2. Basic Chemistry Concepts
• Atoms and elements
– Element: a basic unit of matter that can’t be
further simplified, such as oxygen or iron. each
element is assigned a symbol of one or more
letters, such as ofor oxygen and Fe for iron.
– Atom: the smallest part of an element that
cannot be broken down by chemical means.
Each atom is in turn made up of protons (+),
neutrons (0), and electrons (-)
– Atoms have no net charge, so there are an
equal number of protons and electrons, which
is the atomic number.
3. Basic Chemistry Concepts
• Compounds, molecules, and atomic
bonds
– Atoms combine to form molecules.
– A collection of like molecules that consist
of two or more different kinds of elements
is called a compound. molecules are
represented by using the symbols of the
elements with subscripts to tell how many
there are of each. (H2O)
– Atoms join together by either sharing or
donating and accepting of electron
forming atomic bonds
