Chemistry Revision

Notes
Edexcel IGCSE

Contents:

 Atoms
o States of Matter
o Structure of an Atom
o Elements and Compounds
Structure and Bonding
o
o
o
o
o
o

Protons, Neutrons and Electrons

Isotopes
Relative Abundances
Electronic Configurations
Covalent, Ionic and metallic Bonding
Diamond vs. Graphite

o
o
o
o

volume
Moles in solids, liquids and gases
Percentage Yields
Titration
Waters of Crystallisation

Oils
o Hydrocarbons
o The Homologous Series
o Alkanes/Alkenes
o Halogenation/Substitution Reaction
o Test for hydrocarbons/Addition Reaction
o Fractional Distillation
o Cracking
o Isomers
o Harmful Fuels
o Polymerisation Reactions
Rates of Reactions
o Factors affecting the rate of a reaction
o Experiments + Graphs
o Enthalpy - Catalysts
Moles
o Relative Atomic Mass (RAM)
o Avogadros Constant
o Empirical Formulae
o Percentage by Mass
o Relationship between moles, mass and Mr
o Relationship between concentration, moles and

 Metals

Atoms
States of Matter

 In a
solid, the
particles are
closely and
regularly packed. The only form of movement the particles have is vibrating in the
same position. The particles in a solid have strong forces of attraction between
them and hence require a lot of energy to break the bonds. This is why solids
usually have a high melting and boiling point. Solids keep a definite shape and
volume which means that they cannot flow. The particles in solids have the least
energy.
In a liquid, particles are still mainly touching, but some gaps have appeared and
therefore the particles can slide past each other and hence liquids are less dense
than solids. The particles in a liquid still have relatively strong forces of attraction
but they are weaker than that of a solid. Liquids do not have a definite shape but
have a definite volume. The melting and boiling points in a
This diagram shows the
liquid are lower than in a solid, as the energy required to break
transition between the
the bonds between the particles are less. The particles in
different states of
liquids have more energy than those in solids.
matter, and their
In gases, the particles are much further apart (approximately
scientific name:
10 molecular diameters away) and the forces of attraction are
almost inexistent, which means they have the most energy to
move around. Gases have neither a definite shape nor a definite
volume. The melting and boiling point of gases are low.

The Structure of an Atom

An atom is the smallest particle of a chemical element that can
exist. In other words, atoms are building blocks of matter. An atom
can be broken down into three sub-atomic particles which are
known as Protons, Neutrons and Electrons:
Nucleus:
The nucleus contains the protons and neutrons and is shown red
and yellow spheres. Protons are positively charged particles which
a relative atomic mass of 1. Neutrons have no charge but also
have a relative atomic mass of 1. The largest proportion of mass in the atom is
situated in the neutron.
Electron Shells:
As the name suggests, electrons are found in these shells, that orbit the nucleus.
Electrons are negatively charged, which counter-act the positively charged protons.
The relative atomic mass of an electron is 1/1836, which shows that they virtually
have no mass.

Overview:
PARTICLE

RELATIVE ATOMIC RELATIVE

MASS
CHARGE
Proton
1
+1
Neutron
1
0
Electron
1/1836
-1
In all atoms, the number of protons is equal to the number of protons. This is because
neutral atoms have no overall charge. The charge on a proton is +1 and the charge on
a neutron is -1. Hence, for a proton to be neutral, the charge of an atom has to be 0,
hence there has to be the same number of protons as neutrons for the charges to be
counter-acted.