1 Elements and Compounds ‘Things around us, like air, water and gold, are all made of matter. Yet they differ from each other. Matter exists in different forms. To make the study of matter easier, scientists have classified it into three groups—elements, compounds and mixtures. a MOM Magny ‘An element is a substance that cannot be split into simpler substances by a chemical means. A large number of _elements—about 114—are known at present. Carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, chlorine, sodium, iron, gold, copper, zinc, etc., are all elements. They cannot be split into simpler substances by a chemical means. A compound is a substance that can be split into two or more simpler substances by a chemical means. For‘example, water can be split into two simpler substances—hydrogen and oxygen— which are elements. Similarly, sand .is a compound, called silica, which can be split into the elements silicon and oxygen. And the common salt we eat is a compound, called sodium chloride, which can be split into the elements sodium and chlorine. The amounts of different elements ina given amount of a compound are always fixed. For example, 9 g of pure water will always contain 1 g of hydrogen and 8 g of oxygen—no matter from which source the water has been obtained. Elements combine among themselves in definite proportions to form compounds, Remember that compounds differ in properties and appearance from the elements that make them up. (See Figure 1.1.) The metallic red copper turnings (element) are very different from the blue, crystalline copper sulphate (a compound formed by copper). Also, the greyish iron (element) pins are very different from the green crystals of ferrous sulphate (a compound formed by iron). Fig. 1.1 Elements and compounds—red copper turnings (element) and blue crystals of copper sulphate (compound), and greyish iron nails (element) and green crystals of ferrous sulphate (compound) 12 ICSE Chemistry for Clas 7 A mixture is a substance containing more than one element or compound in any proportion. ‘The components ofa mixture can be separated by physical means like filtration, sublimation, distillation, ete. Air is a mixture that contains elements (like oxygen and nitrogen) as well as compounds (like carbon dioxide and water vapour). Unlike compounds, the composition of a mixture may vary. For example, the air in cities has more carbon dioxide than does the air in villages. Also, mixtures of sand and water may contain the two components in any proportion. ON CTU Meese ony Matter is not continuous. It consists of extremely small parts called atoms and molecules Atoms If we keep dividing a given mass of an element, we will finally get an indivisible part that has all the properties of the element. Such an indivisible part is called an atom (derived from the Greek word atomos, meaning indivisible). It is the atoms that take part in a chemical reaction. Anatom is the smallest part ofan element that takes part in a chemical reaction. Characteristics of atoms Atoms have the following characteristics. 1. The atoms of an element are all alike but different from those of others. For example, the atoms of hydrogen are alike and so are those of oxygen. But the atoms of hydrogen are different from those of oxygen. The atoms ofan element show all the properties of the element. Each atom of hydrogen or oxygen will retain all the properties of the element. x 3. One kind of atom cannot be changed into another. And an atom can neither be created nor destroyed by a chemical means. An atom of hydrogen cannot be changed into that of oxygen or vice versa. And neither can it be destroyed. Atoms are Represented by Symbols ‘A symbol is an abbreviation for the name of an element. It represents an atom of an clement. The symbols of different elements have been derived in three ways. 1. The first letter (in capital) of the English name of an element 2. The first letter along with one more letter of the English name of an elementElements and Compounds 3 Valency—the Combining Capacity of an Element ‘The combining capacity of an element with other elements is known as its valency. The valency of hydrogen is considered to be 1. Therefore, the valency of an element is given by the number of hydrogen atoms that combine with one atom of the element. It is also given by the number of hydrogen atoms that an atom of an element displaces from a compound. One atom of chlorine combines with one atom of hydrogen to form one molecule of hydrogen chloride. So, the valency of chlorine is 1. On the other hand, an atom of zinc displaces two atoms of hydrogen from an acid. So, the valency of zinc is 2. Elements with valencies 1, 2, 3, etc., are said to be monovalent, divalent (or bivalent), trivalent, and so on. The valencies of some common elements are given in Table 1.1. Table 1.1 Valencies of some common elements Molecules ‘Atoms usually do not exist independently. They generally combine among themselves to form molecules. A molecule is the smallest part of an element ora compound that can exist independently. When an atom of an element combines with another atom(s) of the same element, a molecule of the element is formed. For example, two atoms of hydrogen combine to form a molecule of hydrogen. Similarly, two atoms of nitrogen combine to form a molecule of nitrogen. Not all molecules contain more than one atom. A molecule of a noble gas, i.e., helium, neon, argon, krypton or xenon, contains only ‘one atom of the element, When a noble-gas atom exists independently, for example, in a sample of the gas, it is called a molecule. When atoms of two or more elements combine among themselves, a molecule of a compound results. For example, two atoms of hydrogen combine with one atom of oxygen to form a molecule of water. A molecule of water can exist independently. Elements and compounds can now be redefined as follows. An element is a substance a molecule of which ‘contains atom(s) of the same kind. A compound is a substance a molecule of Which contains atoms of two or more different kinds. Molecules are represented by formulae ‘A molecule of an element or a compound is represented by a formula. A formula directly gives the number of atoms of the same or different elements present in the molecule. Formulae of elements A molecule of a noble gas, e.g,, helium (He), neon (Ne) or argon (Ar), contains only one atom of the element. Hence the molecules of these elements are represented as He, Ne and Ar. These gases are said to be4 ICSE Chemistry for Class 7 monoatomic. However, a molecule of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen or chlorine contains two atoms of the element. They are diatomic and are represented as H,, N,,O, and Cl, respectively. A common example of a triatomic gas is ozone (O,). ‘The number of atoms contained in a molecule of an element is called its atomicity. Table 12 Atomicities of some elements ‘Monoatomic Diatomic Triatomic Tetratomic Octatomic Helium Hydrogen Ozone Phospho- Sulphur (He) (H,) (3) _—tus(P4)_ Gs) ‘Neon (Ne) Nitrogen 2) Argon (Ax) Oxygen ©) Krypton Fluorine (Kr) ) Xenon (Xe) Bromine (Br) Iodine (,) The atomicity of phosphorus is 4 (P,) and that of sulphur is 8 (S,). Formulae of compounds The formula of a compound formed by two elements is obtained by transposing their valencies. Suppose an element A has a valency y and element B has a valency x. Then the compound formed between A and B will have the formula A,B,. The subscripts should be divided by a common factor, if any. Bh ons, eae <5, = arbi Abe There are some exceptions like H,O, (hydrogen peroxide) in which the numeral subscripts are not divided by the common factor. You will understand the reasons for this in higher classes. The formilae of some common compounds are given in Table 1.3. ‘Table 1.3 Formulae of some common compounds Elements with Formula Name of the valencies compound a a ‘NaCl Sodium chloride Mg Cl MgCl, — Magnesium chloride Al cl Alcl, Aluminium chloride Na 6 Na,O Sodium oxide Mg 0 MgO Magnesium oxide a é C20 Calcium oxide da 6 ZnO Zinc oxide tn & ZS Zinc sulphide Mg Ni Mg Nz Magnesium nitride ALN AIN Aluminium nitride Variable Valency In some elements the valencies vary. Such elements are said to have variable valency. For example, iron has a variable valency of 2 (as in FeCl,) and 3 (as in FeCl,). To distinguish between them, FeCl, is named iron(II) chloride and FeCl, is named iron(II) chloride. This method of naming a compound is adopted if it contains an element with variable valency. ‘Table 14 Some elements with variable valencies Metal ‘Nonmetal Copper—1,2 Phosphorus—3, 5 Iron—2,3 Sulphur—2, 4,6 Tin—2,4 Lead—2, 4 Thus, knowing the valencies, we can write the formulae of the corresponding compounds.Elements and Compounds 5 Copper(1) chloride Cu Cl = CuCl Copper(ll) chloride Cu Cl > CuCl, Iron(Il) oxide Fe O = FeO Tron({II1) oxide Fe O = Fe,0, Can you guess the valencies of phosphorus in PCI, and PCl,, and of sulphur in H,5, SO, and $0,? LAE es When the atom was thought of, it was considered to be indivisible. However, from the experiments of Sir J J Thomson, Lord Rutherford, James Chadwick and others, it was proved that atoms are made up of still smaller particles—electrons, protons and neutrons. They are called subatomic or fundamental particles. Characteristics of Fundamental Particles The fundamental particles have different characteristics. The electron An electron carries a negative electrical charge, which is considered as the unit of negative charge. It is extremely light—1840 times lighter than the lightest of all atoms, ie.,a hydrogen atom. So its mass is negligible. The proton A proton carries a positive electrical charge, which is taken as the unit of positive charge. Its mass is the same as that of a hydrogen atom, ie., 1 amu. The atomic mass unit Anatom is so light that you cannot weigh iton a balance. Scientists use the mass of the hydrogen atom as the standard for measuring, the masses of other atoms. According to this scale, the mass of the hydrogen atom is 1 atomic mass unit (amu). The neutron A neutron carries no electrical charge. In other words, itis electrically neutral. So the name neutron. Its mass is almost the same as that of a proton, ie., 1 amu. ‘Table 15 Characteristics of fundamental particles How are the Fundamental Particles Arranged? ‘At the centre of an atom, there is a nucleus, made up of protons and neutrons (except the nucleus of a hydrogen atom, which hasa proton only). The electrons revolve in their orbits round the nucleus, just as planets do round the sun in our solar system (Figure 1.3). -o- - Nucleus (protons + neutrons) Eleatron a> “The solar system Fig. 1.3 Electrons revolve round the nucleus. The nucleus of an atom is positively charged due to the protons in it. But the atom as a whole is electrically neutral, meaning that the charge onan atom is zero. This means that the positive charge of the protons is cancelled by the negative charge of the electrons. This can happen only when the number of protons equals that of electrons. The number of protons contained in an atom of an elementis fixed. This number is called the atomic number or the proton number of the element and is represented by the symbol Z.6 ICSE Chemistry for Class 7 ‘The atomic number or the proton number of anelementis the number of protons present in the nucleus of an atom of the element. Thus, in an atom, the number of electrons = the number of protons = Z. It is the protons and neutrons that make up the mass of an atom, since the mass of the electrons is negligible. The sum of the numbers of protons and neutrons in an atom is known as the mass number of the atom. The mass number of an atom is represented by the symbol A. So, in an atom, the number of neutrons = mass number ~ number of protons = mass number — atomic number =A-Z. Thus, the numbers of the fundamental particles in an atom are given as follows. ‘The number of electrons = Z. The number of protons = Z. ‘The number of neutrons = A ~Z. The atomic and mass numbers of an atom, X, are often shown as 4X, called the nuclide symbol. For example, ?C means that the atomic number of the carbon atom is 6 and the mass number is 12. In an atom, the electrons revolve round the nucleus in shells, called K, L, M, N, ... shells. They are named in this order starting from the innermost shell. The first shell is called the K shell, the second is called the L shell, and so on. The numbers of electrons in these shells follow a set of rules. You will learn about the arrangement of electrons in detail in higher classes. Fig. 1.4 The electron shells in an atom Let us now look into the structures of the atoms of some common elements. 1. Hydrogen (}H) The number of electrons oe S522 sous The number of protons =ZeL The number of neutrons = A- Z =1-1=0. 2. Carbon (2C) The number of electrons = Z = 6. ‘The number of protons = Z = 6. The number of neutrons = A-Z = 12-6 =6, she ~K shell Nucleus 3. Nitrogen (SN) The number of electrons = Z =7. The number of protons = Z =7. The number of neutrons = A-Z = 14-7 =7. ~ L shell K shellElements and Compounds 7 4. Oxygen (“SO) The number of electrons = Z = 8. The number of protons = Z = 8. The number of neutrons = A -Z = 16-8 = 8. 5. Sodium (7Na) The number of electrons = Z = 11. The number of protons i. The number of neutrons A-Z=23-1=12 M shell —L shel K shel 6. Chlorine (Cl) The number of electrons = Z = 17. The number of protons = Z = 17. ‘The number of neutrons A-Z=35-17 =18. M sho Lhe Khel Isotopes Some elements have atoms with different mass numbers. For example, chlorine (atomic number 17) has two types of atoms—with mass numbers 35(°°Cl) and 37(/ Cl). Such atoms are called isotopes Atoms of an element having different mass numbers are called isotopes. Hydrogen has three ({H, 7H, 7H) isotopes, carbon has three(C, #C, #4C), chlorine has two BCI, %C), and so on. The isotopes of an element, as shown below in the case of carbon, differ only in the number of neutrons in their nuclei. ‘Table 1.6 Isotopes of carbon Isotopes find wide application in different fields. For example, uranium-235 (2 U) is used in producing nuclear energy. lons An atom is electrically neutral because the charge of the protons is balanced by that of the electrons. But what happens when an atom loses or gains an electron? If an atom loses an electron, the number of protons exceeds that of electrons. So the atom gets positively charged. For example, a sodium atom has 11 protons and 11 electrons. On losing an electron, it would have 10 electrons and 11 protons. The greater number of protons causes the sodium atom to have a positive charge. Therefore, we say that Nat is formed. Similarly, if an atom gains an electron, the number of electrons exceeds that of protons. So the atom becomes negatively charged. For example, a chlorine atom contains 17 protons and 17 electrons. If it gains an electron, there are8 ICSE Chemistry for Class 7 18 electrons as against 17 protons. So the chlorine atom then has a negative charge on it, ie.,,Cl- is formed. In general, metal atoms tend to lose electron(s) and nonmetal atoms tend to gain electron(s). Some common examples are given in Table 1.7. Electrically charged atoms are called ions. Positive ions are known as cations and negative ions are known as anions. Obviously, the number of positive charges on a cation will be the same as the number of electrons lost by its parent atom. Similarly, the number of negative charges on an anion will be the same as the number of electrons gained by its parent atom. For example, when a copper atom loses 2 electrons, it forms a Cu* ion. And an oxygen atom forms anO* ion. on gaining 2 electrons. Remember that an atom loses or gains a maximum of three electrons. Table 1.7 Examples of ion formation Bonding by the Transfer of Electrons We have seen how atoms lose or gain electrons to form ions. But it is important to note that an atom loses an electron only if another atom is there to take it up. For example, the electron lost by a sodium atom can be grabbed by a chlorine atom. This results in the formation of Na* and Cl” ions. You know that unlike charges attract each other. So Na* and Cl” ions attract each other and remain together. The electrical charges are exactly balanced and a new species NaCl, ie., sodium chloride, is formed. Transor of an electron ). :@ Fig. 1.5 The formation of NaCl The force that holds any two atoms to forma new entity (species) is called a chemical bond. So, the force that holds the Na* and Cl" ions in sodium chloride is a chemical bond. ‘A chemical bond formed by the transfer of electron(s) is known as an ionic or electrovalent bond. And a compound thus formed, e.g., sodium chloride, is called an ionic or electrovalent compound. Similarly, an atom of magnesium loses two electrons to form an Mg™ ion. These two electrons can be taken up by an oxygen atom to form an O* ion. Now an ionic bond is formed between the two and the compound MgO is formed. The charges are exactly balanced. Transfer of 2 electrons ©: Fig. 1.6 The formation of MgO You have seen the importance of charge balance. So, it is easy for you to understand that one Mg* will require two Cl ions for balancing the charge. And so will an O* ion require two Na’ ions. The resulting compounds will be MgCl, and Na,O.Elements and Compounds 9 ‘Transfer oft elecron Transfer oft electron @.-@.:@ Fig. 1.7 The formation of MgCl, “Transfer of 1 lectron__ Transfer of 1 electron Ce © Fig. 1.8 The formation of Na,0 Valency in Terms of Electrons As you know, sodium and chlorine have a valency of 1, and magnesium and oxygen have a valency of 2. These numbers are the same as the number of electrons lost or gained by an atom of the element in forming an ionic compound. So we can conclude the following. The valency of an element taking part in the formation of an ionic compound is the number of electrons lost or gained by an atom of the element. The valency of such an element is also then the number of charges on the ion derived from the element. The formula of an ionic compound is written by transposing the number of charges on the two ions, and dividing by a common factor, if any. bd = co 2S Calcium nitrate soy ZnSO, Ap ome ort cuco, Nat HO;Elements and Compounds B Indicate which of the following statements are true and which are false. 1. Anatom can be changed from one kind to another by a chemical means. 2. Neutrons reside in the nucleus and so they are positively charged. 3. Protons revolve round the nucleus of an atom. 4, Itis the number of electrons that differs in the isotopes of an element. I You have learnt that if an element A has a valency y and another element B has a valency x; the compound formed by A and B will have the formula A,B, . You can check for yoursetf why Let us suppose an element A with a valency 3 combines with an element B having a valency 2. ‘Take a few potatoes in two sizes. Colour the bigger ones in one colour and the smaller ones in another colour. Call the bigger ones A and the smaller ones B. These potatoes will represent the atoms of A and B in your model. Also, take a few broomsticks of equal size. The broomsticks will represent the valencies of A and B. Take a potato A and fix three broomsticks into it as its valency is 3. Fix the free ends of two of these broomsticks into a potato B. B will not take any more sticks as it has a valency of 2 only. So the free end of the third stick of A will require another B. Take another B and fix the free end of the third stick into it. Butas B has a valency 2, fix one fresh stick to it, the free end of which will go into a fresh A. As Ahas a valency of 3, fix two more sticks into it and fix the free ends of these two sticks into a fresh B. Now the valencies of both A and B are satisfied, and you need not attach any more potatoes to broomsticks. All the atoms joined together constitute a molecule. In this molecule, there are two atoms of A and three atoms of B and so the molecular formula of the compound will be ABs. Fig. 9 The formation of A,B: