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General Science Revision

The document provides an overview of atoms, elements, compounds, and chemical reactions, explaining that atoms are the smallest units of matter and can exist independently. It details the differences between pure and impure substances, the structure of atoms, and the significance of atomic and mass numbers. Additionally, it introduces electronic configuration and the organization of elements in the periodic table.

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19 views10 pages

General Science Revision

The document provides an overview of atoms, elements, compounds, and chemical reactions, explaining that atoms are the smallest units of matter and can exist independently. It details the differences between pure and impure substances, the structure of atoms, and the significance of atomic and mass numbers. Additionally, it introduces electronic configuration and the organization of elements in the periodic table.

Uploaded by

alemaitre2008
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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GENERAL SCIENCE

ATOMS

● Atoms are the building blocks of anything with mass. So the air
you breathe and the water you drink are made up of atoms.
● It is the smallest unit of matter that can exist by itself.
● A pure substance can be either an element or a compound.
● When two or more atoms collide at a fixed ratio a chemical
reaction may occur. It doesn’t mean that it will result in a
chemical reaction.
● An Atom is the smallest particle of matter that can exist by
itself.
ELEMENTS

● An element is a *pure substance (made up of one type of


atom). Like energy it cannot be broken down, only changed or
converted by chemical reactions.

* A pure substance = two or more elements chemically combined.


Elements and compounds are pure substances.

● Atoms of the same kind form an element. Eg.- Carbon which is


an element contains only Carbon atoms.
●
● There are over 92 elements that exist naturally.
●
● Each element has atoms specific to that element.
● Examples of elements are: Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen and
Sulphur.

COMPOUNDS

● Compounds are pure substances consisting of two or more


elements chemically combined in a fixed ratio.
● Examples of compounds are: Cooking salt- Sodium (Na) and
Chlorine (C) in a chemically combined ratio.

● Compounds are only formed when a chemical reaction takes


place. This chemical reaction results in the formation of new
substances.
● 1 element + 1 element= Compound
CHEMICAL REACTION

Chemical reactions is a process that occurs when two or more


molecules interact to form a new product.

Eg.- Burning of a candle, rusting of iron, fermentation of wine, etc.

During chemical reactions a chemical change must occur. This is


generally observed with physical changes- **precipitation, heat
production and colour change.

** Precipitation- Precipitation is the falling of things (especially


water) from the sky. It also occurs in chemical reactions when a solid
settles to the bottom of a solution .

MOLECULES

● A molecule is made up of atoms of the same or different kinds


chemically combined in a fixed ratio.
●
● Molecules of elements refer to the molecules made up of the
same kind of atoms.
●
● Molecules of compounds refer to the molecules made up of
two or more atoms of different kinds (which are chemically
combined).

PURE AND IMPURE SUBSTANCES

● As mentioned above a pure substance has two or more


elements chemically combined. Elements and compounds are
pure substances.
● An impure substance is two or more elements or compounds
which are not chemically combined.
● An impure substance is referred to as a mixture.
● Eg.- Tap water- It contains water molecules, chlorine and
other minerals.

ATOMIC STRUCTURE

Diagram showing the structure of an Atom.

● Remember: an Atom is the smallest particle of matter that can


exist by itself.
● An Atom is made up of three ***subatomic particles- protons,
neutrons and electrons.

***Subatomic- Subatomic is any particle of matter that is smaller


than an atom.
● Protons and neutrons are located inside the nucleus of an
Atom.
● Electrons orbit in the shell around the nucleus
● Most of the atom is empty space.

MASS AND CHARGE

CHARGE

● Protons are positively charged hence the prefix- Pro


● Electrons are negatively charged.
● Neutrons are neutral.

MASS

● The relative mass of a neutron and proton is 1 unit


● The relative mass of an electron is very small- (1/ 1 840)
● The mass of the nucleus makes up almost the entire mass
of an Atom.

SUBATOMIC MASS CHARGE


PARTICLE

Protons 1 Positive +1

Neutrons 1 No charge

Electrons 1/1840 Negative -1

● An atom is normally electrically neutral because it


usually has the same number of positive and
negative charges- Basically, it usually has the same
number of protons and electrons.
● Eg.- Carbon has 6 protons and 6 electrons= (6+) +
(6-) therefore the net charge is zero (0).
● An Atom can lose or gain electrons from the
outermost shell during chemical reactions. The
Atom is no longer neutral and is called and ion.

CHEMICAL SYMBOLS

Chemical symbols are used instead of writing the full name of the
element. It is made up of one or two letters. The first two letters
aren't not taken from their English names rather their Greek, Latin
or Arabic names.

English Name Origin Name in Meaning


original
language

Hydrogen Greek Hydro Water forming

Helium Greek Helios Sun

Lithium Greek Lithios Stone

Beryllium Greek Beryl/ glykys Sweet

Boron Arabic Buraq Borax

Carbon Latin Carbo Coal

Nitrogen Greek Nitron Nitre forming

Oxygen Greek Oxy-genes Acid forming

Fluorine Latin Fluere To flow


Neon Greek Neos New

Sodium Latin Sodanum Headache


remedy

Magnesium Greek Magnesia

Aluminum Latin Alumen Bitter salt

Silicone Latin Silex or Silicis Flint

Phosphorus Greek Phosphoros Bringer of Light

Sulfur Latin Sulphur To burn

Chlorine Greek Chloros Greenish


yellow

Argon Greek Argos Lazy

Potassium Latin Kalium Calcined


ashes- ashes
left behind
when a plant is
burned

Calcium Latin Calx Lime

ATOMIC NUMBER

● The atomic number of an element is the number of protons in


one atom of said element.
● In a neutral atom it also gives the number of electrons
● The atomic number can’t be described as the number of atoms
of electrons as atoms lose or gain electrons when they react
with atoms of different elements.
● The atomic number is written in the lower left corner of the
symbol of the element.
Eg.↓

K
Potassium
Chemica
l symbol
19

39.09 Mass
Atomi 8 Numbe
c r
numbe
Potassium: 19 K
Atomic number: 19
Since the atomic number is nineteen , that means that the element
Potassium has 19 protons and electrons.

MASS NUMBER

Mass number is the total number of protons and neutrons in an


atom.
Eg. Potassium- 19 K- 39
Therefore to find the number of neutrons in the element Potassium
we have to subtract the atomic number from the mass number.

1) 39- 19= 20 neutrons in Potassium


2) To find the mass number when you have atomic number and
number of neutrons= atomic no. + no. of neutrons
3) To find the number of neutrons= mass no. - atomic number

ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION (EC)


The electronic configuration (EC) identifies the number of electrons
in each shell or orbital of an atom.

● The first shell: It is the closest to the nucleus and can only hold
two (2) electrons .
● The second and third shell: They both hold up to eight (8)
electrons.
● The fourth shell: Can hold up to 18 electrons.

Keeping with our example- Potassium-atomic number -19. Therefore


there are 19 electrons and protons as the atom is neutral.
The first shell can only hold 2. Second and third shells hold up to 8.
And the fourth shell holds 1. Hence, the Electronic Configuration of
Potassium is- 2,8,8,1. And if you add it all together the answer is 19-
Atomic number.

● The amount of numbers in the EC corresponds to the number


of electron shells and is called the period number.
● The last number in the EC gives the number of electrons in
the outermost shell and is called the group number.

PERIODIC TABLE

● There are 106 elements of which 92 are naturally-occurring.


The modern periodic table is arranged in order of atomic
number.
● The period number corresponds to the number of occupied
shells the amount of numbers in electronic configuration gives
the period number.
● The group number corresponds to the number of electrons in
the outermost shell. The last number in the electronic
configuration gives the group number.
Diagram of a Periodic Table below.↓

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