Some basic concepts of chemistry

Introduction to chemistry
Chemistry is called the science of atoms and molecules. It deals with the
composition, structure and properties of matter. Chemical principles are
important in areas such as weather patterns, functioning of brain,etc.

Importance of chemistry
Chemistry plays an important role in improving our quality of life.
• Chemical industries manufacturing fertilizer, drugs, metals and other
new materials contribute to the national economy.
• Life saving drugs such as cisplatin and taxol are effective in cancer
therapy and other diseases.

Nature of matter 2 . 0
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Anything which has mass and occupies space is called matter.
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Matter can exist in three physical states such as solid, liquid and gas.

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Solids
• In solids, particles are held very close to each other in an orderly
manner and there is not much freedom of movement.
• Solids have definite volume and definite shape.
• On heating, solids usually change into liquid.
 Some basic concepts of chemistry

Liquids
• In liquids, the particles are close to each other but they can move
around.
• Liquids have definite volume but not the definite shape. They
completely occupy the container in which they are placed.
• On heating, liquid changes to gaseous state.
• The liquid on cooling freezes to the solid.

Gases
• In gases, the particles are far apart as compared to those present in
solid or liquid states.

occupy the container in which they are kept.

• Gas on cooling liquifies to the liquid. 2 0
• Gases have neither definite volume nor definite shape. They completely
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 Some basic concepts of chemistry

Classification of matter

Matter can be classified as mixtures or pure substances. They are further

divided as:

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Mixture

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A mixture contains two or more substances present in it which are
called components.

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A mixture can be homogeneous or heterogeneous mixture.
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Homogeneous mixture
In a homogeneous mixture, the components completely mix with each
other and it's composition is uniform throughout. For eg, sugar
solution.
 Some basic concepts of chemistry

Heterogeneous mixture
In heterogeneous mixture, the composition is not uniform throughout.

Pure substances

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Pure substances are substances that are made up of only one
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kind of particle and have a fixed or constant structure.

Element

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An element consists of only one type of particles.

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Compound

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A compound is a chemical substance that combines two or more
elements

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 Some basic concepts of chemistry

Pure substances Vs Mixture

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Atoms
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atom.
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The smallest part into which an element can be divided is known as

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Molecules
The smallest unit into which a substance can be divided without
changing its chemical nature is known as molecule.
 Some basic concepts of chemistry

Properties of Matter

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The properties of matter can be classified into physical and chemical
properties.

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• Physical Properties are those properties which can be measured or
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observed without changing the identity or the composition of the
substance. For example, colour, odour, melting point, boiling point,
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density, etc.

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• Chemical Properties are those properties which require a chemical

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change to occur. For example, acidity, basicity, combustibility,etc.

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Measurement of properties

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There are two different systems of measurement namely, English
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system and Metric system.
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The most commonly accepted is the International System of Units(SI).
The SI system has seven base units.
 Some basic concepts of chemistry
Mass and weight
Mass of a substance is the amount of matter present in it whereas
weight is the force exerted by gravity on an object.

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Volume
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The amount of space that something contains or occupy is known as
volume. Volume has the unit of (length)³. The SI unit of volume is m³.

Density
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Density of a substance is its amount of mass per unit volume. SI unit
of Density is kg/m³.

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Temperature
Temperature is the measure of hotness and coldness expressed in
terms of scales such as Celsius, Fahrenheit,Kelvin,etc. SI unit of
temperature is Kelvin(K).
The relation between Celsius and Fahrenheit is:

The relation between Celsius and Kelvin:

 Some basic concepts of chemistry

Uncertainty in measurement
The difference between the value measured during a measurement
(actual value) and the upper and lower limit for an expected deviation
from this value is termed the uncertainty of measurement .
• Scientific Notation

• Significant Figures
These are the number of digits in a value that contribute to the degree
of accuracy of the value.
• Precision
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It refers to the closeness of various measurements for the same
quantity.
• Accuracy
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It is the agreement of a particular value to the true value of the result.

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• Dimensional Analysis

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The method used to convert units from one system to other is known
as dimensional analysis.

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Laws of chemical combinations
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Law of conservation of mass
It states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. This was

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put forward by Antonie Lavoiser.

Law of conservation of mass

It states that a given compound always contains exactly the same
elements by weight. This was given by Joseph Proust.

Law of multiple proportion

It States that if two elements can combine to form more than one
compound, the masses of one element that combine with a fixed mass
of the other element, are in the ratio of small whole numbers.It was
proposed by Dalton.
 Some basic concepts of chemistry
Gay Lussac's Law of gaseous volume
It states that when gases combine or are produced in a chemical
reaction, they do so in a simple ratio by volume provided all gases are
at same temperature and pressure.

Avogadro's law
Avogadro proposed that equal volumes of gases at the same
temperature and pressure should contain equal number of molecules.

Dalton's Atomic theory

Dalton proposed that every single atom of an element, such as gold, is
the same as every other atom of that element.
The following are the principles:
• Matter consists of individual atoms. 2 . 0
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• All the atoms of a given element has identical properties.
• Compounds are formed when atoms of different elements combine in
a fixed ratio.

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• Chemical reactions involve reorganization of atoms.
Atomic mass
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Atomic mass is the total mass of all the particles in an atom.
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• One atomic mass unit(amu) is defined as a mass exactly equal to
one-twelfth the mass of one carbon-12 atom.

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Average atomic mass
Many Naturally occurring elements exist as more than one Isotope. So
we calculate average atomic mass as:
 Some basic concepts of chemistry
Moleculer mass
Is is the sum of atomic masses of the elements present in a molecule.
It is obtained by multiplying the atomic mass of each element by the
number of its atoms and adding them together.
Mole
One mole is the amount of a substance that contains as many
particles or entities as there are atoms in exactly 12g of the ¹²C
isotope.
One mole is equal to

Molar mass
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The mass of one mole of a substance in grams in called it's molar
mass. i
Percentage composition
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Empirical formula
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Empirical formula represents the simplest whole number ratio of various
atoms present in a compound.

Molecular formula
The molecular formula shows the exact number of different types of
atoms present in a molecule of a compound.

Limiting reagent
The reactant which gets consumed, limits the amount of product
formed and is called the limiting reagent.
 Some basic concepts of chemistry
Mass percent

Mole fraction
It is the ratio of number of moles of a particular component tothe total
number of moles of the solution.
If substance A dissolves in substance B then

Molarity
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It is defined as the number of moles of the solute in 1 litre of the
solution. i
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Molality
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solvent.
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It is defined as the number of moles of solute present in 1 kg of

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