PARTICULATE NATURE OF MATTER
FIRST TERM E-LEARNING NOTES
SUBJECT: CHEMISTRY
CLASS: SS1
WEEK 2
Topic: PARTICULATE NATURE OF MATTER
CONTENTS:
(1) Physical and chemical changes
(2) Elements and their symbols.
(3) Atoms, molecules, atomicity
(4) Dalton’s atomic theory
PERIOD 1: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES
PHYSICAL CHANGES:
DEFINITION: A Physical change is one which is easily reversed and in which no new substances are formed.
Examples:
i. Melting of solids to liquids.
ii. Freezing of liquids to solids.
iii. Vaporization of liquids to gases.
iv. Liquefaction of gases to liquids.
v. Sublimation of solids to vapour.
CHEMICAL CHANGE:
DEFINITION: A chemical change is one which is not easily reversed andin which a new substance is formed.
Examples:
i. Burning of substances.
ii. Dissolution of metals and limestone in acids.
iii. Chemical decomposition – like digestion of food.
iv. Rusting of iron.
v. Charring of sugar.
vi. Dissolution of metals in acids.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGE
PHYSICAL CHANGE CHEMICAL CHANGE
- Easily reversible Not easily reversible
- No new substance is formed New substance is formed
- No change is mass. There is a noticeable change in mass.
- Not accompanied by heat usually accompanied by heat change.
Change.
EVALUATION:
- Mention three familiar process/changes which you know to be: (a) Physical changes (b) chemical changes.
- List three differences between physical change and chemical change.
- Classify each of the following as physical change or chemical change.
(a) Boiling of egg (b) Burning of kerosene (c) Melting of wax (d) Rusting of iron (e) Digestion of glucose (f) Dissolving iron in an acid.
- State with a reason in each case whether each of the following is physical or chemical change.
- Dissolving common salt in water.
- Burning of petrol.
- Digestion of glucose.
PERIOD 2: ELEMENTS AND THEIR SYMBOLS
An element is a substance that cannot be broken into simpler substances by any chemical methods. Examples of elements include: Iron, tin,
There are about 118 known elements of which 92 araluminum etc.e naturally exiting elements and the rest are artificially made.
Symbols are modern ways of representing atoms of elements by using abbreviations. The modern symbols were developed by Berzelius in 1814.
First, He used the first letter in the name of the element.
Examples
ELEMENT SYMBOL
Hydrogen H
Boron B
Carbon C
Nitrogen N
Oxygen O
Fluorine F
Phosphorus P
Sulphur S[mediator_tech]
Iodine I
The second principle uses the first two letters.
Examples:
ELEMENTS SYMBOL
Helium He
Lithium Li
Beryllium Be
Neon Ne
Aluminum Al
Silicon Si
Argon Ar
Calcium Ca
Bromine Br
Barium Ba
The third principle is when the first letter and another letter in the name are used.
Example:
ELEMENTS SYMBOL
Magnesium Mg
Chlorine Cl
Chromium Cr
Manganese Mn
Zinc Zn
The fourth principle is the elements that derived symbols from their Latin names.
Example:
ELEMENT LATIN NAME SYMBOL
Sodium Natrium Na
Potassium Kalium K
Iron Ferrum Fe
Copper Cuprum Cu
Silver Argentum Ag
Tin Stannum Sn
Gold Aurum Au
Mercury Hydrargyrum Hg
Lead Plumbum Pb
PERIOD 3: ATOMS, MOLECULES AND ATOMICITY
ATOMS
DEFINITION: An atom is the smallest particle of an element which can take part in a chemical reaction.
STRUCTURE AND CONSITITUENTS OF AN ATOM
An atom is made up of the three sub-particles known as protons, neutrons and electrons as shown in the diagram below. Their characteristics are also summarized in the table below:
Electron
Nucleus
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUB-PARTICLES
| SUB-PARTICLE | LOCATION | RELATIVE CHARGE | RELATIVE MASS | SYMBOL |
| Proton | Nucleus | + | 1 | p |
| Electron | Outside nucleus | _ | 0.005 | e– |
| Neutron | Nucleus | Zero | 1 | n |
MOLECULES
DEFINITION: A molecule is the smallest particle of a substance that normally exist alone and still retain the chemical properties of that substance be it an element or a compound.
Some molecules can exist independently as single atoms e.g. He, Ne, Ar, Xe etc. Some molecules may be made up of atoms of the same element e.g. a molecule of hydrogen is H2, that of chlorine is Cl2, Oxygen is O2, phosphorus is P4, Sulphur is S8. Some molecules may be made up of different elements e.g. a molecule of water is H2O, Methane is CH4, ammonia is NH3, carbon (iv) oxide is CO2 etc.
ATOMICITY: Atomicity is the number of atoms in each molecule of an element.
Atomicity of some molecules
| Element | Formula of molecule | Atomicity |
| Hydrogen | H2 | 2 |
| Oxygen | O2 | 2 |
| Ozone | O3 | 3 |
| Phosphorus | P4 | 4 |
| Sulphur | S8 | 8 |
| Chlorine | Cl2 | 2 |
| Neon | Ne | 1 |
| Argon | Ar | 1 |
| Tetraoxosulphate(vi) acid | H2SO4 | 7 |
| Amonium tetraoxosulphate(vi) | (NH4)2SO4 | 15 |
PERIOD 4: DALTONS ATOMIC THEORY
In 1808 John Dalton proposed the following Atomic theory.
- All elements are made up of small indivisible particles called atoms.
- Atoms can neither be created or destroyed
- Atoms of the same element are alike in every aspect, and differ from atoms of all other elements.
- When atoms combine with other atoms, they do so in simple ratios.
- All chemical changes result from the combination or the separation of atoms.
MODIFICATIONS OF DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY
The following are the modifications to Dalton’s atomic theory.
- All matter is made up of small particles, protons, neutrons and electrons.
- An atom can be destroyed and created; when radioactive atoms disintegrate with the emission of particles, new atoms are produced.
- The atoms of the same elements are not all alike, but may have different masses as proved by the phenomenon of isotopy.
- In large organic molecules, such as proteins, fats and starch, the combining ratio are in large whole number.
EVALUATION:
- What are the three fundamental units of all matter? Give their relative masses and charges.
- Describe their relative positions to one another in an atom.
- Name the two main part of an atom?
- Mention the three subatomic particles in an atom.
- Which particles are found in each part of the atom?
- List three sub atomic particles with their corresponding charges.
- State four Dalton’s atomic theory with their modifications.
GENERAL EVALUATION
OBJECTIVE TEST:
- The simplest unit of Matter that retains its properties is called. (a) an atom (b) an element (c) an hydroxide (c) a molecule
- Of the basic particles that make up an atom, the one with the smallest mass is? (a) a proton (b) a neutron (c) an x- particle (d) an electron
- The following are physical changes except: (a) melting of candle wax (b) Dissolving common salt in water (c) Freezing of water (d) Rotting of leaves.
- Which of the following is not a molecule of the same element. (a) O2 (b) P4 (c) S8 (d)CO2
- The atomicity of O3 is (a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d )4
ESSAY QUESTIONS
- Write four examples in each case of (a) Physical change (b) Chemical change[mediator_tech]
- Define the following giving two examples in each case. (a) Atom (b) Ion
- Write the symbols for proton, electron and neutrons.
- Define atomicity giving two examples.
- Write four Dalton’s atomic theory.
WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
Write the electronic configuration of the first twenty element using the concept of K,L,M,N and the sub-energy atomic level configuration i.e. s,p,d,f.
