Basics of Chemistry

Outline• Matter• Atoms• Structure of Atoms• Elements• Periodic Table• Reading the Periodic Table• Compounds• Mixtures

Matter• Matter: anything that has

mass and takes up space– Examples -> rock, paper,

scissors, lizard, Spock–Can be in 1 of 3 states (forms)• Solid• Liquid• Gas

Liquid

SolidGas

Atoms• Atoms: the building blocks of

all matter– All matter is made up of atoms– Atoms are made up of 3 parts

• Protons: have a positive charge• Electrons: have a negative charge• Neutrons: have a neutral charge

– The center of the atom is called the nucleus• Protons and neutrons make up the

nucleus• Electrons are found around the

nucleus

Structure of Atoms

Proton

Electron

Neutron

Elements• Element: anything that cannot be broken down

into simpler substances– Made up of only 1 kind of atom• The element oxygen is made up of only oxygen atoms, the

element hydrogen is made up of only hydrogen atoms– 99% of all living matter is made up of 6 elements• Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Nitrogen (N), Oxygen (O),

Phosphorus (P), Sulfur (S)

Elements– Each element has its own characteristics• Can be a solid, liquid, or gas• Can have a unique color• Can have a unique odor

Periodic Table• Periodic table: chart used to organize the

elements based on their characteristics

Reading the Periodic Table

• Symbol: abbreviation for element name– 1st letter is capitalized ; 2nd letter is lowercase

• Atomic number: number of protons• Atomic weight: average number of protons and neutrons

Atomic number

Element Name

Element Symbol

Atomic Weight

Compounds• Compound: 2 or more types of elements

joined together chemically–Have properties (characteristics) different from

the parts that make them up–Very hard to separate back into the original

parts

Table Sugar - C12H22O11

Compounds–All compounds have formulas that tell which

elements are in them• Tells the number of atoms of each element in the

compound• Example -> H20 is water ; H2O2 is peroxide

–Must have the exact elements and numbers from the formula to have that compound

How to Read Compound Formulas

• This is the formula for water– Shows that water is made up of 2 Hydrogen

atoms and 1 Oxygen atom

H2OElement Symbol Element Symbol

Tells how many atoms

Mixtures• Mixture: a combination of substances in which

the individual substances keep their own properties (characteristics)– Combined together physically not chemically– Fairly easy to separate back into original substances– No formulas or amounts of the substances– Examples -> salt and pepper, saltwater, chex mix, sandwich