Understanding Basic Chemistry

The following sections are included:

• CONTENTS
• PREFACE
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The following sections are included:

• What Is Chemistry?
• States of Matter
• Kinetic Theory of Matter
• Evidence to Support the Kinetic Theory Model
• Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures
• My Tutorial

The ancient Greek philosophers, such as Democritus, had conceptualized matter as being made up of indivisible unit known as an “atom.” This obviously is not true as of present day because scientists have discovered that atoms can be broken up into sub-atomic particles such as electrons, protons, and neutrons…

We have learned how an atom looks like in Chapter 2, but how does the structure of an atom affect its chemical property? What types of forces hold two or more atoms together in the elemental or compound state? What is the driving force that “motivates” two similar or different atoms to react…

In Chapter 3, we learned that matter is made up of fundamental particles such as an atom, ion, or molecule. But these particles are extremely small objects, both in size and mass. If the mass of a small toothpick is about 1.00 × 10⁻² g, the mass of a hydrogen atom (1.67 × 10⁻²⁴ g) is 1.67 × 10²² times lighter than the mass of the toothpick. Or if your mass is 10 kg, you are about 5.97 × 10²⁴ times lighter than the mass of our planet Earth…

All types of matter have two important aspects: mass and energy…

Substances are made up of small particles (Chapter 1 on The Particulate Nature of Matter) which can react to give other substances. During the reaction, old bonds are broken while new bonds are formed (Chapter 3 on Chemical Bonding). As bonds have different strengths, different amounts of energy are involved for different reactions. Hence, the chemical bonds between particles serve as Nature's energy storage…

When two moles of hydrogen gas are sparked with one mole of oxygen gas, you get 36 g of water. But when one mole of nitrogen is allowed to react with three moles of hydrogen, you do not get two moles of ammonia. Why? Shouldn’t chemical reactions be completed if you put in stoichiometric amounts of reactants…

When we taste a lemon, it is sour! Why…

In a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base reaction, an acid transfers a proton to a base. The acid is a proton donor and the base is a proton acceptor…

In a redox reaction, the electrons that are released during an oxidation process are being consumed during a reduction process. If these electrons are allowed to move through an external circuit before reduction, we have an electric current. The energy that is carried by these moving electrons can be tapped to do work, such as a light bulb or moving machinery…

In an electric cell, chemical energy is converted into electrical energy by directing the electron transfer during a redox reaction through an external circuit. In this chapter, we are going to discuss another type of electrochemical cell which does the opposite of an electric cell — the electrolytic cell. The process is known as electrolysis…

In previous chapters, we have seen how atoms participate in reactions, rearranging themselves to form new compounds. We studied these reactions from various angles. Energetically (Chapter 5 on Energy Change and Fuels) and kinetically (Chapter 6 on Rate of Chemical Reactions), we tried to account for the spontaneity of such reactions in terms of structure and bonding. We have also attributed their chemical properties, such as equilibria (Chapter 7 on Equilibria, Ammonia, and Sulfur) and redox (Chapter 9 on Redox Reactions), in terms of the physical properties of substances…

We have learned from Chapters 3 and 8 to 12, the physical and chemical characteristics of metals. In this chapter, we are simply going to explore further on metals in alloys, the extraction of metals, uses of metals, and the recycling of metals…

When we breathe, we take in oxygen. When iron rusts, it needs oxygen too. Where does the oxygen come from? Oxygen is part of the atmosphere called air. The atmosphere that blankets over Earth is made up of approximately 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.03% carbon dioxide, about 1–4% water vapor, and 1% trace amount of rare gases like helium, neon, and argon…

Organic chemistry is the study of carbon-containing compounds except those classified as inorganic compounds such as carbonates and oxides. It is extraordinary that the carbon element is able to form chains upon chains, resulting in millions of uniquely different compounds. This remarkable feat cannot be reproduced even by its closest group member, silicon, in the Periodic Table…

Scientists perform experiments to verify, refute, or validate a hypothesis. A hypothesis is none other than an expectation of the possible outcome of a process or a phenomenon. In the scientific method, experiments consist of a series of procedural steps that must be followed closely in order for the result to be repeatable. Only when results can be repeated with consistency within a particular accepted error range, then we can use the result to validate our hypothesis…

The following section is included:

• INDEX