CHAPTER 1
ATOMS, MOLECULES, AND CHEMICAL ARITHMETIC
Chemistry is the study of matter and the changes it undergoes.
SCOPE OF CHEMISTRY
Chemistry significantly impacts various aspects of human life:
1. Health and Medicine:
Chemistry aids in drug development, vaccines, and gene therapy. It helps combat diseases like
cancer, AIDS, and genetic disorders through pharmaceuticals and advanced medical treatments.
2. Energy and Environment:
Chemists are exploring sustainable energy sources like solar power and hydrogen fuel. While fossil
fuels dominate today, alternatives like solar energy, nuclear fusion, and fuel cells are being
researched to reduce pollution and global warming.
3. Materials and Technology:
New materials like polymers, ceramics, and superconductors developed through chemistry have
revolutionized industries. Superconductors may soon help eliminate electricity loss in power
transmission.
4. Food and Agriculture:
Chemistry boosts food production using fertilizers, pesticides, and soil treatment, helping meet the
demands of growing populations. It plays a key role in improving crop yields and controlling pests.
LAWS OF CHEMICAL COMBINATIONS
The following five basic laws govern the combination of elements to form compounds:
1. Law of Conservation of Mass (Law of indestructibility of matter):
This law was proposed by Antoine Lavoisier. It states that matter can neither be created nor
destroyed. Or, in a chemical reaction, the total mass of reactants is equal to the total mass of
products. Chemical equations are balanced according to this law.
Consider the reaction
2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
Here 4 g of H2 combines with 32 g of O2 to form 36 g of water.
Total mass of reactants = 4 + 32 = 36g Total mass of products = 36 g
2. Law of Definite Proportions (Law of definite composition): This law was proposed by Joseph
Proust. It states that a given compound always contains exactly the same proportion of elements by
weight. Or, the same compound always contains the same elements combined in a fixed ratio by
mass. Illustration: Carbon dioxide can be formed in the atmosphere by various methods like
respiration, burning of fuels, reaction of metal carbonates and bicarbonates with acid etc. All these
samples of CO2 contain only two elements Carbon and Oxygen combined in a mass ratio 3:8.
3. Law of Multiple Proportions: This law was proposed by John Dalton. It states that if two elements
can combine to form more than one compound, the different masses of one of the elements that
combine with a fixed mass of the other element, are in small whole number ratio.
Hydrogen combines with oxygen to form two compounds – water and hydrogen peroxide.
Hydrogen + Oxygen → Water
2g 16g 18g
Hydrogen + Oxygen → Hydrogen Peroxide
2g 32g 34g
Here, the masses of oxygen (i.e., 16 g and 32 g) which combine with a fixed mass of hydrogen (2g)
bear a simple ratio, i.e., 16:32 or 1: 2.
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY
The term atom was first used by John Dalton from the Greek word a-tomio (meaning indivisible). He
proposed the first atomic theory. The important postulates of this theory are:
1. Matter consists of indivisible atoms.
2. All the atoms of a given chemical element are identical in mass and in all other properties.
3. Different chemical elements have different kinds of atoms, and in particular, such atoms
have different masses.
4. Atoms are indestructible and retain their identity in chemical reactions.
5. The formation of a compound from its elements occurs through the combination of atoms of
unlike elements in a small whole-number ratio
Atoms and Molecules
An atom is the smallest particle of an element.
Molecules are the smallest particles of a substance. A molecule is an aggregate of at least two
atoms in a definite arrangement held together by chemical forces (also called chemical bonds)
Based on the no. of atoms, there are three types of molecules: monoatomic, diatomic, and
polyatomic molecules.
Monoatomic molecules contain only one atom. E.g., all metals, noble gases like He, Ne, Ar, etc.
Diatomic molecules contain 2 atoms. E.g. H2, O2, N2, halogens (F2, Cl2, Br2 and I2)
Polyatomic molecules contain more than two atoms. E.g. ozone (O3), Phosphorus (P4), Sulphur
(S8) etc
Elements
Substances can be either elements or compounds. An element is a substance that cannot be
separated into simpler substances by chemical means.
SI UNITS
Nowadays, a common standard system known as the International System of Units (SI) is used.
This system has seven base units, and they are length, mass, time, electric current,
thermodynamic temperature, amount of substance, and luminous intensity. Their SI units are as
follows:
Mole concept
A mole is the amount of a substance that contains as many elementary entities (atoms,
molecules or other particles) as there are atoms in exactly 0.012 kg or 12 g of the carbon-12 isotope.
Thus 1 mol = 6.022045 × 1023 entities or particles, or atoms or molecules. For all practical purposes
this number is rounded off to 6.022 × 1023 is known as Avogadro’s constant
1 mole of any substance contains 6.022 x 1023 atoms [602213670000000000000000 atoms].
This number is known as Avogadro number or Avogadro constant (NA or N0).
1 mol of hydrogen atoms = 6.022×1023 atoms
1 mol of water molecules = 6.022×1023 water molecules
1 mol of sodium chloride = 6.022 × 1023 formula units of sodium chloride
No. of moles (n) = Given mass in gram (w)
Molar mass (M)
No. of molecules = no. of moles x 6.022 × 1023
Significance of Avogadro’s Constant
A mole may be defined as the amount of a substance that contains 6.022 × 1023 elementary
entities like atoms, molecules or other particles.
Atomic mass
The atomic mass (Relative atomic mass) of an element is a number that expresses how many
times the mass of an atom of the element is greater than 1/12th the mass of a C12 atom.
For e.g. atomic mass of Nitrogen is 14, which means that mass of one N atom is 14 times
greater than 1/12th the mass of a C12 atom.
Atomic mass unit (amu): 1/12th the mass of a C12 atom is called atomic mass unit (amu).
i.e. 1 amu = 1/12 x mass of a C12 atom = 1.66 x 10-24 g
= 1.66 x 10-27 kg
Nowadays, ‘amu’ has been replaced by ‘u’, which is known as unified mass.
Molecular mass: Molecular mass is the sum of atomic masses of the elements present in a
molecule. It is obtained by multiplying the atomic mass of each element by the number of its atoms
and adding them together.
For e.g. molecular mass of H2SO4 is calculated as: 2 x 1 + 32 + 4 x 16 = 98 u.
Formula mass: In the case of ionic compounds (like NaCl), there is no discrete (separate)
molecules. Here the positive ions and the negative ions are arranged in a three-dimensional
structure. So we can calculate only formula mass by taking molecular formula of the compound.
Molar mass: The mass of one mole of a substance in gram is called its molar mass (gram
molecular mass). The molar mass in grams is numerically equal to molecular mass in u.
Molar mass of oxygen = 32g
Molar mass of hydrogen = 2g etc.
Molar volume: It is the volume of 1 mole of any substance. At standard temperature and
pressure (STP), molar volume of any gas = 22.4 L (or, 22400 mL).
i.e. 22.4 L of any gas at STP contains 1 mole of the gas or 6.022 x 1023 molecules of the gas
and its mass = molar mass
Percentage composition
It is the percentage of each element present in 100g of sample of a substance. i.e.
Percentage composition of an element = Mass of that element in the compound x 100
Molar mass of the compound
Applications: We can check the purity of a given sample of a substance. Also by knowing the
percentage composition, we can calculate the empirical and molecular formula of a compound.
Empirical and Molecular formulae
Empirical formula is the simplest formula of a compound, which gives only the ratio of
different elements present in that compound. But molecular formula is the actual formula of the
compound, that gives the exact number of different elements present in the sample. For e.g. the
empirical formula of glucose is CH2O but its molecular formula is C6H12O6.
Molecular formula is related to empirical formula by the equation:
Molecular formula (M.F) = Empirical formula (E.F) x n
Where n = Molecular mass (MM)
Empirical formula mass (EFM)
CHEMICAL EQUATION AND REACTION STOICHIOMETRY
It is the representation of a chemical reaction by symbols and formulae. Here the reactants are
written in the left-hand side and the products, on the right-hand side. (The substances which
participate in a chemical reaction are called reactants and the substances which are formed as a
result of a reaction are called products).
4Fe(s) + 3O2 (g) → 2Fe2 O3 (s)
1. Qualitative Information
Qualitatively the equation tells that iron reacts with oxygen to form iron oxide.
2. Quantitative Information
Quantitatively, a balanced chemical equation specifies numerical relationship among the
quantities of its reactants and products. These relationships can be expressed in terms of :
(i) Microscopic quantities, namely, atoms, molecules and formula units.
(ii) Macroscopic quantities, namely, moles, masses, and volumes (in case of gaseous
substances) of reactants and products. The macroscopic quantitative information
can be divided into
(a) Mole Relationships
(b) Mass Relationships
c) Volume Relationships
Limiting reagent (Limiting reactant):
The reagent which limits a reaction or the reagent which is completely consumed in a chemical
reaction is called limiting reagent or limiting reactant.
For e.g. in the reaction 2SO2(g) + O2(g) 2 SO3(g),
2 moles of SO2 reacts completely with 1 mole of O2 to form 2 moles of SO3. If we take 10 moles each
of SO2 and O2, we get only 10 moles of SO3 because 10 moles of SO2 requires only 5 moles of O2 for
the complete reaction. So here SO2 is the limiting reagent and 5 moles of O2 remains unreacted.
