contain 3x1012 (3 trillion) atoms.

 It would take you around 500 years to count the number of atoms in a grain of salt.

PROTONS (+)

 Positively charged particles

 Help make up the nucleus of the atom

 Help identify the atom (could be considered an atom’s DNA)

 Equal to the atomic number of the atom

 Contribute to the atomic mass

 Equal to the number of electrons

 Has a relative mass of 1

NEUTRONS

 Neutral particles; have no electric charge

 Help make up the nucleus of the atom

 Contribute to the atomic mass

 Has a relative mass of 1

ELECTRONS (-)

 Negatively charged particles

  Found outside the nucleus of the atom, in the electron orbits/levels; each orbit/level can
hold a maximum number of electrons ( 1st = 2, 2nd = 8, 3rd = 8 or 18, etc…)

 Move so rapidly around the nucleus that they create an electron cloud

 Mass is insignificant when compared to protons and neutrons

 Equal to the number of protons

 Involved in the formation of chemical bonds

 Has a no relative mass.

ATOMIC NUMBER

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.

MASS NUMBER

The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom’s nucleus.

Expressed in Atomic Mass Units (amu)

Each proton or neutron has a mass of 1 amu

FORCES IN THE ATOM

1. Gravitational Force

2. Electromagnetic Force

3. Strong Force

4. Weak Force

Gravitational Force
 • The force of attraction of objects due to their masses

• The amount of gravity between objects depends on their masses and the distance
between them

Electromagnetic Force

• The force that results from the repulsion of like charges and the attraction of opposites

• The force that holds the electrons around the nucleus

Strong Force

• The force that holds the atomic nucleus together

• The force that counteracts the electromagnetic force

Weak Force

• This force plays a key role in the possible change of sub-atomic particles.

– For example, a neutron can change into a proton(+) and an electron(-)

• The force responsible for radioactive decay.

– Radioactive decay  process in which the nucleus of a radioactive (unstable)

atom releases nuclear radiation.

ISOTOPES

Atoms that have the same number of protons, but have different numbers of neutrons

ION

Charged particle that typically results from a loss or gain of electrons

There are two types of ions:

Anion = negatively charged particle (by gaining of electrons)

Cation = positively charged particle (by loss of electrons)

THE BOHR MODEL

Niels Bohr (1885-1962) was a Danish physicist and a student of Rutherford’s.

In 1913, Bohr introduced his atomic model based on the simplest atom, hydrogen (only 1
electron)

– Bohr proposed that an electron is found only in specific circular paths, or

orbits, around the nucleus.

Each electron has a fixed energy = an energy level.

– Electrons can jump from one energy level to another.

– Electrons cannot be or exist between energy levels.

A quantum of energy is the amount of energy needed to move an electron from one energy
level to another energy level

To move from one level to another, the electron must gain or lose the right amount of energy.

The higher the energy level, the farther it is from the nucleus.

– Gain energy to move to higher energy levels (away from nucleus)

– Lose energy to move to lower energy levels (closer to nucleus)

The amount of energy required to go from one energy level to another is the not same for the
electrons.

Higher energy levels are closer together. This means it takes less energy to change levels in the
higher energy levels.

The Bohr model was tested with the hydrogen element but failed to explain the
energies absorbed and emitted by atoms with more than one electron.

Did you know that an element can be identified by its emission spectra

When atoms absorb energy, electrons move into higher energy levels. These electrons then
lose energy by emitting light when they return to lower energy levels.

Atomic Spectra

– When atoms absorb energy, electrons move into higher energy levels. These electrons
then lose energy by emitting light when they return to lower energy levels.
– In the Bohr model, the lone electron in the hydrogen atom can have only certain specific
energies.
– When the electron has its lowest possible energy, the atom is in its ground state.
– Excitation of the electron by absorbing energy raises the atom from the ground state to
an excited state.
 – A quantum of energy in the form of light is emitted when the electron drops back to a
lower energy level.

The light emitted by an electron moving from a higher to a lower energy level has a frequency
directly proportional to the energy change of the electron.

THE QUANTUM MECHANICAL MODEL

Rutherford’s and Bohr’s model focused on describing the path of the electron around the
nucleus like a particle (like a small baseball).

Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) treated the electron as a wave.

– The modern description of the electrons in atoms, the quantum mechanical

model, comes from the mathematical solutions to the Schrödinger equation.

– The quantum model determines the allowed energies an electron can have and
how likely it is to find the electron in various locations around the nucleus.

The probability of finding an electron within a certain volume of space surrounding the nucleus
can be represented as a fuzzy cloud.

– The cloud is denser where the probability of finding the electron is high.

ATOMIC ORBITALS

(fuzzy cloud) = An atomic orbital is often thought of as a region of space in which there is a
high probability of finding an electron.
Orbital (“electron cloud”)

– Region in space where there is 90% probability of finding an e-

The most probable area to find these electrons takes on a shape

So far, we have 4 shapes. They are named s, p, d, and f.

No more than 2 e- assigned to an orbital – one spins clockwise, one spins counterclockwise

Why are d and f orbitals always in lower energy levels?

• d and f orbitals require LARGE amounts of energy

• It’s better (lower in energy) to skip a sublevel that requires a large amount of energy (d
and f orbitals) for one in a higher level but lower energy

This is the reason for the diagonal rule! BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE ARROWS IN ORDER!

Quantum Numbers

● The quantum numbers are like an address:

 State

 City

 Street

 House Number

Each piece of information is needed to describe the location, and each one tells more specific
information about where the electron is located
First Quantum Number
Energy level (n)

 Each energy level is farther away from the nucleus.

 Electrons are attracted to the nucleus, so they will fill the lower energy levels first!

Second Quantum Number

Subshell (l)

As the energy levels increase, so do the number of subshells that are needed to cover all the
space around the atom.

The first energy level (n=1) has 1 subshell (s)

The second energy level (n=2) has 2 subshells (s & p)

The third energy level (n=3) has 3 subshells (s, p, & d)

The fourth energy level (n=4) has 4 subshells (s, p, d, & f)

Subshells

These are the four types of orbitals

● s orbital = sphere

● p orbital = peanut“dumbell” shaped.

 ● d orbital = double peanut

● f orbital = flower

Third Quantum Number

Atomic Orbitals ( ml )

• The atomic orbital essentially describes how many of that shape of subshell are
needed to cover all the space around the nucleus.

• The more complicated the shape, the more orbitals are needed to cover all the
space.

Third Quantum Number

Atomic Orbitals ( ml )

• “s” has 1 orbital (just 1 type of s)

• “p” has 3 orbitals (px, py, pz)

• “d” has 5 orbitals (dxy, dxz, dyz, dz2, dx2-y2)

• “f” has 7 orbitals (etc., etc.,)

Fourth Quantum Number

Electron Spin

( ms )

Each electron can be spin up (+1/2) or spin down (-1/2)

No two electrons in the same orbital orientation can have the same spin.

With only one spin up and one spin down, the maximum number of electrons that can fit into
any given orbital orientation is two.

This is called the Pauli Exclusion Principle.

So… if two electrons are in the same place at the same time, they must be repelling, so at least
the spin quantum number is different!

The Pauli Exclusion Principle says that no two electrons within an atom (or ion) can have the
same four quantum numbers.

If two electrons are in the same energy level, the same sublevel, and the same orbital, they
must repel.

Think of the 4 quantum numbers as the address of an electron… Country > State > City > Street

ELECTRON CONFIGURATIONS

• The ways in which electrons are arranged in various orbitals around the nuclei of atoms
are called electron configurations.

– Three rules—the aufbau principle, the Pauli exclusion principle, and Hund’s rule
—tell you how to find the electron configurations of atoms.

• Aufbau Principle

– According to the aufbau principle, electrons occupy the orbitals of lowest energy
first. In the aufbau diagram below, each box represents an atomic orbital.

• Pauli Exclusion Principle

– According to the Pauli exclusion principle, an atomic orbital may describe at

most two electrons. To occupy the same orbital, two electrons must have
opposite spins; that is, the electron spins must be paired.

• Hund’s Rule

– Hund’s rule states that electrons occupy orbitals of the same energy in a way
that makes the number of electrons with the same spin direction as large as
possible.

• The electron configuration of an atom is a shorthand method of writing the location of

electrons by sublevel.
• The sublevel is written followed by a superscript with the number of electrons in the
sublevel.

– If the 2p sublevel contains 2 electrons, it is written 2p2

• First, determine how many electrons are in the atom. Iron has 26 electrons.

• Arrange the energy sublevels according to increasing energy:

• 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d …

• Fill each sublevel with electrons until you have used all the electrons in the atom:

• Fe: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d 6

• The sum of the superscripts equals the atomic number of iron (26)