NMAT REVIWER © GIDEON A.

LEGASPI GENERAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

A. ATOMS, IONS, AND MOLECULES

1. ATOMIC STRUCTURE

 Atomic Structure - an atom is composed of three types of subatomic particles: the proton,
neutron, and electron. Mass of atoms is expressed in atomic mass unit or amu (1 amu = 1.66 x 10 -
24
g). Protons and neutrons reside in the small, central, and dense nucleus while the electrons
revolve in the space around the nucleus called the atomic orbital. The properties of the subatomic
particles are summarized in the table below:

Particle Mass (g) Charge Role

Contributes to atomic mass; gives identity to the atom; the
Proton (p+) 1.0073 amu +1
atomic number (Z) refers to the number of p+ in an atom
Contributes to atomic mass; bind the nucleus together ; the mass
Neutron (n0) 1.0087 amu 0
number (A) refers to the number of p+ and n0 in an atom
Determine the atomic radius; the distribution and interaction of
Electron (e-) negligible -1 electrons is responsible for the physical and chemical properties
of an atom

 The representation of an element is illustrated in the figure below. Since elements are electrically
neutral, the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons.

 Ions are charged particles that are formed upon losing or gaining electron(s). When an electron is
lost, the atom gains a net positive charge and is now called as a cation. Meanwhile, if an electron is
gained, the atom gains a net negative charge and is now called as an anion.

 Isotopes are same elements but with different number of neutrons, hence different mass number.
For example, the isotopes of hydrogen (11 H) are deuterium (21 H) and tritium (31 H). Usually the
isotope with the highest mass number is radioactive like tritium.

4. PERIODIC TABLE

 Dmitri Mendeleev – arranged the elements according to increasing atomic masses and noted the
periodicity in their properties. He left “gaps” in his periodic table then predicted that elements
would be discovered to fill these “gaps” in the table which turned out to be correct as these
elements were later discovered!
 Lothar Meyer – independently proposed the same scheme as Mendeleev but with some
inaccuracies.
 Henry Moseley – proponent of the modern periodic table which arranges element according to
increasing atomic number (number of protons) by interpreting his X-ray bombardment studies
on various elements
 Group or Family – elements that belong to the same column; they exhibit similar properties
Group IA or Alkali metals – form base or alkali when they react with water
Group IIA or Alkaline Earth Metals – also form base with water and occur in minerals
Group IIIA or Boron Family
Group IV A or Carbon Family
Group VA or Nitrogen Family
Group VIA or Chalcogens – form soft minerals with metals
Group VIIA or Halogens – form salts with metals
Group VIII A or Noble (Inert) Gases – does not usually combine with other elements
Group B – transition metals

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NMAT REVIWER © GIDEON A. LEGASPI GENERAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

 Period or Series – the elements that belong to the same row; they exhibit periodic trends in
various physical and chemical properties; represent energy level of atomic orbital

 Elements in the periodic table are metallic, non-metallic, or metalloids. Metals tend to lose
electrons. They have characteristic shine or luster. They are good conductors of heat and
electricity since they have loose electrons on their orbitals. They can be hammered into thin sheets
(malleable) or drawn into fine wires (ductile). They are solid at room temperature except
mercury which is the only liquid metallic element. Metals include group IA, IIA, and all group B
elements.

 In contrast, nonmetals are either solid, liquid, or gas. They tend to gain electrons and not lose
them. They are insulators because they conduct heat and electricity poorly. When solid, they are
dull in appearance and brittle. Group IIIA to VIII A elements are nonmetals except for a few
metalloids.

 Metalloids have intermediate characteristics between a metal and non-metal. They can be soft to
quite hard. They are considered as semiconductors and are used in making electronic devices such
as microchips and transistors. Metalloids include boron (B), silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), arsenic
(As), antimony (Sb), tellurium (Te), and astatine (At).

 Periodic Properties of Elements – physical properties that varies with a specific trend through the
periodic table:
1. Atomic Radius or Size (AR) – the measure of distance form the nucleus to the outermost
orbital.
2. Metallic Character (MC) – the tendency of an element to lose electron hence behave as metal.
3. Electronegativity (EN) – the tendency of an atom to attract electron to itself or simply it‟s the
“electron appeal”. Noble gases are not electronegative since they already satisfy their valency.
4. Ionization Energy (IE) – the energy required to remove an electron from an atom in
gaseous ground state.

The following arrow notation summarizes the trend in these periodic properties as you go
through the periodic table:

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NMAT REVIWER © GIDEON A. LEGASPI GENERAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

 For ionic radius, a cation is smaller than its parent atom since its formation results from loss of
electron. Meanwhile, an anion is bigger than its parent atom since its formation results from gain
of electron. An isoelectronic series of ions belongs to the same series and possess the same number
of electrons. The radius of isoelectronic series of ions increases as the charge of the ions becomes
more negative. For example the trend in ionic radius for the given isoelectronic ions is: Al 3+ <
Mg2+ < Na+ < F- < O2-.

5. CHEMICAL NOMENCLATURE

 Chemical nomenclature refers to the naming system of ions and compounds. The name of a
monoatomic cations is also the same as its parent atom. Group IA, IIA, and IIIA elements form
+1, +2, and +3 ions respectively. Polyatomic cations end with the suffix –ium. Transition metals
usually form cations with different oxidation state or charge. The one with a lower and higher
charge are named with the suffix –ous and –ic respectively like ferrous (Fe2+) and ferric (Fe3+).
Another scheme of naming them is by simply stating their common name then enclose the number
of their charge in Roman numeral form in a parenthesis like iron (II) for Fe 2+ and iron (III) for Fe3+.
Below is a summary table of common cations.

1+ Name 1+ or 2+
+ +
H Hydrogen Cu Cuprous or copper (I)
Li+ Lithium Cu2+ Cupric or copper (II)
Na+ Sodium Hg22+ Mercurous or mercury (I)
K+ Potassium Hg2+ Mercuric or mercury (II)
Rb+ Rubidium 2+ or 3+
Cs+ Cesium Cr 2+
Chromous or chromium (II)
NH4+ Ammonium Cr3+ Chromic or chromium (III)
H3O+ Hydronium Mn2+ Manganous or manganese (II)
2+ Mn3+ Manganic or manganese (III)
+2
Be Beryllium Fe2+ Ferrous or iron (II)
Mg2+ Magnesium Fe3+ Ferric or iron (III)
Ca2+ Calcium Co2+ Cobaltous or cobalt (II)
Sr2+ Strontium Co3+ Cobaltic or cobalt (III)
Ba2+ Barium Ni2+ Nickelous or nickel (II)
Zn2+ Zinc Ni3+ Nickelic or nickel(III)
Cd2+ Cadmium 2+ or 4+
2+
3+ Name Sn Stannous or tin (II)
3+
Al Aluminum Sn4+ Stannic or tin (IV)
1+ or 3+ Pb2+ Plumbous or lead (II)
Au+ Aurous or gold (I) Pb4+ Plumbic or lead (IV)
3+
Au Auric or gold (III)

 The name of monoatomic anion together with some polyatomic ones ends with the suffix –ide as
summarized in the table below:

1- Name 2- Name
- 2-
H Hydride O Oxide
F- Fluoride O2 2- Peroxide
Cl- Chloride S2- Sulfide
Br- Bromide Se2- Selenide
I- Iodide 3-
OH- Hydroxide N 3-
Nitride
CN- Cyanide P3- Phosphide
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NMAT REVIWER © GIDEON A. LEGASPI GENERAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

 Oxyanions are polyatomic anions that contain at least one oxygen atom. For the PO43- which are all
1- in charge, the following scheme is being used which applies for chlorine, bromine, and iodine
oxyanions:

O atoms Name Example Name

1O Hypo........-ite ClO- Hypochlorite
2O .................-ite ClO2- Chlorite
3O .................-ate ClO3- Chlorate
4O Per...........-ate ClO4- Perchlorate

 For oxyanions of nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphate, the one with lower and higher number of
oxygen atoms are named as –ite and –ate respectively:

Name Name
- -
NO2 Nitrite NO3 Nitrate
SO32- Sulfite SO42- Sulfate
PO33- Phosphite PO43- Phosphate

 For other oxyanions that ends in –ate:

Name Name
- 2-
CH3COO Acetate CO3 Carbonate
MnO4- Permanganate HCO3- Bicarbonate
2-
CrO4 Chromate HSO3- Bisulfite
2-
Cr2O7 Dichromate HSO4- Bisulfate
2-
C2O4 Oxalate HPO32- Biphosphite
-
SCN Thiocyanate HPO42- Biphosphate
2-
S2O3 Thiosulfate

A. Ionic Compounds

 Ionic compounds are formed by combining a cation and an anion through an ionic bonding or
electrostatic attraction. To achieve charge neutrality, their charges are being interchanged and are
written as subscript:

Mx+ + NY- ---> MYNx

 However, if the numerical value of their charge are equal, we simply cancel out the charges:

Mx+ + NX- ---> MN

 In naming ionic compounds, the cation name is written first before that of the anion.

B. Molecular Compounds

 Molecular compounds are formed by two nonmetals by covalent bonds or electron sharing. The
prefixes mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta-, octa-, nona-, deca-, undeca-, and dodeca- are
used to indicate the number of atoms of each component. However, the prefix mono- is not used
for the first atom in the chemical formula. For the first atom, the original name of the atom is
retained. For the second atom, its name should end in –ide. Also, when the prefix ends with -a or –
o and the name of the atom also starts with a vowel, the –a or o- of the
 prefix is dropped. For example for monooxygen it is contracted to monoxide.

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C. INORGANIC ACIDS

 Inorganic acids have H+ as the cation and any other anion. The name of the acid depends on
the name of the anion. When the anion ends with –ide the name of the acid is a hydro....-ic acid.
If the anion name is an –ite the name of the acid is an ......-ous acid. Lastly, if the name of the
anion is –ate the name of the acid is an ........-ic acid.

D. NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY

 The different notations for particles during radioactive decay:

Particle Symbol Standard Equation Format

4
Alpha 2He

- 0
Beta (electron) -1e
+ 0
Positron (Beta plus) +1e

Neutron n0 1
0n

Proton p+ 1
1p

1. Radioactive Decay

 Radioactive decay refers to the spontaneous nuclear reaction that is accompanied by emission
of high energy radiation. During this process the mass number and electrical charge is
conserved. The different types of radioactive decay are:

1. Beta decay – release of beta particles which are high speed electrons. This reaction is
equivalent to the conversion of a neutron to proton thereby increasing the atomic number.
131
53 I --> 3154 Xe + 0-1e

2. Positron emission – release of positron which is a particle that has the same mass as
an electron but has positive charge. This reaction is equivalent to the conversion of a
proton to neutron thereby decreasing the atomic number.
11 11 0
16 C --> 15 B + +1e

3. Electron capture – is the capture by the nucleus of an inner-shell electron. It also has
the effect of converting proton to neutron thereby decreasing the atomic number.
81 0 81
37 Rb + -1e ---> 36 Kr

4. Gamma radiation – is the release of high energy gamma radiation (00g) due to nuclear
rearrangements. No change in the mass or charge of the atom will occur.
58
26 Fe* ---> 58
26 Fe + 0
0g

5. Alpha decay – is the release of alpha particles (42He)

238 234 4
92 U ---> 90 Th + 2He

 Half-life is the time required for half of any given quantity of a substance to react. Each
radioisotope has a characteristic half-life. For example, cobalt-60 which is used for cancer
radiation therapy has a half-life of 5.3 years. So for a 1.00 g sample of cobalt-60 it will take 5.3
years before its amount is reduced to 0.500 g and 10.6 yrs to 0.250g and so on and so forth. The
general formula in calculating the amount of remaining substance after n half-lives is:

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Amount left = (1/2)n (original amount)

 Aside from cancer therapy, radioactive substances are used as radiotracers that are
incorporated in living systems to trace a particular reaction or activity inside its system or for
biological and medical imaging. For example, iodine-131 is used to probe the condition of
thyroid gland since it is the particular organ of our body than accumulates iodine to synthesize
thyroid hormones. The fission or splitting of radioactive substances gives off a lot of energy
that can be utilized as source of electrical power or harnessed into atomic bombs. Uranium-
235 and plutonium-239 are particularly used for these purposes.

E. ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE OF ATOMS

1. QUANTUM MECHANICS

 Quantum Theory states that electrons in atoms can have only certain discrete energies in
referred to as energy states or energy levels. Normally, the electron is in the state of lowest
energy called the ground state (n=1). By absorbing a certain definite amount of energy
(quanta), the electron can move to a higher level, called an excited state (n=2,3...). When
electrons return to lower energy levels, energy may be given off as light. The difference in
energy between the levels can be deduced from the wavelength or frequency of the light.

 A quantum number set describes the allowed energy states of electrons in atoms and
molecules. The orbital is the region in space about the nucleus where electrons are located. The
QN set consists of four quantum numbers:

1. Principal QN (n) – is the energy level of an electron which can have integral values of
n = 1, 2, 3, 4..... As n increases, the orbital or shell becomes larger and energy increases. In the
periodic table, the n values correspond to the series or period.

2. Azimuthal QN (l) – defines the shape of the orbital, it is also known as the subshell. It
can have integral values of l = 0....n-1. The value for l is designated by the letters s, p, d, and f
for l values of 0, 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The s orbital is spherical in shape while p orbitals
have dumb-bell shape.

3. Magnetic QN (ml) – describes the orientation of the orbital in space. It can have
integral values, ml = -l...0...+l. For l = 1 (p orbital) the ml values are -1, 0, +1 which
correspond to px, py, and pz respectively. The subscript x, y, and z refers to the spatial
orientation at x, y, and z axis respectively.

4. Magnetic Spin QN (ms) – describes the direction of electron spin (whether clockwise
or counterclockwise) which is designated as either spinning “up‟ or “down”. It can have
values of +1/2 or -1/2 for spinning “up” or “down”

 Representation of electrons in a particular orbital is done by using boxes. Each box is capable
of containing two electrons in opposite spins, which are represented by arrows or fish hooks. An
“arrow up” and “arrow down” correspond to ms values of 1/2 and -1/2 respectively. The s, p, d,
and f orbitals are represented by 1, 3, 5, and 7 boxes and can therefore contain a maximum of 2,
6, 10, and 14 electrons respectively. The orientation (m l value) is designated as numbers atop
the boxes from -l...0...+l. The electrons located at boxes on the same energy level are said to be
generate degenerate.

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 There are three guiding rules or principles that are used in filling up the atomic orbitals:

1. Aufbau principle – also known as the building-up principle, this states that orbitals
are filled from the lowest to the highest energy level. The diagram below illustrates this
principle:

2. Hund’s rule – also known as the maximum multiplicity rule, this states that for
degenerate orbitals the lowest energy is attained when the number of electrons with the
same spin is maximized. Simply stated, you fill all the orbitals with arrow up first before
pairing with an arrow down. For example, if you are to fill the p orbital with four electrons:

3. Pauli’s exclusion principle – states that no two electrons in an atom can have the
same set of four QN. For example for the two electrons of helium one will have a
quantum of 1, 0, 0,1/2 while the other one is 1, 0, 0, -1/2, which shows no two electron
can occupy the same space at the same time.

2. ELECTRON CONFIGURATION

 Electron configuration (EC) refers to the way in which the electrons are distributed among the
various orbitals of an atom. We use the three guiding rules above in writing the EC of an atom.
The electron configuration jibes with the periodic table! Group IA and IIA represent the s-block
elements. Group IIIA to VIIIA represent the p-block elements. The s- and p-blocks are said to be
the representative elements. Group B or transition metals represent the d-block elements.
Lastly, the lanthanide and actinide series represent the f-block elements. Meanwhile, the period or
series number designates the energy level!

 The electron configuration can be represented with the noble gas configuration. Helium has a
configuration of 1s2 while Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, and Rn have configuration of 2p 6, 3p6, 4p6, 5p6, and 6p6
respectively.

 The excess EC from that of the noble gas are the outermost electrons of an atom which is referred
to as the valence electrons. They are responsible for the physical properties of an atom and the
chemical reactions that it undergoes.

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 For the representative (group A) elements the valence electron is equal to the group number,
therefore Group IA has 1 valence electron while group IVA has four. The noble gases (except
helium) have eight valence electrons which is said to be an octet. Having an octet valency is the
most stable configuration because here all the electrons are paired. Metals lose electron(s) to be at
an octet state while non-metals accept electron(s) to reach this stable noble gas configuration.

F. CHEMICAL BONDING AND MOLECULAR GEOMETRY.

1. CHEMICAL BONDING
 Chemical bonds are of three general types:
1. Metallic bond – found in metallic solids wherein each metal atom is bonded to several
neighboring atoms. This is represented best in the electron-sea model where metal cations form a
“sea” of mobile valence electrons. The loose electrons are responsible for the observed properties
that are unique for metals.
2. Ionic bond – is the electrostatic attraction between a cation and an anion. Remember metals
tend to lose and donate their electron(s) to non-metals to form ionic compounds.
3. Covalent bonds – results from sharing of electrons between two atoms which are nonmetallic.

 Lewis symbol (after Gilbert N. Lewis) or electron-dot symbol conveniently represent the valence
electron of an atom. Each side of an atom is imagined to contain an orbital that can accommodate
two electrons and are filled according to Hund‟s rule. Again, for Group A elements the valence
electron(s) is equal to the group number:

 Remember that the goal of chemical bonding is to achieve an octet like the noble gases. Metals
give up electron(s) while nonmetals gain electron(s) to achieve this state. This is understandable
because metals have low electronegativity and ionization energy hence can easily lose valence
electrons while nonmetals are the opposite.

 Formation of ionic bond can be illustrated below. The stability of ionic compounds is measured by
its lattice energy. The greater is the difference in their ionization energy, the higher is the lattice
energy.

 Since nonmetals have high ionization energy and electronegativity, their tendency is to share
electrons rather than give them up completely. When electrons are shared it forms a covalent
bond which in Lewis structure is drawn by a line connecting the two atoms. The electron pairs
that are not involved in covalent bonding are represented as dots and are called as lone pairs.

2. LEWIS STRUCTURE

 The Lewis structure is useful in understanding the bonding and properties of molecular compounds.
The steps in drawing Lewis structure are:
1. Get the total valence electrons (TVE) from each atom. If the compound is ionic add or
subtract 1for every negative or positive charge respectively.
2. Draw a skeletal structure where the atoms are connected by single bond. Remember the
central atom is usually written first or chemical formulas are often written in the order of their
connection.
3. Complete the octet of the bonded atoms (remember H can only have 2 electrons!)
4. Place any leftover electrons on the central atom (even if it results to more than the octet).
5. If the electrons are not enough to give the central atom an octet, try multiple bonds.

 Formal Charge (FC) – is the charge that an atom in a molecule would have if all the atoms had the
same electronegativity. To calculate the formal charge:

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NMAT REVIWER © GIDEON A. LEGASPI GENERAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

Meanwhile the molecular charge (MC) is simply the sum of all the formal charges and should be
equivalent to the charge in the given molecular formula.

3. EXCEPTIONS TO OCTET
 Some atoms can have less or more than an octet and they are:
a. Less than an Octet – boron (e.g. BF3)
b. More than an Octet – phosphorus (e.g. PCl5), sulfur (e.g. SF6), iodine (e.g. ICl5),
and bromine (e.g.BrF5) due to d-orbitals that can accommodate the extra electrons.

4. MOLECULAR GEOMETRY
 Molecular geometry refers to the shape that a molecule has in space. That particular shape is
determined by the two types of electron pairs: the bonding pairs (lines) and lone pairs of electron
(dots) around the central atom. The valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) model is
useful in predicting the shape of a molecule. In general VSEPR model states that the shape of a
particular molecule is the one that minimizes the repulsion among electron pairs.

 Simply counting the bonding pairs (X) and lone pairs (E) around the central atom (A) will help
you in predicting this geometry as illustrated in the subsequent tables. For symmetrical molecules
which do not contain any lone pairs of electron, the following table summarizes the geometry of
molecules based on AXn formula. Take note that a multiple bond is counted as a single bonding
pair!

Molecular Geometry for Symmetrical Molecules (AXn)

Gen. Molecular Bond Angle

Illustration Example
Formula Geometry

AX2 Linear 1800 CO2

AX3 Trigonal Planar 1200 BF3

AX4 Tetrahedral CH4

0
109.5

Trigonal
AX5 Equatorial -1200 PCl5
bipyramidal
Axial - 900

Equatorial -900
AX6 Octahedral Axial - 900 SF6

 Now for asymmetrical molecules which have lone pair(s) of electron on the central atom, the
formula will be AXnEn. Lone pairs have higher repulsive forces than bonding pairs, hence, they
tend to distort the symmetrical geometry to an asymmetrical ones. This leads to a new molecular
shape that has distorted angles from their symmetrical origin. For example the transformation from
AX3 (trigonal planar) to AX2E results to the formation of a bent structure with bond angle of less
than 1200. Other shapes are the distorted form of tetrahedral shape (trigonal pyramidal and bent
shapes), trigonal bipyramidal shape (seesaw, T-shaped, linear shapes), and that of octahedral shape
(square pyramidal and tetrahedral shapes).


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Molecular Geometry for Asymmetrical Molecules (AXn)

Gen. Molecular Bond Angle

Illustration Example
Formula Geometry

AX2E Bent Less than 1200 NO2

AX3E Trigonal Pyramidal NH3

Less than 109.50

AX2E2 Bent Less than 109.50 H2O

Equatorial – less than

AX4E Seesaw 1200 SF4
Axial - less than 900

Equatorial – less than

AX3E2 T-shaped 1200 ClF3
Axial - less than 900
Equatorial – less than
1200
AX2E3 Linear XeF2
Axial - less than 900

Equatorial – less than

AX5E Square pyramidal 900 BrF5
Axial - less than 900

Equatorial – less than

Square 900 XeF4 &
AX4E2
pyramidal Axial - less than 900 PtCl4

5. STOICHIOMETRY

A. ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR WEIGHTS

 The atomic weight (AW) of an atom is in fact the average atomic mass which is the summation of
the product of the percent abundance and atomic weight of each isotope of an element.

Sample Exercise: Naturally occurring chlorine is 75.53% Cl-35 with an atomic mass of 34.969
amu, and 24.47% Cl-37, which has an atomic mass of 36.966 amu. Calculate the atomic weight
of chlorine.
AW Cl = (.7553 x 34.969 amu) + (0.2447 x 36.966 amu)
AW Cl = 26.41 amu + 9.05 amu = 35.46 amu

Practice Exercise: Boron has two known isotopes: boron-10 (19.78% abundance, 10.013 amu)
and boron-11 (80.22% abundance, 11.009 amu). Calculate the atomic weight of boron.

 The molecular weight (MW) or formula weight (FW) of a substance is the sum of the atomic
weights of each atom in its chemical formula. The unit for MW is amu.

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Sample Exercise: Calculate the molecular weight of glucose, C 6H12O6

MW glucose = (6 x 12) + (12 x 1) + (6 x 16) = 72 + 12 + 96 = 180 amu

Practice Exercise: Calculate the molecular weight of (NH4)2CO3

 The percentage composition from formula is simply total weights of each type of atom in the
chemical formula divided the molecular weight times 100%.

Sample Exercise: Calculate the percentage composition of glucose, C 6H12O6.

Practice Exercise: Calculate the percentage of nitrogen in (NH 4)2CO3.

 Empirical formula (EF) is the simplest whole number ratio of constituent atoms in a compound. It
can be calculate from the percentage composition by:
1. Assuming 100 g from each % of atom, divide each one with their respective AW
2. Divide thee resulting quotient with the smallest value. If the resulting ratio is already
whole numbers, then it is already the EF. If not, then multiply the ratio with a factor that
will make them all whole numbers.
4. To get the molecular formula (MF) from EF, simply divide MW with empirical weight
(EW), then multiply the ratio with the EF.

Sample Exercise: The percentage composition of glucose is 40.0% C, 6.67% H, and

53.3% O. (a). What is the EF of glucose? (b) If MW of glucose is 180 amu, what is the
MF?

Practice Exercise: The percentage composition of vitamin C is 40.92% C, 4.58% H, and

54.50% O. (a). What is the EF of vitamin C? (b) If MW of vitamin C is 174 amu, what is
the MF?

B. MOLE CONCEPT

 A mole (abbreviated as mol) is the amount of matter that contains as many particles as the number
of atoms in exactly 12 g of carbon-12. This number is equivalent to 6.023 x 1023 which is also
known as the Avogadro’s number (N) after the Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro. To calculate
for the mole (n) of a given mass of sample in grams (g), the mass is divided by the molar mass (M).
The molar mass is equal to the molecular weight but the unit is g/mol and not amu. The formula is
expressed below along with the flow of interconversion from mass to moles to number of particles:

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Sample Exercise. If you have 9.00 g of glucose (C6H12O6), (a) how many moles of glucose do
you have? (b) How many molecules of glucose are there?

Practice Exercise. If a sample of NaOH has 1.807 x 1024 molecules of NaOH, (a) how many
moles of NaOH are there? (b) How many grams of NaOH are there?
(a)

(b)

C. CHEMICAL REACTIONS AND EQUATIONS

 A chemical equation is a concise representation of a chemical reaction. It consists of the

reactant(s) at the left side and the product(s) at the right side.

 The law of conservation of matter dictates the need to “balance” a chemical equation so that the
number of atoms on each side will be equal. An appropriate coefficient is written on each chemical
species, but the number 1 is not shown explicitly. Balancing a chemical equation involves “trial-and-
error”, however, it will be helpful if you balance the unique elements first before balancing the atoms
that appears on at least two types of compounds on either the product or reactant side.

 Chemical reactions can be classified as to:

(1) Addition reaction or synthesis – several reactants combine to form a single product
A + B ---> C
(2) Decomposition reaction – a reactant produces is degraded into two or more products
A ---> B + C
(3) Single displacement or substitution – a reactant replaces an atom in a compound
AB + C --> AC + B
(4) Double displacement or metathesis reaction – involves interchange of elements or
ions between two compounds:
AB + CD --> AD + CB

Practice Exercise: Balance and classify the following chemical reactions:

(a) KClO3 ----> KCl + O2

(b) SiO2 + C ----> SiC + CO

(c) CH3OH + O2 ---> CO2 + H2O

(d) Al + HCl ----> AlCl3 + H2

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D. STOICHIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

 Stoichiometry is derived from the Greek words stoicheion („element”) and metron (“measure”). It
is the quantitative analysis involving chemical formulas and chemical reactions. The coefficients
on a balanced chemical equation actually represent mole ratios! The stoichiometric factor (SF) is
the ratio between the coefficients of any two chemical species in the chemical equation. The
following flowchart is useful in interconverting quantities from a balanced chemical equation:

Sample Exercise: Given the reaction in photosynthesis: 6CO2 + 6H2O --->C6H12O6 + 6O2.
If 180 g of water was reacted with unlimited supply of CO2, how many grams of glucose can be
produced?

Practice Exercise: Given the unbalanced reaction: N2 + H2 ---> NH3.

(a) If 280 g of N2 was made to react with excess H2, how many grams of ammonia will be
produced?

(b) If 136 g of ammonia is to be synthesized, how many grams of H 2 is needed?

E. LIMITING REACTANT & PERCENT YIELD

 The limiting reactant (LR) is the one that is consumed completely during the course of the
reaction and determines the theoretical yield of the product. The other reagent that is not consumed
completely is the excess reactant (ER). The LR is the reagent that gives the least amount of product
that can be formed. The mole of each reactant is multiplies with the appropriate SF to find the LR. The
actual or experimental yield is the usually less than the theoretical due to loss of reagent during
processing, incomplete reactions, and the presence of contaminants. To calculate the percent yield:

Sample Exercise: Given the reaction: 2H 2 + O2 ---> 2H2O. If 4.00mol of each H2 and O2 were
reacted (a) which will be the LR? (b) How many grams of water will be produced?

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Practice Exercise: Given the unbalanced reaction: N2 + H2 ---> NH3.

(a) If 2.00 moles of N2 and 3.00 moles of H2 were made to react, which will be the LR?

(b) How many grams of ammonia can be synthesized?

(c) If 17.0 g of ammonia were actually produced, what is the percent yield?

6. GASES

 Gas particles are far apart and moving in rapid and random motion. The important properties of a
gas include the number of moles (n), volume (V), temperature (T), and pressure (P). Volume is
expressed in liters (L) because a gas can occupy a large space. Temperature is expressed in Kelvin.
Meanwhile pressure, which is defined as the exerted force per unit area (P = F/A), can be expressed
in the following units:

1 atmospheric pressure (atm) = 760 torr = 760 mmHg = 101.325 kPa (SI unit)

 The unit of torr is named after Evangelista Torricelli, the inventor of manometer which is used to
measure atmospheric pressure. A manometer is a long glass tube filled with mercury, and 1 atm is
equivalent to 760 mmHg. The SI unit of Pascal (Pa) after Blaise Pascal but is seldom used.

A. GAS LAWS

 The gas laws express the interrelationship among the properties of gases. The combined gas law is
the synthesis of these gas laws:

 The subscripts i and f stands for initial and final conditions. When one of the variable is constant
the combined gas law is reduced to the individual gas laws:
1. When T is constant it is reduced to Boyle’s law which expresses the P-V relationship.
It states that volume of a gas is inversely proportional to the pressure:

2. When P is constant it is reduced Charle’s law which expresses the T-V relationship. It
states that volume of a gas is directly proportional to the temperature:

3. When V is constant it is reduced Gay-Lussac’s law which expresses the P-T

relationship. It states that pressure of a gas is directly proportional to the temperature:

4. Another law called the Avogadro’s law expresses the n-V relationship. It states that
the volume of a gas is directly proportional to the number of moles at constant P and T.
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Sample Exercise: A 7.00L weather balloon at 27.00C and 1.00 atm ascends to a height of 500
m where the pressure is 0.800 atm and the temperature is 17.0 0C. What is the volume of the
balloon at that height?

Practice Exercise
(1) What will happen to the pressure of a gas sample if the temperature is tripled and the
volume is halved?

(2) The pressure inside an aerosol can is 1.5 atm at 25.00C. What would be the pressure
when it is heated to 1000C?

B. IDEAL GAS EQUATION

 An ideal gas is the one where the molecular volume and forces of attraction and repulsion are
negligible. The formula for the ideal gas equation includes the ideal gas constant (R) with the
value of 0.0821 L-atm/mol-K:

Sample Exercise: What is the pressure inside a 10.0L propane gas (C3H8) cylinder at 27.00C, if
the mass of propane in the cylinder is 132 g?

Practice Exercise: Given the unbalanced reaction: N2 + H2 ---> NH3.

If 140 kg of N2 is made to react with excess H2, what will be the volume of synthesized ammonia
at 5270C and 200 atm? (This is called the Haber-Bosch process)

 At standard temperature (00C) and pressure (1.00 atm) the volume of exactly 1.00 mol of any ideal
gas is:

This means that you can use ratio and proportion in calculating problems involving ideal gases at
standard temperature and pressure (STP).
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Sample Exercise: What will be the volume of 1.00 mol of an ideal gas at 25.0 0C and 1.00 atm?

Practice Exercise: What will be the volume of 2.00mol of an ideal gas at 0 0C and 4.00 atm?

 The density of a gas can be calculated from the ideal gas equation:

At constant P and T it can be seen that density is directly proportional to molar mass of the gas,
that is the higher is the molar mass of a gas, the denser it is.

Sample Exercise: What is the density of oxygen gas at STP?

Practice Exercise: Arrange the given gases according to increasing density: N 2, Cl2, H2, and Br2.

7. SOLUTIONS CHEMISTRY

 Solutions are homogeneous mixtures. The solvent is the “substance that H

dissolves” and is usually present in larger amount. It also determines the H H
O
H
phase of solution. The solute is the “substance being dissolved”. The
O
H H H
Na + Cl-
process of dissolution involves the solvation of solute particles. In this H
O O
H
O
H
process, the interaction between solute particles is disrupted by the H
O
H
H
O
formation of solvent-solute interactions. If the solvent is water, the process H
is called hydration as illustrated in the dissolution of NaCl in water via
ion-dipole interaction.

A. FACTORS AFFECTING SOLUBILITY

 Solubility is the amount of solute that can be dissolved in a given amount of solvent at a particular
temperature. For example, the solubility of NaCl is 36g/100 ml of H2O at 25.00C. A solubility
curve shows the solubility of a solute as a function of temperature. When the dissolved solute is
less than, equal to, or more than the solubility limit the solution is said to be unsaturated,
saturated, and supersaturated respectively.

 There are several factors affecting solubility. The nature of the solute and solvent determines
whether two or more substances are mutually soluble. The maxim is “likes dissolves like”, that is
polar solute dissolves in polar solvent and nonpolar solute in nonpolar solvent. Water, called the
universal solvent, is a polar solvent that dissolves a wide range of polar substances. Nonpolar

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solvents include hexane, ether, and dichloromethane. Two liquids that are mutually soluble are said
to be miscible and if not they are immiscible.

 Temperature also affects the solubility. For solid solutes in liquid, the solubility generally
increases with increasing temperature. For gaseous solutes in liquid, the solubility decreases with
increasing temperature. This is the reason for the bubbling of water during boiling. It also explains
why carbonated drinks taste flat when not cold.

 Pressure does not affect solubility of solid in liquid nor liquid in liquid. However, gases become
more soluble in liquid with increasing pressure and of course become less soluble with decreasing
pressure. This explains the fizzing of soft drinks and wine when it is opened from its original
container.

B. CONCENTRATION EXPRESSIONS

 There are many ways of expressing the concentration of a solution. The formula for percent
weight/volume (%w/v), percent volume/volume (%v/v), percent weight/weight (%w/w) parts per
thousand (ppt), parts per million (ppm), parts per billion (ppb) are given below:

Sample Exercise: Express the concentration when 25.0 g of NaCl is dissolved in 75.0 g of H 2O
in terms of (a) % w/v (b) parts per thousand.

Practice Exercise: If 200 mg of Pb2+ is present per 1000 ml of water, what is the concentration
in (a) % w/w (b) parts per million?

 The concentration in mole fraction (c), molarity (M), molality (m) is given below:

Sample Exercise: Express the concentration when 20.0 g of NaOH is dissolved in 180.0 ml of
H2O in terms of (a) mole fraction of NaOH (b) molarity.

Practice Exercise:
(1) How many grams of glucose (C6H12O6) are needed to prepare 2.50L of 4.00M glucose
solution?
(2) What is the molality when 90.0g of glucose is dissolved in 1.00L of water if the density of the
solution is 1.10 g/ml?

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C. COLLIGATIVE PROPERTIES

 Colligative properties are properties of a solution that depends on the amount of solute added and
not on its kind. If a nonvolatile & nonelectrolyte solute is added to a pure solvent the following
phenomenon will be observed: (1) lowering of vapor pressure; (2) elevation of boiling point;
(3) depression or lowering of freezing point; and (4) increase in osmotic pressure.

 The boiling and freezing of a liquid substance is affected by the vapor pressure. The lowering of the
vapor pressure of a solution leads to the elevation of its boiling point (BP) and depression of its
freezing point (FP). The following formula is used to calculate the change in temperature of boiling
and freezing of a solution:

The constant Kb is called ebullioscopic constant while Kf is called cryoscopic constant. To

calculate the BP of the solution, DTb is added to the BP of the pure solvent. Meanwhile, to
calculate the FP of the solution, the FP of the solvent is subtracted to the DTf .

Sample Exercise: What is the BP and FP of the resulting solution when 9.00 g of glucose is
dissolved in 200.0 ml of water given that Kb is 0.5120C/m and Kf is 1.860C/m?

Practice Exercise: When 2.00g of substance X is dissolved in 100 ml of water the FP of the
resulting solution is -0.3000C. What is the molecular weight of substance X?

 Osmotic pressure (OP) is the pressure needed to stop osmosis. Osmosis is the passage of particles
through a semi-permeable membrane. The formula needed to calculate osmotic pressure (P) is:

where M is the molarity of the solution, R is the gas constant 0.0821 L-atm/mol-K, and T is the
temperature in Kelvin.

Sample Exercise: What is the osmotic pressure when 18.0 g of glucose is dissolved in 300.0 ml
of water at 27.00C?

Practice Exercise: When 2.00g of substance Y is dissolved in 300 ml of water the resulting OP
of the solution is 0.100 atm at 27.00C. What is the molecular weight of substance Y?

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 For nonvolatile strong electrolytes like ionic compounds, their effect on colligative properties is
dependent on the number of ions that they form. For example, NaCl dissociate to two kinds of ions,
Na+ and Cl- ions, so the equivalent effect on colligative properties is also twice.

Sample Exercise: Which of the following solutes will give rise to higher BP elevation when
added to a pure solvent, 0.10m of Na2SO4 or 0.20m of ethanol?

Since Na2SO4 is an electrolyte, it dissociates to three equivalent ions (2Na+ and 1SO42-) its effective
ionic concentration is 3 x 0.10m = 0.30m. Ethanol is a nonelectrolyte so its concentration is 0.20m.
Therefore, 0.10m Na2SO4 will cause a higher elevation of BP since its effective concentration is
0.30m.

Practice Exercise: Arrange the following according their net effect on VP lowering from the
least to the most: (a) 0.30m of glucose (b) 0.20m of MgCl2 (c) 0.20m of KBr (d) 0.30m of CaCl2

7.

7. ACIDS AND BASES

 Acids taste sour and turn blue litmus paper to red. Bases are slippery to touch, taste bitter, and turn
red litmus paper to blue. There is no single chemical definition of acids and bases. Three concepts
are used in defining acids and bases:

CONCEPT ACID BASE

Increases H+ Increases OH-
Arrhenius
concentration in water concentration in water
Bronsted-Lowry Proton (H+) donor Proton (H+) acceptor
Lewis Electron pair acceptor Electron pair donor

 Bronsted-Lowry concept introduced the formation of acid-base pair conjugates. For a general
Bronsted-Lowry acid in water:

The acid, HA, donates H+ to water which act as a base. This results to the formation of a conjugate
base, A-, and a conjugate acid, H3O+, the hydronium cation. Meanwhile, for a general base in
water:

The base, :B, accepts H+ from water which acts as an acid. This results to the formation of a
conjugate acid, :BH+, and a conjugate base, OH- anion. Notice that water can as a H+ acceptor or
donor, thus, is said to be amphiprotic in nature.
 The Lewis concept explain the behavior of nontraditional acids and bases. For a general Lewis acid
and base:

A Lewis acid is an electron-poor chemical species like a cation or a compound with incomplete
valency. A Lewis base is an electron-rich chemical species like an anion, compound with
multiple bonds or lone pair(s) of electrons.

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Sample Exercise: Write the chemical equation for the reaction between acetic acid and
ammonia and identify the acid-base pair conjugates.

Practice Exercise: Determine under which concept(s) of acids and bases will the given
compounds can be classified.
(a) CN- (b) HNO3 (c) Fe2+

A. STRENGTH OF ACIDS AND BASES

 Strong acids and bases are those that completely dissociate in water and are hence are also strong
electrolytes. Strong acids include HCl, HBr, HI, H2SO4, HNO3, and HClO4. Strong bases include
the hydroxides of Group IA metals like LiOH, NaOH, and KOH.

 Weak acids and bases dissociate only partially in water. Organic acids i.e. carboxylic acids (-
COOH) are all weak acid. Ammonia is a typical example of a weak base. The dissociation
constant of an acid or a base can be used to determine the strength of acidity or basicity of a
compound. For a general weak acid in water the resulting acid dissociation constant (Ka) is:

 The concentration of the chemical species are expressed in molarity. The higher is the value of Ka
the stronger is the relative acidity of the compound as it becomes more dissociable in water.
Meanwhile, for a general weak base in water the resulting base dissociation constant (Kb) is:

The higher is the value of Kb the stronger is the relative basicity of the compound as it becomes
more dissociable in water.

 The Ka or Kb can be transformed by getting its – logarithm to obtain the pKa or pKb. The lower is
the value of pKa or pKb the stronger is the acidity and basicity respectively.

Sample Exercise: Arrange the following acids according to increasing acidity: acetic acid ( 1.75
x 10-5), carbonic acid (Ka=5.25 x 10-6), formic acid (Ka=3.29 x 10-4).

Since the higher the Ka value the stronger the acid, the correct order of increasing strength of acidity:
carbonic acid (Ka=5.25 x 10-6) < acetic acid (1.75 x 10-5) < formic acid (Ka=3.29 x 10-4)

Practice Exercise: Arrange the following acids according to decreasing acidity: W (pKa = 5.40), X (pKa
= 3.45), Y (Ka = 1.00 x 10-6), Z ( Ka = 1.00 x 10-4).

 Polyprotic acids are those with several dissociable protons which are released sequentially. The Ka
values are termed as Ka1, Ka2, and so on and their values decreases progressively.

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C. CONCEPT OF pH and pOH

 The concentration of hydronium ion (H3O+ = H+) can be measure conveniently using a pH meter,
which uses an electrode to measure its concentration in a solution. The [H +] is conveniently
expressed in terms of pH:

 The pH scale can also be used to determine the relative strength of acidity and basicity of a
substance. The neutral pH is at exactly 7.00. Below 7.00 are the acidic pH values and above it are
the basic pH values.
 Meanwhile, the [OH-] can be expressed in pOH which is the –log of [OH-]. The neutral pOH is also
at exactly 7.00. Below 7.00 is the basic pOH values and above it are the acidic pOH values which
is opposite that of the pH scale. The sum of the pH and pOH is equal to 14:

Sample Exercise: Knowing the general properties of the following substances, arrange hem
according to increasing pH values: coffee, soap, baking soda, soft drinks, muriatic acid, and lye.

Coffee is acidic so is softdrinks but softdrinks in general is more acidic than coffee due to their
carbonic acid acid. Soap and baking soda are both basic but soap is a stronger base than baking soda.
muriatic acid is HCl and is therefore strongly acidic while lye is NaOH and is therefore strongly
basic:

muriatic acid < softdrinks < coffee < baking soda < soda < lye
Practice Exercise: (a) What is the pH of a compound with [H +] = 5.00 x 10-5 (b) What is its pOH?

(a)

(b)

D. TITRATION OF ACIDS AND BASES

 Titration is the technique of determining the unknown concentration of a substance (analyte) by

adding a known volume of a standard substance (titrant). The glassware called a buret or burette
is used to dispense the titrant to the analyte. Acid-base titration is essentially a neutralization
reaction wherein the acid and base neutralize one another to produce a salt and water.

 During titration a substance called an indicator is added to the analyte prior to titration. An
indicator changes in color from acidic to basic conditions or vice-versa. The point in titration
where this color change occurred is called the endpoint of titration. For the endpoint to be useful it
should be within the equivalence point of titration. Equivalence point is the where the
concentration of acids and bases are essentially equal.

 The titration curve shows the change in the pH of the analyte as a function of titrant volume. The
equivalence point is the point where there is a steep change in the pH of the analyte.

 Normality of an acid and base is dependent on the amount of dissociable H+ and OH- respectively.
For monoprotic acid the normality is equal to the molarity. For diprotic and triprotic acids the
normality is equal to twice and thrice the molarity respectively. For a base with single dissociable
OH- like NaOH the normality is equal to the molarity. For a base with two dissociable OH - like
Mg(OH)2 the normality is twice the molarity.

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 The equation that is used during acid-base titration is shown below where C is the concentration
either in molarity or normality and V is the volume in ml or L:

For monoprotic acid and bases either concentration units can be used, however for polyprotic
acids or bases the normality is more appropriately used.

Sample Exercise: How many ml of 0.500 M NaOH is needed to neutralize 25.0 ml of 0.200 M
H2SO4?
The concentration in normality should be used since H2SO4 is a polyprotic acid, its equivalent
normality is 2x its molarity: 2 x 0.200 = 0.400N. NaOH has a single dissociable OH - so its normality
is equal to its molarity that is 0.500N.

Practice Exercise: What is the molarity if 15.0 ml of H 2SO4 needed 45.0 ml of 0.10N NaOH in
order to be completely neutralized?

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