The LEGO Principle

Berzelius along with some molecules. It is seen that the molecular formula tells us the types of atoms it contains and their numbers. Furthermore, even a rather complex molecule with three different atoms in differing numbers, Uke KMn04, can be written in a compact manner. And what is more important, it is so easy to communicate with this compact language and to convert chemistry from the art of the isolated alchemists encapsulated in their smoky labs to a world-embracing culture that knows no boundaries. This was a great invention by Berzelius  

SCHEME 2.2 The principle of constmcting the whole from building blocks in science. 

Generally, the click combinations are not arbitrary. Not everything goes The allowed combinations follow rules, and all other combinations are forbidden. We shall experience this construction process during this lecture and the ones that follow it, as we build molecules starting from the simplest diatomic H2 molecule all the way to the DNA molecule that is composed of many, many thousands of atoms. 

---

In this section I will limit myself to the LEGO principles for construction of polymers from their building blocks. To make matters clear, let me state at the outset that our principle is a reverse construction of a giant molecule, with an aim of conceptualizing it. We are not describing the actual chemical mechanisms whereby these molecules are made, although the resemblance is there. 

Construct the following molecules based on the LEGO principle we learned in this lecture, (a) H2SO3 as an acid, (b) SO3, and (c) SO2. None of these molecules contains 0—0 bonds. 

Sason Nothing is forgotten, Racheli As I plan to show, molecular dimensions and energies can also be described using the LEGO principle, as combinations of typical building blocks. 

---