SOME BASIC CONCEPTS OF CHEMISTRY

Chemistry plays an important role in meeting many human needs like food,
medicine, fertilizers etc.
Chemicals used as drugs in cancer therapy – Cisplatin, Taxol
Drug used to treat AIDS victims – AZT (Azidothymidine)

MATTER
Anything that has mass and occupies space.
Eg: Book, Pen, Water, Air etc.

Three physical states of matter

• Solid
• Liquid
• Gas

SOLIDS
Definite shape and definite volume.

LIQUIDS
Indefinite shape but definite volume. They occupy the shape of the container.

GAS
Indefinite shape, Indefinite volume
They completely occupy the container in which they are placed.
 CLASSIFICATION OF MATTER

PURE SUBSTANCES

They have fixed composition. Constituents of pure substances can’t be separated

by simple physical methods.
Eg: Cu, H2O etc.

ELEMENT

An element contains only one type of particles which may be atoms or moelcules.
Eg: Sodium(as individual atoms), H2(as molecules)

COMPOUND

When two or more atoms or different elements combine, the molecule of a

compound is obtained.
Eg: H2O, NH3 etc.

Note:
• Atoms of different elements in a compound are in a definite ratio which is
characteristic of that compound.
• The properties of a compound are different from the properties of its
constituent elements.
Eg: H2 and O2 are gases but the compound formed by their combination-
Water is a liquid.
• Constituents of a compound can’t be separated into simpler substances by
physical means. They can be separated only by chemical methods.
MIXTURE

It contains two or more substances present in it (in any ratio) which are called
its components. It’s composition can be varied.

HOMOGENEOUS MIXTURE

The components completely mix with each other and its composition is uniform
throughout. Eg: Sugar solution, Air etc.

HETEROGENEOUS MIXTURE

The composition is not uniform throughout and sometimes the different

components can be observed. Eg: Salt+Sugar solution, Grains and pulses along
with some pieces etc.

Note:
• The components of a mixture can be separated using physical methods
such as hand picking, filtration etc.
 PROPERTIES OF MATTER

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Those properties which can be measured or observed without changing the

identity or the composition of the substance.
Eg: Colour, Odour, Melting Point etc.

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

Those properties which can be measured or observed only by the occurrence of

a chemical change.
Eg: Combustibility, Acidity, Basicity etc.
They represent chemical reactions of the substance.

SI SYSTEM OF UNITS
(International System)

Some Definitions of SI Units

Metre: It is the distance travelled by light in vacuum in 1/299,792,458 seconds.

Kilogram: It is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram.

 PREFIXES USED IN THE SI SYSTEM

MASS AND WEIGHT

Mass
It is the amount of matter present in a body. It is constant. It is measured by an
analytical balance.

Weight
It is the force exerted by gravity on an object. It varies from place to place due to
the change in gravity. It is measured using spring balance.

Volume
Space occupied by an object. SI unit is m3
Smaller volume units: cm3 ⟹ ml
dm3 ⟹ L

Density
It is the mass per unit volume of a substance. SI unit is kgm -3
Smaller density unit: gcm-3

Temperature
It is the degree of hotness in a body. SI unit is Kelvin(K)
Other temperature units: oC, oF
Note:
Temperature below 0oC(-ve values) are possible in oC scale(Celsius Scale), but
not in Kelvin Scale. (0 K = -273.15 oC)

SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

It is the exponential notation in which any number can be represented in the

form of N x 10n where ‘n’ is an exponent having +ve or –ve values and N can vary
between 1 to 10.
Eg: 245.6 can be written as 2.456 x 10 2
0.00015 can be written as 1.5 x 10-4

Multiplication and Division of Exponential Numbers

(5.6 x 105) x (6.9 x 108) = (5.6 x 6.9) x 105+8

= 38.64 x 1013
= 3.864 x 1014

(2.7 x 10-3) / (5.5 x 104) = (2.7/5.5) x 10-3-4

= 0.4909 x 10-7
= 4.909 x 10-8

Addition and Subtraction of Exponential Numbers

2.5 x 10-2 – 4.8 x 10-3

(Make the exponent same for both)

2.5 x 10-2 – 0.48 x 10-2

= 10-2(2.5-0.48)
= 2.02 x 10-2

(Same is applicable for addition too)

 PRECISION AND ACCURACY IN MEASUREMENTS

Precision
It is the closeness of various measurements for the same quantity.

Accuracy
It is the agreement of a particular value to the true value of the result.

Suppose the true value of a result is 2.00g. Student A takes two measurements and
reports as 1.95g and 1.93 g. These values are precise as they are close to each other
but not accurate as they don’t agree with the true value (ie, 2.00g).

SIGNIFICANT FIGURES

They are the meaningful digits which are known with certainty in a
measurement.

Rules for determining the number of significant figures

• All non-zero digits are significant.

Eg: 285 cm – 3 SF
0.25 ml – 2 SF

• Zeroes preceding to first non-zero digit are not significant.

Eg: 0.03 – 1 SF
0.0052 – 2 SF

• Zeroes between two non-zero digits are significant.

Eg: 2.005 – 4 SF

• Zeroes at the end or right of a number are significant provided they are on
the right side of the decimal point.
Eg: 0.200 – 3 SF

If otherwise zeroes are not significant.

Eg: 100 – only 1 SF (1 X 102)

• Exact numbers have an infinite number of SF because they can be

represented by writing infinite number of zeroes after placing a decimal
point.
Eg: 2 balls can be written as 2.0(2 SF)
2.00(3 SF)
2.000(4 SF)
 • When numbers are written as scientific notation, number of digits
between 1 and 10 gives the number of SF.
Eg: 4.01 x 102 (3 SF) , 8.256 X 104(4 SF)

Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division of SF

(Will be explained in the class)

ROUNDING OFF DATA

Rules

• If the rightmost digit to be removed is greater than 5, increase the

preceding number by one.
Eg: 1.836 = 1.84

• If the rightmost digit to be removed is less than 5, then retain the

preceding number.
Eg: 5.32 = 5.3

• If the last digit to be removed is 5, then increase the remaining last digit
by one if it is odd, and retain it if it is even.
Eg: 6.35 = 6.4
6.45 = 6.4
 LAWS OF CHEMICAL COMBINATION

LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MASS (by Antoine Lavoisier)

It states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed.

LAW OF DEFINITE PROPORTIONS (by Joseph Proust)

It states that a given compound always contains exactly the same proportion of
elements by weight (irrespective of the source or method of preparation)
Eg: Water collected from any source always contains the same elements
hydrogen and oxygen in the mass ratio 1:8.
It is also known as Law of Definite Composition.

LAW OF MULTIPLE PROPORTIONS (by Dalton)

It states that, if two elements combine to form more than one compound, the
masses of one element which combines with a fixed mass of the other element
bears a simple whole number ratio.

Eg: H and O combine to form two compounds H 2O and H2O2.

H2O (water) ⟹ H : O
2 : 16
H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) ⟹ H : O
2 : 32

Here, the mass of hydrogen in both is fixed (2g).

Therefore, Masses of oxygen (16g and 32g) which combine with a fixed mass of
hydrogen (2g) bear a simple whole number ratio. (ie, 16:32 or 1:2)
(Problems on this Law will be done in the class)

GAY LUSSAC’S LAW OF GASEOUS VOLUMES (by Gay Lussac)

When gases combine or are produced in a chemical reaction, they do so in a
simple ratio by volume, provided all gases are at same temperature and
pressure.
Eg: Hydrogen + Oxygen ⟹ Water
(100 ml) (50 ml) (100 ml)

Here, the volumes of hydrogen and oxygen combine in the simple whole number
ratio 2:1. (It is the law of definite proportions by volume)

AVOGADRO LAW (by Avogadro)

It states that equal volumes of all gases contain equal number of molecules at
same temperature and pressure.
 DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

• Matter consists of indivisible atoms.

• All atoms of a given element have identical properties including identical
mass. Atoms of different elements differ in mass.
• Compounds are formed when atoms of different elements combine in a
fixed ratio.
• Chemical reactions involve re organization of atoms ie, Atoms are neither
created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction.

ATOMIC MASS

Atomic Mass Unit (amu)

One amu is defined as the mass equal to 1/12 the mass of one C-12 atom.
1 amu = 1.66 x 10-24 g
Now amu is replaced by u (unified mass)

Average Atomic Mass (When isotopes exist)

Average atomic mass is calculated from the relative abundance (% occurrence)
of various isotopes.
(Problems will be done in class)

Molecular Mass
It is the sum of atomic masses of the elements present in a molecule.
Eg: Molecular Mass of CH4 = (12x1) + (1x4)
= 16u

Formula Mass (For compounds which don’t exist as discrete molecules, but
as Formula units)
Eg: Nacl
Formula Mass = (23x1) + (35.5x1)
= 58.5u

Mole
It is the amount of a substance which contains 6.023x1023 particles.
Molar Mass
The mass of 1 mole of a substance in grams is called its molar mass.
Eg: Molar Mass of H2O = (1x2) + (16x1)
= 18g

Avogadro Number(NA)
It is the number of particles present in 1 mole of a substance. It is 6.023x10 23
particles.

CALCULATION OF MOLE

No of moles = Mass in grams / Molar Mass

OR
No of moles = No of particles / NA

PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION

(Problems will be done in class)

EMPIRICAL FORMULA AND MOLECULAR FORMULA

(problems will be discussed in class)

Empirical Formula
It represents the simplest whole number ratio of various atoms present in a
compound.
Eg: EF for glucose (C6H12O6) is CH2O

Molecular Formula
It shows the exact number of different types of atoms present in a molecule of
the compound.
Eg: Molecular Formula of glucose is C6H12O6