Basic Inorganic Chemistry – Flashcards
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Chemistry
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- the study of matter (falls intro 3 categories) and all the reactions they undergo
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Elements
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- substances made up of only one kind of atom (e.g. gold, carbon, oxygen)
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Compounds
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- two or more atoms bound together, forming a new substance (e.g. water H2O, sugar C12H22O11, table salt NaCl)
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Mixtures
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- two or more chemicals mixed together. Not chemically bound (e.g. blood, soda, sand)
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Elements
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- there are 118 known elements - only 92 exist in nature (most in trace amounts) - all are listed in Periodic Table of the Elements NEED TO KNOW Carbon (C) Hydrogen (H) Oxygen (O) Nitrogen (N) Phosphorus (P) Sulfur (S) Elements in smaller amounts Ca, Mg, Fe, K, Na, Cl
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Electron Cloud
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biggest part of atom, contains electrons ~ so small, they are practically weightless ~ charge of -1 ~ involved in bonding ~ neutral atoms: # electrons = # protons
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Nucleus
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solid center - very small Made up of Neutrons: - weigh 1 amu (Dalton) - charge of +1 - every element has a unique number of protons (Atomic Number)
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Ions
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(Remember; neutral atoms have the same number of protons and electrons, and the Atomic Number [from the Periodic Chart] is the same number of protons) - atoms with unequal numbers of protons and electrons; they are electrically charged ~anion - a negative ion ~ cation - a positive ion ~ many atoms exist only as ions in nature ~ ions are very important to biology
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Valence Electrons
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- the outermost layer of electrons - can be predicted from periodic table - all elements try to get a total of 8 valence electrons - the OCTET RULE - valence electrons are involved in bonding ~sharing electrons is a covalent bond ~ giving up an atom or gaining an electron from another atom creates ions, which can then have ionic attractions
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Atomic Weight
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- protons + neutrons
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Isotopes
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- atoms with equal numbers of protons but different numbers of neutrons (same atoms but different mass eg. carbon12 and carbon14)
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Radioactive Atoms
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- atoms with too many particles in nucleus so eject particles to get smaller
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Covalent Bonds
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- form when atoms share electrons - very strong - can be single, double, triple, or quadruple
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Ionic Attractions
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- form when anions and cations attract - can often be broken by water when dissolved e.g. Na+1Cl-1
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Water is Polar
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- water has polar covalent bonds - the electrons in the bond are shared unequally ~gives hydrogen a slight positive charge ~ gives oxygen a slight negative charge
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Hydrogen Bonds
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- weak attractions between two or more molecules. It is an example of intermolecular force, or IMF. - weak; but many H-bonds together are strong - important to the shape of DNA and proteins - NOT covalent bonds; easy to break and that happen between two molecules, not withing one molecule
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Water is Cohesive and Adhesive
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- Water is highly cohesive (it sticks to itself strongly) and adhesive (sticks to other charged particles) due to the Hydrogen bonds. This causes capillary action and surface tension.
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Capillary Action
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- water's ability to travel upwards against gravity e.g. In plants, circulatory system
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Surface Tension
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- the surface of water sticks together tightly resisting breaking e.g. water-strider insects use this to travel across the water when they encounter predators - soap disrupts surface tension
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Water has a Unique Density
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- water is one of the few compounds where the solid state (ice) is lighter than the liquid state (water)
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Water can Dissolve many Compounds
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- water's polarity makes it very easy to take apart ionic attractions, letting ions dissolve in water - it can also dissolve some covalent compounds, like sugar and alcohols
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Water has a High Specific Heat
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- Water takes a lot of energy to heat up, but once hot cools down very slowly [This stabilizes the climate so that temperatures change very little, even from summer to winter
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pH
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- certain chemicals dissolved in water can affect its pH - measure of the concentration of H+ in a chemical. High levels of H+ are found in acids, low levels of H+ in bases
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Acids
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- chemicals that release H+ (hydrogen ions) when dissolved in water
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Bases
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- chemicals that remove H+ from water. This often leaves high levels of the ion OH-, sometimes called alkalis
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The pH Scale
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- pH is measured on a scale centered at 7 ~ Acids: pH values 7; the larger the more powerful ~ Neutral compounds have a pH of 7 - the pH scale is logarithmic; each step is 10 times larger than the one before
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Acid-Base Neutralization Reactions
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- Neutralization reaction: equal volumes of equal strength acids and bases react + form water, salt, and heat
