Name Date Class

CHAPTER 3 REVIEW

Atoms: The Building Blocks of Matter

SECTION 1
SHORT ANSWER Answer the following questions in the space provided.

1. Why is Democritus’s view of matter considered only an idea, while Dalton’s view is considered a
theory?
Democritus’s idea of matter does not relate atoms to a measurable property, while

Dalton’s theory can be tested through quantitative experimentation.

2. Give an example of a chemical or physical process that illustrates the law of conservation of mass.
A glass of ice cubes will have the same mass when the ice has completely melted into

liquid water, even though its volume will change. (Accept any reasonable process.)

3. State two principles from Dalton’s atomic theory that have been revised as new information has
become available.
Atoms are divisible into smaller particles called subatomic particles. A given element

can have atoms with different masses, called isotopes.

4. The formation of water according to the equation

2H2  O2 → 2H2O
shows that 2 molecules (made of 4 atoms) of hydrogen and 1 molecule (made of 2 atoms) of
oxygen produce 2 molecules of water. The total mass of the product, water, is equal to the sum of
the masses of each of the reactants, hydrogen and oxygen. What parts of Dalton’s atomic theory are
illustrated by this reaction? What law does this reaction illustrate?
Atoms cannot be subdivided, created, or destroyed. Also, atoms of different

elements combine in simple, whole-number ratios to form compounds. The reaction

also illustrates the law of conservation of mass.

MODERN CHEMISTRY ATOMS: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MATTER 17

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SECTION 1 continued

PROBLEMS Write the answer on the line to the left. Show all your work in the space
provided.

5. 16 g If 3 g of element C combine with 8 g of element D to form compound

CD, how many grams of D are needed to form compound CD2?

6. A sample of baking soda, NaHCO3, always contains 27.37% by mass of sodium, 1.20% of
hydrogen, 14.30% of carbon, and 57.14% of oxygen.
a. Which law do these data illustrate?
the law of definite proportions

b. State the law.

A chemical compound contains the same elements in exactly the same proportions

by mass regardless of the sample or the source of the compound.

7. Nitrogen and oxygen combine to form several compounds, as shown by the following table.
Compound Mass of nitrogen that combines with 1 g oxygen (g)
NO 1.70
NO2 0.85
NO4 0.44

Calculate the ratio of the masses of nitrogen in each of the following:

2.0 a.  NO 2.0 b.  NO2 4.0 c.  NO
  
NO2 NO4 NO4

d. Which law do these data illustrate?

the law of multiple proportions

18 ATOMS: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MATTER MODERN CHEMISTRY

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Name Date Class

CHAPTER 3 REVIEW

Atoms: The Building Blocks of Matter

SECTION 2
SHORT ANSWER Answer the following questions in the space provided.

1. In cathode-ray tubes, the cathode ray is emitted from the negative electrode, which is called the
cathode .

2. The smallest unit of an element that can exist either alone or in molecules containing the

same or different elements is the atom .

3. A positively charged particle found in the nucleus is called a(n) proton .

4. A nuclear particle that has no electrical charge is called a(n) neutron .

5. The subatomic particles that are least massive and most massive, respectively, are the
electron and neutron .

6. A cathode ray produced in a gas-filled tube is deflected by a magnetic field. A wire carrying an
electric current can be pulled by a magnetic field. A cathode ray is deflected away from a
negatively charged object. What property of the cathode ray is shown by these phenomena?
The particles that compose cathode rays are negatively charged.

7. How would the electrons produced in a cathode-ray tube filled with neon gas compare with the
electrons produced in a cathode-ray tube filled with chlorine gas?
The electrons produced from neon gas and chlorine gas would behave in the

same way because electrons do not differ from element to element.

8. a. Is an atom positively charged, negatively charged, or neutral?

Atoms are neutral.
b. Explain how an atom can exist in this state.
Atoms consist of a positively charged nucleus, made up of protons and neutrons,

that is surrounded by a negatively charged electron cloud. The positive and negative

charges combine to form a net neutral charge.

MODERN CHEMISTRY ATOMS: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MATTER 19

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Name Date Class

SECTION 2 continued

9. Below are illustrations of two scientists’ conceptions of the atom. Label the electrons in both
illustrations with a  sign and the nucleus in the illustration to the right with a  sign. On the lines
below the figures, identify which illustration was believed to be correct before Rutherford’s gold-
foil experiment and which was believed to be correct after Rutherford’s gold-foil experiment.

b.
a.
(Students should place a  sign inside (Students should place a  sign in the
all circles.) center and a  sign inside all circles.)
a. before Rutherford’s experiment b. after Rutherford’s experiment

10. In the space provided, describe the locations of the subatomic particles in the labeled model of an
atom of nitrogen below, and give the charge and relative mass of each particle.

a.

b.

c.

a. proton
The proton, a positive and relatively massive particle, should be located in the nucleus.

b. neutron
The neutron, a neutral and relatively massive particle, should be located in the nucleus.

c. electron (a possible location of this particle)

The electron, a negative particle with a low mass, should be located in the cloud

surrounding the nucleus.

20 ATOMS: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MATTER MODERN CHEMISTRY

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Name Date Class

CHAPTER 3 REVIEW

Atoms: The Building Blocks of Matter

SECTION 3
SHORT ANSWER Answer the following questions in the space provided.

1. Explain the difference between the mass number and the atomic number of a nuclide.
Mass number is the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an

isotope. Atomic number is the total number of protons in the nucleus of

each atom of an element.

2. Why is it necessary to use the average atomic mass of all isotopes, rather than the mass of the most
commonly occurring isotope, when referring to the atomic mass of an element?
Elements rarely occur as only one isotope; rather, they exist as mixtures

of different isotopes of various masses. Using a weighted average atomic mass, you

can account for the less common isotopes.

3. How many particles are in 1 mol of carbon? 1 mol of lithium? 1 mol of eggs? Will 1 mol of each of
these substances have the same mass?
There are 6.022  1023 particles in 1 mol of each of these substances. One mole of

one substance will not necessarily have the same mass as one mole of another

substance.

4. Explain what happens to each of the following as the atomic masses of the elements in the periodic
table increase:
a. the number of protons
increases
b. the number of electrons
increases
c. the number of atoms in 1 mol of each element
stays the same

MODERN CHEMISTRY ATOMS: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MATTER 21

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Name Date Class

SECTION 3 continued

5. Use a periodic table to complete the following chart:

Element Symbol Atomic number Mass number
151
Europium-151 63Eu 63 151
109
Silver-109 47Ag 47 109
128
Tellurium-128 52Te 52 128

6. List the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons found in zinc-66.

30 protons
36 neutrons
30 electrons

PROBLEMS Write the answer on the line to the left. Show all your work in the space
provided.

7. 32.00 g What is the mass in grams of 2.000 mol of oxygen atoms?

8. 3.706 mol How many moles of aluminum exist in 100.0 g of aluminum?

9. 1.994  1024 atoms How many atoms are in 80.45 g of magnesium?

10. 1.993  1021 g What is the mass in grams of 100 atoms of the carbon-12 isotope?

22 ATOMS: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MATTER MODERN CHEMISTRY

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Name Date Class

CHAPTER 3 REVIEW

Atoms: The Building Blocks of Matter

MIXED REVIEW
SHORT ANSWER Answer the following questions in the space provided.

1. The element boron, B, has an atomic mass of 10.81 amu according to the periodic table. However,
no single atom of boron has a mass of exactly 10.81 amu. How can you explain this difference?
The periodic table reports the average atomic mass, which is a weighted average of

all isotopes of boron.

2. How did the outcome of Rutherford’s gold-foil experiment indicate the existence of a nucleus?
A few alpha particles rebounded and therefore must have “hit” a dense bundle of

matter. Because such a small percentage of particles were redirected, he reasoned

that this clump of matter, called the nucleus, must occupy only a small fraction of

the atom’s total space.

3. Ibuprofen, C13H18O2, that is manufactured in Michigan contains 75.69% by mass carbon, 8.80%
hydrogen, and 15.51% oxygen. If you buy some ibuprofen for a headache while you are on
vacation in Germany, how do you know that it has the same percentage composition as the
ibuprofen you buy at home?
The law of definite proportions states that a chemical compound contains the same

elements in exactly the same proportions by mass regardless of the site of the

sample or the source of the compound.

4. Complete the following chart, using the atomic mass values from the periodic table:
Compound Mass of Fe (g) Mass of O (g) Ratio of O:Fe

FeO 55.85 16.00 0.2865

Fe2O3 111.70 48.00 0.4297

Fe3O4 167.55 64.00 0.3820

MODERN CHEMISTRY ATOMS: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MATTER 23

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Name Date Class

MIXED REVIEW continued

5. Complete the following table:

Atomic Mass Number Number Number
Element Symbol number number of protons of neutrons of electrons

Sodium Na 11 22 11 11 11

Fluorine F 9 19 9 10 9

Bromine Br 35 80 35 45 35

Calcium Ca 20 40 20 20 20

Hydrogen H 1 1 1 0 1

Radon Rn 86 222 86 136 86

PROBLEMS Write the answer on the line to the left. Show all your work in the space
provided.
6. 1.51  1024 atoms a. How many atoms are there in 2.50 mol of hydrogen?

1.51  1024 atoms b. How many atoms are there in 2.50 mol of uranium?

4.65 mol c. How many moles are present in 107 g of sodium?

7. A certain element exists as three natural isotopes, as shown in the table below.
Percent natural
Isotope Mass (amu) abundance Mass number
1 19.99244 90.51 20
2 20.99395 0.27 21
3 21.99138 9.22 22

20 amu Calculate the average atomic mass of this element.

24 ATOMS: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MATTER MODERN CHEMISTRY

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.