Chemistry Fundamentals and Gas Laws
Binary compounds contain two different elements and come in different types. Ionic compounds like sodium chloride consist of positively charged ions (cations) from metals and negatively charged ions (anions) from nonmetals. Metals on the left side of the periodic table form cations, while nonmetals on the right form anions.
When naming compounds, remember that the cation comes first, followed by the anion. For transitional metals, which don't have specific charges, we use Roman numerals to indicate their charge. For molecular compounds, use prefixes to show how many atoms are present mono (1), di (2), tri (3), tetra (4), penta (5), hexa (6), hepta (7), octa (8), nona (9), and deca (10).
Chemical reactions follow specific patterns. Combustion reactions involve oxygen, while double replacement reactions occur when compounds exchange partners. Single replacement reactions happen when one element replaces another. Remember that in any reaction, the Law of Conservation of Mass requires the same amount of compounds on both sides of the equation.
💡 The Avogadro Number (6.02 × 10²³) represents the number of particles in one mole of a substance – it's crucial for converting between moles and number of particles!
In gas laws, remember that volume and pressure have an inverse relationship – when volume increases, pressure decreases. Important equations include the Combined Gas Law p1v1/T1=p2v2/T2 and the Ideal Gas Law PV=nRT. Absolute zero is 0 Kelvin or -273°C, while standard temperature is 273 Kelvin and standard pressure is 101.3 kPa.