ATOMS AND

MOLECULES

History of Atoms
The idea of divisibility of matter was considered
long back in India, around 500 BC. An Indian
philosopher Maharishi Kanad, postulated that if
we go on dividing matter (padarth), we shall get
smaller and smaller particles.

Pakudha Kaccayana, elaborated

this doctrine
and said that these particles normally
exist in a combined form which gives
us various forms of matter.
Democrit
us

Leucippu

Democritus and Leucippus suggested

that if we go on dividing matter, a stage
will come when particles obtained cannot
be divided further. Democritus called
these indivisible particles atoms
(meaning indivisible).

Father of Modern Chemistry:

Antoine L. Lavoiser
Antoine-Laurent

de
Lavoisier(26 August 1743
8 May1794)was aFrench
noblemanandchemistcentr
al to the 18thcenturyChemical
Revolutionand a large
influence on both
thehistories of chemistry
andbiology. Antoine L.
Lavoiser laid the foundation
of chemical sciences by
establishing two important
laws of chemical
combination.

John Dalton
John

Dalton(6
September 1766 27
July 1844) was an
Englishchemist,mete
orologistandphysicist
. He is best known for
his pioneering work in
the development of
modernatomic theory,
and his research
intocolour blindness.

Daltons Atomic Theory

John

Dalton, a British Chemists

and scientists gave the Atomic
Theory in 1808. This theory is
popularly known as Daltons
Atomic Theory in the honor of
John Dalton. He gave the theory
on the basis of Laws of Chemical
Combination and explains them
properly. In his theory he explains
about atom.

What is an Atom?
Atom

can be defined as the

smallest particle of matter that
takes part in a chemical
reaction.

How big are Atoms?

Atoms are very small, they are
smaller than anything that we
can imagine or compare with.

Characteristics of atoms:
Atom

is the smallest particle of matter.

All elements are made of tiny particles called atom.
Atoms are very small in size and cannot be seen
through naked eyes.
Atom does not exist in free-state in nature. But
atom takes part in a chemical reaction.
The properties of a matter depend upon the
characteristics of atoms.
Atoms are the building block of an element similar
to a brick which combine together to make a
building.
The size of atoms is indicated by its radius.
In ancient time atoms was considered indivisible.

Symbols of Atoms of Different

Elements
Symbols of some elements are formed
from the first letter of the name and a letter,
appearing later in the name.
E.g.: (i) chlorine: Cl, (ii) zinc: Zn etc
Some have been taken from the
names of elements in Latin, German or
Greek.
E.g.: s Iron is Fe from ferum,
Sodium is Na from natrium,
Potassium is K from kalium

Atomic Mass

Mass

of atom is called atomic mass. Since, atoms

are very small consequently actual mass of an
atom is very small. For example the actual mass
of one atom of hydrogen is equal to 1.673 x 10 24g. This is equal to
0.000000000000000000000001673 gram. To deal
with such small number is very difficult. Thus for
convenience relative atomic mass is used.

Existence of Atoms
Atoms

of most of the elements exist in the

form of molecule or ion, since they are
most reactive. For example, hydrogen,
oxygen, chlorine, etc. However, atoms of
some elements, which are non-reactive,
exist in free-state in nature. For example
helium, neon, argon, etc.
Usually atoms are exist in following two
forms 1. In the form of molecules
2. In the form of ions

Molecule
A

molecule is a group of two or more

atoms that are chemically bonded
together, that is, tightly held
together by attractive forces.

Atomicity
Mono-atomic:When

molecule is formed by single

atom only, it is called mono-atomic molecule.
Generally noble gases form mono-atomic
molecules. For example: Helium (He), Neon (Ne),
Di-atomic:When molecule is formed by the
combination of two atoms of it is called diatomic
molecule. For example: Hydrogen (H2), Oxygen
(O2), Nitrogen (N2), Chlorine (Cl2), etc.
Tri-atomic:When molecule is formed by the
combination of three atoms it is called tri-atomic
molecule. For example: molecule of ozone (O3)

Tetra-atomic:-When

molecule is
formed by the combination of four
atoms it is called tetra-atomic molecule.
For example: Phosphorous molecule (P4)
Polyatomic:-When molecule is formed
by the combination of more than two
atoms, it is called polyatomic molecule.
For example: Sulphur molecule (S8)
All metals are mono-atomic.
All gases are di-atomic.

Molecules of Elements
The

molecules of an element are

constituted by the same type of atoms.
e.g.: O + O O2 (Oxygen Gas) diatomic
O + O + O O3 (Ozone) tri-atomic
4P P4 (Phosphorous) tetra-atomic
8S S8 (Sulphur) poly-atomic

K
N
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T OU
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