Unit 4

The structure of matter

 1. Pure substances: simple and compound substances

We are going to identify different types of pure substances. We will see

what they are and how they appear.

As you learned in the previous unit, pure substances have physical

properties and chemical characteristics that allow us to differentiate
the from other substances.

But there are two possibilities in pure substances:

- Simple substances cannot be separated into other substances

because they are made of just one element. For example: lead,
calcium, zinc, gold

- Compounds are pure substances which can be separated into

other simpler substances. This is because they are made of
different elements. For example, ammonia, sulphuric acid, salt,
pyrite, etc.
 2. Atoms and subatomic particles

In ancient Greece, the philosopher Leucippus and Democritus believed that matter was made of small particles and
therefore could not be divided indefinitely. They thought there had to be and inseparable or indestructible block.
They called these particles atoms, which means “indivisible”.

This idea was put aside by scientists until 1808, when John Dalton formulated the hypothesis that matter was
composed of elemental units that could not be altered or divided. He also called them atoms.

Nowadays, with the help of special microscopes, we can see individual atoms and even interact with them
 2.1.- Atoms

We know that matter can be split into smaller and smaller parts until we reach atoms, which are indivisible to the
naked eye.

An atom is the smallest particle a simple substance can be divided into without losing its chemical properties.

A chemical element is a substance that cannot be separated into simpler substances by any physical or chemical
process. In other words: a chemical element is a substance made of only one type of atoms.

For example, carbon only has carbon atoms and oxygen only has oxygen atoms. As we have seen, matter is neutral.
Therefore, common sense tells us that atoms are also neutral
 2.2.- Subatomic particles

There are three types of subatomic particles in atoms:

electrons, protons and neutrons.

The electron was the first particle to be discovered. It

was discovered by J.J. Thomson on 1897. It is the
smallest known negative charge and its value is -1,6*10-
19
C.

The proton: because matter is neutral, atoms must have

the same number of electrons and protons. They are
atoms with no net charge. In other words, they are
neutral.

Neutron: so, atoms are not the smallest part of matter.

Are the particles they’re mae of the smallest? We know
that protons and neutrons can be split into smaller
particles called quarks.
 3.- Atomic models

You have learned that atoms are made of protons, electrons and neutrons. In this
section, you will learn about their placement inside the atoms.

The first atomic model was devised in 1989 by J.J. Thomson. The model suggested
the existence of a sphere of positive electricity. They had not yet discovered protons
as individual particles. The theoretical sphere included as many electrons as were
needed to neutralise it.

This idea was colloquially known as the “plum pudding model”. Thomson imagined a
proton mass in the shape of a sphere with negative granules in it, the electrons.
These neutralised the mass and formed atoms. Subsequent experiments proved this
model did not match reality.

Successive experiments led to the next model created by Ernest Rutherford. The
planets are attracted to the Sun, but do not fall on it. Instead, they orbit around it.
Rutherford thought the atom behaved in the same way.

Like the planets, electrons orbit around protons and neutrons. The protons and
neutrons are in an unchanging cluster, similar to the Sun.
In Rutherford’s model, this central cluster is the nucleus of the atom. Because the
protons have a positive charge, they repel each other. But something must prevent
this from happening. The neutrons do this: they are in the nucleus as a barrier
between the protons, grouping together to prevent them from repelling each other,
This means the nucleus is stable.

The electrons form the shell of the atom, moving around the nucleus. If they were
motionless, they would fall on the nucleus due to electrical attraction. As they move,
they counteract the force of attraction.

Finally, the Danish physicist Niels Bohr discovered that the electrons do not move
randomly. They revolve around the nucleus in stable orbits. Each orbit has a different
number of electrons. The further away an orbit is from the nucleus, the more
electrons it can hold, because it will be bigger. Orbits are larger when they are further
from the nucleus.

The nucleus measures approximately 10-14m and the electrons move around it at an
average distance of 10-10m. This means that they occupy a sphere with a radius
approximately 10.000 times bigger than the nuclear sphere. The volume of an atom
is a trillion (a million million) times bigger than that of the nucleus
 4.- Atomic and mass numbers

The scientist Henry Moseley and Ernest Rutherford performed several experiments with atoms between 1913 and 1919.
These experiments led them to the conclusion that the number of protons atoms have in their nuclei is what
characterises them and differentiates them from others.

This crucial quantity of protons in the atom is called the atomic number. It is like the fingerprint for each element: it
makes each element unique and identifiable.

The atomic number is the same number of protons there are in the nucleus of an atom. It identifies each element. The
symbol for the number of protons is the letter Z.

When the atom is electrically neutral, the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons. For example, an atom
with 6 protons is always the element carbon and it will have 6 electrons if it is neutral.
 4.- Atomic and mass numbers

Because the electrons have a very small mass, the mass of the atom is almost exclusively due to the protons and
neutrons it has. This allows us to define:

The mass number is the total number of protons and neutrons there are in the nucleus. The symbol for the mass number
is the letter A.

Number of protons (Z) + Number of neutrons = Mass number (A)

From this we can deduce that the number of neutrons can be calculated by subtracting the atomic number from the
mass number: number of neutrons = A - Z
 4.1.- Isotopes

Some of the particles in atoms can alter their number without the type of element changing. They are the electrons and
neutrons, as we will see below.

Isotopes are varieties of atoms with the same atomic number but a different mass number. Therefore, they are the same
element, but they have a different number of neutrons in their nucleus.

For example, there are carbon atoms (Z=6) with the following mass numbers: 12, 13 and 14. Therefore, they have 6, 7
and 8 neutrons respectively. They are isotopes of the same element.

The elements we find in nature are a mixture of isotopes. Most chemical elements have more than one isotope. Only 21
elements have a single natural isotope, such as fluorine, sodium, phosphorus, cobalt and gold. By contrast, tin has the
highest number of stable isotopes of any element (10).

We identify isotopes by the name (or symbol) of the chemical element followed by its mass number. For example, iron-
57, uranium-238 and helium-3
The element hydrogen has three isotopes with a specific name: protium (with no neutrons), deuterium (with one
neutron) and tritium (with two neutrons)
 4.2.- Ions

Ions are atoms that gain or lose electrons in their shells. They are called cations when they are positive and anions when
they are negative.

So, when a fluorine atom (Z=9) gains an electron, it is still fluorine because it still has 9 protons. However, it will have 10
electrons, so its net charge will be -1 (one negative charge more than the number of positive charges). Therefore, we say
that we have a fluorine ion (called fluoride) and its symbol its F-.

A sodium atom (Z=11) has 11 protons in its nucleus and 11 electrons in its shell. When it loses an electron, it will have a
net charge of +1 (one positive charge more than the number of negative charges). We then say that we have a sodium
ion and its symbol is Na+.
 5.- Introduction to the periodic system

There are many chemical elements, but some of

them share properties. This means we can put
them in groups. One such property is electrical
conductivity. This helps us differentiate between
metals, which are good conductors of electric
current, and non-metals, which are not.

Grouping elements into metals and non-metals is

very simplistic and does not allow us to order
them in a more detailed way. We need to find
another method that permits better classification.

Elements are grouped according to two criteria:

- Increasing atomic number: arranged in rows

called periods.

- Similarity of physical and chemical

properties: arranged in columns called
groups.
The periodic table has a peculiar shape. As you will see, this is so that elements with similar properties are placed into the
same group (or column)
 6.- Chemical bonds: molecules and
crystals

Compound pure substances are made of

various types of different atoms with a
stable union between them. We call the
unions between these atoms bonds.

However, not all elements form bonds. The

atoms of a few elements called noble
gases or inert gases do not bond to others.
The inert gases are in the far right-hand
column of the periodic table. The most
important ones are: helium, argon and
neon.

Bonds are formed between the same

atoms in different quantities or between
different atoms.
The table below shows the different types of bonds that form depending on the type of atoms which bond. It
also shows their resulting chemical form

Types of Bond Atoms which bond Resulting structure

Covalent Non-metal with non-metal Molecule / crystalline lattice

Ionic Metal with non-metal Crystalline lattice

Metallic Metal with metal Crystalline lattice

 6.1.- Molecules

Molecules form when a number of non-

metal atoms form a bond.

A molecule is the smallest unit of a pure

substance that conserves all its properties.

There are small molecules, made of a small

number of atoms and larger ones, which
contain a higher number of atoms. The
latter are called macromolecules. Proteins
are one example; they contain hundreds of
atoms.

Many molecular substances are liquids or

gases at room temperature. Some can be
solid, but they melt at low temperatures.
Some examples are: solid (iodine, sulphur,
phosphorus), liquid (water, alcohol,acetic
acid, acetone, oil.) and gas (oxygen,
nitrogen, ammonia, butane)
 6.2.- Crystals

Crystals are groups of atoms ordered in a geometric structure: a cube, a prism, a pyramid, etc.

Crystals contain an extremely high number of unit cells, the smallest block in the crystal. You can see this in salt, for
example.

- Ionic (metal element atoms with non-metal element atoms): common salt (Sodium Chloride NaCl), plaster
(calcium sulphate)

- Covalent (Non-metal atoms with non-metal atoms): quartz (silicon dioxide SiO2), diamond (C)

- Metallic (Metal atoms with metal atoms): Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu)

Crystals Soluble in water Melting temperature Conductors of electricity

Covalent No Very high No

Ionic Yes Very high Only when dissolved or

melted

Metallic No From low to high Yes