Chapter 4, Problem 110A

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation: From the number of compounds or the number of elements, and the number of elements or the number of isotopes which is greater needs to be determined.

Concept introduction: In chemistry, the simple substance that is an element is formed by the combination of only the same types of atoms.

The elements having different isotopes that differ on the basis of present neutrons, but protons are the same in all isotopes of that element.

A chemical compound is formed when two or more elements are joined together with a chemical bond.

Answer to Problem 110A

The number of compounds is greater in comparison to the number of elements.

The number of isotopes is greater than the number of the element.

Explanation of Solution

The number of compounds is a greater number than the number of elements. The different elements are known from the periodic table. These elements can combine in different ratios to form compounds. There are a variety of compounds formed by these elements thus, the number of compounds is less than that of an element.

For example, Sodium chloride (NaCl), Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), etc. are the compounds formed from elements.

Isotopes of an element are different from the number of neutrons, while the number of protons is similar in isotope.

For example, in nature, there are three isotopes of hydrogen. They are different due to the presence of different numbers of neutrons and a similar number of protons.¹H, ²H, ³H.

Thus, the number of isotopes is also greater than the number of elements.

Conclusion

The above explanation hints that the elements are limited in the periodic table, but the different combination of elements forms a large number of compounds.

A single element has different isotopes with a different number of neutrons. So the number of isotopes is greater than the number of elements.