Physical Science Notes

June Examination

Unit 1: The periodic Table

Unit 2: Names of compounds

Ends in:
Special Cases:
• O – Oxide (O2 – dioxide)
• S – Sulphide Ammonia – NH3 Monoxide – O
• CO – Carbonate Hydrochloric Acid – HCL Dioxide – O2
• OH – Hydroxide
Nitric Acid – HNO3 Trioxide – O3
• SO – Sulphate
• NO – Nitrate Sulphuric Acid – H2SO4
• Cl – Chloride

Unit 1: Chemical Equations to represent reactions

• No atoms are lost or gained in chemical reactions; they are simply rearranged.

Examples:
Carbon + Oxygen -> Carbon Dioxide
 Hydrogen + Oxygen -> Water

Always make sure that the ratio is the same and that they are balanced.
For example, in the above the ratio of the hydrogen to oxygen models is 2:1

Unit 1: Balanced Equations

Topic 3: Reactions of metal with oxygen

Combustion – burning of a substance in the air.

Metaloxide – Formed when a metal reacts with oxygen
General Formula: Metal + Oxygen → Metaloxide
Formation of Rust:
Rusting – Corrosion of metal and steel
Corrosion – Rusting of a material, usually by metal, by chemical reaction with environment.
Rust only occurs on the surface of the iron (part exposed to air)
Rust – Complex compound, mainly iron oxides.

• Rust weakens steal

• Some ways to prevent rust are:
o Painting
o Coating with chromium or zinc (electrolysis)
o Galvanisation - Process of applying coat of zinc or chrome to iron or steel
o Electroplating – coating or covering thin layer of metal
o Electrolysis – process of breaking down a liquid compound by passing a
current through it.

Topic 4: Reactions of non-metal with oxygen

Non-Metal Oxide – Compound formed between a non-metal and oxygen
General Formula: Non-Metal + Oxygen → Non-Metal Oxide (Usually gasses)

Black carbon burns with orange flames. CO2 is a colourless gas with no smell
Sulfur reacts with oxygen to form sulfur dioxide.
Sulfur + Oxygen → Sulfur Dioxide
S + O2 → SO2

• Yellow Sulfur burns with a blue flame. Colourless gas with sharp smell.

Topic 5: Acid, Bases and pH value

• Acids – Taste sour, feel rough, turn blue litmus paper red
• Bases – Taste bitter, slippery, turn red litmus paper blue
• Neutrals are neither
• Indicator – Substance that changes colour when added to acid or base.

pH Scale:
Tells us strength of acid or base. Ranges from 0-14

• Acids – range 0 to 7, stronger acid = lower pH value

• Bases – range 7 to 14, stronger base = higher pH value
• Neutral - pH of 7

Indicators:
• Chemical Indicators: Tells whether a substance is acid, base or neutral.
o Eg. Litmus paper, bromothymol, Phenolphaletein and universal indicator.
• Universal indicator can indicate full range of pH values on pH scale.
o Acids – change toward yellow, orange and red colours
o Bases – change towards blue and purple colours
o Nuetrals – green
Topic 6: Reactions of Acids with Bases
Neutralisation Reaction – Reaction between acid and a base
• In neutralisation reactions:
o A base reacts with acid to make it less acidic or neutral
o A acid reacts with base to make it less basic or neutral.

Commonly Used Bases:

Metal Oxides
Metal Hydroxides
Metal Carbonate

All have High pH

Unit 2: Metal Oxides are bases.
General Metal oxide neutralisation reaction:
• When any acid reacts with metal oxide, products formed are salt and water.

Salt – Crystal like products of acid-base neutralisation reactions. All acids

contain hydrogen. A salt is formed when the hydrogen in an acid is
replaced by metal. C
Eg. Copper sulphate is a salt that turns blue when in contact with water.

Application of acid-metal oxide neutralisation reaction (NB):

• The burning of fossil fuels releases CO2 and Sulfur Dioxide gases into the
atmosphere. These gases are acidic.
• They combine with water in the atmosphere to create acid rain.
1. SO2 is released into the atmosphere through burning of fossil fuels.
2. Wind carries pollution containing SO2
3. SO2 dissolves in water to form Sulfurous Acid (H2SO3), This reacts with
oxygen to become sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
4. This falls in the form of acid rain.
5. Buildings and trees are damaged.

Acid Rain – Rainfall made acidic by pollution.

• Most coal burning power plants have devices called scrubbers to reduce SO2
emmisions. Calcium Oxide (lime) is used to remove the acidic gases as follows:
• Calcium Carbonate (limestone) is added as fuel burns
• Heat breaks calcium carbonate into calcium oxide: Calcium Carbonate →
Calcium Oxide + Carbon Dioxide (CaCO3 → CaO + CO2)
 • The sulfur dioxide gas reacts with calcium oxide to form a solid calcium
sulfite salt, which is collected at a bottom tank: Sulfur dioxide + calcium
oxide →Calcium sulfite (SO2 + CaO → CaSO3)
Limestone (CaCO3) is also used in agriculture to make soil less acidic

Unit 3: General Reaction of an acid with a metal hydroxide (base)

Hydroxide – A compound that contains a hydroxyl (-OH) group

• Metal Hydroxide neutralisation reaction.

• When any acid reacts with a metal hydroxide, products are salt and water.

Sodium Chloride is table salt.

Unit 4: The general reaction of an acid with a metal carbonate (base)
Metal Carbonate – a compound that contains a metal, carbon and oxygen

• Metal carbonate neutralisation reaction:

o When any acid reacts with metal carbonates, products formed are salt,
carbon dioxide and water.