Are mono-atomic molecules molecules consisting of one type of atom (eg H2, O3 ) and polyatomic molecules consisting of several types of atoms (eg H2O ) ?
Or are mono-atomic molecules molecules that consist of 1 atom such as the noble gases and metals (eg 1 molecule of zinc = 1 atom of zinc).
I found both definitions on the internet and I would like to know which one is the correct one.
Answer
Dear Peter,
I think there are some definitions mixed up, because the term “monatomical molecules” is actually a contradiction. Molecules are always made up of at least two atoms, which may be of the same type (homonuclear diatomic molecules) or of different types (heteronuclear diatomic molecules).
You can have monatomic gases and those are the noble gases, where each gas particle consists of one atom. On the other hand, there are the diatomic gases such as nitrogen, oxygen or chlorine gas, which are also homonuclear.
You can also have polyatomic molecules, which then indeed refer to molecules consisting of several types of atoms, on the other hand, the homonuclear molecules consist of only one type of atoms.
So I think there is a mistake in mentioning a concept of monatomic molecules.
I hope this is a useful answer to your question.
Regards,
Answered by
prof. Dirk Vanderzande
Agoralaan University Campus Building D BE-3590 Diepenbeek
http://www.uhasselt.be/
.