Greetings and Happy New Year!
This post will provide a summary of the structure of matter section of this blog and a preview of the final section, changes in matter.
The structure of matter section follows the first part of this blog, identity of matter. The structure of matter is important because the properties of matter, from the first part of this blog, depend on the microscopic structures found at the atomic scale. First, we find that the arrangement of electrons inside the atom can be thought of as a structure, and that this electron structure is directly responsible for both the physical and chemical properties of the elements. In fact, elements within the same family on the periodic table exhibit similar chemical properties because the "outer" or highest-energy electron arrangement is the same for every element in the same column! For example, the alkali metals of family IA have a single valence (highest energy) electron in a s-orbital. Secondly, the structures resulting from a combination of atoms directly influence the physical and chemical properties of compounds (and the noble gas elements plus the diatomic gas elements). Diatomic nitrogen gas, for example, is relatively unreactive because of the incredible strength of its triple bond holding the two nitrogen atoms together. The following diagram provides a summary of the structure of matter section of the learning chemistry easily blog.
The next section of this blog will focus on changes in matter. These changes are physical and chemical. Physical changes only alter the form of matter; the identity of matter remains the same. A chemical change results in a total change in the identity of matter. Molecular and/or ionic bonds are broken and/or formed. Topics in the next section will include phase changes, kinetic theory, reaction rates, and equilibrium theory.
That's all for this post and for this section of the blog!
Have a good one!
Happy New Year!
This post will provide a summary of the structure of matter section of this blog and a preview of the final section, changes in matter.
The structure of matter section follows the first part of this blog, identity of matter. The structure of matter is important because the properties of matter, from the first part of this blog, depend on the microscopic structures found at the atomic scale. First, we find that the arrangement of electrons inside the atom can be thought of as a structure, and that this electron structure is directly responsible for both the physical and chemical properties of the elements. In fact, elements within the same family on the periodic table exhibit similar chemical properties because the "outer" or highest-energy electron arrangement is the same for every element in the same column! For example, the alkali metals of family IA have a single valence (highest energy) electron in a s-orbital. Secondly, the structures resulting from a combination of atoms directly influence the physical and chemical properties of compounds (and the noble gas elements plus the diatomic gas elements). Diatomic nitrogen gas, for example, is relatively unreactive because of the incredible strength of its triple bond holding the two nitrogen atoms together. The following diagram provides a summary of the structure of matter section of the learning chemistry easily blog.
The next section of this blog will focus on changes in matter. These changes are physical and chemical. Physical changes only alter the form of matter; the identity of matter remains the same. A chemical change results in a total change in the identity of matter. Molecular and/or ionic bonds are broken and/or formed. Topics in the next section will include phase changes, kinetic theory, reaction rates, and equilibrium theory.
That's all for this post and for this section of the blog!
Have a good one!
Happy New Year!
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