THE LANGUAGE OF CHEMISTRY

1. The first letter (in capital) of the English name

of an element

Name Symbol Name Symbol

Hydrogen H Oxygen O

Boron B Fluorine F

Carbon C Phosphorus P

Nitrogen N Sulphur S

2. The first letter along with one more letter of

the English name of an element (this becomes
necessary when the names of two or more
elements begin with the same letter)

Name Symbol Name Symbol

You would need many words to describe a chemical
Helium He Aluminium Al
change in ordinary language. But you can do so with
only a few letters and numbers in the language of Neon Ne Calcium Ca
chemistry.
Nickel Ni Chlorine Cl
J J Berzelius laid the foundation of this language in
the early nineteenth century. It gradually developed Magnesium Mg Zinc Zn
into its present form. In this language, an atom is
Manganese Mn
represented by a symbol, a molecule by a formula,
and a chemical change (i.e., a reaction) by a chemical 3. One or two letters of the
equation. Latin name of an element
Name
Symbol
English Latin
 A symbol is an abbreviation of the name of an
Sodium Natrium Na
element.
Potassium Kalium K
The symbols of elements have been derived in three
different ways. Iron Ferrum Fe
 Copper Cuprum Cu

Silver Argentum Ag When an atom of an element combines with

another atom(s) of the same element, a molecule
Tin Stannum Sn of the element is formed.

Gold Aurum Au For example, two atoms of hydrogen combine to

form a molecule of hydrogen. The formula of
Lead Plumbum Pb hydrogen is H2, 2 being the subscript showing the
number of H atoms in the molecule. Similarly,
Mercury Hydrargyrum Hg
molecules of nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, chlorine,
bromine and iodine contain two atoms of the
 What does a symbol represent ? element. So they are represented as N2, O2, F2, Cl2,
The symbol of an element represents the following. Br2 and I2 respectively. As these molecules have
two atoms of the element, they are said to be
1. An element in particular For example, you diatomic, A common example of a triatomic gas
know that the symbol of sodium is Na and that of is ozone (O3).
chlorine is Cl. So, instead of saying that the There are a few highly inactive gases present in
compound common salt is made up of the very small amounts in the air. These gases, viz.,
elements sodium and chlorine, you can say that it helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr)
is made up of Na and Cl. You can also say that Cu and xenon (Xe), are called noble gases. A
molecule of a noble gas contains only one atom of
is red-brown whereas Au is yellow, and that Ca is
the element. In other words, noble gases are
a metal whereas Cl is a nonmetal.
monoatomic. So the formula of a noble gas is the
2. An atom of an element In formulae and same as its symbol.
equations, a symbol represents an atom of an  Valency–the combining capacity of an element
element. More than one atom in a molecule is
When atoms of two or more elements combine, a
shown by a numeral subscript. This is explained molecule of a compound is formed. The capacities
in the next section. of these elements to combine with each other
determine the formula of the compound formed.

 The capacity of an element to combine with

Atoms usually do not exist independently. They other elements is known as its valency.
generally combine among themselves to form It will be evident from the following that the
molecules. A molecule is the smallest part of an combining capacities of all elements are not the
element or a compound that can exist same.

independently. It is represented by a formula. 1. One atom of Cl combines with one atom of H

to form a molecule of hydrogen chloride.
The formula of a molecule gives the
numbers(s) of atoms of the same or different 2. One atom of O combines with two atoms of
H to form a molecule of water.
elements present in the molecule.
3. One atom of N combines with three atoms of
H to form a molecule of ammonia.
 Thus, the combining capacity of O is twice that of
Cl, and that of N is thrice that of Cl.

H is assigned a valency of 1. So the valencies of

Cl, O and N are 1, 2 and 3 respectively. However,
many atoms do not combine with H. Their
valencies are calculated by the number of Cl
atoms they combine with, since Cl and H have the
same valency, i.e., 1.

 The valency of an element is given by the

number of H or Cl atoms that an atom o the There are some exceptions like H2O2 (hydrogen

element combines with. peroxide) in which the numeral subscripts are not
divided by the common factor.
(You will learn in higher classes that the valency
of an element can be expressed in many ways.) The formulae of some common compounds are
given in table
Elements with valencies 1, 2, 3, etc., are said to be
monovalent, divalent (or bivalent), trivalent, Table: Formulae of some common compounds

and so on. The valencies of some common Elements with Formula Name of the
elements are indicated in Table
valencies compound
Table: The valencies of some common elements
H2O Water
Monovalent Divalent Trivalent Tetravalent
HCl Hydrogen
Hydrogen Oxygen Nitrogen Carbon
chloride
Chlorine Sulphur Aluminium Silicon
NaCl Sodium chloride
Iodine Magnesium

Sodium Calcium MgCl2 Magnesium

chloride
Potassium Zinc
CaCl2 Calcium chloride
 Obtaining the formulae of compounds

The formula of a binary compound, i.e., a NH3 Ammonia

compound formed by two elements only, is
obtained by transposing their valencies. Suppose MgO Magnesium oxide
an element A has a valency y and element B has a
valency x. Then the compound formed between A CaO Calcium oxide
and B usually has the formula A xBy. The
subscripts should be divided by a common factor,
CO2 Carbon dioxide
if any.
 The formulae of compounds containing compound
radicals are also obtained by transposing valencies
(Table)
Table: Formulae of some compounds containing
Some elements have variable valency. For compound radicals
example, iron has valencies of 2 (e.g., in FeCl 2) Elements or radicals Compound formed

and 3 (e.g., in FeCl3). FeCl2 is named iron(II) with valencies Formula Name
chloride, and FeCl3 is named iron(III) chloride. NaOH Sodium hydroxide
This method of naming a compound is adopted if
it contains an element with variable valency. KNO3 Potassium
nitrate
Table: Some elements with variable valencies
(NH4)2SO4 Ammonium
Metal Nonmetal
sulphate
Copper —1, 2 Phosphorus—3, 5
Na2CO3 Sodium
Iron —2, 3 Sulphur —2, 4, 6
carbonate
Tin—2, 4
HNO3 Nitric acid
Lead—2, 4

Let us look at a few examples of compounds H2SO4 Sulphuric acid

containing elements of variable valency.

Copper (I) chloride  CuCl

Copper (II) chloride  CuCl2

You know that an element is represented by a symbol
Iron (II) oxide  FeO
and a compound, by a formula. A chemical change is

Iron (III) oxide  Fe2O3 represented by an equation called a chemical

equation. For example, the burning of carbon in a
Can you guess the valencies of phosphorus in
sufficient supply of oxygen to form carbon dioxide is
PCl3, and of sulphur in H2S, SO2 and SO3 ?
represented by the following equation.

Certain groups of atoms of different elements

remain intact in many chemical reactions. In fact,
they behave like single atoms and have a valency. If the supply of oxygen is insufficient, carbon
They are called compound radicals. They do not monoxide (CO) is formed. Let us express the reaction
exist independently, but only as parts of
thus:
compounds. Common examples of monovalent
radicals are hydroxide (OH) and nitrate (NO 3). C + O2  CO
Carbonate (CO3) and sulphate (SO4) are examples
The substances that react among themselves are called
of divalent radicals. The phosphate (PO4) radical
is trivalent. reactants and those that are formed are called
products. Remember that no atoms are lost or gained
in a chemical reaction. So the number of atoms of
each element on the reactant side must be the same
as that on the product side.

An equation satisfying this rule is called a balanced POINTS TO REMEMBER

chemical equation. For example, the equation
 A symbol is an abbreviation of the name of an
showing the formation of carbon dioxide is a balanced
element.
chemical equation. But the one showing the formation
of carbon monoxide is not. Because there are two O  A symbol represents an element and an atom of
atoms on the reactant side, the only one on the product the element.
side. To balance this equation, we place the numeral 2  The formula of an element or a compound
before C on the reactant side and CO on the product represents a molecule of the element or
side. compound. It gives the number(s) of atoms of the
2C + O2  2CO same or different elements present in the
molecule.
Only balanced chemical equations are acceptable.
Here are a few examples of such equations.  Noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton and
xenon) are monoatomic, whereas hydrogen,
H2 + Cl2  2HCl
nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine and
2H2 + O2  2H2O iodine are diatomic. Ozone(O3) is a triatomic gas.
2Mg + O2 2MgO  The capacity of an element to combine with other
Sometimes, an equation is made more informative by elements is known as its valency.
mentioning the conditions o the reaction above the  The formula of a compound containing two
arrow. elements is obtained by transposing their
C + O2 CO2 valencies.

 Some elements like iron (Fe), copper (Cu), lead

(Pb), phosphorus (P) and sulphur(S) have variable
valency.

 A group of atoms of two or more elements, which

behaves like a single atom and has a valency, is
known as a compound radical.

 Chemical changes are represented by chemical

equations.

 The number of atoms of each elements on the

reactant side must be the same as that on the
product side. An equation that satisfies this rule is
called a balanced chemical equation.
 EXERCISE # 1
(A). Answer the following in not more than 20 4. Atoms are neither lost nor……in a
words. chemical reaction.
Q.1 What does the formula of a substance tell you ?
Q.2 What do you mean by the valency of an
element ?
Q.3 What is the following called ?
A group of atoms of two or more elements
behaving like an atom and having a valancey
Q.4 Name two elements that have variable
valency. Give the formulae and names of two
compounds formed by each of these elements
Q.5 What is a balanced chemical equation ? Why
should a chemical equation be balanced ?

(B). Find the valencies of the underlined elements

or radicals in the following compounds.
, , , , ,
, , , ,
, , , ,
,

(C). Answer the following in not more than 100

words.
Q.1 What are compound radicals ? Give examples
of a few radicals, along with their valencies.
Also mention some compounds containing
compound radicals. Give the valencies of the
parts that make up the compound.
D. Complete the following.
1. A…… is an abbreviation of the name of
an element.
2. A molecule of an element or a compound
is represented by its…….
3. The valencies of the two elements of a
binary compound are…… to obtain its
formula.
 EXERCISE # 2
(A). Choose the correct option.
Q.1 Which of the following is the symbol of gold ? (C). True or False ?
(a) Gd (b) Ag 1. The valency of hydrogen is 1.
(c) Au (d) Pb 2. The valency of oxygen is 2.
3. The symbol of iron is I.
Q.2 Which of the following is a divalent radical ? 4. The symbol of silver is Ag.
(a) Hydroxide (b) Nitrate 5. The valency of calcium is 2 and that of
chlorine is 1. So, calcium chloride is
(c) Sulphate (d) Phosphate
Ca2Cl.
6. The valency of both zinc and oxygen is 2.
Q.3 The valency of sulphur in sulphur dioxide is So, zinc oxide is ZnO.
(a) 1 (b) 2 (D). Write the formula of each of the following
compounds.
(c) 3 (d) 4
Water Calcium Carbon Carbon Magnesium
oxide dioxide monoxide oxide
Q.4 How many times greater is the valency of N Hydrogen Sodium Potassium Magnesium Zinc
in NH3 than that of Cl in HCl ? chloride chloride chloride chloride chloride
(a) 2 (b) 3 Nitric Sodium Sodium Potassium Calcium
acid nitrate carbonate carbonate carbonate
(c) 4 (d) 5

(B). Match columns A and B.

A B
(a) Helium (i) Hg
(b) Mercury (ii) He
(c) Copper (iii) Pb
(d) Calcium (iv) P
(e) Phosphorus (v) Cu
(f) Lead (vi) Ca