1 | General Chemistry

ATOMS

 The smallest unit of an element / smallest component of chemical compound

 Protons and neutrons in a nucleus
 Surrounded by one or more shells of electrons

NEUTRAL ATOMS

 Can either exchange or share electrons depending on the nature of the interacting atoms.
 These two types of interactions produce different compounds
 Atoms are capable of having positive and negative charges
 The amount of protons (+ charge) is equal to the amount of electrons (- charge)
 No charge

IONS

 When a neutral atom gains or loses one or more electrons, it becomes electrically charged particle called ion.
 Metals tend to lose electrons and become positively charged cations. (loss of electrons)
 Nonmetals gain electrons and become negatively charged anions. (gain of electrons)
 The number of electrons lost or gained is the charge number.
 For example, the sodium atom can lose one electron, forming a cation with a charge of +1. Chlorine atom, a
nonmetal, gains one electron and acquires a -1 charge
 When there are more electrons than protons, the charge is negative.
 If there are more protons than electrons, the charge is positive.

Monoatomic

 An ion that consists of only one atom

Polyatomic

 Different atoms can also combine

 2 | General Chemistry
METALS

 Elements that belong to Group 1A (alkali metals) of the periodic table can give off one electron only, while those in
Group 2A (alkaline earth metals) can lose two electrons.
 Thus, alkali metals produce ions with positive one (+1) charge, while alkaline earth metals produce positive two (+2)
ions. The ions are named simply as the name of the metal.
Group 1A: Na+ sodium ion Group 2A: Mg2+ magnesium ion
K+ potassium ion Ca2+ calcium ion
Transition Metals (Group 1B to 8B of the periodic table)

 Vary in number of electrons they tend to lose, resulting in a variety of electrical charges of their ions.
 As such, a systematic method of naming their ions is employed.
 In the classical method, ions with lower charge ends with –ous, while that with the higher charge ends with –ic.
 These suffixes are attached to the first few syllables of the foreign name of the metal (not its English name).
 In the stock method, a Roman numeral indicating the charge is written in parentheses after the English name of the
metal.
NONMETALS

 Take a different nomenclature.

 The monatomic anions are named by attaching the suffix –ide to the first few letter (root) of the nonmetal name.
 Elements in Group 7A (halogens) accept one electron and Group 6A (oxygen family) accept two electrons.
 Nonmetals can also form polyatomic ions with oxygen. The anion with lesser oxygen atoms ends with -ite and the
one with more oxygen atoms ends with -ate.
NO2- : nitrite NO3- : nitrate
 The halogens can form four different polyatomic ions with oxygen. Each ion is named differently depending on the
number of oxygen atoms present in it.
1 O atom: ClO- hypochlorite
2 O atoms: ClO2- chlorite
3 O atoms: ClO3- chlorate
4 O atoms: ClO4- perchlorate
 In some cases, the oxygen in the polyatomic ion is substituted with a sulfur atom. In this case, a prefix thio- is
added to the name of the ion.
OCN- cyanate SCN- thiocyanate

Roots for Common Nonmetals

Element Root Element Root
Bromine Brom- Iodine Iod-
Carbon Carb- Nitrogen Nitr-
Chlorine Chlor- Oxygen Ox-
Fluorine Fluor- Phosphorus Phosp-
Hydrogen Hydr- Sulfur Sulf-

Ternary polyatomic ions

 Consisting of three different elements

 May be formed by the addition of hydrogen atoms to binary polyatomic ions (consisting of two different elements).
 If there is only one type of ternary ion formed, a prefix bi- is added to indicate the presence of hydrogen in the
chemical formula.
 If there are several types of ions formed with hydrogen, Greek prefixes are used to indicate the number of hydrogen
atoms present in the ion.
 3 | General Chemistry
Greek Prefixes
Number Prefix Number Prefix
1 Mono- 6 Hexa-
2 di- 7 Hepta-
3 Tri- 8 Octa-
4 Tetra- 9 Nona-
5 Penta- 10 Deca-

MOLECULES

 When atoms of nonmetals share electrons, they form an electrically neutral aggregate called a molecule.
 Nonmetallic elements exist in nature as diatomic molecules, consisting of two atoms of the same element.
 They are more stable this way rather than as individual atoms.
 Diatomic molecules are N2, O2, H2, F2, Cl2, Br2, and I2.
 Among these examples, bromine (Br2) is liquid, iodine (I2) is solid, and the rest are gases at room temperature.
 Sulfur and phosphorus exist as solid polyatomic molecules of S8 and P4, respectively.

CHEMICAL FORMULA

 A chemical formula is a notation used by scientists to show the number and type of atoms present in a molecule,
using the atomic symbols and numerical subscripts.
 A chemical formula is a simple representation, in writing, of a three-dimensional molecule that exists.
 A chemical formula describes a substance, down to the exact atoms which make it up

How to Write Chemical Formulas Correctly

 A chemical formula is something like a recipe that contains different ingredients and makes an item. For example,
Cocoa Butter, Chocolate Liquor, Sugar, Lecithin and a flavoring agent makes a delicious item called Chocolate.
Similarly, a compound is made of several elements and an element is made of atoms.
 So if you want to write a compound that shows its elements and their proportions, you have to write it in a formula.
So it’s like a symbolic presentation of a compound using the letters and numbers.
 Each symbol represents an element, and an element is made of atoms bound together by the chemical bond. The
letters represent the element, and the number represents the number of atoms of an element
How Atom Is Presented in a Formula

 An element generally has three things, that is its name, its valency (is the measure of the combining capacity of
atoms or molecules; the capacity of an atom of a single element to react and combine with particular numbers of
atoms of another element), and a symbol.
 A symbol is used in writing an equation of a chemical compound as it refers to that particular element.
 In an equation or a formula, a single atom is denoted by a symbol, i.e. A1, which is an Aluminum atom.
 4 | General Chemistry
Writing Chemical Formulas of Covalent Compounds
1. Memorize the prefixes for number of atoms. In naming compounds, Greek prefixes are used to indicate the number
of atoms present for each element. Covalent compounds are written out as molecular formulas since each
compound is a distinct, separate molecule. Covalent compounds have the first element written out completely while
the second element is named with the suffix “ide.” For example, diphosphorus trisulfide has a chemical formula of
P2S3.

1: Mono- , 2: Di-, 3: Tri- , 4: Tetra- , 5: Penta- , 6: Hexa- , 7: Hepta- , 8: Octa- , 9: Nona- , 10: Deca-

2. Write the chemical symbol for the first element. When a compound has been written out, you must identify the
elements and know their chemical symbols. The first element written is “first name” of the compound.

Example: Dinitrogen hexafluoride. The first element is nitrogen and the chemical symbol for nitrogen is N.

3. Add the number of atoms as a subscript. To identify the number of atoms present for each element, you simply
need to look at the prefix of the element.

For example: Dinitrogen has a the prefix “di-“ which means 2; therefore, there are 2 atoms of nitrogen present.
Write dinitrogen as N2.

4. Write the chemical symbol for the second element. The second element is the “last name” of the compound and will
follow the first element. For covalent compounds, the element name will have a suffix of “-ide”

For example: Dinitrogen hexafluoride. The second element is fluorine. Simply replace the “ide” ending with the
actual element name. The chemical symbol for fluorine is F.

5. Add the number of atoms present as a subscript. As you did with the first element, identify the number of atoms
present in the second element by reading the prefix. Using this prefix, write the number of atoms as a subscript to
the right of the chemical symbol.

For example: Hexafluoride has a prefix of “hexa-“ which means 6; therefore, there are 6 atoms of fluorine present.
Write hexafluoride as F6. The final chemical formula for dinitrogen hexafluoride is N2F6.

6. Practice with some examples. When first learning chemistry, there is a lot of memorization involved. It is kind of like
learning a new language.
Sulfur dioxide: SO2
Carbon tetrabromide: CBr4
Diphosphorus pentoxide: P2O5

Writing Chemical Formulas of Ionic Compounds (Criss-Cross Method)

1. Identify the chemical symbols for the cations and anions. All chemicals have what you can call a first and last name.
The first name is the cation (positive ion) while the last name is the anion (negative ion). Cations are written as the
element name while anions are the element name ending with the suffix “ide.” The chemical symbol for each
element can be found on the periodic table.
2. Unlike covalent compounds, Greek prefixes are not used to indicate the number of atoms of each element. Write
the chemical formula of ionic compounds by setting the charge number of one ion as the subscript of the other ion.
This method is known as the crisscross rule. A subscript of one (1) is not explicitly written in the formula.
Conversely, if the element in the formula does not have a subscript, the value is understood to be one. If the
formula contains reducible subscripts, then the subscripts are expressed in the simplest ratio. For a polyatomic ion
requiring a subscript other than 1, the ion is enclosed in parentheses before the subscript is affixed. Recognize
polyatomic ions. Sometimes the cation or anion is a polyatomic ion. These are molecules that have two or more
atoms with ionic groups. There’s no good trick to remembering these, you just need to memorize them.
 5 | General Chemistry

Take Note:
 There are only 3 cation polyatomic ions and they are ammonium (NH 4+), hydronium (H3+), and mercury(I) (Hg22+).
They all have a +1 charge (though, technically, 2 mercury atoms are bonded together, which creates a 2+ charge,
with each mercury cation containing a 1+ charge).
 The rest of the polyatomic ions have negative charges ranging from -1 to -4. Some common ones are carbonate
(CO32-), sulfate (SO42-), nitrate (NO3-), and chromate (CrO42-).
 Determine the valence charge of each element. The valence charge can be determined by looking at the position of
the element on the periodic table. There are a few rules to keep in mind that help you identify the charges:
 All group 1 elements at +1.
 All group 2 elements are +2.
 Transition elements will have Roman numerals in parentheses to indicate their charge.
 Silver is 1+, zinc is 2+, and aluminum is 3+.
 Group 17 elements are 1-.
 Group 16 elements are 2-.
 Group 15 elements are 3-.
 Remember, when working with polyatomic ions, use the charge of the complete polyatomic ion, rather than
the individual ions.
 6 | General Chemistry
Metals with More than One Ion
Ion Stock Name Classical Name Ion Stock Name Classical Name
As3+ Arsenic (III) Arsenous Hg2+ Mercury (II) Mercuric
As5+ Arsenic (V) Arsenic Mn2+ Manganese (II) Manganous
Au+ Gold (I) Aurus Mn3+ Manganese (III) Manganic
Au3+ Gold (III) Auric Ni2+ Nickel (II) Nickelous
Co2+ Cobalt (II) Cobaltous Ni3+ Nickel (III) Nickelic
Co3+ Cobalt (III) Cobaltic Pb2+ Lead (II) Plumbous
Cu+ Copper (I) Cuprous Pb4+ Lead (IV) Plumbic
Cu2+ Copper (II) Cupric Pt2+ Platinum (II) Platinous
Cr2+ Chromium (II) Chromous Pt4+ Platinum (IV) Platinic
Cr3+ Chromium (III) Chromic Sb3+ Antimony (III) Antimonous
Fe2+ Iron (II) Ferrous Sb4+ Antimony (IV) Antimonic
Fe3+ Iron (III) Ferric Sn2+ Tin (II) Stannous
Hg+ Mercury (I) Mercurous Sn4+ Tin (IV) Stannic

Types of Chemical Formulas (Covalent Compound)

 Covalent compounds may be represented using various chemical formulas. These are the molecular formula,
empirical formula and the structural formula.
 Each one of these chemical formulas provide slightly different information about the makeup of a substance, and
clues to its three-dimensional shape and how it will interact with other molecules, atoms and ions.
 In a chemical formula, the letters represent the atomic symbol of each atom. The subscript (lower) represents the
number of each atom, while the superscript (higher) represents the charge on a given atom.
 A coefficient before a chemical formula represents that many units of the molecule. Each of the different types of
chemical formula is read a little differently.
Molecular Formula

 A molecular formula contains the symbol and the corresponding number of atoms of all the elements in a
compound.
 It comes in to show the actual number of atoms within each molecule.
 Thus, for hydrogen peroxide the molecular formula is thus: H2O2
 As you can see, this somewhat confuses the actual structure of hydrogen peroxide.
 While the empirical chemical formula gives clues that the molecule has two oxygen atoms bonded together in the
middle, the molecular formula does not make that clear at all.
 However, the molecular formula is often used to describe molecules, simply because it is convenient, and most
molecules can be looked up after their formula is identified.
Empirical Formula

 An empirical formula shows only the reduced form of a molecular formula; the subscripts in the original molecular
formula are written in their simplest whole number ratio.
 It represents the relative number of atoms of each element in the compound.
 Some compounds, like water, have the same empirical and molecular formula, because they are small and have
the same ratio of atoms in molecules and number of atoms in a molecule.
 The empirical and molecular formula for water looks like this:
 H2O – The empirical formula is determined by the weight of each atom within the molecule. Therefore, for a slightly
bigger molecule like hydrogen peroxide, the empirical formula shows only the ratio of atoms.
 7 | General Chemistry
 HO: – The empirical formula is determined by the weight of each atom within the molecule. Therefore, for a slightly
bigger However, this empirical chemical formula only shows the basic foundation of the molecule. In reality, two
HO: molecules come together to form a hydrogen peroxide molecule.
Structural Formula

 A structural formula shows the bond pattern and connectivity of atoms in compounds.
 An atom is represented by its element symbol, while lines depict the type of chemical bond between the atoms.
 A condensed structural formula simplifies the structural formula, in which bonding patterns and connectivity are less
obvious but are still apparent.
 The structural formula of a molecule is a chemical formula with a more artistic twist.
 In these chemical formula, the actual bonds between molecules are shown.
 This helps the reader understand how the different atoms are connected, and thus how the molecule functions in
space. There are many different structural chemical formula to consider.
 The simplest, the electron dot method, uses colons and periods to show bonds between atoms. Each colon
represents a pair of electrons, shared between the atoms on either side of the colon. This formula more accurately
represents the actual arrangement of atoms within a molecule. In the case of water, the electron dot formula would
look like this: H:O:H
 Another chemical formula, the bond-line formula, also shows the bonds between atoms. Instead of showing each
electron which is shared, a line is used to designate an electron pair shared between the atoms. Water, in bond-line
formula, looks like this: H-O-H
 Scientists have come up with much more advanced formula and representations of molecules, including three-
dimensional ball-and-stick models, space-filling models, and even models which consider the electron density of the
atoms being modelled.
 These advanced models consider not only the atoms present and their number, but the angles, sizes, and
distances between atoms within a molecule. The ball and stick model of water, below, even shows the polarity of
the molecule, as the large oxygen atom tends to attract the most electrons.

Molecular and Empirical Formulas of Some Compounds

Compound Name Empirical Formula Molecular Formula
Acetylene C2H2
CH
Benzene C6H6
Formaldehyde CH2O
CH2O
Acetic Acid C6H12O6

Structural and Condensed Structural Formulas of Some Compounds

Compound Name Structural Formula Condensed Formula

Carbon Dioxide CO2

Ethane CH3CH3
 8 | General Chemistry
NAMING COMPOUNDS
Naming Ionic Compounds

 In chemistry, an ionic compound is a chemical compound in which ions are held together by ionic bonds.
 Usually, the positively charged portion consists of metal cations and the negatively charged portion is an anion or
polyatomic ion.
 Ionic compounds have high melting and boiling points, and they tend to be hard and brittle.
 Ions can be single atoms, as the sodium and chlorine in common table salt (sodium chloride), or more complex
(polyatomic) groups such as the carbonate in calcium carbonate.
 But to be considered an ion, they must carry a positive or negative charge.
 Thus, in an ionic bond, one ‘bonder’ must have a positive charge and the other a negative one.
 By sticking to each other, they resolve, or partially resolve, their separate charge imbalances.
 Positive to positive and negative to negative ionic bonds do not occur.

Naming Binary Ionic Compounds

 For binary ionic compounds (ionic compounds that contain only two types of elements), the compounds are named
by writing the name of the cation first followed by the name of the anion.
 For example, KCl, an ionic compound that contains K+ and Cl- ions, is named potassium chloride.

Rules for naming simple ionic compounds:

1. Name the metal by its elemental name.
2. Name the nonmetal by its elemental name and an -ide ending.
3. Name metals that can have different oxidation states using roman numerals to indicate positive charge.
Example Fe2+ is Iron(II) for Stock Name while Ferrous for Classical Name
Examples:

Stock Name/ Classical Name

Iron (III) Chloride/ Ferric Chloride
Copper (I) Chloride/ Cuprous Chloride
Tin (IV) Fluoride/ Stannic Fluoride
Lead (II) Chloride/ Plumbous Chloride
Iron (III) Sulfide/ Ferric Sulfide

Naming Ternary Ionic Compounds

 Ternary Ionic Compounds are compounds that contain ions of usually three different elements with a polyatomic
ion.
 The ratio of the ions in the compounds is dependent on the oxidation numbers (charges) of the elements that are
combining. Ions combine in a ratio such that the oxidation numbers add up to ZERO.
 9 | General Chemistry
Rules for Naming Ternary Ionic Compounds:
1. The rules for writing ternary compounds is the SAME as for binary formulas with a few modifications (see rules #2-
4)
2. Parentheses surrounding the polyatomic ion and a subscript will be used when there is more than one polyatomic
ion in the formula.
3. In naming, the cation retains is name. The only polyatomic cation is NH4+ and it retains its name.
4. The anion will most likely be the polyatomic ion, and it retains its name.

Examples
1. (NH4)2S = Ammonium Sulfide
2. Co(CN)2 = Cobalt (II) Cyanide or Cobaltous Cyanide
3. Co2(SO4)3 = Cobalt (III) Sulfate or Cobaltic Sulfate
4. AgNO3 = Silver Nitrate

Classical name: Ferric sulfate

Classical name: Chromous Cyanide

Rules for Naming Binary Covalent Compounds

A binary covalent compound is composed of two different elements (usually nonmetals). For example, a molecule of
chlorine trifluoride, ClF3 contains 1 atom of chlorine and 3 atoms of fluorine.
Rule 1. The element with the lower group number is written first in the name; the element with the higher group number is
written second in the name. Exception: when the compound contains oxygen and a halogen, the name of the halogen is the
first word in the name.
Rule 2. If both elements are in the same group, the element with the higher period number is written first in the name.
Rule 3. The second element in the name is named as if it were an anion, i.e., by adding the suffix -ide to the root of the
element name (e.g., fluorine = F, "fluoride" = F-; sulfur = S, "sulfide" = S2-).
Rule 4. Greek prefixes are used to indicate the number of atoms of each element in the chemical formula for the compound.
Exception: if the compound contains one atom of the element that is written first in the name, the prefix "mono-" is not used.
 10 | General Chemistry
Note: when the addition of the Greek prefix places two vowels adjacent to one another, the "a" (or the "o") at the end of the
Greek prefix is usually dropped; for example, "nonaoxide" would be written as "nonoxide", and "monooxide" would be
written as "monoxide". The "i" at the end of the prefixes "di-" and "tri-" are never dropped.

Naming Acids
Acids are named by the anion they form when dissolved in water. Depending on what anion the hydrogen is attached to,
acids will have different names.
Simple acids, known as binary acids, have only one anion and one hydrogen. These
anions usually have the ending “-ide.” As acids, these compounds are named starting
with the prefix “hydro-,” then adding the first syllable of the anion, then the suffix “-ic.”
For example, HCl, which is hydrogen and chlorine, is called hydrochloric acid.
Nomenclature of Common Acids
The chart on the next page provides the nomenclature of some common anions and acids. More complex acids have
oxygen in the compound. There is a simple set of rules for these acids.
1. Any polyatomic ion with the suffix “-ate”
uses the suffix “-ic” as an acid. So,
HNO3 will be nitric acid.
2. When you have a polyatomic ion with
one more oxygen than the “-ate” ion,
then your acid will have the prefix “per-”
and the suffix “-ic.” For example, the
chlorate ion is ClO3–. Therefore, HClO4 is
called perchloric acid.
3. With one fewer oxygen than the “-ate”
ion, the acid will have the suffix “-ous.”
For example, chlorous acid is HClO2.
4. With two fewer oxygen than the “-ate” ion, the prefix will be “hypo-” and the suffix will be “-ous.” For example,
instead of bromic acid, HBrO3, we have hypobromous acid, HBrO.
Naming Bases

 Most strong bases contain hydroxide, a polyatomic ion.

 Therefore, strong bases are named following the rules for naming ionic compounds.
 For example, NaOH is sodium hydroxide, KOH is potassium hydroxide, and Ca(OH)2 is calcium hydroxide.
 Weak bases made of ionic compounds are also named using the ionic naming system.
 For example, NH4OH is ammonium hydroxide.
 Weak bases are also sometimes molecular compounds or organic compounds because they have covalent bonds.
Therefore, they are named following the rules for molecular or organic compounds.
 11 | General Chemistry
 For
example,
methyl
amine
(CH3NH2)
is a weak
base.
Some
weak
bases
have “common” names. For example, NH3 is called ammonia; its name isn’t derived from any naming system.

ATOMIC MASS

 Is the mass of an atom in atomic mass units (amu)

Average Atomic Mass

 Is the weighted average of all of the naturally occurring isotopes of the element
 Average atomic mass = (% abundance of isotope 1 x mass of isotope 1) + (% abundance of isotope 2 x mass of
isotope 2)
Sample problem if percentage abundance is missing:
There are two stable isotopes of Chlorine-35 (which weighs 34.97 amu), and Chlorine-37 (36.97 amu). If the relative atomic
mass of Chlorine is 35.45 amu, what is the abundance of each isotope?
Cl-35 = x , Cl-37 = 1 – x
34.97x + 36.97(1 – x) = 35.45
34.97x + 36.97 – 36.97x = 35.45
-2.00x + 36.97 = 35.45
– 36.97 – 36.97
-2.00x = -1.52
-2.00 -2.00
x = 0.76
Cl-35 = 76% , Cl-37 = 24%
MOLE

 The mole (mol) is a unit of measure for an amount of a chemical substance.

 It is introduced by Amadeo Avogadro.
 It is used to quantify or represent very large numbers.
 A mole is Avogadro’s number of particles, that is 6.02 x 1023 (representative particles)

Representative particles

 Refer to whether substances commonly exist as atoms, molecules, ions, or formula units.
 Atoms = element (Mg, O, F)
 Formula units = ionic compounds (sodium chloride)
 Ions = charged particles (fluoride ions)
 For example:
 6.02 x 1023 atoms of lithium = 1 mole of lithium (we use the rp atom since lithium is an element)
 12 | General Chemistry
 6.02 x 1023 molecules of carbon dioxide = 1 mole of carbon dioxide (we use the rp molecule since carbon
dioxide is a covalent compound)
 6.02 x 1023 formula units of sodium chloride = 1 mole of sodium chloride (we use the rp formula unit since
lithium is an ionic compound)
 6.02 x 1023 ions of Ca2+ = 1 mole of calcium ion (we use the rp ion since Ca2+ is a charged particle)
Understanding Mole Through Analogy
If one mole = 6.02 x 1023 ions, then how many moles of sodium ion is 28.01 ions?
28.01 Na ion x 1 mole Na ion
6.02 x 1023 Na ions
= 4.65 x 1023 Na ion

How many molecules are in 5.3 moles of carbon monoxide?

5.3 mols CO x 6.02 x 1023 molecules CO
1 mol CO
= 3.19 x 1024 molecules CO

How many moles are in 12.31 x 1021 formula units of BaO?

12.31 x 1021 formula units BaO x 1 mol BaO
6.02 x 1023 formula units BaO
= 2.04 mols BaO
13 | General Chemistry