The Chemical Earth Unit 25/03/09 Rianna Bunn

Chemistry is the study of...

Homogenous MATTER Heterogeneous

Elements Compounds Mixtures

Divisions of Matter:

1) Element (e.g. gold, sodium, carbon)

2) Inorganic Compounds (e.g. copper sulphate, water, salt)
3) Polymers (plastics, etc)
4) Aliphatic Hydrocarbons (methane, butane, octane etc)
5) Aromatic Hydrocarbons (aspirin, steroids, contraceptives)
6) Carbohydrates (CHO, often polymers, e.g. starch - CH₂OH)
7) Fats (double bonds)
8) Proteins (e.g. meats, hair – made up of amino acids, contain elements CHON [PS])
9) Nucleic Acids (in DND and RNA, e.g. Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, Thymine etc)

Classification of Matter – Another Chart:

MATTER

Heterogeneous (mixtures) Homogenous (uniform)

Pure Substances Solutions

(mixtures)

Elements Compounds

Metals Non-metals
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The Chemical Earth Unit 25/03/09 Rianna Bunn

Definitions (that I should know by now)

 Element - A pure substance containing only one type of atom

 Compound - A pure substance made up of two or more elements chemically combined
chemically combined in a fixed ratio. They cannot be separated by physical means
 Mixture - Two or more substances not combined in fixed ratios. They can be separated by
physical means

Separation Techniques: (Note see attached sheet for diagrams)

1. Evaporate, Boil off water: boiling points

2. Filtration: an insoluble solid in a liquid – solubility, particle size)
3. Centrifuging: difference in density of materials
4. Decanting: not gravimetric (accurate), rough separation – densities of immiscible substances
5. Sieving: Difference in particle size
6. Separating Funnel: liquids of different densities – difficult to do gravimetrically
7. Distillation: different boiling/condensing points
8. Fractional Distillation: good when boiling points are very close together to separate out
components (e.g. separation of crude oil)
9. Magnetic separation: magnetism in metals
10. Froth floatation:

Summary of the Spheres of the planet earth:

Layer: What? Thickness: Description:

Atmosphere Mixture of gases 200 – 300 km Mixture of gases N₂,
surrounding earth O₂, Ar and small % of
compounds e.g. H₂O,
CO₂, NO₂, SO₂, CO
Lithosphere Crust & solid upper 50 – 150 km Mixture of rocks, sand,
part of the mantle soils, mineral oils, coal,
oil and natural gas
Biosphere Crust and hydrosphere ? Part of the earth
and atmosphere Very thin layer inhabited by living
things
Hydrosphere Water of the earth’s Approximately 34 km E.g. salt water, fresh
crust water, ground water
etc

Properties for identification of substances:

 Colour
 State at room temperature
 Malleability
 Lustre
 Conductivity
 Melting pt./Boling pt.
 Hardness

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The Chemical Earth Unit 25/03/09 Rianna Bunn

 Solubility (in water, ethanol etc)

 Density
 Ductility
 Streak test for minerals
 Reactivity (not a test of physical properties)
 Smell

Transition Metals:

 Have variable valencies e.g.

 Copper (+1 or +2)
 Iron (+2 or +3)
 Tin (+2 or +4)
 Lead (+2 or +4)
 Form colourful compounds, e.g.
 Iron Oxide – read
 Copper Sulphate – purple
 Mercuric Oxide – orange
 Nickel Chloride – green
 Manganese Sulphide – bright pink
 Outer shell electrons not moving – internal shells do

Video – Oxidation/Reduction:

- Non-metal oxides are acidic when dissolved in water

- Metal oxides are basic

1) 4P + 5O₂ = 2P₂O₅ (Red Phosphorus + Oxygen = Phosphorus Pentoxide) – When added to

water forms “Phosporic Acid”
2) Su + O₂ = SuO₂ (Sulphur +Oxygen = Sulphur dioxide) – When added to water forms sulphuric
acid
3) Na + O₂ = Na₂O (Sodium +Oxygen = Sodium oxide) – With water makes alkaline solution of
Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)
4) 2Mg + O₂ = 2MgO (magnesium + Oxygen = Magnesium Oxide) With water makes Mg (OH)₂
(Magnesium Hydroxide) which is alkaline

Four Useful Metals:

1. Gold – Used for making jewellery

a) Attractive colour
b) Shiny lustre
c) Very un-reactive - doesn’t oxidise much, or react with other substances people may
handle
d) Soft – easily shaped into jewellery
e) Malleable – easily shaped
2. Aluminium – Used for wrapping food, and in the construction of airplane and car bodies,
electrical wiring

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a) Malleable –can be stretched into sheets (foil)

b) Ductile – can be draw into wires
c) Low density – reduces energy consumption while increasing load capacity
(airplanes/cars etc)
d) Electrical conductivity (wires)
e) Impermeable and Odourless – lets neither light, aroma nor taste substances through
(food)
f) Non-toxic (food)
g) Resistant to corrosion – even layer of aluminium oxide
3. Copper – used for electrical wires, cookware, refrigerators, radiators
a) Malleability/Ductillity – can be drawn into a wire thinner than a human hair
b) Second only to silver in electrical conductivity and much cheaper (wires)
c) Excellent conductor of heat – good for cookware, radiator etc
d) Resistant to corrosion (first becomes red-brown and eventually is covered with a
green film called a “patina” that stop further corrosion: similar to aluminium)
e) Very high melting/boiling point – good for wires, use with heat etc
4. Titanium – used for replacement joints, plates, etc; airplane parts
a) Non-toxic (in the body)
b) Not corrosive
c) Light (low density) so ideal for aviation
d) Strong – doesn’t bend easily (good for medical use and airplanes)

Four Useful Non-metals:

1. Helium – For party balloons and blimps in WW1

a) Very low density – less than air
b) Not reactive like Hydrogen (it’s a noble gas) so not as dangerous
c) Not harmful if inhaled 
2. Chlorine – for pools, bleaching paper, purifying drinking water
a) Poisonous, kills off bacteria(water, pools)
b) Powerful oxidising effects
c) Soluble in water
d) Bleaching effect when in a solid or liquid form
3. Neon – for bright coloured city lights and to produce a red glow in lamps/lasers
a) Natural red colour
b) Can be turned into a wide range of effective decorative lighting colours by mixing it
with other gases
4. Iodine – for use in antiseptic ointments, for health
a) Dissolves in alcohol to give Tincture of Iodine (for cleaning cuts etc)
b) Helps the body make thyroxin and other bio-chemicals important in metabolism

Formation of Ions: (see sheets for diagrams)

 Metals lose an electron/electrons from their outer shells to become positive

“cations”

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 Nonmetals add electrons to their outer shells to build it up to the maximum capacity
(or 8). This forms negative “anions”

Molecular/Covalent Bonding:

A molecule is the smallest part of a pure substance that can exist separately. Molecules can include

1) Monatomic Molecules (Inert/noble gases)

a. Helium atoms He
b. Argon atoms Ar etc
2) Diatomic Molecules e.g.
a. Oxygen 0₂
b. Nitrogen N₂
c. Hydrogen iodide HI
d. Carbon monoxide CO
3) Triatomic molecules e.g.
a. Ozone O₃
b. Water H₂0
c. Sulphur dioxide SO₂
d. Carbon dioxide CO₂
4) Tetra-Atomic Molecules e.g.
a. White phosphorus P₄
b. Ammonia NH₃

In the Molecular covalent molecules above, covalent bonds are formed by sharing of electrons
between non-metals. In simple covalent molecules, there can either be:

 SINGLE bonds (one pair of electrons) e.g.

o Hydrogen Chloride
o Ammonia
o Water
o Carbon tetrachloride
 MULTIPLE bonds (more than one pair of electrons) e.g.
o O₂ (O=O)
o N₂ (N three bonds N)
o Carbon Dioxide (O=C=O)
o Ethyne (H – C three bonds C – H)
- Intramolecular Forces are those within the molecule and are strong covalent bonds
- Intermolecular Forces are between individual molecules and they are weak forces

Small molecular structures are easy to melt (low MPs) There is no need to break the covalent bonds,
only to separate the molecules.

Ionic (electrostatic bonds are much harder to break than molecular bonds therefore the MPs of ionic
solids are very high.

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The Chemical Earth Unit 25/03/09 Rianna Bunn

Simple Ions to Memorise:

Silver – Ag⁺

Zinc – Zn⁺2

Copper – Cu⁺ or Cu⁺2

Iron – Fe⁺2 or Fe⁺3

Tin – Sn⁺2 or Sn⁺⁴

Lead – Pb⁺2 or Pb⁺⁴

Polyatomic Ions to memorise:

Ammonium NH₄⁺

Hydroxide OH⁻

Nitrate NO₃⁻

Sulphate SO₄⁻2

Carbonate CO₃⁻2

Hydrogencarbonate HCO₃⁻

Nomenclature (naming) of Ionic Compounds:

1) Cation is named first

2) Anion is named second
3) If the metal has multiple valencies, Roman numeral is used e.g. iron (II)
4) The –ide suffix for the non-metal is used in simple binary compounds

e.g. NaCl - sodium chloride, CaCl₂ - Calcuim chloride

Naming Molecular Compounds:

1) The Non-metal with the lower group number (valency) is named first (exception Cl₂O)
2) Use Greek prefixes to specify the number of atoms:
a. Mono 1
b. Di 2
c. Tri 3
d. Tetra 4
e. Pent 5
f. Hex 6
g. Hept 7
h. Oct 8
i. Non 9

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3) Use the suffix –ide with the 2nd element

e.g. N₂O₄ - Dinitrogen Tetroxide, SO₃ - Sulphur trioxide

Physical and Chemical Changes: (for more see sheets)

Physical Changes are changes in physical properties:

- A change in volume
- A change in density
- A change in state (freezing, boiling melting, etc)
- Dissolving a soluble chemical

Chemical Changes are those in which new substances are formed:

- combustion of petrol/methane
- Thermal decomposition
- Electrolysis of water
- Photosynthesis and respiration
- Precipitation reactions
- Light with certain compounds (silver halides).......

In General, physical changes involve significantly less energy than chemical changes, because
chemical changes involve the breaking of strong bonds and chemical changes do not. There are
exceptions, like the melting of NaCl.

Endothermic vs. Exothermic:

Endothermic reactions (Endo = “to go in”) absorb energy that is supplied – this energy makes the
reaction happen. Examples include decomposition and photosynthesis. Physical changes that are
endothermic include boiling water. (Endo: A + B + energy = C + D)

Energy Content Energy absorbed by chemicals during reaction

Time

Exothermic reactions (Exo = “to go out”) produce and release energy. Examples are combustion,
synthesis, respiration, the burning of magnesium. Exothermic physical changes include condensing
and solidifying. (Exo: A + B = C + D + energy)

For an Ionic Solid to dissolve the following must take place:

 Electrostatic forces of attraction between the positive and negative ions must be
overcome

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 Intermolecular forces between some polar water molecules must be overcome to

make space for positive and negative ions
 Attractive forces from between the positive and negative ions and surrounding
water molecules (H₂O is polar)

Note: substances that are not polar (i.e. covalent substances will NOT dissolve in water but they will
dissolve in non-polar organic liquids such as hexane. Therefore like substances will dissolve like
substances.

Properties of a Covalent Network:

1) High melting/boiling pt.

2) Not conductors of electricity (exceptions of graphite because of layering and silicon which is
a semi-conductor)
3) Hard and Brittle
4) Quite chemical inert (unreactive)
5) Insoluble in water and most other solvents (not polar so no attraction to water)

Chemical Bonds and Bond Energy:

- Covalent Bonding: Energy needed to separate the atoms in a covalent bond is called the
bond energy (Range of 150-1100 kJ/mole)
o Double/triple bonds are harder to break (higher bond energy)
o Intermolecular/Dispersion bonds are the weak attractions between molecules of a
substance
- Ionic Bonding: Energy needed to separate the cations and anions is called the ionic lattice
energy (Range of 400-4000 kJ/mole)

METALS: A Model (For more notes on Metals see attached sheets)

- Delocalised Electrons – not associated with one specific cation

- Free electrons form slip planes
- If connected to a battery the electrons will head towards the positive electrode (anode)
- Mobile electrons – accounts for electrical conductivity

Colvalent Network Substances (covalent lattices)

Some elements, like carbon and silicon and some compounds, like silicon dioxide and silicon carbide
exist as covalent network structures.

Covalent Network

Elements: Compounds:

- Carbon C (diamond - Silicon Dioxide SiO

and graphite) - Silicon Carbide SiC
- Silicon Si 8
The Chemical Earth Unit 25/03/09 Rianna Bunn

Naming Carbon Compounds:

Stem:

- C1 meth-
- C2 eth-
- C3 prop-
- C4 but-
- C5 pent-
- C6 hex-
- C7 hept-
- C8 oct-
- C9 non-
- C10 dec-

Endings:

- Single bonds – alkane -ane

- At least one double bond – alkene -ene
- At least one triple bond – alkyne -yne

You number the carbon chain so that the attached group has the smallest possible number. (see
written notes if confused)

THE END WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!     