Chemistry Basics

All matter is made up of atoms.

Substances made up of only 1 type of atom

are called elements.

All the elements and their atomic details appear

in the Periodic Table of the Elements.
 Atoms are made up of
subatomic particles:

protons which neutrons which

have a positive have a neutral
charge and weigh 1 charge and
atomic unit weigh 1 atomic
unit
electrons which have a
negative charge and
weigh almost nothing
 Atomic # = # protons . Also equal to # electrons.

Atomic mass. Round to nearest integer

when calculating neutrons.

Symbol. Starts with a capital letter. Second

letter is lower case.

Protons and electrons balance each other out

each + cancels a - so there are equal
amounts of them in the atom.
7 Neutron quantity is determined by subtracting
-3 the protons from the atomic mass.
4
Atomic mass = protons + neutrons.
Atomic mass – protons = neutrons.
 Neils Bohr
He proved that atoms have a nucleus.
He was part of the Manhattan Project.
He was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize
for his work in regulating atomic weaponry.
Neils Bohr worked
with Ernest
Rutherford
to prove that the
atom
has a nucleus and
that
it has a positive
charge.

Ernest Rutherford
Neils Bohr
and
Albert
Einstein
 How to draw a Bohr diagram of an atom
1. Draw the nucleus as a circle first. Write
P and N inside.
2. Write the correct
number of protons
and neutrons next
to the letter.
Copy the above
onto your paper. P: 3

N: 4

3. Draw partial shells for

electrons.
Write the number of
electrons on each......
Electrons orbit the nucleus in shells or valences.

.. ..
They fall into 2
patterns as the
diagram shows.
8
.. .
P:
N:
..
..
The first shell holds up to 2 electrons.
The second shell holds up to 8 electrons.
The third shell holds up to 8.
Complete the lithium atom.

P: 3

N: 4

Draw a diagram of Helium

And Beryllium
Practice Bohr diagrams in your notebook
for the following atoms:

Boron, Fluorine, Neon, Sodium,

Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon,
Phosphorus, Sulfur, Chlorine, Argon,
Potassium, Calcium.
 Ions
An ion is an atom
with a + or -
charge
Rule: Atoms would rather fill
their outer electron shell
than to have even numbers of
protons and electrons.
‘Outer shell’ electrons
are called valence
electrons
 Lithium has 1 electron
in the outer shell.
The outer shell is
almost empty.
Lithium donates this
electron to other
1
2 atoms so the
outermost
shell is full.
 When an atom donates or accepts outer shell (valence) electrons,
it becomes an ion.
An ion is an atom with an uneven
amount of protons and electrons.
When lithium donates its outer electron to another atom. It becomes an ion.

2
1 2

Lithium atom Lithium ion

Li +1
 A sodium donates
its valence electron
to become a sodium
ion.

Electrolytes are ions.

Chlorine needs
1 more electron
to fill the outer
shell. It accepts 7
8
electrons from 2 P: 17
P
other ions. N: 18
Chlorine accepts an electron from sodium.
The sodium becomes positively charged.
The chlorine becomes negatively charged.
The force of attraction between them is
an ionic bond.
To calculate the charge on an ion use the
following formula:
Protons
– Electrons
= Charge

Protons 3
-Electrons -2 The lithium
________ __ ion has a
= Charge 1 +1 charge.
It is written
as Li+1

A Lithium Ion