Different Bonds Abound

Most compounds are made up of combinations of bonds. If you look at sodium chloride, it is held together by one ionic/electrovalent bond. What about magnesiumchloride (MgCl₂)? It contains one magnesium (Mg) and two chlorine atoms. There are two ionic bonds. There's a compound called methane (CH₄) that is made up of onecarbon (C) and four hydrogen (H) atoms. There are four bonds and they are all covalent. Those examples are very simple compounds, but most compounds are combinations of ionic and covalent bonds.  Let's look at sodium hydroxide (Na-OH)... 

You can see the sodium (Na) part on the left and the hydroxide (-OH) part on the right. The bond that binds the hydrogen (H) to the oxygen (O) is covalent. The sodium is bonded to the hydroxide part of the compound with an ionic/electrovalent bond. This is a very good example of how there can be different types of bonds within one compound. 

Toms Around Us

Atoms are building blocks. If you want to create a language, you'll need an alphabet. If you want to build proteins, you will need amino acids. If you want to build molecules, you will need atoms of different elements. Each element is a little bit different from the rest. Those elements are the alphabet in the language of molecules.  Why are we talking about elements? This is the section on atoms. Atoms are the general term used to describe pieces of matter. You are made up of billions and billions of atoms. However, you may only find about 40 elements inside of your body. You would find hydrogen (H) atoms, oxygen(O) atoms, and a bunch of others. Those other atoms are made of the same basic pieces, but they are organized in different ways to make each element unique. 

Common Elements

Let's work with that idea for a bit. If you read a book, you will find a bunch of words on a page. Letters make up those words. In English, we only have twenty-six letters, but we can make thousands of words. In chemistry, you are working with around 120 elements, and when you combine them you can make millions of molecules. Molecules are groups of atoms bonded together in the same way that words are groups of letters. An "A" will always be an "A" no matter what word it is in. A sodium (Na) atom will always be a sodium atom no matter what compound it is in. While the atoms may have different masses and organization, they are all built with the same parts.Electrons, protons, and neutrons make the Universe the way it is.  If you want to do a little more thinking, start with the smallest particles of matter. Those super-tiny subatomic particles are used to create atoms. Atoms are used to create the molecules around us. As we just learned, there are almost 120 known types of atoms. That means there are almost 120 elements that can be found in the molecules we know. Smaller molecules can work together and build macromolecules. It just goes on. Everything you see is built from something else.  You could start really small... - Particles of matter - Atoms - Molecules - Macromolecules - Cell organelles - Cells - Tissues - Organs - Systems - Organisms - Populations - Ecosystems - Biospheres - Planets - Planetary Systems with Stars - Galaxies - The Universe ...And finish really big.  Wow. All of that is possible because of atoms. 

Charge It!

Electrons are the negatively charged particles ofatom. Together, all of the electrons of an atom create a negative charge that balances the positive charge of the protons in the atomic nucleus. Electrons are extremely small compared to all of the other parts of the atom. The mass of an electron is almost 1,000 times smaller than the mass of a proton. 

Shells and Shapes

Electrons are found in clouds that surround the nucleus of an atom. Those clouds are specific distances away from the nucleus and are generally organized into shells. Because electrons move so quickly, it is impossible to see where they are at a specific moment in time. After years of experimentation, scientists discovered specific areas where electrons are likely to be found. The overall shape of the shells changes depending on how many electrons an element has. The higher the atomic number, the more shells and electrons an atom will have. The overall shell shape will also be more complex (because of the suborbitals) as you have more electrons. 

Creating Bonds

Electrons play a major role in all chemical bonds. There is one type of bonding called electrovalentbonding (ionic), where an electron from one atom is transferred to another atom. You wind up creating two ions as one atom loses an electron and one gains one. The second type of bonding is called covalent bonding, where electrons are actually shared between two or more atoms in a cloud. Both types of bonds have specific advantages and weaknesses. 

Power Up!

Electrons are very important in the world of electronics. The very small particles can stream through wires and circuits, creating currents of electricity. The electrons move from negatively charged parts to positively charged ones. The negatively charged pieces of any circuit have extra electrons, while the positively charged pieces want more electrons. The electrons then jump from one area to another. When the electrons move, the current can flow through the system.  Neither Here nor There

Neutrons are the particles in an atom that have aneutral charge. They aren't positive like protons. They aren't negative like electrons. But don't start thinking that they aren't important. Every piece of an atom has huge importance to the way the atom acts and behaves. Neutrons are no exception.  So, if an atom has equal numbers of electrons and protons, the charges cancel each other out and the atom has a neutral charge. You could add a thousand neutrons into the mix and the charge would not change. However, if you add a thousand neutrons, you will be creating one super-radioactive atom. Neutrons play a major role in the mass and radioactive properties of atoms. You may have read the page on isotopes. Isotopes are created when you change the normal number of neutrons in an atom.