S3 Nat5 Chemistry St.

Ninian’s High School

Nat 5 : Unit 1 – Chemical Changes and Structure

Key area – Formula and Reacting Quantities
Lesson 2 – Writing Formula

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to …

1. Describe how to use the periodic table to work out the valency of an atom
2. Explain that the ratio in which elements combine to form two element
compounds can be determined using valency rules and hence a formula can
be written.
3. Write formula correctly using valency rules
4. To use roman numerals to identify the valency number

Success Criteria

You will have been successful in this lesson if you:

1. Read and learn the notes given

2. Watch the links provided

3. Complete the self-checks provided

If you have any questions about the content of this lesson, you should ask your
class teacher either through your class MS team or via email. MS Teams will be
monitored throughout the week by a chemistry teacher. If you need help or
clarification with either the task or the content of the lesson, just ask.

Links to Prior Knowledge:

You will see that Nat4 chemistry is mentioned. It is essential that you understand
the Nat 4 chemistry before we progress to Nat5 which we will do in lesson 8 and 9.

You may wish to have a copy of the data booklet handy for this lesson.
Download from the SQA website - ChemistryDataBookletSQPN5.pdf (sqa.org.uk)

Page 1
 S3 Nat5 Chemistry St. Ninian’s High School

What to do
Work through the power point slide in class materials. Copy the
notes (or print and stick into your note book). Follow the
instructions to complete diagrams or tables. Remember to watch the
video links

Valency
In the unit on carbon chemistry, we met molecular formulae for substances like
water, H2O, and methane CH4. We were able to draw structures for molecules by
knowing that hydrogen makes one bond, oxygen two bonds, and carbon four bonds.
The number of bonds an atom makes is the valency of the atom.
We need to learn a simple rule which will allow us to determine the correct
formula for any compound. The rule is called the VALENCY RULE. The valency
tells us how many bonds the atom will form and is related to the number of
unpaired electrons in their outer shell.
The valency of many elements can be determined from their position in the
Periodic Table.

Group
Number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0

Valency 1 2 3 4 3 2 1 0

Page 2
 S3 Nat5 Chemistry St. Ninian’s High School

The valency of many elements can be determined from their position

in the Periodic Table. This means that all the elements in group 1 have
a valency of 1 and so on.
The valency of an atom can be considered as its combining power i.e.
how many bonds that atom will make.
Example 1 Work out the simple formula for the compound formed
between silicon and oxygen.

Step 1 Write the symbols for each element .

S Si O
Step 2 Identify their valencies
V 4 2
(from group number)
Step 3 Swap over the valencies
Si 2 O 4
S

D Step 4 Divide by common factor Si 1 O2

F Step 5 Omit ‘1’ if present Si O 2

Formula: SiO2

Example 2 Work out the simple formula for the compound formed
between phosphorus and chlorine, phosphorus chloride.

Step 1 Write the symbols for each element

P Cl
Step 2 Identify their valencies 3 1
(from group number) P 1 Cl 3
Step 3 Swap over the valencies

P 1 Cl 3
Step 4 Divide by common factor
P Cl 3
Step 5 Omit ‘1’ if present

Formula: PCl3

Page 3
 S3 Nat5 Chemistry St. Ninian’s High School

Example 3 write the formula for calcium phosphide

Step 1 Write the symbols for each element

Ca P
Step 2 Identify their valencies 2 3
(from group number)
Ca 3 P 2
Step 3 Swap over the valencies

Step 4 Divide by common factor Ca 3 P2

Formula: Ca 2 P2

The first 2 examples are covalent and don’t have any charge however
example 3 is ionic and sometimes ionic formula is asked for.
Converting chemical formula to ionic formula

4+
4-

Simply add the charges (using the table to help) to the ions, for
example magnesium oxide, MgO becomes Mg2+O2-.
If there is more than one ion of a particular type, it is put in brackets.
For example, the chemical formula for magnesium chloride is MgCl 2.
The ionic formula is Mg 2+ (Cl-) 2.
*Note that the 2 is placed outside the bracket.

Calcium phosphide Ca 3 P 2 becomes (Ca 2+) 3 (P 3-)2

*note that the 3 and the 2 are placed outside the bracket.

Page 4
 S3 Nat5 Chemistry St. Ninian’s High School

CLick on the link below to access the power point

lesson on ionic formula
Lesson 8: https://youtu.be/xpd2CM5oDjM
Remember to add to your notes by copying or
printing out and sticking in.

Further work

WATCH – National 5: Chemical Formulae: Valency Pictures - Bing video

To learn more about atomic structure, try the following online resources:

BBC Bitesize: Valency - Chemical formulae - National 5 Chemistry Revision - BBC Bitesize

Evans2 chem web: https://www.evans2chemweb.co.uk/login/index.php#

Username: snhs password: giffnock

Select any teacher  revision material  Nat5 chemistry Unit 1:

chemical changes and structure  valency

Check your understanding – Answers the questions below in you

class jotter

Self-Check 2

1. Calculate the chemical formulae of the following compounds:

(NOT IONIC)
(a) calcium chloride
(c) sodium oxide
(e) aluminium chloride
(g) potassium sulphide
(i) carbon chloride
(k) nitrogen fluoride
(m) hydrogen chloride
(o) potassium oxide
(q) hydrogen sulphide
(b) silicon chloride
(d) aluminium oxide
(f) silicon fluoride
(h) sulphur chloride
(j) lithium oxide
(l) nitrogen chloride
(n) magnesium bromide
(p) magnesium chloride
(r) aluminium bromide

Page 5
 S3 Nat5 Chemistry St. Ninian’s High School

Self-Check 3

1. Calculate the chemical formulae of the following compounds:

(NOT IONIC)
(a) calcium oxide (b) magnesium sulphide
(c) silicon oxide (d) magnesium oxide
(e) aluminium nitride (f) carbon sulphide
(g) sulphur oxide (h) calcium sulphide
(i) carbon oxide

Extension work

Self-Check 16

1.Give the electron arrangements of the following:

(a) a sodium atom (b) a sodium ion

(c) a lithium atom (d) a lithium ion
(e) a chlorine atom (f) a chloride ion
(g) a sulphur atom (h) a sulphide ion
(i) a magnesium atom (j) a magnesium ion
(k) a calcium atom (l) a calcium ion
(m) a phosphorus atom (n) a phosphide ion
(o) a fluorine atom (p) a fluoride ion

2. Give the ionic formula of each of the following ions.

(a) a sodium ion (b) a lithium ion

(c) a chloride ion (d) a sulphide ion
(e) a magnesium ion (f) a calcium ion
(g) a fluoride ion (h) an aluminium ion
(i) a potassium ion (j) an oxide ion

Page 6
 S3 Nat5 Chemistry St. Ninian’s High School

3. Write ionic formula for the following compounds:

(a) lithium bromide (b) potassium oxide
(c) calcium fluoride (d) magnesium sulphide
(e) aluminium chloride (f) sodium nitride
(g) aluminium sulphide (h) lithium oxide

Page 7