Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Fundamental Ideas in Chemistry
- Atoms
- Atoms are the smallest part of an
element
- Elements are made up of only one type of atom
- Elements are represented by 1,
2 or 3 letters e.g. oxygen-O, sodium-Na
- Atomic Structure
- An atom has a small central nucleus
containing sub-atomic particles called
protons and neutrons
- The nucleus is surrounded by smaller
sub-atomic particles called electrons
- Each proton and electron has an electrical charge
- Protons have a positive charge (+1)
and electrons have a negative
charge (-1)
- Neutrons do not have any
electrical charge; they are
neutral
- The number of protons in an atom is
equal to the number of electrons,
therefore atoms have no electrical
charge
- The atomic number (shown at the bottom) of an element is the number of
protons (and electrons) it has in one atom
- The mass number (shown at the top) of an element is the
number of neutrons and protons a single
atom has
- Electronic structure
- Electrons in an atom occupy energy levels (or shells)
- The first shell fills up first followed by the next
- The first energy level can only hold 2
electrons, the second shell can only hold 8
and the third can only hold 8
- The number of shells and the
number of electrons in the
outermost shell is relative to
the group and period an
element is placed in
- E.g an element with 2 shells will be in period 2
and an element with 3 electrons in the outer
shell will be in group 2
- The Periodic Table
- There are around 100 elements and they are all listed and
arranged specifically in the periodic table
- The horizontal rows are called periods and
the vertical columns are called groups
- Elements in the same group have
similar properties
- Elements are split into two types; metals (found on
the left of the periodic table) and non-metals (on the
right)
- Most elements are metals
- Elements found in the 1st group are all very
reactive metals
- They are called Alkali metals
because they form alkaline
compounds
- Lithium, sodium and potassium react
vigorously with water so all group 1 metals
must be stored in oil in order to stop them
reacting with the oxygen and water vapour
in the air
- Lithium, sodium and potassium are
easily cut with a blade. The freshly cut
surfaces are silvery and shiny, but
quickly turn dull as the metal reacts with
oxygen in the air
- Elements found in group 7 are all
very reactive non-metals
- Elements found in group 8 are
very un-reactive and are called
noble gases
- Chemical reactions
- New substances are formed when chemicals react
- When elements react, their elements join
with other atoms to make compounds
- Compounds usually have different
properties from the elements they are
formed from
- Ionic bonds
- Compounds formed from a metal and a
non metal consists of ions
- Ions are charged
particles that form when
atoms gain or lose
electrons
- Metals lose
atoms to become
positively
charged ions
- Ionic bonding is the force of attraction between negatively
and positively charged ions
- Non metals gain electrons to
become negatively charged
ions
- Covalent bonds
- Covalent bonding occurs when two
non-metals share electrons between
each other
- Chemical Formulas
- The chemical formula of an atom
shows us which elements are in a
compound and how many atoms of
each element there are
- The Conservation of Mass
- No atom can be lost or made
during a chemical reaction
- Therefore the total mass of atoms in the chemicals before a
chemical equation is always the same as the total mass of
atoms in the products of a chemical reaction