CHEM 131A : Fundamentals C - Compounds
Document Summary
Chemical principles: the quest for insight by atkins and jones. Compound: an electrically neutral substance; two or more different elements with their atoms present in a characteristic, definite ratio. Organic compounds contain carbon (often hydrogen as well: these are extracted from living organisms (plant tissue, flesh, ect. ) All other compounds are inorganic and do not contain carbon: they are often classified in terms of the elements or groups of elements that they contain. Atoms in a compound are bonded in a specific way due to a chemical change: results in a substance with different properties (physical and chemical) from the elements that formed it. Atoms can bond to form molecules or can be present in compounds as ions: molecule a discrete group of atoms bonded together in a specific way, ion a positively or negatively charged atom or molecule. Cation positively charged atom, denoted with a plus (+) sign.
