General Chemistry Intro Flashcards
Atoms
All mass consists of tiny particles called atoms
Composition of an atom
Nucleus surrounded by electrons
Necleons: protons and neutrons that make up the nucleus, approximately equal in size and mass
Strong nuclear force
Protons and neutrons are held together to form the nucleus by this force
Stability can be measured by binding energy: energy that would be required to break the nucleus into individual protons and neutrons
Angstrom
One angstrom is 10^-10 m
Radius of nucleus on order of 10^-14 Angstroms
What distance are electrons from the nucleus?
1 to 3 Angstroms
Mass of subatomic particles
Electron: 5.5 x 10^-4 amu
Proton: 1.0073 amu
Neutron: 1.0087 amu
Why is matter mostly empty space?
Matter is composed of atoms
Atom is composed of mostly empty space
Electron Charge
Symbol, e
Equal to 1.6 x 10^-19 Coulombs or C (SI unit for charge)
Charge of an electron or proton
Element
Building blocks of compounds and cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by chemical means
Atomic number, Z
Number of protons, provides identity of element
Each element has a unique number of protons
Mass Number, A
Number of protons plus neutrons
Varies depending on the number of neutrons
Mass number of element is approximately equal to atomic weight or molar mass of element
Isotope
Two or more atoms of the same element that contain different numbers of neutrons
Nucleus of specific isotope is called nuclide
Isotopes have similar chemical properties
Isotopes of Hydrogen
{1}^H, {2}^H, {3}^H
Protium, Deuterium, and Tritium
99.98% of naturally occurring hydrogen is protium
Isotopes of Carbon
{12}^C, {13}^C, {14}^C
6 neutrons, 7 neutrons, and 8 neutrons, respectively
Ion
Number of electrons and protons are not equal in atom
Atom carries a charge and is not electrically neutral
Cations: positively charged, have fewer electrons than protons
Anions: negatively charged, have more electrons than protons
Salt: neutral compound composed of positive and negative ion together
What does changing the number of neutrons, electrons, and protons do to an element?
Creates isotope, creates ion, and changes to another element, respectively
What happens to the atomic radius when a neutral atom loses an electron to become a cation? gains an electron to become an anion?
Atomic radius never changes, ionic radius does
Ionic radius gets smaller because positive charge of the nucleus exerts a greater attractive force on each valence electron, pulling them closer the nucleus
Loss of electron reduces repulsive forces between electrons further contributing to decrease in size
Loss of electron also increases Z_eff for each electron
Ionic radius gets larger
Periodic Table
Table that lists elements from left to right in order of their atomic numbers
Each horizontal row is called a period
Each vertical column is called a group or family
Elements in the same family share similar chemical and physical properties
What are the two methods commonly used to number groups in the periodic table?
Number 1 through 18 left to right is newer
Separate groups into A and B and then number with Roman numerals is older
What are three common groups for elements in the periodic table?
Nonmetals on right, metals in middle and left, metalloids along diagonal separating the metals and nonmetals
Metals
Large atoms that tend to lose electrons to form positive ions and oxidation states
Atoms in a sea of electrons, fluid-like nature of valence electrons
Metallic character: ductility (easily stretched), malleability (easily hammered into thin strips), thermal and electrical conductivity, and luster
Metal atoms easily slide past each other
Electrons move easily from one metal atom to the next, transferring energy or charge (heat or electricity)
All metals except mercury exist as solids at room temperature
Typically lose electrons to become cations (form ionic bonds)
Groups of periodic table that you should know
Group (1): alkali metals, IA Group (2): alkaline earth metals, IIA Group (16): oxygen group, VIA Group (17): Halogens, VIIA Group (18): Noble gases, VIIIA
What are the names of the periods of the bottom two rows of the periodic table?
Lanthanides on top
Actinides on bottom
Nonmetals
Diverse appearances and chemical behaviors
Molecular substances generally made with nonmetals, because tend to covalently bond
Lower melting points than metals
Tend to form anions, reacting with cations to form ionic compounds
Metalloids
Some metallic and some non-metallic characteristics
Representative elements
Section A groups: 1, 2, 13, 14, 15, 16 17, 18
Main-group elements
Make ions by forming closest noble gas electron configuration
Metals tend to form cations and nonmetals tend to form anions to form noble gas config.
Transition Metals
Section B groups (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
When transition metals form ions, lose electrons from highest s-subshell and then from d-subshell
Common ions formed by transition metals
Group 11 makes +1 ions: Cu+, Ag+, Au+, but also Cu2+, Au3+
Group 6: Cr3+, Group 7: Mn2+, Group 8: Fe2+, Fe3+, Group 9: Co2+, Group 10: Ni2+, Pt2+, Group 12: Zn2+, Cd2+, Hg_2 2+, Hg2+
Group 13: Al3+
Group 14: Sn2+, Pb2+
Group 15: Bi3+
What types of orbitals will an ion have, if possible?
Half-filled or completely filled orbitals
Group 1: half-filled s orbital
Group 2: completely filled s orbital
Group 7: (VIIB) half-filled d orbital
Group 12: (IIB) completely filled d orbital
Group 15: half-filled p orbital
Group 18: completely filled p orbital
Valence electron
Electrons in the outermost shell
Elements in the same group have same number of valence electrons
- Tend to make same number of bonds and exist as similarly charged ions
- Contribute most to an element’s chemical properties
- Located in outermost shell of an atom
- Usually only e-‘s from s and p are considered valence e-‘s
Group 1
Alkali Metals: soft metallic solids with low densities and low melting points
Form 1+ cations (Na+), highly reactive (reacting with most nonmetals to form ionic compounds and hydrogen to form hydrides)
React exothermically (explosively) with water to produce respective metal hydroxide and hydrogen gas
Exist only in compounds in nature
Hydrogen is nonmetal and not like other elements, forms covalent bonds
Hydrogen
Unique and unlike other elements, does not conform to own family
Nonmetal, can form covalent bonds, or ionic bonds with metal cations
Hydrogen is usually colorless, odorless diatomic gas
Acid-base chemistry and intermolecular forces
Group 2
Alkali earth metals: harder, more dense, and melt at higher temperatures than alkali metals
Form 2+ cations (Mg2+)
Less reactive than alkali metals because highest energy electron completes s orbital
Heavier alkaline earth metals are more reactive than lighter ones
Only exist as compounds in nature
Group 14 elements
Form four covalent bonds with nonmetals, but not all are nonmetals
1 nonmetal, 2 metalloids, and 2 metals
All beyond second period form two additional bonds with Lewis bases using d orbitals
Carbon is only element to form strong pi-bonds making double or triple bonds
Group 15 elements
Can form 3 covalent bonds
All beyond second period can form two additional covalent bonds by using d orbitals, and can further bond with Lewis base to form sixth covalent bond
Nitrogen: fourth covalent bond by donating lone pair of electrons to form a bond, forms strong pi-bonds to make double and triple bonds
Phosphorous: can form weak pi-bonds to make double bonds
Group 16 elements
Chalcogens, or oxygen group
Oxygen second most electronegative element, divalent and can form strong pi-bonds to make double bonds and exists as O2 (dioxygen) or O3 (ozone)
Oxygen reacts with metals to form metal oxides and with alkali metals to form peroxides (Na2O2) and super oxides (KO2)
Sulfur: most common form of pure sulfur is yellow solid S8. Metal sulfides (Na2S) are most common in nature. Can form 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 bonds due to 3d orbital, can form strong double pi-bonds also
Group 17 elements
Halogens
Radioactively stable elements are Fluorine (F2 gas at room temp), chlorine (Cl2 gas at room temp), bromine (Br2 liquid at room temp), and iodine (I2 solid at room temp)
Highly reactive, like to gain electron to attain a noble gas config
In compounds:
- Oxidation states as high as 7+ (except F) when bonding to high electronegative elements
- Hydrogen halides: gaseous hydrogen halides soluble in water (hydrohalic acids)
- Ionic halides: React with metals to form (NaCl)
- F always has oxidation state of -1 in compounds (can only make one bond)
Group 18
Noble Gases (inert gases)
Nonreactive and very stable
Noble gases are normally found in nature as isolated atoms
Gases at room temperature
Common Diatomic Molecules
Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Halogens
Safe to assume these are in diatomic form unless otherwise stated
Statement “Nitrogen is nonreactive” refers to N2
Four periodic trends
1: atomic radius- increases going down and to left
2: ionization energy- increases going up and to the right
3: electronegativity- increases going up and to the right
4: electron affinity- increases going up and to the right
Atomic radius
Distance from center of nucleus to outermost electron
Corresponds to size of atom
Radius decreases across period, each subsequent element has additional proton which pulls more strongly on surrounding electrons
Moving down, more shells are added, outer electrons are shielded from attraction of protons, so atomic radius decreases going down group
Electrostatic force
Force between charged objects
Attractive between opposite charges, repulsive between like charges
Coulomb’s law
F = k q1 q2 / r^2
F: electrostatic force, q1 and q2, two charges of particles considered, r: distance between two objects
Negative means an attractive force
When calculating for an electron, should use Z_eff and not Z
Effective nuclear charge
Z_eff
Amount of charge felt by most recently added electron
Perfect Shielding: each electron added to atom would be completed shielded from attractive force of all protons in nucleus except for the last proton added, Z_eff would be 1eV for each electron then
Without shielding, Z_eff would equal Z for each electron
How does Z_eff change in periodic table?
Generally increases going left to right and top to bottom
Although energy level of outermost electrons increases down a group, attractive pull of growing positively charged nucleus outweighs additional shielding effects of higher electron shells
Drops from Neon to Sodium because new shell and only one more proton added to outweigh shielding
How can we understand atomic radius trend using Z_eff?
Effective nuclear charge increases from left to right on periodic table, so each additional electron is pulled more strongly toward nuclease
Result is that atoms tend to get smaller when adding electrons across the periodic table
When moving down a group, each drop represents addition of new electron shell, so atoms tend to increase in size moving down a group even though Z_eff increases
Isoelectric Ions
Ions with the same number of electrons, but different elemental identities
E.g. O2-, F-, neutral Ne, Na+, and Mg2+ all have same number of electrons
Electrons feel different Z_eff with diff. # protons
Largest is O2-, and smallest is Mg2+
Ionization energy
Energy needed to detach an electron from an atom
Generally increases from left to right and bottom to top
First ionization energy: energy necessary to remove an e- from a neutral atom in its gaseous state (largest for noble gases)
Second ionization energy: energy required to remove second e- from same atom to form +2 cation (always greater than first bc Z_eff increases after 1 e- is removed)
Remember that as move to right, Z_eff increases, so pulling e- away is harder, however down a trend, distance is more important