Skip to main content

Chemistry can be fun!


One interesting question that propped up in my mind when I was studying Chemistry was the reason why we exchange valencies (and remove the negative/positive symbols) when we are asked to write the formula of a radical or compound.

The book told me that the numbers in the final compound (eg. 2 in CaCl2 or Calcium Chloride)  stand for the number of atoms of that element. So, CaCl2 has 1 atom of Ca and 2 atoms of Cl.

What has the number of atoms in the compound got to do with the valency of the other  element?

Well, if you are a chemistry student (in middle school) that has a simple answer.
Valency is defined as the number of electrons that can be donated or accepted by an atom to attain the stable electronic configuration of the nearest noble gas.

In other words, valency is the number of electrons  that an element is willing to take or has the space to take. 

When you have a valency of 1, and the other atom in the compound, needs 2 electrons, how do you give him 2?

You double up. 
It's that simple! Ca has a valency of 2 and Cl a valency of 1.
Cl needs to accept 1 electron to attain a stable E.C and Ca needs to donate 2.
But each Cl atom needs only 1 electron, so how can Ca donate two such electrons?
Well, Ca can if there are two Cl atoms. When Cl invites his twin over, the bond is stable, balanced and everyone is happy. However, Cl is slightly negative and Ca positive.

As you know, when you give, you can only be happy, and when you're in slight debt, that's a rough edge that you're worried over smoothening!

Chemistry can be fun!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What the New Year Means to Me

 What does the new year mean to me? I don't know.  I think it just means that I can give myself another chance to try, fail, succeed.   I think it means that I can spend time with family, differently this time. I think it means that I can connect with people and with myself, in new ways.  I also think that it gives me a chance to see things with a different lens. The kaleidoscope becomes a periscope. I don't know what else. Every year, I put on a new pair of goggles. Every year, I grow, whether I try, or not. Some things may work as I had expected them to, some may not. But who knows?  I will allow myself to be Novak Djokovic in my arena, who hears his name when the crowd cheers for Nadal or Federer. I will allow myself to be Rafael Nadal, who always has a plan, no matter how bleak or bright things may seem, and sticks to it. I will allow myself to be Roger Federer, who glides in, serves, plays and walks out, all in grace and style. I will allow myself to b...
1 comment
Read more

(How I Wish) People Were Like Poems

Today, I wish people were more like poems.  A sad truth is dawning on me.  I can't just be. Most things just are. No proof required. No justification. Here I feel like an instance Of a class. Some kind of template  With some methods Instantiated. Many of my methods are public. Others comment on them. If I encapsulate, They pry. If I am abstract, They talk. What's going on? I'm not going to plead any more. I'll just shut all the doors. Make all the methods and variables private. Too many people tampering with the balance of it all. Our lives are not portraits or leaflets to hand out. Media often makes us feel so, but existence is way older, Authentic and organic- than the glitzy hood of social media. Human beings, like plants, need space, nourishment and nurturing To thrive. Are plants dependent on these things? Can they not stand on their own roots? They can, and they do. But you cannot neglect  The environmental variables that make them happen. So don't comment on ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Predictability Plays Spoilsport

"Comfort's journey from the familiar to the unpredictable..." In the age of AI, if you are an AI Engineer like I am, you would swear by predictability. It's indispensable. We will find patterns in your genetic tree. We'll find them even in your whim of a Gulab Jamun or Barfi. We'll try to connect dots that are distant by miles. Yet, I'm here to tell you that we cannot afford predictability today. Sounds crazy and totally contradictory right? But I can be weird.   I'm here to tell you about randomness. I want you to experience it too. Well, you're smart people, readers. I may not be as smart. You know why we can't enforce patterns.   Someone will read them. Someone will exploit them.  Someone will feed them to an AI (Tool) and figure out what to do with them. You see what I mean? I'm being random. Randomness is not entirely useless.  I want to be equally random. I am stupid, gullible, naive and I'm wandering... You can say that I can be ...
Post a Comment
Read more