Elements, compounds & mixtures

 All substances can be classified into one of these three types

o Elements
o Compounds
o Mixtures

What is an element?

 A substance made of atoms that all contain the same number of protons and
cannot be split into anything simpler
 There are 118 elements found in the Periodic Table

What is a compound?

 A pure substance made up of two or more elements chemically combined

 There is an unlimited number of compounds
 Compounds cannot be separated into their elements by physical means
 E.g. copper(II) sulfate (CuSO4), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), carbon dioxide (CO2)

What is a mixture?

 A combination of two or more substances (elements and/or compounds) that

are not chemically combined
 Mixtures can be separated by physical methods such as filtration or
evaporation
 E.g. sand and water, oil and water, sulfur powder and iron filings

1
 Protons, neutrons & electrons
 The size of atoms is so tiny that we can't really compare their masses in
conventional units such as kilograms or grams, so a unit called the relative
atomic mass is used
 One relative atomic mass unit is equal to 1/12th the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
 All other elements are measured relative to the mass of a carbon-12 atom, so
relative atomic mass has no units
 Hydrogen for example has a relative atomic mass of 1, meaning that 12 atoms of
hydrogen would have exactly the same mass as 1 atom of carbon

2
Exam Tip
Knowing the exact mass of an electron is not in the specification and saying it is almost nothing
or negligible will be sufficient. It does, however, sometimes appear in particle identification
questions, but you can usually deduce that it is the electrons from other information in the
question.
Defining proton number
 The atomic number (or proton number) is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
 The symbol for atomic number is Z
 It is also the number of electrons present in a neutral atom and determines the position of the
element on the Periodic Table

Defining mass number

 The Nucleon number (or mass number) is the total number of protons and neutrons in
the nucleus of an atom
 The symbol for nucleon number is A
 The nucleon number minus the proton number gives you the number of neutrons of an
atom
 Note that protons and neutrons can collectively be called nucleons.
 The atomic number and mass number of an element can be shown using atomic
notation
 The Periodic Table shows the elements together with their atomic (proton) number at
the top and relative atomic mass at the bottom - there is a difference between relative
atomic mass and mass number, but for your exam, you can use the relative atomic mass
as the mass number (with the exception of chlorine)

3
 Atomic number & mass number diagram
Atomic number & mass number diagram

Diagram showing the notation used on the periodic table

How to calculate numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons

Protons

 The atomic number of an atom and ion determines which element it is

 E.g. lithium has an atomic number of 3 (three protons) whereas beryllium has atomic
number of 4 (four protons)Therefore, all atoms and ions of the same element have the
same number of protons (atomic number) in the nucleus
 The number of protons equals the atomic (proton) number
 The number of protons of an unknown element can be calculated by using its mass
number and number of neutrons:

Mass number = number of protons + number of neutrons

Number of protons = mass number – number of neutrons

Electrons

 An atom is neutral and therefore has the same number of protons and electrons

Neutrons

 The mass and atomic numbers can be used to find the number
of neutrons in ions and atoms:

Number of neutrons = mass number – number of protons

4
Worked example
Determine the number of protons, electrons and neutrons in an atom of element X with
atomic number 29 and mass number 63

Answer

Protons

 The number of protons of element X is the same as the atomic number

o Number of protons = 29

Electrons

 The neutral atom of element X therefore also has 29 electrons

Neutrons

 The atomic number of an element X atom is 29 and its mass number is 63

o Number of neutrons = mass number – number of protons
o Number of neutrons = 63 – 29
o Number of neutrons = 34

Exam Tip
Both the atomic number and the relative atomic number (which you can use as the
mass number) are given on the Periodic Table but it can be easy to confuse them.

Think MASS = MASSIVE, as the mass number is always the bigger of the two
numbers, the other smaller one is thus the atomic / proton number.

Beware that some Periodic Tables show the numbers the other way round with the
atomic number at the bottom!

What is electronic configuration?

Electronic configuration

 We can represent the structure of the atom in two ways: using diagrams
called electron shell diagrams or by writing out a special notation called
the electronic configuration (or electronic structure or electron distribution)

Electron shell diagrams

 Electrons orbit the nucleus in shells (or energy levels) and each shell has a different
amount of energy associated with it
 The further away from the nucleus, the more energy a shell has
 Electrons fill the shell closest to the nucleus

5
 When a shell becomes full of electrons, additional electrons have to be added to the next
shell
 The first shell can hold 2 electrons
 The second shell can hold 8 electrons
 For this course, a simplified model is used that suggests that the third shell can hold 8
electrons
o For the first 20 elements, once the third shell has 8 electrons, the fourth shell
begins to fill
 The outermost shell of an atom is called the valence shell and an atom is much more
stable if it can manage to completely fill this shell with electrons

simplified model showing the electron shells

 The arrangement of electrons in shells can also be explained using numbers

 Instead of drawing electron shell diagrams, the number of electrons in each
electron shell can be written down, separated by commas
 This notation is called the electronic configuration (or electronic structure)
o E.g. Carbon has 6 electrons, 2 in the 1st shell and 4 in the 2nd shell
 Its electronic configuration is 2,4
 Electronic configurations can also be written for ions
o E.g. A sodium atom has 11 electrons, a sodium ion has lost one electron,
therefore has 10 electrons; 2 in the first shell and 8 in the 2nd shell
 Its electronic configuration is 2,8

6
Worked example
Draw and write the electronic structure of magnesium.

Answer:

 Magnesium has 12 electrons in total.

 A maximum of two can fit in the first shell and eight in the second shell.
 The remaining two will occupy the third shell.

7
  The written form of this electronic structure is 2,8,2

Exam Tip
You need to be able to write the electronic configuration of the first twenty elements and their
ions. You may see electronic configurations using full stops or '+' signs instead of commas. You
would not be penalised for using full stops.
Electron shells & The Periodic Table
How does the electronic structure of an element relate to its location in the
Periodic Table?

 There is a clear relationship between the electronic configuration and how the Periodic Table is
designed
 The number of notations in the electronic configuration will show the number of occupied shells
of electrons the atom has, showing the period in which that element is in
 The last notation shows the number of outer electrons the atom has, showing the group that
element is in (for elements in Groups I to VII)
 Elements in the same group have the same number of outer shell electrons

Diagram showing the relationship between the electronic configurations

The electronic configuration for chlorine

 Period: The red numbers at the bottom show the number of notations
o The number of notations is 3
o Therefore chlorine has 3 occupied shells
 Group: The last notation, in this case 7
o This means that chlorine has 7 electrons in its outer shell

8
 o Chlorine is therefore in Group 7

The Periodic Table showing the location of chlorine

The noble gases

 In most atoms, the outermost shell is not full

 These atoms react with other atoms in order to achieve a full outer shell of electrons
making them more stable
 In some cases, atoms lose electrons to entirely empty this shell so that the next shell
below becomes a (full) outer shell
o They then have the electronic structure of a noble gas (Group VIII)
 All of the noble gases are unreactive as they have full outer shells and are thus very
stable

The Periodic Table showing the location of the noble gases

Exam Tip
The electrons in the outer shell are also known as valency electrons.

9
 Defining isotopes
 Isotopes are different atoms of the same element that contain the same number
of protons but a different number of neutrons
 The symbol for an isotope is the chemical symbol (or word) followed by a dash and then
the mass number
 So C-14 ( or carbon-14) is the isotope of carbon which contains 6 protons, 6 electrons
and 14 - 6 = 8 neutrons
o It can also be written as 14C or

Table to show the structures of isotopes of hydrogen

Why isotopes share properties

Extended tier only

 Isotopes display the same chemical characteristics

 This is because they have the same number of electrons in their outer shells, and this is
what determines their chemistry
 The difference between isotopes is the neutrons which are neutral particles within the
nucleus and add mass only
 The difference in mass affects the physical properties, such as density, boiling point and
melting point
 Isotopes are identical in appearance, so a sample of C-14 would look no different from C-
12
10
 Calculating relative atomic mass
Extended tier only

Relative atomic mass

 Atoms are so tiny that we cannot really compare their masses in conventional
units such as kilograms or grams, so a unit called the relative atomic mass (Ar)
is used
 The relative atomic mass unit is equal to 1/12th the mass of a carbon-12 atom
 All other elements are measured by comparison to the mass of a carbon-12 atom
and since these are ratios, the relative atomic mass has no units
 For example, hydrogen has a relative atomic mass of 1, meaning that 12 atoms
of hydrogen would have exactly the same mass as 1 atom of carbon

How do I calculate relative atomic mass?

 The relative atomic mass of each element is calculated from the mass
number and relative abundances of all the isotopes of a particular element
 The equation below is used where the top line of the equation can be extended
to include the number of different isotopes of a particular element present

11
12
 Ch3
The formation of ions
How are ions formed?

 An ion is an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or

gain of electrons
 This loss or gain of electrons takes place to obtain a full outer shell of electrons
 The electronic structure of ions of elements in Groups 1, 2, 6 and 7 will be the
same as that of a noble gas - such as helium, neon, and argon
 Negative ions are called anions and form when atoms gain electrons, meaning
they have more electrons than protons
 Positive ions are called cations and form when atoms lose electrons, meaning
they have more protons than electrons
 All metals lose electrons to other atoms to become positively charged ions
 All non-metals gain electrons from other atoms to become negatively charged
ions

13
Exam Tip

 We can determine the charge an ion will have from the group the element is found in:
o Elements in Group 1 form ions with a 1+ charge
o Elements in Group 2 form ions with a 2+ charge
o Elements in Group 6 form ions with a 2- charge
o Elements in Group 7 form ions with a 1- charge

What is ionic bonding?

What is ionic bonding?

 Ionic compounds are formed when metal atoms react with non-metal atoms
 Metal atoms lose their outer electrons which the non-metal atoms gain to form
positive and negative ions
 The positive and negative ions are held together by strong electrostatic forces
of attraction between opposite charges

14
  This force of attraction is known as an ionic bond and they hold ionic
compounds together

Dot-and-cross diagrams

 Dot and cross diagrams are diagrams that show the arrangement of the outer-
shell electrons in an ionic or covalent compound or element
 The electrons are shown as dots and crosses
 In a dot and cross diagram:
o Only the outer electrons are shown
o The charge of the ion is spread evenly which is shown by using brackets
o The charge on each ion is written at the top right-hand corner

Ionic bonds between Group I & Group VII elements

Group I & Group VII Ions

 Sodium is a Group 1 metal so loses one outer electron to another atom to gain a full
outer shell of electrons
 A positive sodium ion with the charge 1+ is formed, Na+
 Chlorine is a Group 7 non-metal so gains one electron to have a full outer shell of
electrons
 A negative chloride ion with a charge of 1– is formed, Cl–
 The ions are then attracted to one another and held together by electrostatic forces
 The formula of the ionic compound is thus NaCl

15
 The large square brackets should encompass each atom and the charge should be in
superscript and on the right-hand side, outside the brackets

Diagram representing the formation of the ionic bond in sodium chloride

16
 The lattice structure of ionic compounds
Extended tier only

Lattice structure

 Ionic compounds have a giant lattice structure

 Lattice structure refers to the arrangement of the atoms of a substance in 3D
space
 In lattice structures, the atoms are arranged in
an ordered and repeating fashion
 The lattices formed by ionic compounds consist of
a regular arrangement of alternating positive and negative ions

The lattice structure of NaCl

17
 Ionic bonds between metallic & non-metallic elements
Extended tier only

Ionic compounds

 Ionic compounds are formed when metal atoms and non-metal atoms react
 The ionic compound has no overall charge

Example; magnesium Oxide, MgO

 Magnesium is a Group II metal so will lose two outer electrons to another atom to
have a full outer shell of electrons
 A positive ion with the charge 2+ is formed
 Oxygen is a Group VI non-metal so will need to gain two electrons to have a full
outer shell of electrons
 Two electrons will be transferred from the outer shell of the magnesium atom to
the outer shell of the oxygen atom
 Oxygen atom will gain two electrons to form a negative ion with charge 2-
 Magnesium oxide has no overall charge
o MgO

Exam Tip
When drawing dot and cross diagrams, you only need to show the outer shell of
electrons. Remember to draw square brackets and include a charge for each ion. Make
sure the overall charge is 0; you may need to include more than one positive or
negative ion to ensure the positive and negative charges cancel each other out.
18
 Properties of ionic compounds
 Ionic compounds are usually solid at room temperature
 They have high melting and boiling points
 Ionic compounds are good conductors of electricity in the molten state or in solution
 They are poor conductors in the solid state

Explaining the properties of ionic compounds

Extended tier only

 Ionic compounds have high melting and boiling points

o They have giant structures
o There are strong electrostatic forces of attraction between oppositely charged ions
in all directions
o The forces need lots of energy to overcome them
 Ionic compounds are poor conductors in the solid state
o The ions are in fixed positions in the lattice
o They are therefore unable to move and carry a charge
 Ionic compounds are good conductors of electricity in the molten state or in solution
o When the ionic compound is melted or dissolved in water, the ions are able to
move and carry a charge

 The greater the charge on the ions, the stronger the electrostatic forces and the higher the
melting point will be
o For example, magnesium oxide consists of Mg2+ and O2- so will have a higher
melting point than sodium chloride which contains the ions, Na+ and Cl-

19
 The formation of covalent bonds
Covalent compounds

 Covalent compounds are formed when pairs of electrons are shared between
atoms
 Only non-metal elements participate in covalent bonding
 As in ionic bonding, each atom gains a full outer shell of electrons, giving them
a noble gas electronic configuration
 Covalently bonded substances may consist of small molecules or giant
molecules
 When two or more atoms are covalently bonded together, we describe them as
‘molecules’
 Dot-and-cross diagrams can be used to show the electronic configurations in
simple molecules
o Electrons from one atom are represented by a dot, and the electrons of
the other atom are represented by a cross
o The electron shells of each atom in the molecule overlap and the shared
electrons are shown in the area of overlap
o The dot-and-cross diagram of the molecule shows clearly which atom
each electron originated from

20
Exam Tip
When drawing dot-and-cross diagrams for covalent compounds, make sure that the electron shell
for each atom is full (remember that the 1st shell can only hold 2 electrons).

Single covalent bonds

 Many simple molecules exist in which two adjacent atoms share one pair of electrons, also
known as a single covalent bond (or single bond)

Common Examples of Simple Molecules

Hydrogen:

21
22
23
 Covalent bonds in complex covalent molecules
Extended tier only

 Some atoms need to share more than one pair of electrons to gain a full outer shell of
electrons
 If two adjacent atoms share two pairs of electrons, two covalent bonds are formed, also
known as a double bond
 If two adjacent atoms share three pairs of electrons, three covalent bonds are formed,
also known as a triple bond

Nitrogen:

 When 2 nitrogen atoms react they share 3 pairs of electrons to form a triple bond

24
Exam Tip
Be careful when drawing dot-and-cross diagrams, it is a common mistake for students
to draw the wrong type of diagram.

Remember, if the compound contains metal and non-metal, it is an ionic compound

and you need to draw the ions separated, with square brackets around each ion,
together with a charge.

If the compound contains non-metal atoms only, it is a covalent compound, the shells
should overlap and contain one or more pairs of electrons.

Properties of simple molecular compounds

 Small molecules are compounds made up of molecules that contain just a few atoms covalently
bonded together
 They have low melting and boiling points so covalent compounds are usually liquids or gases at
room temperature
 As the molecules increase in size, the melting and boiling points generally increase

25
  Small molecules have poor electrical conductivity

Explaining the properties of simple molecular compounds

Extended tier only

Linking bonding and properties

 Small molecules have covalent bonds joining the atoms together, but intermolecular forces that
act between neighbouring molecules
 They have low melting and boiling points as there are only weak intermolecular forces
acting between the molecules
 These forces are very weak when compared to the covalent bonds and so most small molecules
are either gases or liquids at room temperature
 As the molecules increase in size the intermolecular forces also increase as there are more
electrons available
 This causes the melting and boiling points to increase

Electrical Conductivity

 Molecular compounds are poor conductors of electricity as there are no free ions or
electrons to carry the charge.
 Most covalent compounds do not conduct at all in the solid state and are thus insulators
 Common insulators include the plastic coating around household electrical wiring, rubber
and wood

26
Exam Tip
The atoms within covalent molecules are held together by covalent bonds while the
molecules in a covalent substance are attracted to each other by intermolecular forces.

Structure of graphite & diamond

What is the structure of graphite?

 Each carbon atom in graphite is bonded to three others forming layers of hexagons, leaving one
free electron per carbon atom which becomes delocalised
 The covalent bonds within the layers are very strong, but the layers are attracted to each other
by weak intermolecular forces

Diagram to show the bonding and structure in graphite

27
 The structure and bonding in graphite

 Diamond and graphite are allotropes of carbon which have giant covalent structures
 Both substances contain only carbon atoms but due to the differences in bonding arrangements
they are physically completely different
 Giant covalent structures contain billions of non-metal atoms, each joined to adjacent atoms by
covalent bonds forming a giant lattice structure

What is the structure of diamond?

 In diamond, each carbon atom bonds with four other carbons, forming a tetrahedron
 All the covalent bonds are identical, very strong and there are no intermolecular forces

Diagram to show the formation of a covalent bond

Diagram showing the structure and bonding arrangement in diamond

Uses of graphite & diamond

Extended tier only

What are the properties and uses of graphite?

 Graphite conducts electricity

28
 o Each carbon atom is bonded to three others leaving one free electron per carbon
atom
o These free (delocalised) electrons exist in between the layers
o They are free to move through the structure and carry charge
 Graphite has a high melting point
o Graphite has a giant covalent structure
o There are strong covalent bonds between the carbon atoms
o These need lots of energy to break
 Graphite is slippery
o Graphite is arranged in layers
o Although the atoms within the layers are joined by strong covalent bonds, the
layers have only weak intermolecular forces between them
o As a result the layers can slide over each other
o This property allows graphite to be used in pencils and as an industrial lubricant

What are the properties and uses of diamond?

 Diamond does not conduct electricity

o All the outer shell electrons in carbon are held in the four covalent bonds around
each carbon atom
o As a result, there are no freely moving particles to carry a charge

 Diamond has a very high melting point

o Diamond has a giant covalent structure
o There are strong covalent bonds between the carbon atoms
o These need lots of energy to break
 It is extremely hard and dense
o It has strong covalent bonds and each carbon atom is bonded to four other carbon
atoms
o Diamond's hardness makes it very useful in cutting tools like drills

 Diamond has the following physical properties:

o It does not conduct electricity
o It has a very high melting point
o It is extremely hard and dense

What are the properties and uses of diamond?

 Diamond does not conduct electricity

o All the outer shell electrons in carbon are held in the four covalent bonds around
each carbon atom

29
 o As a result, there are no freely moving particles to carry a charge

 Diamond has a very high melting point

o Diamond has a giant covalent structure
o There are strong covalent bonds between the carbon atoms
o These need lots of energy to break
 It is extremely hard and dense
o It has strong covalent bonds and each carbon atom is bonded to four other carbon
atoms
o Diamond's hardness makes it very useful in cutting tools like drills

 Diamond has the following physical properties:

o It does not conduct electricity
o It has a very high melting point
o It is extremely hard and dense

Metallic bonding
Extended tier only

The structure of a metal

 Metals consist of giant structures

 Within the metal lattice, the atoms lose their outer electrons and become positively charged
metal ions
o The outer electrons no longer belong to any specific metal atom and are said to
be delocalised
o This means they can move freely between the positive metal ions and act like a “sea of
electrons”
 The metallic bond is the strong force of attraction between the positive metal ions and the
delocalised electrons
 This type of bonding occurs in metals and metal alloys, which are mixtures of metal

30
 Diagram to show metallic bonding

Properties of metals
Extended tier only

What are the properties of metals?

 Most metals have high melting and boiling points

o There are strong electrostatic forces of attraction between the positive metal ions and
the negative delocalised electrons within the metal lattice structure
o These needs lots o energy to be broken
 Metals are good conductors of heat and electricity
o The delocalised electrons are free to move and carry a charge through the whole
structure
 Most metals are malleable
o This means they can be hammered into shape
o This is because the atoms are arranged in layers which can slide over each when force is
applied

Malleability of metals

When a force is applied, the layers of positive ions slide over each o

31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55