Chemistry 1201 Chapter 2

Chapter 2 lays the groundwork for describing "things" on a chemical level. We learn that chemicals we can see with the naked eye (if we can see something unassisted, we denote this as a macroscopic property), can be pure elements, compounds, or mixtures. We also learn that these macroscopic particles are actually composed of smaller units which we can't see with the naked eye (that is they have microscopic properties). Such particles are called atoms or ions. Both macroscopic and microscopic properties of chemicals are important. Historically, chemists were limited to observing and characterizing the macroscopic properties of compounds and mixtures. However, as the technology has developed, we now have developed many different tools to determine the microscopic properties of chemicals. The text talks about the invention of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)-but there are many other techniques in use. The first thing we need to do in order to learn chemistry is to be able to talk the language of chemistry. This includes learning how to "write" and "speak" chemistry. Let's try the following question. (If you do not see any questions below, then your browser does not support JavaScript-I would suggest using Netscape 2.0 or higher. If you don't see the whole page, try open rather than reload.)

Also take a look at Chemical Nomenclature

Chem1201 Ch. 3 and 4

Chem 1201 Home Page

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Last Revised : Tuesday, December 1, 1998