Question

What are heteroatoms?

Answer 1

Hint: It is formed by two words “hetero” and “atom”. Hetero means different and atom means uncut. An element or group of elements that replace one or more hydrogen (H) atoms from hydrocarbon, such that valency of carbon remains satisfied.

Complete step by step answer–
According to the question, heteroatoms are when an atom other than carbon or hydrogen is bonded to carbon. Typical heteroatoms are Nitrogen\[\left( \text{N} \right)\], Oxygen\[\left( \text{O} \right)\], Phosphorus\[\left( \text{P} \right)\], Chlorine\[\left( \text{Cl} \right)\], Bromine\[\left( \text{Br} \right)\], and Iodine\[\left( \text{I} \right)\] as well as the metals Lithium \[\left( \text{Li} \right)\] and Magnesium\[\left( \text{Mg} \right)\]. All heteroatoms have a greater or lesser attraction for electrons than does carbon. Example of two organic compounds containing different heteroatoms with name and formula are as follows:
(i) Chloromethane,\[\text{CH3Cl}\], chloromethane contains carbon hydrogen bonds with another atom of chloride due to this chloromethane is known as heteroatom.
(ii) Formaldehyde, \[\text{HCOH}\], formaldehyde contains carbon hydrogen bonds with another functional group due to this formaldehyde is known as heteroatom.
Each bond between a carbon and a heteroatom is polar, and the degree of polarity depends on the difference between the electron-attracting properties of the two atoms. The most important atomic groupings that contain such reactive polar bonds are also able to generate functional groups.

Additional Information-
They are also classified as diatomic, triatomic, or polyatomic molecules depending upon the number of atoms present.

Notes- Homoatomic Molecules are the molecules which are made up of atoms of the same element. Most of the elementary gases consist of homo atomic molecules. For example hydrogen gas consists of two atoms of hydrogen (H2). Similarly, oxygen gas consists of two atoms of oxygen (O2).
For any homo atomic molecule, atomicity can be deduced using the formula:
Atomicity = (Molecular Mass)/ (Atomic Mass).