BSC2010 Unit 1

Atoms, Elements, & Compounds

Element: a substance that cannot be broken down into a simpler substance in a chemical
reaction
Atom: the smallest unit of an element retaining its properties
Compounds: Combos of different elements
-

About 25 of 92 elements are essential to life

Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen make up 96% of living matter
Most of remaining 4% consists of ?*
Properties of elements depend on structure of atoms (protons, electrons, neutrons)

Atomic Number & atomic mass

- An elements atomic number is the number of protons in nucleus (for uncharged
atoms its the number of electrons)
- Atomic mass is the sum of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus
Isotopes
- The same element may differ in number of neutrons (same atomic number but
different atomic mass)
Energy Levels of Electrons
- Electrons differ in amounts of potential energy
- Energy is the capacity to do work or cause change
- Potential energy is stored energy
- Electrons state of potential energy is called its energy level
- Location it is in is the energy shell
- Further from nucleus more energy (3rd Shell is the highest energy level)
First shell 2 electrons
2nd Shell- 8 electrons
3rd Shell- 8 electrons
-

The outer shell is the valence shell

Atoms seek to gain or lose electrons until their valence shell is filled
Electrons prefer to be paired

Atom Stability
- Types of interactions depend on the atoms seeking to gain or loose electrons in
outer shell
Valency: umber of electrons to gain or loose
- monovalent (1 electron)
- divalent (2 electrons)
- etc

Making Compounds
- Bond Formation
o Covalent bonds: atoms stabilize their outer electron shell by pairing up
with another atom in a chemical bond
o Ionic Bonds: (weaker) electrical attraction between two atoms; one atom
gained an electron, one lost an electron.
Non-Polar covalent bonds:
- electrons are shared equally (ex: H-H, O-O, C-H)
Polar Covalent Bonds:
- One atom has the electron more often
- The atom that pulls the electron the hardest is more electronegative
- Ex: O-H, N-H, C=O
Water two polarized covalent bonds the oxygen has a slight negative charge the
hydrogens have a slight positive
Ionic Bonds
- Electron is stolen by one atom from another
Hydrogen bonds: electrical attraction between compounds held together by polar covalent
bonds
Bond Strength: (strong-weak)
- Covalent
- Ionic
- Hydrogen
- Van der Walls
Compounds and Chemical Reactions:
Compound: substance composed of atoms of two or more different elements
Molecule: the smallest part of a compound retaining its properties
Molecular formulas: identifies the elements and the number of given atoms in a
molecule
Structural Formulas: shows the number and arrangement of covalent bonds in a
compound
Molecular Weight: sum of the atomic weights of atoms in a molecule
Mole: amount of a compound equal to its molecular weight in grams
H2O, 1 mole = 18g
CO2, 1 mole = 44g

Solutions
Solvent: the dissolving medium (water)
Solute: the dissolved substance
Concentration
Molarity: the measure of the moles (i.e. molecules) of a solute dissolved in a liter of a
solution
Units
1 M = 1 Mole/Liter
1mM = 10^-3 Mole/Liter
1M = 10^-6 Mole/Liter
iclicker*
How much glucose (C6H12O6 ) do you add
to a liter of water to make a 100 mM solution?
MW of glucose is 180 g/mole
(H = 1, C = 12, and O = 16)
B. 18 grams
Reaction Equations:
reactants
products
2 H2 + O2 2 H2O
6 CO2 + 6 H2O

C6H12O6 + 6 O2 - photo(sugar)
synthesis

Equilibrium:
Most chemical reactions do not go to completion and are reversible
3 H 2 + N2
2 NH3
Hydrogen + nitrogen = ammonia
-

At equilibrium there is no net change in the concentrations of the reactants and

products

Iclicker*
Which of the following statements about a chemical reaction at equilibrium are
correct?
B. At equilibrium the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the back reaction
Equilibrium Constant: Keq
Ratio of concentrations of products and reactants at equilibrium
A+BC+D
Keq = [product C] [product D] / [reactant A] [reactant B]
Irreversible reactions: reaction goes fully to the right (Keq >> 1)
Reversible reactions: similar concentrations of reactants and products at equilibrium
(Keq ~ 1)
Chapter 3 Water and pH
Water is: Cohesive, has a high specific heat, expands upon freezing, excellent solvent
-

Waters properties from its polar covalent bonds and its ability to form hydrogen
bonds
Each Water molecule can hydrogen bond with four other water molecules

Liquid Water
- Hydrogen bonds break and re-form
- Explains fluidity of water
- Water is cohesive and adhesive
Cohesion: ability of a substance to stick to itself
Adhesion: ability of a substance to stick to another substance
Surface tension: how difficult it is to break the surface of a liquid
- Water has much greater surface tension than most liquids
Water, temp, and Heat
Heat -- measure of the total kinetic (movement) energy
in a body. Calorie (cal) -- heat needed to raise
1 g of water 1 C.
Temperature -- measure of the intensity of heat (C)

Specific Heat -- amount of heat that a substance must lose or gain for its temp to change 1
C.
- Water has a very high specific heat compared with other liquids or with gasses
and solids
Water Expands when it freezes:
Ice Hydrogen bonds are stable
Liquid Water -- Hydrogen bonds break re-form
- Ice formation warms the surrounding area
- Ice floats beacause it is less dense than liquid water
Iclicker*
Coastal regions have a more even temperature than interior regions because of
waters
C. High Specific Heat
Hydrophilic (water loving) substances dissolve readily in water.
- Molecules that have polar covalent or ionic bonds
Hydrophobic substances do not dissolve in water.
- Nonpolar substances (nonpolar covalent bonds)
Solubility: amount of a solute that can be dissolved in a solvent
Acid: any substance that will dissolve in water yeilding H+ and an anion -- or any
substance that can donate protons in a reaction
HCl

H+

Cl

Base: a substance that dissolves and produces a hydroxyl ion -- or any substance that can
accept protons
-

Strong Acids (Bases) completely dissociate in water

Weak acids (bases) do not dissociate completely

pH Scale: the measure of the concentration of dissolved H+

H20 H+ +
OHKeq= 10^-14
+
-7
-7
[H ] [OH ] = 10 M x 10 M
[H2O]
1M
-

= 10^-14
A solution is neutral when [H+] = [OH-]
pH = - log [H+]

pH Scale: 0-14
-

pH = -log [H+]
Pure water [H+] = 10^-7 M, pH = 7

Iclicker*
Black coffee has a pH of 5.0. Pure water has a pH of 7.0. There are _____ H+ ions in
coffee compared to pure water.
E. 100x More
Solution 1 has a pH of 10. Solution 2 contains 10 times more [H+] ions then solution
1. The pH of solution 2 is ________.
E. 9
Buffers: Substances that minimize changes in pH
- that gain or lose protons depending on pH
- Weak acids and bases are buffers
H2CO3

HCO3+
H+
carbonic acid
bicarbonate
hydrogen
proton donor
proton acceptor
ion
(acid)
(base)
- Carbonic acid/bicarbonate buffers pH of blood
Iclicker*
How many covalent bonds can oxygen make, how many can
carbon make?
D. 2, 4
The molecular formula of carbon dioxide is CO2. What is the structural formula for
carbon dioxide?
D. O=C=O
A straight-chain carbon compound constructed from _______ must contain at least one
carbon-carbon double bond.
B. 6 hydrogen, 3 carbon
Diversity of Carbon Skeletons (hydrocarbons
- Straight Chain Length, etc.
Isomers Molecules: with the same but different structures

Structural Isomers: Differ in the covalent arrangement of the same set of atoms.
Geometric Isomers: Same bonding patterns, but differs in spatial relationships around a
double bond.
Enantiomers (optical stereoisomers)
- Differ in the arrangement of four different functional groups around a single
carbon atom.
- Two enantiomers of alanine, an amino acid. Only the L-form is found in proteins.
The seven functional groups that are most important in the chemistry of life:
Hydroxyl group
o Alcohols (specific names usually end in ol
Carbonyl group
o Ketones (if carbonyl group is within carbon skeleton)
o Aldehydes (if carbonyl group is at the end of the carbon skeleton
Carboxyl group
o Carboxylic acids, or organic acids
o Acidic Properties b/c covalent bond between hydrogen and oxygen is so
polar
Amino group
o Amines
o Acts as a base (can be an amino acid if it also has carboxyl group)
Sulfhydryl group
o Thiols
Phosphate group
o Organic Phosphates
o The activity of proteins is often controlled by the addition or removal of
phosphate groups
o Phosphate bonds are high energy bonds, and are often used as energy
currency in cells ATP*
Methyl group
o Methylated Compounds
*ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

iclicker*
Which of the following groups is responsible for the basic properties of amino acids?
D. NH2