Introduction

Simplified version of the modern periodic table is shown below:

Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 H* He
2 LI Be B C N O F Ne
3 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
4 K Ca Br Kr
*- Hydrogen displays properties of metals and non-metals.
Trends in the Periodic Table
As stated before the periodic table is arranged in order of increasing atomic number. The atomic
number increases from left to right and from top to bottom. Elements in the same row (horizontal)
are said to be in the same period and elements in the same column (vertical) are said to be in the
same group.
The group number corresponds to the number of electrons in the outer shell of the atom, so for
example, a group 5 element possesses 5 electrons in its outer shell. Since we know that elements are
arranged in groups and group number corresponds to the number of electrons in the outer shell, we
can safely say all group 5 elements have 5 electrons in their outer shell.
Elements found in the first 3 groups of the periodic table are metals, those found in groups 4-7 are
non-metals. Those found in group 8 are the Nobel gases. The Nobel gases are stable and have a
complete outer shell of electrons, as a result they are found in their elementary form. In other words,
these elements do not react naturally to form compounds. Other elements try to achieve this stability
by gaining, losing or sharing electrons from other elements via a process called chemical bonding -
bonding for short . For example Sodium loses 1 electron and Chlorine gains 1 electron to form
sodium chloride.
E.g. Sodium + Chlorine Sodium Chloride
Bonding is explained in some detail in the next section. It should be noted however that metals, like
sodium above, bond by losing electrons to non-metals, like Chlorine above. Non-metals gain
electrons when bonding with metals; however, they may also bond by sharing electrons with other
non-metals to complete their outer shell.
We already know from earlier, that elements in the same group possess the same amount of outer
electrons and as such their reactivity is closely related. We will show examples of this by examining
groups 1, 2 and 7.
 Group 1 Metals
This is a group of highly reactive metals also called the alkali metal series, and contains the metals
Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium, Cesium and Francium. Hydrogen is also a member of this
group however, it shares both the properties of a group 1 metal and a group 7 non-metals. These
metals possess 1 electron in their out electron shell as shown below:

The electronic configurations for the elements in group 1 are shown below:
Elements Electronic configuration
Li Lithium 2,1
Na Sodium 2,8,1
K Potassium 2,8,8,1
As stated before, all elements try to achieve the stable electronic configuration of the
closest Nobel gases (filled outer shells) . Since the elements in this group posses 1 electron in
their outer shell, they will achieve stability by losing its single electron to a non-metal during
reactions. For example, Sodium has an electronic configuration of 2,8,1. The closest noble gas to
sodium is neon which has a electronic configuration of 2,8. Sodium will thus lose its single electron
to a non-metal to achieve this stability.
Please refer to the section on Atomic Structure if you are having difficulty understanding electronic
configuration.
Reactivity increases with increased atomic size as it is easier to remove the outer electron with
increased atomic size. This is so because the outer electrons are further away from the nucleus and
there is a resulting loss of electrostatic forces of attraction which exists between the negatively
charged electrons and the positively charged nucleus. With this in mind the order of reactivity is as a
follows:
Li<Na<K<Rb<Cs<Fr
By now, we know there is an equal number of protons (+1 charge) and electrons (-1 charge). When
one electron is lost from the group 1 metals there will be a surplus of positive charge which will be
equal to the difference in the amount of protons vs. electrons. In the case of group 1 metals, there will
be a +1 charge.
Positively or negatively charged atoms are called ions. Hence when group 1 metals react
they result in a +1 positively charged ion.

Group II Metals
The electronic configuration of the group 3 elements is shown below:
Element Electronic Configuration
Be Beryllium 2,2
Mg Magnesium 2,8,2
Ca Calcium 2,8,8,2
Similarly to the group 1 elements, the group II elements react by losing electrons. This happens in
order to achieve the electronic configuration of the closest Nobel gas. As a result, positive ions are
formed with a charge of 2+.
The ability to lose these electrons increases down the group resulting in an increase in reactivity.
This increase in reactivity is caused by an increase in the size of the elements as you go down
the group, followed by a loss in attraction between the nucleus and the surrounding outer electrons
(electrons are further away and thus electrostatic forces of attraction between a positive and negative
charge is less). As a result, the electrons on the outer shell of the larger elements are more easily lost
during a reaction. With this in mind, the order of reactivity is as follows:
Be<Mg<Ca<Sr<Ba<Rb
Properties of the group II metals
Element Appearance M.P B.P Density
Be Shiny grey metal 1287 2900 1.86
Mg Shiny white metal 650 1105 1.77
Ca Shiny white metal 850 1440 1.55
Trends in Group II
Density
Density decreases down the group as the atoms increase in size. As you go down group 2 there is an
increase in both mass and volume as we would expect from the increase in atomic mass and atomic
number. However the rate at which the volume increases down the group is more significant than the
rate of increase in mass because the electrons are being placed in shells further and further away
from the nucleus thus occupying more space (increase in volume). Also, since electrons are
negatively charged there is a slight repulsion between electron shells which also increases volume.
Since Density= Mass/ Volume, and the rate at which the volume increases is greater than the rate at
which the mass increases. Then there is a decrease in Density as we move down the group.
Melting and Boiling Point
Boiling and Melting points decrease with an increase in atomic size. As atomic size increases the
forces of attraction between atoms decrease. As a result there is a decrease in melting and boiling
points because less energy is required to break these inter-atomic forces of attraction (forces of
attraction between atoms).
Reaction with Oxygen
Metals within the group II react rapidly with air to form a film or layer of oxide. The rate of reaction
increases with increased atomic size as is expected.
Beryllium + Oxygen Beryllium Oxide
Magnesium + Oxygen Magnesium Oxide
Calcium + Oxygen Calcium Oxide
Reaction with Water
Reactivity with water also increases as you move down the group.
Beryllium does not react with water neither hot nor cold.
Magnesium reacts very slowly with water to form magnesium hydroxide
Equation:
Magnesium + Water Magnesium Hydroxide
Calcium reacts moderately with water to form calcium hydroxide
Equation:
Calcium + Water Calcium Hydroxide
Strontium and Barium reacts explosively with water.
Reaction with Dilute acid
Members of this group react with dilute acid to form a salt and hydrogen gas.
Since we know that reactivity increases down the group as the atoms get larger, and then we should
know too that the reaction becomes more vigorous as we move from beryllium to barium.
e.g.
Beryllium + Sulphuric acid Beryllium Sulphate (salt) + Hydrogen gas
Beryllium + Hydrochloric acid Beryllium Chloride (salt) + Hydrogen gas
The reaction is the same for all group 2 metals, for example:
Magnesium + Sulphuric acid Magnesium Sulphate + Hydrogen gas
Calcium + Sulphuric acid Calcium Sulphate + Hydrogen gas

Group VII
This group includes the elements fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine. They all possess 7 valence
electrons (7 electrons in their outer shell).
The Electronic configuration is shown below:
Element Electronic configuration
Fluorine 2,7
Chlorine 2,8,7
Bromine 2,8,8,7
Elements in this series react by gaining a single electron when they react with metal atoms or share a
pair of electrons when they bond with another non-metal. They do this to achieve the stability of
closest Nobel gas. For e.g. Fluorine will gain a single electron from a metal atom to achieve a
complete outer shell. You may be wondering why they dont lose electrons similarly to metals in
group 1, 2 or 3. The answer is that it is more energetically feasible for them to gain 1 electron vs. lose
the 7 electrons in their outer shell.
The ability to gain electrons is called electronegativity. This ability decreases as you move down the
group, because electrons are attracted by protons. As the atom gets larger, the further the electrons
being attracted are from the nucleus. Since attraction is inversely proportional to distance then the
greater the distance, the smaller the attraction. This is why fluorine is more reactive than chlorine.
The order of reactivity increases with reduced size for non metal elements, the opposite is true for
metals in group 1-3.
The order of reaction for the group 7 elements is shown below:
Fluorine> Chlorine > Bromine > Iodine
As stated before non-metals may form bonds with other non-metals. This is done by means of a
covalent bond. Covalent bonds are formed by the sharing of electrons by non-metal atoms. This is
similar to what happens in group 7 elements since these elements are non-metal. They form covalent
bonds with other non-metals atoms or with themselves (forming diatoms). You may be wondering
how these atoms are able to bond with themselves. We are aware that covalent bonding is a concept
that many students have a problem in understanding as such, we will take special consideration
when explaining this. For now keep in mind that many non metal elements including group 7
elements are found naturally as diatoms. E.g. Fl2, Cl2, Br2 and I2

Introduction To Bonding
When atoms combine with each other to form compounds, the process is called bonding. Atoms do
this in order to achieve the stability of the closest Nobel gas (a full outer shell of electrons). Metals
have only a few electrons in their outer shell (1-3) so they will readily lose these electrons to attain
the electronic configuration of the closest Nobel gas.
For. eg, Lithium has an electronic configuration of 2,1. Lithium will lose its single outer electron to
form a lithium ion resulting in an outer shell of 2 electrons (remember the first electron shell has a
maximum capacity of 2 electrons). Hence the lithium ion produced will have a full outer shell with
the electronic configuration of helium (closest nobel gas).
The opposite is true for non metals; they have many electrons in their outer shell and will readily
gain or share electrons to achieve the stability of a full outer shell (electronic configuration of the
closest nobel gas).
You may be wondering why non metals cannot lose all of its outer electrons; or why metals cant gain
numerous electrons to complete its outer shell. The answer is simple energy. It is far too energy
consuming for non metals to lose all its outer electrons and for metals to gain electrons to complete
their outer shell. The energy we are considering here is the energy needed to overcome electrostatic
forces of attraction. You will learn about this further in your studies.

Ionic Bonding
The transfer of electrons from one atom to another is called ionic bonding. This type of bonding
occurs between metals and non-metals. The compounds formed are called ionic compounds. As
stated previously, metals try to lose their outer electrons while non metals look to gain electrons to
obtain a full outer shell. When metals lose their outer electrons they form positively charged ions
called cations. When non-metals gain electrons they form negatively charged ions called anions. An
example is shown below:
The arrow represents the transfer of an electron from a sodium atom to a fluorine atom. This transfer
results in the formation of:

As can be seen the sodium atom is now a positively charged sodium cation. This positive charge
results from the loss of its outer negative electron, which resulted in the sodium atom now having
more protons than electrons and hence a net positive charge. Also, since the outer electron shell is
lost, it is not represented in the diagram.
The fluorine atom accepts this negative electron and is now a negatively charged fluorine anion,
because it has more electrons than protons.
These 2 ions are strongly attracted to each other because of their opposite charge. A bond is now
formed and the resulting compound is called Sodium Fluoride
 Ionic Bonding Part 2
Another example of ionic bonding is the blending of Beryllium and Fluorine to form beryllium
fluoride.
Beryllium has 2 outer electrons and as stated before metals will lose their outer electrons to obtain a
full outer shell. Since fluorine needs to gain 1 electron to complete its outer shell and Beryllium needs
to lose 2 electrons, one Beryllium atom will bond with 2 Fluorine atoms:

The transfer of electrons from beryllium results in the formation of an ionic bond. Beryllium now has
a positive (+2) charge and Fluorine now has a negative charge. The resulting compound is called
Beryllium Fluoride (BeF2).
 Properties Of Ionic Compounds
There are properties that are shown by ionic compounds. These are:
- Contains Ion
- Have ions arrange in a fixed pattern called a crystal lattice
- Are crystalline solids
- Conducts electricity when molten or dissolved in water
Readily dissolve in water
An example of the properties of ionic compounds is sodium chloride. It has a crystal lattice as seen
below. It is important to note at this point that this arrangement of atoms is due to electrostatic
forces of attraction between the positive and negative charge of the Sodium cation and the Chlorine
anion.
The structure of Sodium Chloride is shown below:
The Sodium cations are represented by the light blue spheres, while the Chlorine anions are
represented by the darker green spheres.
Each chloride ion is surrounded by six sodium ions and each sodium ion is surrounded by six
chloride ions. The ions are arranged so that they are alternated, i.e., a chloride ion is next to a sodium
ion and so on. You will never find two chloride ions or two sodium ions situated next to each other as
opposites attracts and like charges repel. This arrangement is a fixed pattern called a crystal lattice
and for this reason sodium chloride is a crystalline solid.
Sodium Chloride also has a high melting and boiling points because of this rigid crystalline structure
and it requires a large amount of heat energy to break these bonds to form a fluid.
Formulae Of Ions
When metals lose electrons, they form positive ions, since they now have more protons than
electrons. The charge on these ions is dependent on the number of electrons lost. So if the atom loses
one electron, it has a +1 charge; if it loses two electrons, the charge is + 2 and so on.
Similarly, when non-metals gain electrons, they form negative ions, since they have more electrons
than proton. So if the atom gained one electron it will have a -1 charge, similarly if it gained 2
electrons it will have a -2 charge.
Here is a list of ions below, please note how the charge on the ion is written on the top right of the
atomic symbol.
Beryllium Be2+
Sodium Na1+
Oxide O2-
Nitride N3-
Bromide Br 1-

Combination Of Ions
As stated before when metals and non metals react the metals lose electrons and the non-metals gain
electrons. The result is ions which are attracted by electrostatic forces of attraction (forces of
attraction between opposite charges).
Examples are shown below:
1) Sodium and Chlorine combine the result is sodium chloride.
Na+ + Cl- NaCl
It should be noted that the sum of the charges is equal to 0, as a result NaCl has no charge.
2) Magnesium and Oxygen
Mg2+ + O2- MgO
3) Lithium and Oxygen
2Li+ + O2- Li2O
In the examples above, you may be wondering why there are 2 Lithium atoms and 1 Oxygen. Well,
the answer here is simple. Oxygen needs to gain two electron and lithium needs to lose one electron.
This results in one oxygen bonding to two lithium atoms. Also, you will realize that lithium oxide
(Li2O) has no charge similarly with the above as the charges cancel.

Polyatomic Ions
These, as the name suggests, are ions that are made of more than one atom. These act like regular
ions and will combine with other ions of opposite charge.
These type of ions are shown below:
Nitrate- NO3 1-
Sulphate- SO4 2-
Sulphite- SO3 2-
Ammonium- NH4 1+
Example
NO3 1- + Na1+ -> NaNO3
2NH4 1+ + SO4 2- -> (NH4)2 SO4
Notice the (NH4)2 means there are 2 ammonium ions in the compound formed.

Metallic Bonding
There are strong forces of attraction within a metal and this is attributed to metallic bonding.
Metals have a sea of delocalized electrons within its structure. These electrons have become detached
and the remaining atoms have a positive charge. This positive charged is attracted to the delocalized
sea of electrons due to electrostatic forces of attraction (forces which result from unlike charges), and
as a result has a strong interaction. It is this interaction which makes the metals so hard and rigid.
The diagram below shows the metallic bonding.

Covalent Bonding
Covalent bonding is the type of bonding done between non-metal atoms only. There is no transfer of
electrons in covalent bonding because the electrons are shared. The electrons shared are valence
electrons (electrons in the outer shell) which results in a complete outer shell for each atom
involved.

Where e represent Electrons

A single covalent bond is a shared pair of electrons. As can be seen above, the Hydrogen atom shares
its single electron with chlorine. If we count all of chlorines outer electron, including the shared
electrons, we will see that it now possesses 8 electrons and has a complete outer shell resembling the
closest Nobel gas, Argon.
If we count all the outer electrons for Hydrogen, we will see that it now has 2 electrons. This is a
complete outer shell as it now resembles the closest
Nobel gas in Helium. We should always bear in mind that all elements try to acquire the electronic
configuration of the closest Nobel gas.
Another example of covalent bonding is the bonding that occurs between 2 oxygen atoms to form the
diatomic oxygen molecule. Diatomic gases are gases whose molecules are made of two atoms.
Oxygen forms a diatomic molecule to achieve stability. Oxygen and most other elemental gases are
found as a diatomic molecule naturally. Oxygen possesses 6 electrons in its outer shell and needs two
more electrons to complete its outer electron shell. As such each oxygen atom will share 2 of its
electrons to form a double bond . A double bond is 2 pairs of electrsons or 4 electrons 2
from each atom. If we count the outer electrons of each oxygen atom, including the shared
electrons, we will see that there are a total of eight (8) electrons. This is a complete outer shell. An
example of this is shown below:

Where e is used to represent electrons

Covalent Bonding Part 2

Many non-metal atoms form diatom molecules like oxygen as seen in the previous chapter. These are
shown below:
Diatomic Molecules Formulae
Oxygen O2
Chlorine Cl2
Hydrogen H2
Nitrogen N2
Fluorine F2
Bromine Br2
Iodine I2
Above we see that Nitrogen forms a diatomic molecule. We know that nitrogen possesses 5 electrons
in its outer shell and needs a total of 3 electrons to have a complete outer shell. As such, each
nitrogen atom will donate 3 electrons to the covalent bond to form 3 pairs of electrons or a triple
bond. A total of 6 electrons will be shared and along with the remaining 2 outer electrons, will form a
complete outer shell of 8 electrons.
This is shown below:

Where e is used to represent electrons.

Properties Of Covalent Compounds

Properties of Covalent Compounds
Weak intermolecular (between molecules) forces of attraction
Do not conduct electricity
Partially soluble in water
Are made of molecules not ions
There are many types of covalent compounds. We have covered the diatomic molecules such as the
oxygen and the nitrogen molecule, however the large majority of covalent compounds are not
diatomic and involve several different kinds of atoms. A simple example of this is water. You know
this is a commodity we use in everyday life. The formula for water is H2O and the structure of this is
shown below:
Notice that for water, there are 2 Hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom as we would expect because
oxygen needs 2 electrons to have a complete outer shell and hydrogen needs 1 electron. As a result
Oxygen forms two single bonds with Hydrogen.
This may be confusing at first but an easy way to grasp the concept of covalent bonding is to identity
how many electrons are needed to complete the outer shell of a non metal atom. If one electron is
needed to complete the outershell, then a single bond will be formed with each atom contributing
one electron.
If two atoms are in need of 2 electrons then a double bond will be formed with each atom
contributing 2 atoms, eg oxygen molecule above.
If one atom needs 2 electrons and the other is in need of only one electron, then 2 single bonds will
be formed. For example, the water molecule above.

Introdution To Allotropy
The ability of an element to exist in more than one crystalline form is called allotropy. When this
happens, the atoms are arranged different in one form of the element as compared to the other. The
different forms of these crystalline forms are called allotropes.
Allotropy is found in elements such as carbon and sulphur. The known allotropes of carbon are
diamond and graphite, the differences will be discussed in the upcoming sections.

Diamond

The structure of diamond is shown above. Each black dark circle represents a carbon atom and each
line representing a single bond.
In diamond, each carbon atom is bonded to four other carbon atoms in a tetrahedral arrangement as
shown above. As a consequence, this arrangement forms a large complex rigid structure resulting in
diamond having the following properties:
-Diamond is the hardest natural substance known
-Diamond does not conduct electricity because all the electrons found in the outer shell of the carbon
atoms, are used in bonding. As such, there is no motion of free electrons which would result in
electricity.
-Diamond has a very high melting and boiling point because of this rigid giant structure (large
amount of energy needed to overcome these bonds).

Graphite
In graphite, each carbon atom is bonded to three other carbon atoms and the atoms are arranged in
hexagonal rings. These rings are joined to each other to form layers of atoms which are held together
by weak forces.
This results in a giant structure with the following properties:
-Graphite has a relatively high melting and boiling points but these are low when compared to
diamond. This is because of the large number of bonds which need to be broken by heat energy for
the substance to become molten.
-Graphite conducts electricity because all the electrons on the outer shell of the carbon atom are not
involved in bonding, hence motion of free electrons is possible and this results in electricity.
-Graphite is soft and greasy and is used as a lubricant. The is because the weak forces that hold the
layers together are easily broken, causing the layers to slide over each other.

Balancing A Chemical Equation

The number of atoms on each side of a chemical equation must be equal.
To balance a chemical equation the following rules must be followed:
-After you have written a chemical equation check to see if the equation is balanced
(have the same number of atoms of each element on each side).
-If it is not balanced then the smallest possible number must be placed in front of the
reactants and/or products to ensure it is balanced on either side.
Lets look at the following equations:
C(s) + O2 (g) CO2 (g)
The equation above is balanced as you can see there are an equal number of carbon and oxygen
atoms on either side.
H2 (g) + O2 (g) H2O (l)
This equation above is not balanced. Lets look at the left and right sides of the equation and count
the number of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. There are 2 hydrogen atoms and 2 oxygen atoms
on the left side of the equation and there are 2 hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom
on the right side.
If we follow the rules from above, we must add the smallest possible number in front of the products
and/or the reactants to ensure it is balanced on either side.
The balanced equation is:
2H2 (g) + O2 (g) 2H2O (l)
Here is another example:
Fe(s) + Cl2 (g) FeCl3(s)
The equation above is not balanced.
The balanced equation looks something like this:
2Fe(s) + 3Cl2(g) 2FeCl3(s)

Relative Atomic Mass And Relative Molecular Mass

Relative Atomic Mass
As you can imagine the mass of an atom would be significantly small. It is for this reason that we do
not use the actual mass of an atom in calculations, instead we use theRelative Atomic Mass
(R.A.M). RAM is the mass of an atom as it compares to the mass of a carbon atom and has no
units. Since it is a ratio, the units cancel out themselves. Carbon was chosen as the standard to which
other atoms are measured because it is found in a large number of compounds.
Carbon has a given mass of 12g
The relative molecular mass of each element is listed in the periodic table of elements. For example
the RAM of hydrogen, sodium and chlorine is 1, 23 and 35.5 respectively.
Relative Molecular Mass
Molecular compounds contain more than one type of atom, example MgO. So the relatively
molecular mass of a compound is the addition of all the atomic masses of each atom in the formula.
Some compounds are made up of ions rather than atoms, hence we use the term Relative Formula
Mass (R.F.M) which incorporates atomic, molecular and ionic compounds.

The Mole
The mole is a common unit used to represent the quantity of a chemical substance and is the amount
of that substance that contains 6.20231023 particles (Avogadros constant).
Number of moles =mass of substance/R.F.M
Calculating masses
Na2SiO3
R.F.M= (R.A.M Sodium x 2) + (R.A.M Silicon) + (R.A.M Oxygen x 2)
R.F.M= (232) + 28+ (163) = 36+12+48 =96
Al2S3
R.F.M= (272) + (323) = 54+96=150
Percentage composition
Calculate the percentage of carbon in sodium carbonate
Percentage = (R.A.M) /R.F.M 100
Na2CO3
R.F.M of Na2CO3 = (232) +12+ (163) =106
Percentage of C =(12/106) x 100= 11.32%
Percentage of O = (R.A.M 3(number of oxygens))/R.F.M = (48/106) x100 = 45.28%
Please note that 1 mole of a substance = R.F.M in grams of a substance
Moles Example
Calculate the number of moles of sodium chloride in 58.5g.
Number of moles = mass of substance/R.F.M = 58.5g/ 58.5 = 1
Calculate the mass of 0.12moles of sodium
1 mole of Na = 23g
0.12 mole of Na=? g
Mass of substance = R.F.M number of moles = 23 x0.12 = 2.76g Na
1 mole of any substance contains 6.0231023 molecules, atoms or ions.
Example 1; 1 mole of Sodium Chloride contains 6.02310 23 ions.
Example 2; 1 mole of CH4 contains 6.0231023 molecules.
Example 3; 1 mole of Li contains 6.0231023 atoms.