MODULE 1 [ORGANIC CHEMISTRY] Prepared by: Joliemar C.

Mancera, LPT,
MST-Sci. CAR
ATOMS, MOLECULES, AND IONS
Time Frame: 2 hours

I. Introduction

This module discusses the postulates of Dalton’s atomic theory, the theory that
helped explain in the nature of matter. We look at its beginnings and the consequences
of this theory.

Module Learning Outcomes:

In this module, the student will be able to answer the following:

1. What is atom?
2. What are laws of matter?
3. How are the laws of matter related to the atomic theory?
II. Discussion:

Atoms, molecules and ions are all examples of particles that students might meet at 11–14. But
these terms are often used incorrectly in the media and everyday language leading to students of all ages
being confused as to which is the correct term to use. The idea of the world being made of tiny particles
is an ancient one. You could start the exploration of atoms with the ideas of Democratus (400 BC), who
believed that all matter in the universe was made up of tiny, indivisible, solid objects. He called these
objects atoma or ‘indivisible units’. At the start of the 19th century Dalton found evidence to support
Democratus’ theory and proposed atoms to be solid spheres. Different spheres made up the different
elements.
One of the key problems for students learning about atoms, is that atoms are small. Really, really
small. This makes it difficult for students to conceptualize atoms as they cannot be seen, or touched, or
investigated directly. A good starting point to introduce atoms and illustrate their small size is to ask
students to break up a piece of graphite (the element carbon) into as many small pieces as they can. No
matter how many pieces the students break the graphite into, they will never get a single carbon atom.
You can challenge higher attaining students to measure the size of an individual atom using this
experiment from Practical physics.

When atoms combine, molecules are formed. For a few elements, when atoms of that element combine,
a molecule of that element is formed eg H2 and O2. When atoms of some different elements combine, a
molecule of a compound can form, eg H2O. How to teach elements and compounds, in the 11–14 series,
describes different strategies for teaching elements and compounds and the common misconceptions
students may hold. Particle diagrams can be used to help the students visualize the difference between
an atom, a molecule of an element and a molecule of a compound. In fact even Dalton in the 1800s
proposed a series of diagrams to represent the elements and compounds known at the time. Use of
colour helps to distinguish between the atom types further. Venn diagrams help students organize their
understanding of the different particle types, as described in Atoms, elements, molecules, compounds
and mixtures.
An atom or a molecule can lose or gain electron(s) to form an ion. At this level students only need
to know that an ion is a positively or negatively charged particle. However it may be worth introducing
students to the electron at this point. When an atom/molecule gains negatively charged electron(s), a
negative ion is formed. When an atom/molecule loses negatively charged electron(s), a positive ion is
formed. This latter point is something students often struggle with later on in their studies. Introducing
the electron now, before students meet the other sub-atomic particles, can help to embed the idea that
the loss of electrons results in a positively charged ion, and may help reduce confusion later on.
Common misconceptions
As the students develop their understanding of chemical bonding further, it is common for students to
refer to ionic compounds as molecules or to refer to intermolecular forces when explaining properties of
 MODULE 1 [ORGANIC CHEMISTRY] Prepared by: Joliemar C. Mancera, LPT,
MST-Sci. CAR
ionic compounds. To avoid these misconceptions, it is important to introduce, and emphasise, the
correct use of the terms ion and molecule from early on in a student’s chemical studies.
A molecule is a neutral particle, composed of a set number of atoms bonded together. The particle of the
substance is the molecule, rather than the atoms that make up the molecule. By contrast, ionic
compounds are made up of an indeterminate number of ions, in a fixed ratio. The particle of the ionic
substance remains the ion. Using hands-on models can help students with these tricky concepts – eg
TIMSTAR MO84200 for molecules and Molymod MKO-127-27 for ionic structures. You can further
explore the use of chemical models and their limitations in Using molecular models and in the 7 simple
rules to for science teaching series.

The smallest piece of an element that maintains the identity of that element is called an atom.
Individual atoms are extremely small. It would take about fifty million atoms in a row to make a line that
is 1 cm long. The period at the end of a printed sentence has several million atoms in it. Atoms are so
small that it is difficult to believe that all matter is made from atoms—but it is.
The concept that atoms play a fundamental role in chemistry is formalized by the modern atomic theory,
first stated by John Dalton, an English scientist, in 1808. It consists of three parts:
1. All matter is composed of atoms.
2. Atoms of the same element are the same; atoms of different elements are different.
3. Atoms combine in whole-number ratios to form compounds.
These concepts form the basis of chemistry.

Although the word atom comes from a Greek word that means “indivisible,” we understand now that
atoms themselves are composed of smaller parts called subatomic particles. The first part to be
discovered was the electron, a tiny subatomic particle with a negative charge. It is often represented as
e−, with the right superscript showing the negative charge. Later, two larger particles were discovered.
The proton is a more massive (but still tiny) subatomic particle with a positive charge, represented as
p+. The neutron is a subatomic particle with about the same mass as a proton but no charge. It is
represented as either n or n0. We now know that all atoms of all elements are composed of electrons,
protons, and (with one exception) neutrons. Table 3.1 "Properties of the Three Subatomic Particles"
summarizes the properties of these three subatomic particles.

Table 3.1 Properties of the Three Subatomic Particles

 MODULE 1 [ORGANIC CHEMISTRY] Prepared by: Joliemar C. Mancera, LPT,
MST-Sci. CAR
How are these particles arranged in atoms? They are not arranged at random. Experiments by Ernest
Rutherford in England in the 1910s pointed to a nuclear model of the atom. The relatively massive
protons and neutrons are collected in the center of an atom, in a region called the nucleus of the atom
(plural nuclei). The electrons are outside the nucleus and spend their time orbiting in space about the
nucleus.

The modern atomic theory states that atoms of one element are the same, while atoms of different
elements are different. What makes atoms of different elements different? The fundamental
characteristic that all atoms of the same element share is the number of protons. All atoms of hydrogen
have one and only one proton in the nucleus; all atoms of iron have 26 protons in the nucleus. This
number of protons is so important to the identity of an atom that it is called the atomic number of the
element. Thus, hydrogen has an atomic number of 1, while iron has an atomic number of 26. Each
element has its own characteristic atomic number.
Atoms of the same element can have different numbers of neutrons, however. Atoms of the same
element (i.e., atoms with the same number of protons) with different numbers of neutrons are
called isotopes. Most naturally occurring elements exist as isotopes. For example, most hydrogen atoms
have a single proton in their nucleus. However, a small number (about one in a million) of hydrogen
atoms have a proton and a neutron in their nuclei. This particular isotope of hydrogen is called
deuterium. A very rare form of hydrogen has one proton and two neutrons in the nucleus; this isotope
of hydrogen is called tritium. The sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus is called
the mass number of the isotope.
 MODULE 1 [ORGANIC CHEMISTRY] Prepared by: Joliemar C. Mancera, LPT,
MST-Sci. CAR

When referring to an atom, we simply use the element’s name: the term sodium refers to the element as
well as an atom of sodium. But it can be unwieldy to use the name of elements all the time. Instead,
chemistry defines a symbol for each element. The atomic symbol is a one- or two-letter abbreviation of
the name of the element. By convention, the first letter of an element’s symbol is always capitalized,
while the second letter (if present) is lowercase. Thus, the symbol for hydrogen is H, the symbol for
sodium is Na, and the symbol for nickel is Ni. Most symbols come from the English name of the element,
although some symbols come from an element’s Latin name. (The symbol for sodium, Na, comes from
its Latin name, natrium.) Table 3.2 "Names and Symbols of Common Elements" lists some common
elements and their symbols. You should memorize the symbols in Table 3.2 "Names and Symbols of
Common Elements", as this is how we will be representing elements throughout chemistry.
 MODULE 1 [ORGANIC CHEMISTRY] Prepared by: Joliemar C. Mancera, LPT,
MST-Sci. CAR

There is an easy way to represent isotopes using the atomic symbols. We use the construction

XZA

Where X is the symbol of the element, A is the mass number, and Z is the atomic number. Thus, for the isotope of

carbon that has 6 protons and 6 neutrons, the symbol is

 MODULE 1 [ORGANIC CHEMISTRY] Prepared by: Joliemar C. Mancera, LPT,
MST-Sci. CAR
C612

Where C is the symbol for the element, 6 represents the atomic number, and 12 represents the mass number.

An atom is a particle of matter that uniquely defines achemical element. An atom consists of a
central nucleus that is usually surrounded by one or more electrons. Each electron is negatively charged.
The nucleus is positively charged, and contains one or more relatively heavy particles known
as protons and neutrons.

A proton is positively charged. The number of protons in the nucleus ofan atom is the atomic
number for the chemical element. A proton has a rest mass, denoted mp, of approximately 1.673 x 10-
27 kilogram (kg). A neutron is electrically neutral and has a rest mass, denoted mn, of approximately
1.675 x 10-27 kg. The mass of a proton or neutron increases when the particle attains extreme speed, for
example in a cyclotron or linear accelerator.

In science, a law is a general statement that explains a large number of observations. Before being
accepted, a law must be verified many times under many conditions. Laws are therefore considered the
highest form of scientific knowledge and are generally thought to be inviolable. Scientific laws form the
core of scientific knowledge. One scientific law that provides the foundation for understanding in
 MODULE 1 [ORGANIC CHEMISTRY] Prepared by: Joliemar C. Mancera, LPT,
MST-Sci. CAR
chemistry is the law of conservation of matter. It states that in any given system that is closed to the
transfer of matter (in and out), the amount of matter in the system stays constant. A concise way of
expressing this law is to say that the amount of matter in a system is conserved.

With the development of more precise ideas on elements, compounds and mixtures, scientists began to
investigate how and why substances react. French chemist A. Lavoisier laid the foundation to the
scientific investigation of matter by describing that substances react by following certain laws. These
laws are called the laws of chemical combination. These eventually formed the basis of Dalton's Atomic
Theory of Matter.

Basis for Dalton's theory

Dalton based his theory on two laws: the law of conservation of mass and the law of constant
composition. The law of conservation of mass says that matter is not created or destroyed in a closed
system. That means if we have a chemical reaction, the amount of each element must be the same in
the starting materials and the products. We use the law of conservation of mass every time we balance
equations. The law of constant composition says that a pure compound will always have the same
proportion of the same elements. For example, table salt, which has the molecular formula{NaCl}NaCl
start text, N, a, C, l, end text, contains the same proportions of the elements sodium and chlorine no
matter how much salt you have or where the salt came from. If we were to combine some sodium metal
and chlorine gas—which I wouldn't recommend doing at home we could make more table salt which will
have the same composition.
 MODULE 1 [ORGANIC CHEMISTRY] Prepared by: Joliemar C. Mancera, LPT,
MST-Sci. CAR
Dalton's atomic theory

Part 1: All matter is made of atoms.

Dalton hypothesized that the law of conservation of mass and the law of definite proportions could be explained using
the idea of atoms. He proposed that all matter is made of tiny indivisible particles called atoms, which he imagined as
"solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, movable particle(s)".

It is important to note that since Dalton did not have the necessary instruments to see or otherwise experiment on
individual atoms, he did not have any insight into whether they might have any internal structure. We might visualize
Dalton's atom as a piece in a molecular modeling kit, where different elements are spheres of different sizes and colors.
While this is a handy model for some applications, we now know that atoms are far from being solid spheres.

Part 2: All atoms of a given element are identical in mass and properties.

Dalton proposed that every single atom of an element, such as gold, is the same as every other atom of that element. He
also noted that the atoms of one element differ from the atoms of all other elements. Today, we still know this to be
mostly true. A sodium atom is different from a carbon atom. Elements may share some similar boiling points, melting
points, and electronegativities, but no two elements have the same exact set of properties.

Part 3: Compounds are combinations of two or more different types of atoms.

In the third part of Dalton's atomic theory, he proposed that compounds are combinations of two or more different types
of atoms. An example of such a compound is table salt. Table salt is a combination of two separate elements with unique
physical and chemical properties. The first, sodium, is a highly reactive metal. The second, chlorine, is a toxic gas. When
they react, the atoms combine in a 1:1 ratio to form white crystals of \text{NaCl}NaClstart text, N, a, C, l, end text, which
we can sprinkle on our food.

Part 4: A chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms.

In the fourth and final part of Dalton's atomic theory, he suggested that chemical reactions don't destroy or create atoms.
They merely rearranged the atoms. Using our salt example again, when sodium combines with chlorine to make salt,
both the sodium and chlorine atoms still exist. They simply rearrange to form a new compound.
 MODULE 1 [ORGANIC CHEMISTRY] Prepared by: Joliemar C. Mancera, LPT,
MST-Sci. CAR
References:

 https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_introductory-chemistry/s07-atoms-molecules-and-ions.html
 https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/atom#:~:text=An%20atom%20is%20a%20particl
e,known%20as%20protons%20and%20neutrons.
 https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/electronic-structure-of-atoms/history-of-atomic-
structure/a/daltons-atomic-theory-version-
2#:~:text=Dalton's%20atomic%20theory%20was%20the,of%20atoms%2C%20which%20are%20ind
ivisible.