COMMON

ISOTOPES & THEIR

USES
Atom is the basic unit of all matter.
The smallest unit of matter that cannot
be divided using any chemical means
and the building block that has unique
properties. In other words, an atom of
each element is different from an atom
of any other element. However, even
the atom can be broken into smaller
pieces, called quarks.
An atom has 3 parts: Proton, a
positive electrical charge, found in the
nucleus of an atom; Neutron, neutral
or no electrical charge, found in the
nucleus of an atom; and Electron,
negative electrical charge, found
circling the nucleus.
Atoms of every element have different
atomic masses. Given that they have
the same atomic number, some of the
elements have 2 or more different
mass numbers and that is called
isotopes.
Isotopes are elements having the
same atomic number but different
atomic masses.

Mass number = number of protons number of

neutrons
= atomic number neutron number
To specify which of the isotopes of
an element we are talking about,
we use the following:
One of the examples of isotope is Uranium
(U). Uranium is an element which is a
radioactive. It has three (3) isotopes; U-
235, U-238, and U-234. These three
isotopes have different abundancy on
earth. U-235 has 0.7198 - 0.7202%
abundance, U-238 has 99.2739 –
99.2752% and U-234 has 0.00500.0059%
abundancy. These three isotopes of
Uranium have different life span.
 COMMON
NATURALLY
OCCURRING
ISOTOPES AND
THEIR USES
Here are some common isotopes and
their uses.
Radioactive isotope also called
radioisotope, radionuclide, or
radioactive nuclide, any of several
species of the same chemical element
with different masses whose nuclei are
unstable and dissipate excess energy
by spontaneously emitting radiation in
the form of alpha, beta, and gamma
rays.
Alpha decay is one process that
unstable atoms can use to become
more stable. During alpha decay, an
atom's nucleus sheds two protons and
two neutrons in a packet that scientists
call an alpha particle. Since an atom
loses two protons during alpha decay,
it changes from one element to
another.
Beta decay occurs when, in a nucleus
with too many protons or too many
neutrons, one of the protons or
neutrons is transformed into the other.
In beta minus decay, a neutron decays
into a proton, an electron, and an
antineutrino: n Æ p + e - +.
Gamma decay is a type of
radioactivity in which some unstable
atomic nuclei dissipate excess energy
by a spontaneous electromagnetic
process. In the most common form of
gamma decay, known as gamma
emission, gamma rays (photons or
packets of electromagnetic energy, of
extremely short wavelength) are
ATOMIC MASS
In general, an atomic mass is not a
whole number but the weighted
average of the masses (or atomic
weight) of isotopes of any element in
particular. Atomic masses are
fractional numbers that can be
calculated from measured isotopic
abundances of an element. The
percentage of abundance of each
As listed from table 2.2, three isotopes of
magnesium have their abundances and
masses as determined by mass
spectrometry. We can use this information
to calculate the average atomic mass of
magnesium by multiplying the percentage
abundance expressed in fraction (percent
divided by 100) of each isotope by its mass
and adding these numbers to obtain the
average atomic mass of the element.
Atomic mass of magnesium = 24.31 amu
CHEMICAL
FORMULA
Chemical formula is a symbolic
representation of its chemical
composition. Chemical formulas
provide understanding into the
elements that constitute the molecules
of a compound and also the ratio in
which the atoms of these elements
combine to form such molecules.
For example, one of the common
chemical formulas is H2O known as
water, which indicates that 2 atoms of
Hydrogen combine with 1 atom of
oxygen. Another common chemical
formula is NaCl known as table salt
indicating that one atom of sodium
combines with one atom of chlorine in
a one-to-one ratio.
Chemical symbol for element is
written first then, followed by
subscript/s to indicate the number
of atoms of element in a given
compound.
IUPAC name is the preferred way
to name a chemical because each
systematic name identifies exactly
one chemical. The systematic name
is determined by guidelines set
forth by the International Union
of Pure and Applied Chemistry
(IUPAC).
Common name is defined by the
IUPAC as a name that
unambiguously defines a chemical,
yet does not follow the current
systematic naming convention. An
example of a common name is
water, which has the systematic
name 2-propanone.
TYPES OF
CHEMICAL
FORMULA
Chemical formula of a compound
is a shorthand representation of
elements and of its chemical
composition. It provides insight into
the elements that constitute the
molecules of a compound and also
the ratio in which the atoms of
these elements combine to form
such molecules.
For example, the chemical formula
of table salt is NaCl, in this; it
complements the single atom of
sodium (Na) and single atom of
Chlorine (Cl).
1. Molecular Formula: The
molecular formula provides insight
into the number of elements
present in a compound. In here, the
elements are denoted by their
respective symbols (as in the
periodic table) and the number of
atoms of each element in the
For example, the molecular formula
of glucose is C6H1206. Can you
give some molecular formula of
common molecules like water,
carbon dioxide, Sulfur oxide?
2. Structural formula uses lines
to represent chemical bonds and
shows how the atoms in a molecule
are connected to each other. The
bonds are actually forces that tend
to hold atoms at certain distances
and angles from one another.
For instance, the structural formula
for hydrogen peroxide is H—O—O—
H which shows two H atoms are
linked in a chain, with another two
O atoms bonded to each of the end.
Skeletal formula also called line-
angle formula or shorthand formula,
of an organic compound is a type of
molecular structural formula that
serves as a shorthand
representation of a molecule's
bonding and some details of its
molecular geometry.
Here are some simple examples of skeletal
formula.
3. Empirical Formula: It
represents the ratio of elements
present in the compound. It usually
obtained based on the analysis of
experimental data. Example of this
is glucose in which its empirical
formula will be . How does it
happen?
In addition to formulas, we also use
molecular models—three-
dimensional representations of
molecules—to represent compounds.
We use two types of molecular models:
ball-and stick and space-filling.
These help us to see the shapes and
relative sizes of molecules.
In space-filling models, atoms fill the
space between each other to closely
represent our best idea on how a
molecule might appear if we could
scale it to a visible size. Consider the
following ways to represent a molecule
of methane, the main component of
natural gas:
IONS AND IONIC
COMPOUNDS
The nucleus of an atom is unchanged
by chemical processes, but some
atoms can readily gain or lose
electrons. If electrons are removed
from or added to a neutral atom, a
charged particle called an ion is
formed. An ion with a positive charge is
called a cation (pronounced CAT-ion);
a negatively charged ion is called an
In general, metal atoms tend to lose
electrons to form cations, whereas
nonmetal atoms tend to gain
electrons to form anions.
Predicting Ionic Charges
As you consider these example, you will
see that if the charges on the cation and
anion are equal, the subscript on each ion
will be 1. If the charges are not equal, the
charge on one ion (without its sign) will
become the subscript on the other ion. For
example, the ionic compound formed from
Mg (which forms ions) and N (which forms
ions) is
Sample Exercise:
What are the empirical formulas of
the compounds formed by
(a) and ions,
(b) and ions,
(c) Mg2+ and NO3- ions?
Solution:
(a) Two A13+ ions are required to
balance the charge of three O2-
ions (that is, the total positive
charge is 6+, and the total negative
charge is 6- ). Thus, the formula is
Al2O3.
Solution:
(b) Two SO42- ions are needed to
balance the charge of two Zn2+
ions, which is the same as one
SO42- ion is for one Zn2+ ion. Thus,
the formula is ZnPO4.
Solution:
(c) Two NO3- ions are needed to
balance the charge of one
Mg2+.Thus, the formula is
Mg(NO3)2. In this case the formula
for the entire polyatomic ion NO3-
must be enclosed in parentheses so
that it is clear that the subscript 2
applies to all the atoms of that ion.
Let’s Try:
 CHEMICAL
NOMENCLATURE
To obtain information about a
particular substance, you must know
its chemical formula and name. The
names and formulas of compounds are
essential vocabulary in chemistry. The
system used in naming substances is
called chemical nomenclature from
the Latin words nomen (name) and
calare (to call).
 TYPE I BINARY
IONIC COMPOUNDS
Rules for Naming Type I Ionic Compounds
1. The cation is always named first and the
anion second.
2. A simple cation (obtained from a single
atom) takes its name from the name of
the element. For example, Na+ is called
sodium in the names of compounds
containing this ion.
3. A simple anion (obtained from a single atom)
is named by taking the first part of the
element name (the root) and adding -ide.
Thus the Cl- ion is called chloride.
Note that in the formulas of ionic
compounds, simple ions are
represented by the element symbol: Cl
means Cl-, Na means Na+. However,
when individual ions are shown, the
charge is always included. Thus, the
formula of potassium iodide is written
KI, but when the potassium and iodide
ions are shown individually, they are
The example reminds us of three things:
1. Compounds formed from metals and
nonmetals are ionic.
2. In an ionic compound the cation is always
named first.
3. The net charge on an ionic compound is
always zero. Thus, in NaCl, one of each
type of ion (Na+ and Cl-) is required: + = 0
charge. In , however, three Cl- ions are needed
to balance the charge of Al3+: + 3 () = 0
charge.
 TYPE II BINARY
IONIC COMPOUNDS
Rules for Naming Type II Ionic
Compounds

1. The cation is always named first and

the anion second.
2. Because the cation can assume
more than one charge, the charge is
specified by a Roman numeral in
parentheses.
There is another system for naming
ionic compounds containing metals
that form two cations. The ion
with the higher charge has a
name ending in -ic, and the one
with the lower charge has a
name ending in -ous.
In this system, for example, is
called the ferric ion, and is called
the ferrous ion. The names for and ,
in this system, are ferric chloride
and ferrous chloride, respectively.
TYPE III BINARY
COMPOUNDS
(MOLECULAR)
Binary compounds that contain only
nonmetals are named in
accordance with a system similar in
some ways to the rules for naming
binary ionic compounds, but there
are important differences. Type III
binary compounds contain only
nonmetals.
Rules for Naming Type III Binary
Compounds

1. The first element in the formula

is named first, and the full
element name is used.
2. The second element is named as
though it were an anion.
3. Prefixes are used to denote the
numbers of atoms present.
4. The prefix mono- is never used
for naming the first element. For
example, CO is called carbon
monoxide, not monocarbon
monoxide.
Example:

Naming the following binary

compounds, which contain two
nonmetals (Type III).

a. b.
 Naming
Compounds That
Contain Polyatomic
Ions
A type of ionic compound that we have not
yet considered is exemplified by
ammonium nitrate,, which contains the
polyatomic ions NH4+ and NO3-. As their
name suggests, polyatomic ions are
charged entities composed of several
atoms bound together. Polyatomic ions are
assigned special names that you must
memorize to name the compounds
containing them.
Notice that there are several series
of polyatomic anions containing an
atom of a given element and
different numbers of oxygen atoms.
These anions are called oxyanions.
When there are two members in
such a series, the name of the one
with the smaller number of
oxygen atoms ends in -ite, and the
name of the one with the larger
number ends in -ate. For example,
- is sulfite and is sulfate.
When more than two oxyanions
make up a series, hypo- (less than)
and per- (more than) are used as
prefixes to name the members of
the series with the fewest and the
most oxygen atoms, respectively.
The best example involves the
oxyanions containing chlorine:
hypochlorite
chlorite
- chlorate
- perchlorate
Naming ionic compounds that
contain polyatomic ions is very
similar to naming binary ionic
compounds. For example, the
compound NaOH is called sodium
hydroxide, because it contains the
Na+ (sodium) cation and the OH-
(hydroxide) anion.
To name these compounds, you must
learn to recognize the common
polyatomic ions. That is, you must
learn the composition and charge of
each of the ions in Table 2.6. Then
when you see the formula , you should
immediately recognize its two “parts”:
The correct name is
ammonium acetate.
Remember that when a metal is
present that forms more than one
cation, a Roman numeral is required
to specify the cation charge, just as
in naming Type II binary ionic
compounds.
For example, the compound FeSO4
is called iron(II) sulfate, because it
contains Fe2+ (to balance the 2-
charge on SO4 2-). Note that to
determine the charge on the iron
cation, you must know that sulfate
has a 2- charge.
NAMING ACIDS
When dissolved in water, certain
molecules produce H+ ions
(protons). These substances, which
are called acids, were first
recognized by the sour taste of
their solutions. For example, citric
acid is responsible for the tartness
of lemons and limes.