YOUR NOTES

IGCSE Chemistry CIE 

2. Atoms, Elements & Compounds

CONTENTS
2.1 Atomic Structure & the Periodic Table
2.1.1 Elements, Compounds & Mixtures
2.1.2 Atomic Structure
2.1.3 Electronic Configuration
2.1.4 Isotopes
2.2 Ions & Ionic Bonds
2.2.1 Ions & Ionic Bonds
2.2.2 Ionic Bonds & Lattice Structure
2.2.3 Properties of Ionic Compounds
2.3 Simple Molecules & Covalent Bonds
2.3.1 Covalent Bonds
2.3.2 Molecules & Compounds
2.3.3 Properties of Simple Molecular Compounds
2.4 Giant Structures
2.4.1 Diamond & Graphite
2.4.2 Silicon(IV) Oxide
2.4.3 Metallic Bonding

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 2.1 Atomic Structure & the Periodic Table YOUR NOTES

2.1.1 Elements, Compounds & Mixtures

Elements, Compounds & Mixtures

Elements, compounds and mixtures
All substances can be classified into one of these three types
Element
A substance made of atoms that all contain the same number of protons and cannot be
split into anything simpler
There are 118 elements found in the Periodic Table
Compound
A pure substance made up of two or more elements chemically combined
There is an unlimited number of compounds
Compounds cannot be separated into their elements by physical means
E.g. copper(II) sulfate (CuSO4), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), carbon dioxide (CO2)
Mixture
A combination of two or more substances (elements and/or compounds) that are not
chemically combined
Mixtures can be separated by physical methods such as filtration or evaporation
E.g. sand and water, oil and water, sulfur powder and iron filings

Particle diagram showing elements, compounds andmixtures

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2.1.2 Atomic Structure YOUR NOTES

Atomic Structure
All substances are made of tiny particles of matter called atoms which are the building
blocks of all matter
Each atom is made of subatomic particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons
The protons and neutrons are located at the centre of the atom, which is called the nucleus
The electrons move very fast around the nucleus in orbital paths called shells
The mass of the electron is negligible, hence the mass of an atom is contained within the
nucleus where the protons and neutrons are located

The structure of thecarbon atom

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 Protons, Neutrons & Electrons YOUR NOTES
The size of atoms is so tiny that we can't really compare their masses in conventional units 
such as kilograms or grams, so a unit called the relative atomic mass is used
One relative atomic mass unit is equal to 1/12th the mass of a carbon-12 atom.
All other elements are measured relative to the mass of a carbon-12 atom, so relative
atomic mass has no units
Hydrogen for example has a relative atomic mass of 1, meaning that 12 atoms of hydrogen
would have exactly the same mass as 1 atom of carbon
The relative mass and charge of the sub-atomic particles are shown below:
Table of Subatomic Particles

 Exam Tip
Knowing the exact mass of an electron is not in the specification and saying it is
almost nothing or negligible will be sufficient. It does, however, sometimes appear in
particle identification questions, but you can usually deduce that it is the electrons
from other information in the question.

Defining Proton Number

The atomic number (or proton number) is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
The symbol for atomic number is Z
It is also the number of electrons present in a neutral atom and determines the position of
the element on the Periodic Table

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 Defining Mass Number YOUR NOTES
The Nucleon number (or mass number) is the total number of protons and neutrons in the 
nucleus of an atom
The symbol for nucleon number is A
The nucleon number minus the proton number gives you the number of neutrons of an
atom
Note that protons and neutrons can collectively be called nucleons.
The atomic number and mass number of an element can be shown using atomic notation
The Periodic Table shows the elements together with their atomic (proton) number at the
top and relative atomic mass at the bottom - there is a difference between relative atomic
mass and mass number, but for your exam, you can use the relative atomic mass as the
mass number (with the exception of chlorine)

Diagram showing atomic notation

Atomic notation for carbon

 Exam Tip
Both the atomic number and the relative atomic number (which you can use as the
mass number) are given on the Periodic Table but it can be easy to confuse them.
Think MASS = MASSIVE, as the mass number is always the bigger of the two
numbers, the other smaller one is thus the atomic / proton number. Beware that
some Periodic Tables show the numbers the other way round with the atomic
number at the bottom!

Deducing protons, neutrons & electrons

Finding the protons

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 The atomic number of an atom and ion determines which element it is YOUR NOTES
Therefore, all atoms and ions of the same element have the same number of protons 
(atomic number) in the nucleus
E.g. lithium has an atomic number of 3 (three protons) whereas beryllium has atomic
number of 4 (4 protons)
The number of protons equals the atomic (proton) number
The number of protons of an unknown element can be calculated by using its mass number
and number of neutrons:
Mass number = number of protons + number of neutrons
Number of protons = mass number – number of neutrons
Finding the electrons
An atom is neutral and therefore has the same number of protons and electrons
Finding the neutrons
The mass and atomic numbers can be used to find the number
of neutrons in ions and atoms:
Number of neutrons = mass number – number of protons

 Worked Example
Determine the number of protons, electrons and neutrons in an atom of element X
with atomic number 29 and mass number 63

Answer:
The number of protons of element X is the same as the atomic number
Number of protons = 29
The neutral atom of element X therefore also has 29 electrons
The atomic number of an element X atom is 29 and its mass number is 63
Number of neutrons = mass number – number of protons
Number of neutrons = 63– 29
Number of neutrons = 34

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 2.1.3 Electronic Configuration YOUR NOTES

Electronic Configuration
Electronic configuration
We can represent the structure of the atom in two ways: using diagrams called electron
shell diagrams or by writing out a special notation called the electronic configuration (or
electronic structure or electron distribution)
Electron shell diagrams
Electrons orbit the nucleus in shells (or energy levels) and each shell has a different amount
of energy associated with it
The further away from the nucleus, the more energy a shell has
Electrons fill the shell closest to the nucleus
When a shell becomes full of electrons, additional electrons have to be added to the next
shell
The first shell can hold 2 electrons
The second shell can hold 8 electrons
For this course, a simplified model is used that suggests that the third shell can hold 8
electrons
For the first 20 elements, once the third shell has 8 electrons, the fourth shell begins to
fill
The outermost shell of an atom is called the valence shell and an atom is much more stable
if it can manage to completely fill this shell with electrons

A simplifiedmodel showing theelectron shells

The arrangement of electrons in shells can also be explained using numbers
Instead of drawing electron shell diagrams, the number of electrons in each electron shell
can be written down, separated by commas
This notation is called the electronic configuration (or electronic structure)
E.g. Carbon has 6 electrons, 2 in the 1st shell and 4 in the 2nd shell
Its electronic configuration is 2,4

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 Electronic configurations can also be written for ions YOUR NOTES
E.g. A sodium atom has 11 electrons, a sodium ion has lost one electron, therefore has 
10 electrons; 2 in the first shell and 8 in the 2nd shell
Its electronic configuration is 2,8
The Electronic Configuration of the First Twenty Elements

Note: although the third shell can hold up to 18 electrons, the filling of the shells follows a more
complicated pattern after potassium and calcium. For these two elements, the third shell holds
8 and the remaining electrons (for reasons of stability) occupy the fourth shell first before filling
the third shell.

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 Exam Tip YOUR NOTES
 You need to be able to write the electronic configuration of the first twenty elements

and their ions. You may see electronic configurations using full stops or '+' signs
instead of commas. You would not be penalised for using full stops.

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 Electron Shells & The Periodic Table YOUR NOTES
There is a clear relationship between the electronic configuration and how the Periodic 
Table is designed
The number of notations in the electronic configuration will show the number of occupied
shells of electrons the atom has, showing the period in which that element is in
The last notation shows the number of outer electrons the atom has, showing the group
that element is in (for elements in Groups I to VII)
Elements in the same group have the same number of outer shell electrons

The electronic configuration for chlorine

Period: The red numbers at the bottom show the number of notations which is 3, showing that a
chlorine atom has 3 occupied shells of electrons and is in Period 3
Group: The final notation, which is 7 in the example, shows that a chlorine atom has 7 outer
electrons and is in Group VII

The position of chlorineon thePeriodic Table

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 In most atoms, the outermost shell is not full and therefore these atoms react with other YOUR NOTES
atoms in order to achieve a full outer shell of electrons (which would make them more 
stable)
In some cases, atoms lose electrons to entirely empty this shell so that the next shell below
becomes a (full) outer shell
All elements wish to fill their outer shells with electrons as this is a much more stable
configuration
The noble gases
The atoms of the Group VIII elements (the noble gases) all have a full outer shell of electrons
All of the noble gases are unreactive as they have full outer shells and are thus very stable

The noble gases are on thePeriodic Table in Group 8/0

 Exam Tip
The electrons in the outer shell are also known as valency electrons.

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2.1.4 Isotopes YOUR NOTES

Defining Isotopes
Isotopes are different atoms of the same element that contain the same number of
protons but a different number of neutrons
The symbol for an isotope is the chemical symbol (or word) followed by a dash and then the
mass number
So C-14 ( or carbon-14) is the isotope of carbon which contains 6 protons, 6 electrons and
14 - 6 = 8 neutrons
It can also be written as 14C or 146 C

The Atomic Structure and Symbols of the Three Isotopes of Hydrogen

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 Why Isotopes Share Properties YOUR NOTES
EXTENDED 
Isotopes of the same element display the same chemical characteristics
This is because they have the same number of electrons in their outer shells and, therefore,
the same electronic configuration and this is what determines an atom's chemistry
The difference between isotopes is the number of neutrons which are neutral particles
within the nucleus and add mass only
The difference in mass affects the physical properties, such as density, boiling point and
melting point
Isotopes are identical in appearance, so a sample of C-14 would look no different from C-
12
Water made from deuterium oxide is known as 'heavy' water, and has a relative formula of
mass 20, compared to 18 for water, so it is 20% heavier, but it would look, taste and feel just
like normal water
However, it wouldn't be a good idea to drink it because it is toxic as it interferes with
biochemical reactions in your cells!

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 Calculating Relative Atomic Mass YOUR NOTES
EXTENDED 

Relative Atomic Mass

The symbol for the relative atomic mass is Ar
The relative atomic mass for each element can be found in the Periodic Table along with the
atomic number
The atomic number is shown above the atomic symbol and the relative atomic mass is
shown below the atomic symbol
Atoms are too small to accurately weigh but scientists needed a way to compare the
masses of atoms
The carbon-12 is used as the standard atom and has a fixed mass of 12 units
It is against this atom which the masses of all other atoms are compared
Relative atomic mass (Ar) can therefore be defined as:
the average mass of the isotopes of an element compared to 1/12th of the mass of
an atom of 12C
The relative atomic mass of carbon is 12
The relative atomic mass of magnesium is 24 which means that magnesium is twice as
heavy as carbon
The relative atomic mass of hydrogen is 1 which means it has one-twelfth the mass of
one carbon-12 atom
The relative atomic mass of an element can be calculated from the mass number and
relative abundances of all the isotopes of a particular element using the following
equation:
( % of isotope 1 x mass number of isotope 1) + ( % of isotope 2 x mass number of isotope 2)
Ar =
100

The top line of the equation can be extended to include the number of different isotopes of
a particular element present.
Example
The table shows information about the isotopes in a sample of rubidium

(72 x 85) + (28 x 87)

Ar = = 85 . 6
100

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Is mass number and relative atomic mass the same thing? YOUR NOTES
On the Periodic Table provided in your exam you will see that lithium has a relative atomic 
mass of 7
Although it seems that this is the same as the mass number, they are not the same thing
because the relative atomic mass is a rounded number
Relative atomic mass takes into account the existence of isotopes when calculating the
mass
Relative atomic mass is an average mass of all the isotopes of that element
For simplicity relative atomic masses are often shown to the nearest whole number

The relative atomic mass of lithiumto twodecimal places is 6.94 when roundedto the
nearest whole number, theRAM is 7, which is thesameas themass number shown on this
isotope of lithium

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