TABLE OF CONTENTS Since early in your education you have heard that matter is made of atoms, and that atoms combine to form molecules. This chapter will treat this assertion as fact and not try to convince you of the atomic theory of matter. Instead, we will look at some of its consequences, and discuss, using simple models, the structure of atoms and molecules. By using your knowledge of electric forces, you will understand that the forces between the nucleus and electrons in single atoms and between different atoms and molecules are electrostatic in origin. With this in mind, the structure of the atom will be reviewed. The ways in which atoms combine to form molecules and solids, and the reasons they do so will be the primary focus of most of this chapter.
The following questions will be addressed:
What is an atom? What are an atom s constituent parts?
Is there a relationship between force and energy? If so, what is it, and why is it useful?
What is a molecule? Why do molecules form?
What distinct types of chemical bonds occur between atoms and groups of atoms?
What are the characteristic energies of these chemical bonds?
In order to understand the material in this book at more than a cursory level, some understanding of molecules and atoms is necessary. Once you understand atoms you will be better prepared to understand molecules, which are simply groups of atoms bonded together. It is then straightforward, although not trivial, to...
