Course title: General Chemistry 1

Course code: CHM 101

Credit unit: 2

Course Lecturers
1. Dr. Okpo Ekerenam
2. Dr. Ioryue Ijah Salas
Course Outline
Atoms, molecules, elements, compounds and chemical reactions
Modern electronic theory of atoms. Electronic configuration, periodicity and building up of the
periodic table.
Hybridization and shapes of simple molecules. Valence forces and structure of solid.
Chemical equations and stoichiometry.
Chemical bonding and intermolecular forces and kinetic theory of matter.
Elementary thermochemistry, rates of reactions, equilibrium and thermodynamics
Acids, bases, and salts
Properties of gases
Redox reactions and introduction to electrochemistry
Radioactivity

Matter and Chemistry

Under here we shall look at:
• What is matter
• States of matter
• What is chemistry?
• Branches of chemistry
• Chemistry and other disciplines
• What is a chemical?
• Chemical reactions
• Scientific methods
• Etc.
The firmament, Earth, is what the scientist calls Matter. Everything on earth is matter
What is matter? – Anything (everything) on this earth that has mass and occupy space (volume)
such as: air, water, plants, soil, forest, rays etc.
State of matter: Matter exist in three states: gas, liquid, and solid. They are different from each
other through the arrangement of the molecules.
What is chemistry?
Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with the composition, structure (shape or form),
Properties and transformation of matter.
Chemistry is also fundamentally the study of matter and the transformations that occur during
everyday actions such as cooking and more sophisticated processes such as photosynthesis.
Chemistry is involved in everything we do in our daily activities (eating, washing cloth etc.). What
on earth is not Chemistry? The answer is none.
Branches of chemistry
❖ General/Analytical chemistry (composition/properties/reaction)
❖ Inorganic chemistry (compounds that do not contain Carbon)
❖ Organic chemistry (compounds containing Carbon)
❖ Physical chemistry (physical nature of matter
Chemistry and other disciplines
Chemistry is interdisciplinary. It cuts across many disciplines of studies such as:
• Geology (geochemistry- soil, ores, minerals)
• Biology (biochemistry- chemistry of proteins)
• Agriculture (phytochemistry (antioxidants, proximate analysis)
• Pharmacy (pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacokinetics) etc.

Classification of matter, mixtures, physical and chemical properties and changes

Classification of Matter: Matter is anything that has mass or occupy space (can, wood etc.). It
can be classified according to its compositions: Pure substances – are matter with fixed
compositions, viz: Elements: the simplest form of matter that has only one component
(H2O, O2, Cu, Fe, Ag, H etc.)
Compounds: two or more elements chemically combined together.

Element is a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical means.
An element composed of atoms that have the same atomic number; i.e., each atom has the same
number of protons in its nucleus as all other atoms of the element.

Compound is a substance made up of two or more different chemical elements combined in a

fixed ratio. When the elements come together, they react with each other and form chemical bonds
that are difficult to break. The bonds are form as the result of sharing or exchanging electrons
between them.
What is the difference between an Element and a Compound? – An element cannot be broken
down into another substance whereas a compound can be chemically broken down to a simpler
substance (NaCl → Na + Cl)
What is a Mixture?
When two or more substances/elements physically mixed together e.g., air (N2 + O2), sand/rice,
tea, ocean etc.
Characteristic composition of mixtures may vary e.g., brass = Cu + Zinc (composition of each
element in brass may vary)
Method of Separation of a mixture: Mixtures are separated by physical methods – filtration
(filter paper, sieves, used for liquids), Distillation (2 miscible liquids e.g. water and alcohol,
Boiling point difference is very important), Chromatography (uses differences in the rates of
migration of components on a stationary and mobile phase).

Types of Mixture:
• Homogeneous – composition is uniform throughout the bulk of the sample (air, sea water). If
mixture is a liquid, it is called a solution
• Heterogeneous: composition is not uniform throughout the bulk of the sample (oil/water)
probably due to partial solubility (chalk/water, colloids, suspensions).

State and Physical Properties of Matter, Physical and Chemical Changes

States/Physical Properties of Matter:
One other way to be able to describe matter is to observe its physical properties.
Physical properties can be described as attributes that can be observed or measured without
affecting the identity of the matter e.g., color of hair, shape of an animal, melting point (MP),
boiling point (BP), weight, height et. When applied to living matter, it is called biodata or
biometrics.
Matter is classified by arrangement of its component elements. The organization of these elements
gradually progresses from: loosely organized (gas)_More organized (liquid)_Most
organized (solid).
• Solid: has shape and volume with moderately organized molecule that is next to each other and
held together by attractive forces. It forms a rigid structure which only allows vibrations of its
components in a fixed position.
• Liquid: has no shape of its own but takes the shape of the container holding the liquid. It has
volume and mass
• Gas: has no shape of its own but assumes the shape of the container holding it. It has volume and
mass.
Physical Changes:
Matter can undergo a physical change. Its state/appearance will change but its components will
remain the same. Physical changes are changes that occur without the formation of new substances
(no new substance is formed).
Example: Water can exist as a solid (ice by freezing), Liquid (normal state), gas (steam or water
vapor, by boiling). In all cases, its components (H and O) remain the same.
Physical changes are reversible. For example, evaporation, filtration, distillation are examples of
physical processes.
Examples of Physical changes:
Change of State: Water to steam (boiling, evaporation)
Change of Appearance: Salt dissolves in water
Change of shape: Hammering Copper to different shapes
Change of size: Crushing ice to smaller sizes
Chemical Changes
Ability to form a new substance with new physical and chemical properties
Examples: Gari + hot water → Eba
CH4 + 2O2 →CO2 + 2H2O
2Fe + 3/2O2 → Fe2O3 (Rust, brown color)
H2O/heat
Physical Change Chemical Change
When a substance undergoes a physical When a substance undergoes a chemical
change, its composition remains the same change, its molecular composition is changed
despite its molecules being rearranged. entirely. Thus, chemical changes involve the
formation of new substances.
Physical change is a temporary change. A chemical change is a permanent change.
A Physical change affects only physical Chemical change both physical and chemical
properties i.e., shape, size, etc. properties of the substance including its
composition
A physical change involves very little to no During a chemical reaction, absorption and
absorption of energy. evolution of energy take place.
Some examples of physical change are A few examples of chemical change are
freezing of water, melting of wax, boiling of digestion of food, burning of coal, rusting, etc.
water, etc.
Generally, physical changes do not involve the Chemical changes usually involve the
production of energy. production of energy (which can be in the form
of heat, light, sound, etc.)
 In a physical change, no new substance is A chemical change is always accompanied by
formed. one or more new substance(s).
Physical change is easily reversible i.e original Chemical changes are irreversible i.e., original
substance can be recovered. substance cannot be recovered.

Composition of matter, Elements and Atoms

Matter consists of elements (simplest form of matter)
• There are 117 elements known for now e.g., H, Na, Cl, O2, N, C etc.
• All known elements are arranged in increasing atomic number in the Periodic Table
• All elements are represented by a symbol (abbreviation that is used to represent an
element e.g., Na, K
• Symbols consist of one or two letters – H, Na, N, Ca
• Element: are made up of atoms
• Atom is from the word ATOMOS – minute particles
• Atoms are the smallest particle or basic unit of an element that can take part in a chemical reaction
and still retain the property of that element. It has the same characteristics as the element. Each
element has its own characteristic atom different from those of other elements. Atoms are tiny
particles not visible to the naked eyes but can be viewed by powerful microscope such as Scanning
Tunneling Microscope (STM)
For example, 1.0 g of Na and 16 g of Oxygen contain 2.6 x 1022 atoms and 6.02 x 1013 atoms
respectively. The mass of one atom of Na is 3.8175 x 10-23 and that of oxygen 2.66 x 10-23
These measurements were made with highly precise instruments such as a mass spectrometer and
nuclear reaction energies.

Atomic Mass Scale

The mass of an atom is in the range of 1.0 x 10-23. This is so small that it may not be useful or
convenient in normal laboratory scale. Physical scientist and chemist devised a relative scale which
is more suitable for calculating atomic masses. This scale is called the atomic mass scale (ams)
Atomic masses are measured relative to a reference element that is arbitrarily chosen for
convenience’s sake and assigned an arbitrary number. The unit used for this scale is called the
atomic mass unit (amu)
Earlier Chemist chose naturally occurring isotopes of oxygen as the reference element and defined
amu as 1/16 of the average mass atoms of isotopes of oxygen: 16O, 17O,18O.
Earlier Physicist chose the predominant isotope of oxygen: 16O and defined amu as 1/16 of the
mass of an atom of 16O. In 1961, and international consensus (SI unit) chose isotope of carbon-12
(C-12) as the reference element and arbitrarily assigned the value of 12 amu
Therefore, 1 amu = 1/12 of mass of C-12 atom.
Mass spectrometer gave the real mass of one atom of C-12 as 1.9927 x 10-23g
Hence 1 amu = 1/12 x 1.9927 x 10-23g = 1.6606 x 10-24g
If mass spectrometer or other precise methods measures the mass of one atom of any element (e.g.,
one atom of Na weighs 3.8176 x 10-23g), one can then convert this to its equivalent on the amu
scale.
On amu scale, the mass of one atom of Na will be 3.8176 x 10-23g/1.6606 x 10-24g = 22. 9892 amu
The Biologist uses the Dalton scale which is 1 amu = 1 Dalton
This is how the atomic masses of all elements are calculated and recorded in the periodic
table
A simple way to explain the concept of amu scale is to consider a basket full of 20 cubes of sugar.
Each cube of sugar has different weights. If we randomly choose one of the cubes (labeled X with
mass 20g) as our reference cube to which the masses of all other cubes in the basket is calculated
We also assign an arbitrary unit of 12 to cube X
If we pick cube Y with mass 40g, we can calculate the relative mass of cube Y on our arbitrary
scale as = 40/20 x 12 = 24 amu
We can calculate the relative masses of other cubes of sugar in the basket in the same way
In practice, the average mass of isotopes of elements is used in calculating is relative atomic
or atomic masses
For practical purposes, the gram-atomic mass unit is used in laboratory calculations.
The gram-atomic mass is the amu expressed in grams and is defined as the molar mass of that
element
For example, the amu of Na = 23, the gram atomic mass (molar mass of Na) = 23g
Example: The average relative mass of magnesium atoms is 4.03065 x 10-23g. Calculate its atomic
mass if one atom of C-12 has a mass of 1.9927 x 10-23g and an atomic mass of 12.0 amu
Answer: First step is to compare the relative atomic mass of magnesium atoms with that of 1/12
of C-12
1amu of C-12 = 1/12 x 1.9927 x 10-23g = 1.6606 x 10-24g
Therefore, the atomic mass of the magnesium ions will be = 4.03065 x 10-23g/1.6606 x 10-24g
= 24.505 amu

Isotopes
In nature, the same element might have 2 or more different atoms with different masses but with
all other characteristics the same (e.g., atomic number). Such atoms are called isotopes.
Isotope is defined as atoms of an element with the same atomic number but different atomic
masses or number.
Not all isotopes of an element are stable. Some are radioactive such as those of aluminum. Isotopes
exist in different amount in nature. The amount of each isotope in nature is referred to as its
relative abundance.
The relative abundance of any element is always constant. That is, if any sample of an isotopic
element is analyzed, the amount of each isotopic atom will be the same.
A good example is Chlorine: It has isotope 35Cl and 37Cl with atomic masses of 35 and 37 amu and
relative abundances of 75.53 % and 24.47% respectively.
If an element M has three isotopes aA, bB, cC (a, b, c – respective atomic masses) and abundances
of I%, J% and K% respectively.
Atomic mass of M = (1/100) (Ia + Jb + Kc)
Example 1: For Chlorine, its atomic mass = (1/100) (75.53x35 + 24.47x37) = 35.5 amu.

Example 2- Element T has two isotopes T-35 and T-37. Calculate the natural
composition of these isotopes, if the atomic mass of T is 35.5 amu
Answer: Let x% represent the abundance of isotope T-35, then the abundance of
isotope T-37 will be (100-x)%
Therefore, the atomic mass of element T = 35.5 = 1/100 (35x + 37(100-x))
x = 75 for T-35 and (100-75) = 25 for (T-37).