I.

MATTER

Chemistry is the study of matter and the changes it undergoes.

Matter
It is anything that occupies space, and has mass and volume. Matter
includes things we can see and touch (e.g. water, earth, and trees), as well as
things we can not (e.g. air). All physical objects are made up of matter. Matter is
made up of tiny particles called atoms.

● mass
○ w = mg
○ weight differs depending on the gravitational constant

The Three States of Matter

All substances can exist in the three states of matter: solid,
liquid, and gas.
➢ Solid
○ A solid is a matter that has a
defined shape and will not lose its
shape. It has a fixed volume and a
fixed shape. In a solid, molecules
are held close together in an
orderly fashion with little freedom of motion.
Examples of solids are chairs, tables, golf balls,
hockey pucks, and glass jars.
➢ Liquid
○ A liquid is a matter that will take
the shape of any container it is
placed in but has a fixed volume.
 Molecules in a liquid are close together but are
not held so rigidly in position and can move
past one another. Examples of liquids are
water, soda, milk, juice, and tomato sauce.
➢ Gas
○ Gas is a matter that does not
have a fixed shape or volume but
will completely take up all the
space in a container. Most gases
are invisible. In a gas, the
molecules are separated by
distances that are large compared with the size
of the molecules. Examples of gases are
oxygen, helium, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and
carbon monoxide.

The three states of matter can be

interconverted without changing the composition of
the substance. Upon heating, a solid (e.g. ice) will
melt forming a liquid (water). The temperature at
which this transition occurs is called the melting
point. Further heating will turn the liquid into a gas.
This conversion takes place at the boiling point of
the liquid substance. On the other hand, cooling gas
will cause it to condense.

● Melting: Solid → Liquid

Freezing: Liquid → Solid

Sublimation: Solid → Gas

Deposition: Gas → Solid

Evaporation: Liquid → Gas

Condensation: Gas → Liquid

Ionization: Plasma → Gas; Gas → Plasma

 There are two more additional states of matter which are:

● Plasma
● Bose-Einstein Condensate
The Properties of Matter
➢ Physical and Chemical Properties
○ Aside from their properties, substances are also identified by
their composition.
○ Physical
■ Measured and observed without changing the
composition or identity of a substance
■ Physical Change: Matter changes form but not
chemical identity
● Examples: Melting, Boiling, Chopping,
Shredding
■ Examples: Color, Melting Point, and Boiling Point
■ For example, we can measure the melting point of ice
by heating a block of ice and recording the
temperature at which the ice is converted to water.
Water differs from ice only in appearance, not in
composition, so this is a physical change; we can
freeze the water to recover the original ice. Therefore,
the melting point of a substance is a physical property.
Similarly, when we say that helium gas is lighter than
air, we are referring to physical property.
 ○ Chemical
■ Can only be observed when there is a chemical
change carried out
■ Chemical change: A chemical reaction forms new
products
● Examples: Combustion, Rusting, Rotting,
Digestion
■ For example, the statement “hydrogen gas burns in
oxygen gas to form water” describes a chemical
property of hydrogen because burning takes place.
After the change, the original chemical substance, the
hydrogen gas, will have vanished, and all that will be
left is a different chemical substance—water. We
cannot recover the hydrogen from the water by
means of a physical change, such as boiling or
freezing.

➢ Extensive and Intensive Properties

○ Measurable properties of matter
○ Two categories: Extensive and Intensive
○ Extensive
■ Measured value depends on how much matter is
being considered (or amount of matter)
■ Examples:
● Mass (quantity of matter in a given sample of a
substance)
 ● Volume (length cube)
■ More matter means more mass, and the values of this
extensive property can be added together
■ For example, two copper pennies will have a
combined mass that is the sum of the masses of each
penny, and the length of two tennis courts is the sum
of the lengths of each tennis court.
○ Intensive
■ Measured value does not depend on how much
matter is being considered
■ Not additive
■ Examples:
● Density (mass of an object divided by its
volume)
● Temperature
■ For example, suppose that we have two beakers of
water at the same temperature. If we combine them
to make a single quantity of water in a larger beaker,
the temperature of the larger quantity of water will be
the same as it was in two separate beakers.

Extensive Intensive

mass density

volume temperature

weight color

length pressure

entropy boiling point

energy melting point

Ways Matter Can Change

➢ Physical Change
A physical change in matter
happens when matter changes its
property but not its chemical nature.
 Although some properties (like shape, phase, etc.) of the
material change, the material itself is the same before and after the
change.
The change can be “undone”. Examples of change are shape,
texture, size, dissolves, and breaks apart.

● Examples:
○ Aluminum foil is cut in half
○ Clay is molded into a new shape
○ Butter melts on warm toast
○ Water evaporates from the surface of the
ocean
○ Juice freezes
○ Rubbing alcohol evaporates on your hand
➢ Chemical Change
A chemical change in matter is
when matter becomes something
completely new. New matter is
formed.
The substances present at the
beginning of the change are not present at the end; new substances
are formed. The change cannot be “undone”.
The matter is different. The particles of the substances are
broken apart.

The old matter is no longer present Atoms are rearranged into new particles

The original matter cannot be removed A new substance is formed

from the new matter

● Examples:
○ Milk goes sour
○ Jewelry becomes tarnished
○ Bread becomes toast
○ Rust forms on a nail
○ Gasoline is ignited
○ Hydrogen peroxide bubbles in a cut
○ A match is lit
○ Your body digests food
 ○ Fruit decomposes and rots

Classification of Matter
➢ Pure Substances
○ Form of matter that has a definite (constant) composition
and distinct properties
○ Can differ from one another in composition, but can be
identified by their appearance, smell, taste, and other
properties
○ Can be either elements or compounds
○ Examples:
■ Water
■ Ammonia
■ Table Sugar (Sucrose)
■ Gold
■ Oxygen
○ Element
■ A substance that cannot be separated into simpler
substances chemically
■ Chemists use symbols of one, two, or three letters to
represent the elements (e.g. Co - Cobalt, CO - formula
for the Carbon monoxide molecule)
● Symbols of some elements are derived from
their Latin names (e.g. Au - Aurum (gold), Fe -
Ferrum (iron), Na - Natrium (sodium)
○ Compounds
■ Formed by the interaction of one
or more other elements
■ A substance composed of atoms
of two or more elements via
chemical means united in fixed
proportions
■ For example, hydrogen gas burns
in oxygen gas to form water, which has properties that
are different from those of the starting materials.
Water is made up of two parts hydrogen and one part
oxygen. This composition does not change regardless
of the water’s source.
➢ Mixtures
○ A combination of two or more substances in which the
substances retain their distinct identities
○ Do not have a constant composition
○ Can be either homogeneous or heterogeneous
○ Any mixture can be created and separated by physical
means turning them into pure components without changing
the identities of the components
■ Thus, sugar can be recovered from a water solution
by heating the solution and evaporating it to dryness.
Condensing the vapor will give us back the water
component. To separate the iron-sand mixture, we
can use a magnet to remove the iron filings from the
sand, because sand is not attracted to the magnet.
After separation, the components of the mixture will
have the same composition and properties as they did
to start with.
○ Examples:
■ Air (samples of air collected in different cities differ in
composition due to differences in altitude, pollution,
etc.)
■ Soft drinks
■ Milk
■ Cement
○ Homogeneous
■ The composition of the mixture is the same
throughout
■ Example: A spoonful of sugar dissolves in water
○ Heterogeneous
■ The composition of the mixture is not uniform
■ Example: Sand mixed with iron filings (sand grains
and the iron filings remain separate)
Weight
Every object can be described based on its weight. The heavier an
object is, the more it weighs.

● The Law of Conservation of Mass

○ The weight/mass of an object = the sum of the
weight/mass of its parts
 II. MEASUREMENTS

Physical Quantities and Metric System

Unit Conversion
● The method used to convert between units is known as dimensional analysis,
factor label method, or unit factor method
● Examples:
○ A weightlifter can lift 495 lbs. How many kg is that?
1 kg = 2.2 lbs. (conversion factor)
1 𝑘𝑔
495 lbs. ( 2.2 𝑙𝑏𝑠 ) = 225 kg
495 ÷ 2. 2 = 225
○ A certain car has a mass of 1920 kg. How many tons is that?
1 kg = 2.2 lbs.
1 ton = 2000 lbs.

2.2 𝑙𝑏𝑠
1920 kg ( 1 𝑘𝑔
) = 1920 × 2.2 = 4224 lbs.
1 𝑡𝑜𝑛
4224 lbs. ( 2000 𝑙𝑏𝑠 ) = 4224 ÷ 2000 = 2.11 tons
2.2 𝑙𝑏𝑠 1 𝑡𝑜𝑛
1920 kg ( 1 𝑘𝑔 ) ( 2000 𝑙𝑏𝑠 ) = 1920 × 2.2 ÷ 2000 = 2.11 tons

Scientific Notation

● Presenting numbers in scientific notation alleviates both problems:

○ You do not have to explicitly write the many zeros which hold decimal
places in large or small numbers.
○ You can immediately tell the number of significant figures in a number
expressed in scientific notation.
● A number expressed in scientific notation contains two parts:
○ A number > 1 but < 10.
○ A power of ten multiplies that number.
■ This power of ten represents the new location to which you have
shifted the decimal point
● To convert a large number to scientific notation, count how many
times the decimal place must be moved to the left to make the
value between one and ten, then multiply this number by one
positive power of ten for each move:
○ Move the decimal place to the left until the numeric value is
between one and ten.
○ Count the number of places the decimal point was moved.
○ Multiply the numeric value by 10+1 for each move.
○ Truncate off the non-significant zeros that are placeholders.

■ Using this process on the example:

● 346,000,000 = 3.46 × 108

● To convert a small number to scientific notation, count how many

times the decimal place must be moved to the right to make the
value between one and ten, then multiply this number by one
negative power of ten for each move:
○ Move the decimal place to the right until the numeric value is
between one and ten.
○ Follow the rules of significant figures in the numeric value.
○ Count the number of places the decimal point was moved.
○ Multiply the numeric value by 10-1 for each move.
○ Truncate off the zeros that are placeholders.
■ Using this process on the example:
● .00000000684 = 6.84 × 10-9

● To convert a small number in scientific notation to a normal number,

move the decimal place to the left once for every negative power of
ten in the expression, and pad the added decimal places with zeros.
○ Move the decimal place to the left one time for each negative
power of ten.
○ Add zeros as placeholders.
■ Using this process on the example:
● 4.06 × 10-7 = .000000406
Significant Figures
Accuracy and Precision
Both help us understand measurements

Accuracy
➢ How close a measurement or attempt is to the actual or target
value

Precision
➢ How consistent our results are regardless of proximity to actual or
target value
Percent Error and Density

Percent Error
➢ Glossary
○ accepted value: The true or correct value based on general
agreement with a reliable reference.
○ error: The difference between the experimental and
accepted values.
○ experimental value: The value that is measured during the
experiment.
○ percent error: The absolute value of the error divided by the
accepted value and multiplied by 100%.

➢ An individual measurement may be accurate or inaccurate,

depending on how close it is to the true value. Suppose that you
are doing an experiment to determine the density of a sample of
aluminum metal.
○ The accepted value of a measurement is the true or correct
value based on general agreement with a reliable reference.
3
For aluminum, the accepted density is 2.70 𝑔/𝑐𝑚
○ The experimental value of a measurement is the value that is
measured during the experiment. Suppose that in your
experiment you determine an experimental value for the
3
aluminum density to be 2.42 𝑔/𝑐𝑚
 ○ The error of an experiment is the difference between the
experimental and accepted values.

Error = experimental value − accepted value

○ If the experimental value is less than the accepted value, the

error is negative.
○ If the experimental value is larger than the accepted value,
the error is positive.
○ Often, the error is reported as the absolute value of the
difference in order to avoid the confusion of a negative error.
○ The percent error is the absolute value of the error divided by
the accepted value and multiplied by 100%.

➢ Steps to Calculate the Percent Error:

1. Subtract the accepted value from the experimental value.
2. Take the absolute value of step 1
3. Divide that answer by the accepted value.
4. Multiply that answer by 100 and add the % symbol to
express the answer as a percentage

Example:

To calculate the percent error for the aluminum

density measurement, we can substitute the given
values of 2.45 g/cm3 for the experimental value and
2.70 g/cm3 for the accepted value.

NOTE: If the experimental value is equal to the accepted value, the percent error
is equal to 0. As the accuracy of a measurement decreases, the percent error of
that measurement rises.
Density

Density is a physical property found by dividing the mass of an

object by its volume. Regardless of the sample size, density is always
constant. For example, the density of a pure sample of tungsten is always
19.25 grams per cubic centimeter. This means that whether you have one
gram or one kilogram of the sample, the density will never vary. The
equation, as we already know, is as follows:

Density can be used to help identify an unknown element. Of

course, you have to know the density of an element with respect to other
elements. Below is a table listing the density of a few elements from the
Periodic Table at standard conditions for temperature and pressure, or
STP. STP corresponds to a temperature of 273 K (0° Celsius) and 1
atmosphere of pressure.
The density of water decreases with increasing temperature.

● Liquid water also shows an exception to this rule from 0 degrees

Celsius to 4 degrees Celsius, where it increases in density instead
of decreasing as expected. Looking at the table, you can also see
that ice is less dense than water.
● This is unusual as solids are generally denser than their liquid
counterparts.
● Ice is less dense than water due to hydrogen bonding. In the water
molecule, the hydrogen bonds are strong and compact. As the
water freezes into the hexagonal crystals of ice, these hydrogen
bonds are forced farther apart and the volume increases.
● With this volume increase comes a decrease in density. This
explains why ice floats to the top of a cup of water: the ice is less
dense.

Even though the rule of density and temperature has its exceptions,
it is still useful. For example, it explains how hot air balloons work.
 III. ATOMS, MOLECULES, AND IONS

Atomic Theory
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
In the fifth century B.C. the Greek philosopher Democritus
expressed the belief that all matter consists of very small, indivisible
particles, which he named atomos (meaning uncuttable or indivisible).
Although Democritus’ idea was not accepted by many of his
contemporaries (notably Plato and Aristotle), somehow it endured.
Experimental evidence from early scientific investigations provided
support for the notion of “atomism” and gradually gave rise to the modern
definitions of elements and compounds.

It was in 1808 that an English scientist and school teacher, John

Dalton, formulated a precise definition of the indivisible building blocks of
matter that we call atoms.

Democritus after coining the term "atomos" Democritus after being disproved by John Dalton

Dalton’s work marked the beginning of the modern era of chemistry.

The hypotheses about the nature of matter on which Dalton’s atomic
theory is based can be summarized as follows:

1. Elements are composed of extremely small particles called atoms.

All atoms of a given element are identical, having the same size,
mass, and chemical properties. The atoms of one element are
different from the atoms of all other elements.
2. Compounds are composed of atoms of more than one element. In
any compound, the ratio of the numbers of atoms of any two of the
elements present is either an integer or a simple fraction.
 3. A chemical reaction involves only the separation, combination, or
rearrangement of atoms; it does not result in their creation or
destruction.

The first hypothesis states that atoms of one element are different
from atoms of all other elements. Dalton made no attempt to describe the
structure or composition of atoms—he had no idea what an atom is really
like. But he did realize that the different properties shown by elements
such as hydrogen and oxygen can be explained by assuming that
hydrogen atoms are not the same as oxygen atoms.

The second hypothesis suggests that, in order to form a certain

compound, we need not only atoms of the right kinds of elements but
specific numbers of these atoms as well. This idea is an extension of a law
published in 1799 by Joseph Proust, a french chemist. Proust’s law of
definite proportions states that different samples of the same compound
always contain its constituent elements in the same proportion by mass.
Thus, if we were to analyze samples of carbon dioxide gas obtained from
different sources, we would find in each sample the same ratio by mass of
carbon to oxygen. It stands to reason, then, that if the ratio of the masses
of different elements in a given compound is fixed, the ratio of the atoms
of these elements in the compound also must be constant. Dalton’s
second hypothesis supports another important law, the law of multiple
proportions. According to the law, if two elements can combine to form
more than one compound, the masses of one element that combine with a
fixed mass of the other element are in ratios of small whole numbers.
Dalton’s theory explains the law of multiple proportions quite simply:
Different compounds made up of the same element differ in the number of
atoms of each kind that combine.

Dalton’s third hypothesis is another way of stating the law of

conservation of mass, which is that matter can be neither created nor
destroyed. Since matter is made of atoms that are unchanged in a
chemical reaction, it follows that mass must be conserved as well.

The Atom: The Beginning of Everything

The Atom is the basic unit of an element that can enter into a chemical
combination. Dalton imagined an atom that was both extremely small and indivisible.
However, a series of investigations that began in the 1850s and extended into the
twentieth century clearly demonstrated that atoms actually possess internal structure;
that is, they are made up of even smaller particles, which are called subatomic particles.
Subatomic particles include electrons, the negatively charged, almost massless
particles that nevertheless account for most of the size of the atom, and they include the
heavier building blocks of the small but very dense nucleus of the atom, the positively
charged protons, and the electrically neutral neutrons.

Molecules and Ions

Molecules

A molecule is an aggregate of at least two atoms in a definite

arrangement held together by chemical forces (also called chemical
bonds). A molecule may contain atoms of the same element or atoms of
two or more elements joined in a fixed ratio.
A molecule is not necessarily a compound, which, by definition, is
made up of two or more elements. Hydrogen gas, for example, is a pure
element, but it consists of molecules made up of two H atoms each.
Water, on the other hand, is a molecular compound that contains hydrogen
and oxygen in a ratio of two H atoms and one O atom. Like atoms,
molecules are electrically neutral. The hydrogen molecule, symbolized as
H2, is called a diatomic molecule because it contains only two atoms.
Other elements that normally exist as diatomic molecules are nitrogen
(N2) and oxygen (O2), as well as the Group 7A elements—fluorine (F2),
chlorine (Cl2), bromine (Br2), and iodine (I2). Of course, a diatomic
molecule can contain atoms of different elements. Examples are hydrogen
chloride (HCl) and carbon monoxide (CO).
The vast majority of molecules contain more than two atoms. They
can be atoms of the same element, as in ozone (O3), which is made up of
three atoms of oxygen, or they can be combinations of two or more
different elements. Molecules containing more than two atoms are called
polyatomic molecules. Like ozone, water (H2O) and ammonia (NH3) are
polyatomic molecules.

Ions
An ion is a charged species formed from a neutral atom or
molecule when electrons are gained or lost as the result of a chemical
change. The number of positively charged protons in the nucleus of an
atom remains the same during ordinary chemical changes (called
chemical reactions), but negatively charged electrons may be lost or
gained. The loss of one or more electrons from a neutral atom results in a
cation, an ion with a net positive charge. For example, a sodium atom (Na)
can readily lose an electron to become sodium cation, which is
represented by Na+:

On the other hand, an anion is an ion whose net charge is negative

due to an increase in the number of electrons. A chlorine atom (Cl), for
instance, can gain an electron to become the chloride ion Cl-:
Atomic Structure

Elements
➢ Simplest substances
➢ 100 different elements
➢ Each is made up of very tiny particles called
atoms, and each element is made up of just
one particular type of atom, which is
different from the atoms in any other
element

Atoms - Building Blocks

➢ John Dalton had the first ideas about the existence of atoms over
200 years ago. However, it is only relatively recently that special
microscopes (called electron microscopes) have been invented that
can actually ‘see’ atoms
➢ Very small - they are about 0.00000001 cm wide
➢ Made from even smaller particles (3 types):

➢ Protons, neutrons, and electrons are not evenly distributed in an

atom
➢ Protons and neutrons - exist in a dense core at the center of the
atom called the nucleus
➢ Electrons spread out around the edge of the atom. They orbit the
nucleus in layers called shells

Discovery of Atomic Structure

➢ 450 BC → 1803 → 1897 → 1907 → 1913 → 1932
 Mass and Electrical Charge
➢ Two properties of protons, neutrons, and electrons:
○ Mass
○ Electrical charge
Particle Mass Charge

Proton 1 +1

Neutron 1 0

Electron Almost 0 -1

Protons
➢ Atoms of any particular element always contain the same number
of protons. For example:
○ Hydrogen atoms always contain 1 proton
○ Carbon atoms always contain 6 protons
○ Magnesium atoms always contain 12 protons
➢ The number of protons in an atom is known as the atomic number
or proton number
➢ It is the smaller two numbers shown in most periodic tables

Atomic Number and Mass Number

All atoms can be identified by the number of protons and neutrons they
contain. The atomic number (Z) is the number of protons in the nucleus of each
atom of an element. In a neutral atom, the number of protons is equal to the
number of electrons, so the atomic number also indicates the number of
electrons present in the atom. The chemical identity of an atom can be
determined solely by its atomic number. For example, the atomic number of
nitrogen is 7. This means that each neutral nitrogen atom has 7 protons and 7
electrons. Or, viewed another way, every atom in the universe that contains 7
protons is correctly named “nitrogen.”

The mass number (A) is the total number of neutrons and protons present
in the nucleus of an atom of an element. Except for the most common form of
hydrogen, which has one proton and no neutrons, all atomic nuclei contain both
protons and neutrons.
 The number of neutrons in an atom is equal to the difference between the
mass number and the atomic number, or (A - Z). For example, the mass number
of fluorine is 19 and the atomic number is 9 (indicating 9 protons in the nucleus).
Thus the number of neutrons in an atom of fluorine is 19 9 10. Note that the
atomic number, number of neutrons, and mass number all must be positive
integers (whole numbers).

Mass number = number of protons + number of neutrons

Number of neutrons = mass number - number of protons

= mass number - atomic number

Electrons
➢ Atoms have no overall electrical charge and are neutral
➢ Atoms must have an equal number of positive protons and negative
electrons
➢ The number of electrons is the same as the atomic number
➢ The atomic number is the number of protons rather than the
number of electrons because atoms can lose or gain electrons but
do not normally lose or gain protons

Electron Configuration
➢ Electrons are not evenly spread but exist in layers called shells.
(The shells can also be called energy levels).
➢ The arrangement of electrons in these shells is often called the
electron configuration.
 Isotope
➢ Elements are made up of one type of atom, but there can be slightly
different forms of atoms in an element. Although atoms of the
same element always have the same number of protons, they may
have different numbers of neutrons. Atoms that differ in this way
are called isotopes. For example, two isotopes of carbon:

➢ Properties of Isotopes
○ Virtually identical in their chemical reactions due to the fact
that they possess the same amount of protons and the same
amount of electrons
○ Uncharged neutrons make little difference to chemical
properties but do affect physical properties such as melting
point and density
○ Neutral samples of elements are often a mixture of isotopes

IV. WRITING CHEMICAL FORMULA

A compound is a substance made up of a definite proportion of two or more
elements. A chemical formula tells us the number of atoms of each element in a
compound. It contains the symbols of the atoms of the elements present in the
compound as well as how many there are for each element in the form of subscripts.
Determining the Type of a Chemical Compound

Ionic Compounds
➢ made up of a metal and one or more non-metals
➢ Because their bonding involves the transfer of valence electrons we
need to consider the charge when we write the name or chemical
formula. But the first step is knowing when you have a compound
that has ionic bonds.
Covalent Compounds
➢ made up of a non-metal and a non-metal
➢ Because their bonding involves the sharing of valence electrons we
do not need to consider the charge when we write the name or
chemical formula. Instead, we use prefixes (like mono, di, tri ...). But
the first step in naming or formula writing is determining when you
have a compound that has covalent bonds.

Ionic Charge of an Element

➢ To find the ionic charge of an element you'll need to consult your
Periodic Table. On the Periodic Table metals (found on the left of
the table) will be positive. Non-metals (found on the right) will be
negative. But you need to know the specific ionic charge elements.
 Elements that are in blue/purple have charges that vary or where
an ionic charge is not appropriate...

Empirical vs Molecular Formulas

Divide the subscripts of the molecular formula to obtain the empirical formula

Empirical Formula
➢ Empirical formula is the chemical formula of a compound
that gives the proportions (ratios) of the elements present in
the compound but not the actual numbers or arrangement of
atoms.
➢ The lowest whole number ratio of the elements in the
compound
➢ Useful when one wants to know at a glance what elements
they are dealing with
➢ Used to simply show what elements are present in a molecule
➢ The empirical formula for molecules is the chemical formula that is
the simplest form of the molecular formula. This can be found by
dividing all the subscripts in the formula by their LCD (Lowest
Common Denominator).
 Molecular Formula
➢ The molecular formula is the chemical formula for molecules that
includes the integer amount of each atom you determined from
your calculations, or that were given to you.
➢ Most useful when you wish to know how many atoms of the
elements are present in the compound
➢ Gives more information than the empirical formula, and is,
therefore, more common
➢ Important when you start to work with organic chemistry
➢ When writing a formula, you include the integer amounts of the
atoms in the subscript. An example is included below for a
molecule with 6 atoms of Carbon, 12 atoms of Hydrogen, and 6
atoms of Oxygen.

Writing Formula of Ionic Compounds

1. Determine the ionic charge in order to write the formula
2. Roman numerals will tell you the ionic charge
3. If polyatomic ion, look for the chemical formula up on a table of ions

Single Element Ions

➢ Find and write the element symbol using the
Periodic Table.
➢ Determine the ionic charge for the element.
➢ Write the charge as a superscript above and to
the right of the element symbol.

Writing Formula for Binary Ionic Compounds

Single Element Ions of Transition Metals
➢ Write the element symbol.
➢ Write ionic charge based on the Roman Numeral in the name. For
example, the Iron (II) ion would be Fe2+.

Polyatomic Ions
➢ Polyatomic ions are made up of two or more elements (they will be
non-metals).
➢ Most often polyatomic ions will have a negative charge but there
are a few with positive charges.
➢ Either memorize the formulas of looking them up on a Common Ion
Table

Ionic Compounds with Polyatomic Ions

➢ Write the element symbol for the metal and its
charge using Periodic Table
➢ Find the name and charge of the polyatomic
ion from the list of polyatomic ions.
➢ See if the charges are balanced (if they are
you're done!)
➢ Add subscripts (if necessary) so the charge
for the entire compound is zero.
➢ Use the crisscross method to check your work.
➢ Notes
○ Don't write the subscript '1'.
○ If you use the criss-cross method and end up with something
like 𝐶𝑎 2𝑆 2 you'll need to reduce the subscripts to 𝐶𝑎 1𝑆 1
which we write CaS.
Formula for Covalent Molecular Compounds

How To Write Chemical Formulas for Molecular Compounds

Formula writing for molecular compounds is probably the easiest

type of formula writing. The key is memorizing the prefixes. Many of the
prefixes you'll be familiar with since they are part of words we frequently
use.

➢ Rules for Formula Writing for Molecular Compounds

○ Write the element symbol for both elements.
○ Place a subscript after each element according to its prefix.
○ Note: Don't write the subscript '1'.
➢ Prefixes

mono di tri tetra penta hexa hepta octa non dec

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Formula for Acids

An acid can be defined in several ways. The most straightforward definition is
that an acid is a molecular compound that contains one or more hydrogen atoms and
produces hydrogen ions (H+) when dissolved in water.
+
𝐻𝐶𝑙 −> 𝐻 + 𝐶𝑙 −

● Since acids produce H+ cations upon dissolving in water, the H of

acid is written first in the formula of an inorganic acid. The
remainder of the acid (other than the H) is the anion after the acid
 dissolves. Organic acids are also an important class of compounds,
but will not be discussed in this module.
● Compounds beginning with H (Hydrogen) are usually considered to
be acids.

Naming System for Acids

Anion Suffix Example Name of Acid Example

-ide chloride (Cl-) hydro_____ic acid hydrochloric acid

(HCl)

-ate sulfate (SO42-) _____ic acid sulfuric acid (H2SO4)

-ite nitrite (NO2-) _____ous acid nitrous acid (HNO2)

The three different suffixes that are possible for the anions lead to the three rules
below.

1. When the anion ends in –ide, the acid name begins with the prefix
hydro-. The root of the anion name goes in the blank (chlor for
chloride), followed by the suffix –ic. HCl is hydrochloric acid because
Cl- is the chloride ion. HCN is hydrocyanic acid because CN- is the
cyanide ion.
2. When the anion ends in –ate, the name of the acid is the root of the
anion followed by the suffix –ic. There is no prefix. H2SO4 is sulfuric
acid (not sulfic) because SO42- is the sulfate ion.
3. When the anion ends in –ite, the name of the acid is the root of the
anion followed by the suffix –ous. Again, there is no prefix. HNO2 is a
nitrous acid because NO2- is the nitrite ion.

NOTE: Note how the root for a sulfur-containing oxoacid is sulfur- instead of just
sulf-. The same is true for a phosphorus-containing oxoacid. The root is
phosphor- instead of simply phosph-.
Formula Writing Rules

Hydro + stem + ic
1. Write H
2. Use the stem to find element name on the periodic table
3. Balance the charges

Stem + ic
1. Write the ion: stem + ate
2. Look up ion on Common Ion Table.
3. Write H and then the ion formula
4. Balance the charges.

Stem + ous
1. Write H.
2. Write the ion: stem + ite
3. Write H and then the ion formula.
4. Balance the charges.

➢ Like other compounds that we have studied, acids are

electrically neutral. Therefore, the charge of the anion
part of the formula must be exactly balanced out by the
H+ ions. Since H+ ions carry a single negative charge,
the number of H+ ions in the formula is equal to the
quantity of the negative charge on the anion. Two
examples from the table above illustrate this point. The
chloride ion carries a 1− charge, so only one H is
needed in the formula of the acid (HCl). The sulfate ion
carries a 2− charge, so two H’s are needed in the
formula of the acid (H2SO4). Another way to think
about writing the correct formula is to utilize the
crisscross method.
 V. COMPOUNDS: WHEN ATOMS COMBINE

Compounds and Chemical Formulas

Forming Compounds
➢ The properties of a compound are different from the properties of
the elements that compose it
➢ The elements combine in fixed, definite proportions
○ The law of definite proportions (Proust)
■ Also known as the law of constant composition

Chemical Formulas
➢ A chemical formula indicates the elements present in a compound
and the relative number of atoms of each
➢ The formula contains the symbol for each element, accompanied
by a subscript indicating the number of atoms of that element. By
convention, a subscript of 1 is omitted
➢ The subscripts in a chemical formula are part of the compound’s
definition — if they change, the formula no longer specifies the
same compound

➢ List most metallic elements first

○ NaCl not ClNa
➢ Compounds that do not include a metal - more metal-like element is
listed first
➢ Nonmetals - those to the left in the periodic table are more
metal-like than those to the right and are normally listed first
➢ Within a single column in the periodic table, elements towards the
bottom are more metal-like than elements towards the top
➢ Few historical exceptions in which the most metallic element is not
listed first (e.g. hydroxide ion OH-)
Polyatomic Ions
➢ Some chemical formulas contain groups of atoms that act as a
unit. When several groups of the same kind are present, their
formula is set off in parentheses with a subscript to indicate the
number of that group
➢ Atoms that have a charge associated with them
➢ To determine the total number of each type of atom in a compound
containing a group within parentheses, multiply the subscript
outside the parentheses by the subscript for each atom inside the
parentheses

Types of Chemical Formulas

➢ An empirical formula gives the relative number of atoms of each
element in a compound.
○ HO
➢ A molecular formula gives the actual number of atoms of each
element in a molecule of the compound.
○ 𝐻 2𝑂 2
➢ A structural formula uses lines to represent chemical bonds and
shows how the atoms in a molecule are connected to each other.
○ H-O-O-H

The molecular formula is always a whole number multiple of

the empirical formula. However, many compounds possess the
same molecular formula as the empirical formula.

➢ Molecular models: three-dimensional representations of molecules

that are used to represent compounds.
➢ We use two types of molecular models:
○ ball-and-stick
○ Space-filling
➢ In ball-and-stick models, we represent atoms as balls and
chemical bonds as sticks.
■ The balls and sticks are connected to represent the
molecule's shape. The balls are color-coded, and
each element is assigned a color.
 ➢ - In space-filling models, atoms fill the space between each other to
more closely represent our best idea for how a molecule might
appear if we could scale it to a visible size.

Identifying Substances
➢ Pure substances may be either elements or
compounds.
➢ Elements may be either atomic or molecular.
➢ Compounds may be either molecular or ionic.
➢ Atomic elements:
○ Elements that occur as single atoms
○ Monoatomic
○ Most elements
➢ Molecular elements
○ Elements that occur in pairs
○ Diatomic
○ Seven elements
➢ Molecular compounds are compounds formed
from two or more nonmetals
➢ Ionic compounds contain one or more cations
paired with one or more anion
○ In most cases, the cations are metals and the anions are
nonmentals
➢ When a metal combines with a nonmetal, one or more electrons
transfer from the metal to the nonmetal, creating positive and
negative ions that are attracted to each other
➢ A compound composed of a metal and a nonmetal is considered
➢ The basic unit of ionic compounds is the formula unit
➢ Unlike molecular compounds, ionic compounds do not contain
individual molecules but rather cations and anions in an alternating
three-dimensional array
Naming Ionic Compounds
Ionic Compounds are made up of a cation and anion and are formed after a
complete transfer of electrons has taken place.

Binary Ionic Compounds

➢ A binary ionic compound is a compound composed of a
monatomic metal cation and a monatomic nonmetal anion. The
metal cation is named first, followed by the nonmetal anion, with its
ending changed to -ide.

Ionic Compounds with Transition Metals

➢ If you are given a formula for an ionic compound whose cation can
have more than one possible charge, you must first determine the
charge on the cation before identifying its correct name.
■ For example, consider FeCl2 and FeCl3 .
○ In the first compound, the iron ion has a
2+ charge because there are two Cl−
ions in the formula (1− charge on each
chloride ion).
○ In the second compound, the iron ion
has a 3+ charge, as indicated by the
three Cl− ions in the formula. These are
two different compounds that need two
different names. By the Stock system,
the names are iron(II) chloride and
iron(III) chloride
 Compounds with Polyatomic Ions
➢ The process of naming ionic compounds with polyatomic ions is
the same as naming binary ionic compounds. The cation is named
first, followed by the anion. One example is the ammonium sulfate

Naming Molecular Compounds

Rules for Naming Molecular Compounds

1. Remove the ending of the second
element, and add “ide” just like in
ionic compounds.
2. When naming molecular compounds
prefixes are used to dictate the
number of a given element present in
the compound. ” mono-” indicates
one, “di-” indicates two, “tri-” is three,
“tetra-” is four, “penta-” is five, and
“hexa-” is six, “hepta-” is seven, “octo-” is eight, “nona-” is nine, and
“deca” is ten.
3. If there is only one of the first elements, you can drop the prefix. For
example, CO is carbon monoxide, not mono carbon monoxide.
4. If there are two vowels in a row that sound the same once the prefix
is added (they “conflict”), the extra vowel on the end of the prefix is
removed. For example, one oxygen would be monooxide, but
instead, it’s monoxide. The extra o is dropped.
Naming Acids

Rules for 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.

More complex acids have oxygen in the compound. There is a simple set
of rules for these acids.

○ Any polyatomic ion with the suffix “-ate” uses the suffix “-ic” like an
acid. So, HNO3 will be nitric acid.
○ 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.
○ With one less oxygen than the “-ate” ion, the acid will have the
suffix “-ous.” For example, chlorous acid is HClO2.
○ 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.