Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: vivian maxine on 19/03/2018 17:09:43
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Sometimes we can go through life thinking we know something that we do not know. My time of awakening has come. I have known since high school long ago that NaCl is Sodium Chloride, common table salt. Because - so far as I knew - chemical compounds consist of combinations of the basic (pure) elements, I assumed that chloride was an element. I have a wonderful book of the elements by Theodore Gray but I guess I never tried to find chloride in it -- until last night.
Last night I discovered that a bonding of Sodium and Chlorine gives us Sodium Chloride. I immediately assumed that it was a simple case of a spelling change which didn't seem like a bad idea considering that almost everybody knows chlorine as poisonous. Why would we have chlorine in one of the most over-used foods (seasonings) in our diet, I asked myself. Knowing that would have ended the medical world's constant pleas that we stop using so much NaCl overnight.
That sent me to Mr. Gray's "The Elements". I had read and re-read his explanations of how we learn about the elements. I have even read details of many of the elements. But now I find out that chloride is not an element. Of course, I then had to find chlorine. I did not learn there what I really want to know.
I tried the internet but all the articles I try are too far over my head. All I get out of them is "Chlorine becomes Chloride" because it gains an electron from the Sodium and bonds with Chloride ion. And that is where I get lost.
I hope I am making sense. I'd appreciate a simple explanation. Or, if someone knows a simple article online, I'll be glad to read it. If it isn't just a change in spelling, how did chlorine become chloride? One of the Wiki articles sounds as if one of the ancient chemists created chloride.
Thank you.
An easier question before I leave. Does this sort of change happen often in the compounding of elements? Thank you.
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Oxygen: oxide
Hydrogen: hydride
Nitrogen nitride
sulphur : sulphide
It's very common for the non-metal to change its name like this.
If you have a compound of two non metals, like phosphorous (V) oxide, it's helpful to know where the electrons are.
Since it's not "oxygen phosphide", we know that the electrons are on the oxygen.
There are probably exceptions- chemistry is good at that.
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Ah. Let's see if I have this. Since "sodium" spelling did not change in the above style, we know it's the chlorine that got the new electron. Right? At least the chemists who need to know that who got it.
Thank you very much. That was fast and understandable. The chemists need to know that and I'm assuming they need to know from where it came. In a simple equation like NaCl, that is easy. Right?
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It's fairly obvious in most cases.
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@vivian maxine - can you please follow the forum policy and format your thread titles are questions in future?
Also, can you please alter the title of this thread accordingly. (Action menu drop-down and click "modify" to do this).
Thanks
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Sometimes elements acquire a Latin version of their name when they form compounds as well. For example, the Latin name for gold is "aurum". When gold bonds with cesium, it forms the ionic compound known as cesium auride. Gold is the more electronegative element of the two, so it gains the "-ide" suffix.
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Thank you, too. Good to know.
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I hope I've changed the title. I am still trying to find my way around at this site. I'll get it if I persevere.
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everybody knows chlorine as poisonous. Why would we have chlorine in one of the most over-used foods...
What makes Chlorine so dangerous is that it is eager to grab 1 extra electron to fill up its outer shell of electrons.
- It will do this to the surface of your lungs, skin and eyes, which is what makes it so lethal
- But after grabbing this electron, it becomes much more benign - somewhat like Argon just to its right, which also has this many electrons
- The same is true for the other elements in that right-hand column of the periodic table
What makes Sodium so dangerous is that it it is eager to give away 1 electron to empty its outer shell of electrons.
- It will do this to the surface of your skin and eyes, which is what makes it so dangerous (fortunately, it has more difficulty getting into our lungs than chlorine)
- But after donating this electron, it becomes much more benign - somewhat like it's neighbor Neon, which also has this many electrons (you read the periodic table across and down, just like English, so Neon is just before Sodium)
- The same is true for the other elements in that left-most column of the periodic table
Sodium+Chlorine→Sodium Chloride is bliss on the kitchen table:
- Chlorine desperately wants to grab an extra electron
- Sodium desperately wants to give away an electron
- They do an electron swap; this is called an ionic bond, and tends to happen between elements on opposite sides of the periodic table
- it makes a fairly safe salt which we sprinkle on our boiled eggs in the morning
- Warning: Do not react Chlorine+Sodium at home! They are both very dangerous, and their romance is explosive...
The fact that elements above and below in the periodic table have similar (but not identical) properties is one thing that makes the periodic table so very useful.
There are other ways of joining atoms together - the organic molecules in our bodies frequently make use of covalent bonds, which occurs between elements which are "closer together" on the periodic table*
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_bond
*those actinides & lanthanides look like they push elements far apart, when they shouldn't....
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The reaction between sodium and chlorine is a classic classroom experiment
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classic classroom experiment
What is it about the drop of water that gets the reaction started?
- Is it the heat of water & sodium reacting that gets the reaction going?
- Or is it some of the reaction products like Sodium Hydroxide or hydrogen?
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Mainly the heat of reaction I suspect.