ABSTRACT
One of the most fascinating topics in our study of chemistry is the concept of chemical combination. What is it about chemical combination that converts a highly flammable gas (hydrogen) and a gas that supports combustion (oxygen) into a liquid that puts out fires (water)? What is it about the process of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen chemically combining to form a molecule of water that results in the formation of a whole new substance that in no way resembles the substances that went into it? And that’s just one example! There are innumerable examples of this phenomenon in our world. With this chapter, we begin to unravel the mystery of chemical combination by studying the structure of the smallest unit of matter, the atom, in more detail.
