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Chapter 1: Problem 7

Give an example of an element and a compound. How do elements and compounds differ?

Short Answer

Expert verified
An example of an element could be Oxygen (O) because an element is a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances. An example of a compound could be Water (H2O) because a compound is a substance that consist of two or more different elements in a fixed proportion. Elements and compounds differ mainly in their composition and the nature of their composition: elements are pure substances made of the same type of atoms, whereas compounds consist of two or more different types of atoms in a fixed ratio.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Elements

Elements are pure substances that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical means. They are made up of atoms of the same type. An example of an element could be Oxygen, represented as 'O' in the periodic table.
02

Understanding Compounds

Compounds, on the other hand, are substances that can be broken down into simpler substances. They are made up of two or more elements in a fixed ratio. An example of a compound could be Water, represented as 'H2O'. This means it has 2 atoms of Hydrogen and 1 atom of Oxygen in a fixed ratio.
03

Differentiating Elements and Compounds

The primary difference between elements and compounds involves their composition. While an element is a pure substance made of same type of atoms, a compound is a chemical entity consisting of two or more different elements which are bonded together in a fixed proportion. Furthermore, elements cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by simple chemical methods, whereas compounds can be decomposed into their constituent elements by chemical reactions.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

An aluminum cylinder is \(10.0 \mathrm{~cm}\) in length and has a radius of \(0.25 \mathrm{~cm}\). If the mass of a single Al atom is \(4.48 \times 10^{-23} \mathrm{~g},\) calculate the number of \(\mathrm{Al}\) atoms present in the cylinder. The density of aluminum is $2.70 \mathrm{~g} / \mathrm{cm}^{3}.

A piece of silver (Ag) metal weighing \(194.3 \mathrm{~g}\) is placed in a graduated cylinder containing \(242.0 \mathrm{~mL}\) of water. The volume of water now reads \(260.5 \mathrm{~mL}\). From these data calculate the density of silver.

Ammonia gas is used as a refrigerant in large-scale cooling systems. The density of ammonia gas under certain conditions is \(0.625 \mathrm{~g} / \mathrm{L}\). Calculate its density in \(g / \mathrm{cm}^{3}\)

The "normal" lead content in human blood is about 0.40 part per million (that is, \(0.40 \mathrm{~g}\) of lead per million grams of blood). A value of 0.80 part per million (ppm) is considered to be dangerous. How many grams of lead are contained in \(6.0 \times 10^{3} \mathrm{~g}\) of blood (the amount in an average adult) if the lead content is \(0.62 \mathrm{ppm} ?\)

Express the answers to the following calculations in scientific notation: (a) \(145.75+\left(2.3 \times 10^{-1}\right)\) (b) \(79,500 \div\left(2.5 \times 10^{2}\right)\) (c) \(\left(7.0 \times 10^{-3}\right)-\left(8.0 \times 10^{-4}\right)\) (d) \(\left(1.0 \times 10^{4}\right) \times\left(9.9 \times 10^{6}\right)\)
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