1

Basic Concepts
of Chemistry
Chemistry
It is the branch of science which deals with the composition, structure
and properties of matter.
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier is called the father of chemistry.

Branches of Chemistry

Inorganic chemistry is concerned with the study of

elements (other than carbon) and their compounds.

Organic chemistry is the branch of chemistry which is

concerned with organic compounds or substances produced
by living organisms.
Chemistry
Physical chemistry is concerned with the explanation of
fundamental principles.

Analytical chemistry is the branch of chemistry which is

concerned with qualitative and quantitative analysis of
chemical substances.

In addition to these biochemistry, war chemistry, nuclear chemistry,

forensic chemistry, earth chemistry etc., are other branches of
chemistry.
2 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas

Matter
Anything which occupies some space and have some mass is called
matter. It is made up of small particles which have space between
them. The matter particles attract each other and are in a state of
continuous motion.

Matter
Physical classification Chemical classification

Solid Liquid Gas Pure substances Mixtures

(For physical classification
see chapter 4)
Elements Compounds

Metals Non-metals Metalloids

Inorganic compounds Organic compounds

Elements
It is the simplest form of pure substance, which can neither be
decomposed into nor built from simpler substances by ordinary
physical and chemical methods. It contains only one kind of atoms. The
number of elements known till date is 118.

Symbols
A symbol is an abbreviation or shortened form for the full name of an
element. The present system of symbols was introduced by Berzelius.
 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas 3
Symbol and Latin Names for Some Elements
Element Symbol Latin name
Sodium Na Natrium
Potassium K Kalium
Antimony Sb Stibium
Copper Cu Cuprum
Gold Au Aurum
Silver Ag Argentum
Iron Fe Ferum
Lead Pb Plumbum
Mercury Hg Hydrarygyrum
Tin Sn Stannum
Tungsten W From wolfram (not Latin)

Compounds
It is also the form of matter which can be formed by combining two or
more elements in a definite ratio by mass. It can be decomposed into
its constituent elements by suitable chemical methods, e.g., water
(H 2O) is made of hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio 1 : 8 by mass.
Compounds can be of two types :
(i) Inorganic compounds Previously, it was believed that
these compounds are derived from non-living sources, like rocks
and minerals. But these are infact the compounds of all the
elements except hydrides of carbon (hydrocarbons) and their
derivatives.
(ii) Organic compounds According to earlier scientists, these
compounds are derived from living sources like plants and
animals, or these remain buried under the earth (e.g.,
petroleum). According to modern concept, these are the hydrides
of carbon and their derivatives.

Mixtures
These are made up of two or more pure substances. They can possess
variable composition and can be separated into their components by
some physical methods.
Mixtures may be homogeneous (when composition is uniform
throughout) or heterogeneous (when composition is not uniform
throughout).
4 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas

Common methods for the separation of mixtures are

(a) Filtration Filtration is the process of separating solids that
are suspended in liquids by pouring the mixture into a filter
funnel. As the liquid passes through the filter, the solid particles
are held on the filter.
(b) Distillation Distillation is the process of heating a liquid to
form vapours and then cooling the vapours to get back the liquid.
This is a method by which a mixture containing volatile
substances can be separated into its components.
(c) Sublimation This is the process of conversion of a solid
directly into vapours on heating. Substances showing this
property are called sublimate, e.g., iodine, naphthalene,
camphor. This method is used to separate a sublimate from
non-sublimate substances.
(d) Crystallisation It is a process of separating solids having
different solubilities in a particular solvent.
(e) Magnetic separation This process is based upon the fact
that a magnet attracts magnetic components of a mixture of
magnetic and non-magnetic substances. The non-magnetic
substance remains unaffected. Thus, it can be used to separate
magnetic components from non-magnetic components.
(f) Atmolysis This method is based upon rates of diffusion of
gases and used for their separation from a gaseous mixture.

Atoms and Molecules

Atom is the smallest particle of an element which can take part in a
chemical reaction. It may or may not be capable of independent
existence.
Molecule is the simplest particle of matter that has independent
existence. It may be homoatomic, e.g., H 2 , Cl2 , N 2 (diatomic), O3
(triatomic) or heteroatomic, e.g., HCl, NH3 , CH 4 etc.

Physical Quantities and Their Measurements

Units
To express the measurement of any physical quantity two things are
considered:
(i) Its unit,
(ii) The numerical value.
Magnitude of a physical quantity = numerical value × unit
 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas 5
Units are of two types :
(i) Basic units (ii) Derived units
(i) The basic or fundamental units are those of length (m),
mass (kg), time (s), electric current (A), thermodynamic
temperature (K), amount of substance (mol) and luminous
intensity (cd).
(ii) Derived units are basically derived from the fundamental units,
e.g., unit of density is derived from units of mass and volume.
The systems used for describing measurements of various physical
quantities are
(a) CGS system It is based on centimetre, gram and second as the
units of length, mass and time respectively.
(b) FPS system A British system which used foot (ft), pound (lb)
and second (s) as the fundamental units of length, mass and time.
(c) MKS system Uses metre (m), kilogram (kg) and second (s)
respectively for length, mass and time; ampere (A) was added
later on for electric current.
(d) SI system (1960) International system of units and contains
following seven basic and two supplementary units:

Base Physical Quantities

and Their Corresponding Basic Units
Physical quantity Name of SI unit Symbol for SI unit
Length (l ) metre m
Mass (m) kilogram kg
Time (t ) second s
Electric current (i ) ampere A
Thermodynamic temperature (T ) kelvin K
Amount of substance (n) mole mol
Luminous intensity (Iv ) candela cd

Supplementary units It includes plane angle in radian and solid

angle in steradian.

Prefixes
The SI units of some physical quantities are either too small or too
large. To change the order of magnitude, these are expressed by
using prefixes before the name of base units. The various prefixes are
listed as
6 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas

Multiple Prefix Symbol Multiple Prefix Symbol

15 –1
10 peta P 10 deci d
12 –2
10 tera T 10 centi c
9 –3
10 giga G 10 milli m
106 mega M 10–6 micro µ
3 –9
10 kilo K 10 nano n
2 –12
10 hecto h 10 pico p
–15
10 deca da 10 femto f

Dimensional Analysis
Often while calculating, there is a need to convert units from one
system to other. The method used to accomplish this is called factor
label method or unit factor method or dimensional analysis.
In this,
Information sought = Information given × Conversion Factor

Important Conversion Factors

1dyne = 10−5 N 1L = 1000 mL
–2
1atm = 101325 Nm = 1000 cm3
= 101325 Pa (pascal) = 10−3 m3
1bar = 1 × 105 Nm–2 = 1 dm3
1 L atm = 101.3 J = 24.21 cal 1 gallon = 3.7854 L
1cal = 4.184 J = 2.613 × 1019 eV 1 eV/atom = 96.485 kJ mol −1
1eV = 1.602189 × 10–19 J 1amu or u = 1.66 × 10−27 kg
1 J = 10 7 erg = 931.5 MeV
−10
1 Å = 10 m 1esu = 3.3356 × 10−10 C

Scientific Notation
In such notation, all measurements (however large or small) are
expressed as a number between 1.000 and 9.999 multiplied or divided
by 10. In general as
N × 10n
Here, N is called digit term (1.000–9.999) and n is known as exponent.
e.g., 138.42 cm can be written as 1.3842 × 102 and 0.0002 can be
written as 2.0 × 10−4.
 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas 7
Precision and Accuracy
Precision refers the closeness of the set of values obtained from
identical measurements of a quantity. Precision is simply a measure of
reproducibility of an experiment.
Precision = individual value – arithmetic mean value
Accuracy is a measure of the difference between the experimental
value or the mean value of a set of measurements and the true value.
Accuracy = mean value – true value
In physical measurements, accurate results are generally precise but
precise results need not be accurate. In other words good precision does
not assure good accuracy.

Significant Figures
Significant figures are the meaningful digits in a measured or
calculated quantity. It includes all those digits that are known with
certainty plus one more which is uncertain or estimated.
Greater the number of significant figures in a measurement, smaller
the uncertainty.
Rules for determining the number of significant figures are :
1. All digits are significant except zeros in the beginning of a
number.
2. Zeros to the right of the decimal point are significant.
e.g., 0.132, 0.0132 and 15.0, all have three significant figures.
3. Exact numbers have infinite significant figures.

Calculations Involving Significant Figures

1. In addition or subtraction, the final result should be reported to
the same number of decimal places as that of the term with the
least number of decimal places, e.g.,
2.512
2.2
5.23
9.942 ⇒ 9.9
(Reported sum should have only one decimal point.)
2. In multiplication and division, the result is reported to the same
number of significant figures as least precise term or the term
with least number of significant figures, e.g.,
15.724 ÷ 0.41 = 0.0260747(0.026)
8 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas

Rounding Off the Numerical Results

When a number is rounded off, the number of significant figures is
reduced, the last digit retained is increased by 1 only if the following
digit is ≥ 5 and is left as such if the following digit is ≤ 4, e.g.,
12.696 can be written as 12.7
18.35 can be written as 18.4
13.93 can be written as 13.9

Laws of Chemical Combinations

The combination of elements to form compounds is governed by the
following six basic laws:

1. Law of conservation of mass (Lavoisier, 1774)

This law states that during any physical or chemical change, the total
mass of the products is equal to the total mass of reactants. It does not
hold good for nuclear reactions.

2. Law of definite proportions (Proust, 1799)

According to this law, a chemical compound obtained by different
sources always contains same percentage of each constituent element.

3. Law of multiple proportions (Dalton, 1803)

According to this 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 the ratio of small whole numbers,
e.g., in NH3 and N 2H 4, fixed mass of nitrogen requires hydrogen in the
ratio 3 : 2.

4. Law of reciprocal proportions (Richter, 1792)

According to this law, when two elements (say A and B) combine
separately with the same weight of a third element (say C), the ratio in
which they do so is the same or simple multiple of the ratio in which
they ( A and B) combine with each other.
Law of definite proportions, law of multiple proportions and law of
reciprocal proportions do not hold good when same compound is
obtained by using different isotopes of the same element, e.g., H 2O and
D2O.

5. Gay Lussac’s law of gaseous volumes

It states that under similar conditions of temperature and pressure,
whenever gases react together, the volumes of the reacting gases as
well as products (if gases) bear a simple whole number ratio.
 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas 9
6. Avogadro’s hypothesis
It states that equal volumes of all gases under the same conditions of
temperature and pressure contain the same number of molecules.

Dalton’s Atomic Theory (1803)

This theory was based on laws of chemical combinations. It’s basic
postulates are
1. All substances are made up of tiny, indivisible particles, called
atoms.
2. In each element, the atoms are all alike and have the same
mass. The atoms of different elements differ in mass.
3. Atoms can neither be created nor destroyed during any physical
or chemical change.
4. Compounds or molecules result from combination of atoms in
some simple numerical ratio.

Mole Concept
Term mole was suggested by Ostwald (Latin word mole = heap)
A mole is defined as the amount of substance which contains same
number of elementary particles (atoms, molecules or ions) as the
number of atoms present in 12 g of carbon (C-12).
1 mol = 6.023 × 1023 atoms = one gram-atom = gram atomic mass
1 mol = 6.023 × 1023 molecules = gram molecular mass
In gaseous state at STP (T = 273 K, p = 1 atm)
Gram molecular mass = 1 mol
= 22.4 L = 6.022 × 1023 molecules
Standard number 6.023 × 1023 is called Avogadro number in honour
of Avogadro (he did not give this number) and is denoted by N A .
The volume occupied by one mole molecules of a gaseous substance is
called molar volume or gram molecular volume.
amount of substance (in gram)
Number of moles =
molar mass
10 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas

Multipli
ed lied by
Amount of a
by Multip Number
NA
substance Molar mass Mol (6.023 × 10 )
23 of
(in gram) entities
Divided by by Divided by

D
d
lie

iv
id
tip

ed
u l 22.4 L

by
M

Volume of gas (in L) at STP

Number of molecule = number of moles × N A

NA
Number of molecules in 1g compound =
g-molar mass
Number of molecules in 1 cm3 (1 mL) of an ideal gas at STP is called
Loschmidt number (2.69 × 1019 ).

C u= × C

1 amu = = = 1 Aston

= = 1.66 × 10−24 g
(5.5 × 10−4 g)

Atomic Mass
It is the average relative atomic mass of an atom. It indicates that how
1
many times an atom of that element is heavier as compared with of
12
the mass of an atom of carbon-12.
average mass of an atom
Average atomic mass =
1
× mass of an atom of C12
12
The word average has been used in the above definition and is very
significant because elements occur in nature as mixture of several
isotopes. So, atomic mass can be computed as
Average atomic mass
RA (1) × at. mass (1) + RA (2) × at. mass (2)
=
RA(1) + RA(2)
Here, RA is relative abundance of different isotopes.
 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas 11
In case of volatile chlorides, the atomic weight is calculated as
At. wt. = Eq. wt. × valency
2 × vapour density of chloride
and valency =
eq. wt. of metal + 35.5
According to Dulong and Petit’s rule,
Atomic weight × specific heat = 6.4

Gram Atomic Mass (GAM)

Atomic mass of an element expressed in gram is called its gram atomic
mass or gram-atom or mole-atom.

Molecular Mass
It is the mass of a molecule, i.e., number of times a molecule is heavier
1
than th mass of C-12 atom. Molecular mass of a substance is an
12
additive property and can be calculated by taking algebraic sum of
atomic masses of all the atoms of different elements present in one
molecule.
average relative mass of one molecule
Molecular mass =
1
× mass of C-12 atom
12

= × VD

Equivalent Mass
It is the mass of an element or a compound which would combine with
or displace (by weight) 1 part of hydrogen or 8 parts of oxygen or
35.5 parts of chlorine.
wt. of metal
Eq. wt. of metal = × 1.008
wt. of H 2 displaced
wt. of metal
= × 11200
volume of H 2 (in mL) displaced at STP
wt. of metal
Eq. wt. of metal = ×8
wt. of oxygen combined
wt. of metal
= × 35.5
wt. of chlorine combined
12 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas

In general,
Wt. of substance A Eq. wt. of A
=
Wt. of substance B Eq. wt. of B
or for a compound (I) being converted into another compound (II) of
same metal,
Wt. of compound I
Wt. of compound II
eq. wt. of metal + eq. wt. of anion of compound I
=
eq. wt. of metal + eq. wt. of anion of compound II
formula mass
Eq. mass of a salt =
total positive or negative charge
atomic mass or molecular mass
Equivalent mass =
n factor
n factor for various compounds can be obtained as
(i) n factor for acids i.e., basicity
(Number of ionisable H + per molecule is the basicity of acid.)
Acid HCl H2SO 4 H 3 PO 3 H 3 PO 4 H2C 2O 4
Basicity 1 2 2 3 2

(ii) n factor for bases, i.e., acidity.

(Number of ionisable OH− per molecule is the acidity of a base.)
Base NaOH Mg(OH)2 Al(OH) 3
Acidity 1 2 3

(iii) In case of ions, n factor is equal to charge of that ion.

(iv) In redox titrations, n factor is equal to change in oxidation
number.
Cr2O72– + 6e– + 14H + → 2Cr3 + + 2H 2O
n factor = 6
MnO–4 + 8H + + 5e− → Mn2+ + 4H 2O
n factor = 5
Equivalent mass of organic acid (RCOOH) is calculated by the
following formula
Eq. wt. of silver salt of acid ( RCOOAg) Wt. of silver salt
=
Eq. wt. of Ag (or 108) Wt. of silver
 Handbook of Chemistry Key Terms, Definitions & Formulas 13
Stoichiometry
The relative proportions in which the reactants react and the products
are formed, is called stoichiometry (from the Greek word meaning ‘to
measure an element’.)
Limiting reagent It is the reactant which is completely consumed
during the reaction.
Excess reagent It is the reactant which is not completely consumed
and remains unreacted during the reaction.

Per cent Yield

The actual yield of a product in any reaction is usually less than the
theoretical yield because of the occurrence of certain side reactions.
actual yield
Per cent yield = × 100
theoretical yield

Empirical and Molecular Formulae

Empirical formula is the simplest formula of a compound giving
simplest whole number ratio of atoms present in one molecule, e.g., CH
is empirical formula of benzene (C6H 6 ).
Molecular formula is the actual formula of a compound showing the
total number of atoms of constituent elements, e.g., C6H 6 is molecular
formula of benzene.
Molecular formula = (Empirical formula)n
where, n is simple whole number having values 1, 2, 3, …, etc., and
can be calculated as
molecular formula mass
n=
empirical formula mass