THE WORLD THROUGH OUR SENSES

FORM 2

Water and Solution

Senses

Light and sight Properties of light

Sound and hearing

Water supply system Phototropism Geotropism

Touch (skin) Smell (nose)

Properties of sound Vision defects Reflection and absorption Limitations Stereophonic

Hydrotropism Thigmotropism Nastic movement

Taste (tongue)
Hearing (ear)

Optical illusions
Stereoscopic and monocular

Sight (eye)

A sensory organ: an organ that enables the body to respond to stimuli. A stimulus: a change in the surroundings that can be detected by the sensory organs. The five sensory organs are: eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin. The ability of the sensory organs to detect stimuli is called senses. We have five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste

1.1 SENSORY ORGANS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

The following shows the pathway from stimulus to response.

Receptors in sensory organs Sensory nerves

Stimulus

Brain Motor nerves

Response

Effectors

A stimulus will stimulate the receptors in our sensory organs to produce electrical messages called nerve impulses. After the brain interprets the messages received, the brain send ot nerve impulses to the effectors.

1.2 SENSE OF TOUCH

The skin is a sensory organ which responds to the sense of touch. There are five types of receptor in the skin. These receptors include: pain receptors, touch receptors, pressure receptors, cold receptors and heat receptors.

Each receptors is sensitive to a specific stimulus. Cold receptors: sensitive to cold substances and detect a fall in temperature.

Heat receptors: sensitive to heat and detect a rise in temperature.

Pain receptors: sensitive to pain. They are very close to the skin surface. Pressure receptors: sensitive to large pressure. They are deep within the skin. Touch receptors: sensitive to small pressure. They detect any contact made with the skin.

The table below shows the position of receptors in the skin.

Receptor Cold receptor Heat receptor Pain receptor Position of receptor In the dermis In the dermis In the epidermis

Pressure receptor Touch receptor

In the fatty layer In the dermis

When a receptor is stimulated, the impulses are sent by the nervous system to the brain for interpretation. The sensitivity of the skin depends on The receptors are not evenly distributed throughout the body. Some parts of the body have more receptors and are of more sensitive. Our fingertips and neck are more sensitive. Hence, the blind touch small raised marks that they fell with their fingertips to read the Braille. Other parts of the body like elbow and knee, are not so sensitive to touch.

Surrounding temperature , the rate of evaporation is

A high temperature gives more energy to the water molecules to escape into the air.

Movement of air (winds) speeds up/slows down the evaporation by removing the evaporated water molecules from the surface of water.

When the air humidity is , the rate of evaporation is When the surface area of water is , the rate of evaporation is

A big surface area allows more water molecules to escape from the surface of water into the air, hence increases the rate of evaporation.

Differences between evaporation and boiling

Evaporation Occurs at all temperatures below boiling point Boiling Occurs at boiling point only

A slow process Occurs at the exposed surface of liquid No bubbles formed Does not required heat supply

A fast process Occurs throughout the liquid

Bubbles formed Requires heat supply

Applications of evaporation of water in daily life

Drying clothes Preserving vegetables and fruits Processing of food such as dry prawns and salted fish Producing common salts from the evaporation of sea water

Sugar (solute)

Water (solvent)

(solution)

Sugar (Solute)

Water (Solvent)

Mixture of sugar in water (solution)

A solute is the substance which dissolves in a liquid.

A solvent is a liquid which dissolves a substance.

solution is the mixture of solute and solvent.

Concentrated solution A solvent which contains a lot of solute.

Dilute solution A solvent which contains a little solute.

Saturated solution A concentrated solution which cannot dissolve any more solute.

If we mix flour with water, the flour does not dissolve in water. Instead, it forms a suspension in water.

Therefore, a suspension contains dissolved substances with small solid particles suspended in liquid.

Solubility of a solute is the number of grams of the solute which can dissolve in 100 ml of solvent at a specific temperature. The factors which affect the solubility of solutes are: (a) Nature of solvents (b) Nature of solutes (c) Temperature

Water can dissolved many different solutes. Hence, water is known as the universal solvent.
The factors which affect the rate of dissolving are: (a) Temperature of solvents (b) Rate of stirring the solvents (c) Size of solute particles (d) Volume of solvents

Some solutes cannot dissolve in water but they can dissolve in organic solvents. Organic solvents are used to removed stains which cannot be removed by water.

The table below shows some organic solvents and their respective solutes.
Organic solvents Solutes

Alcohol
Amyl acetate Acetone Benzene Chloroform Ether Kerosene Petrol Turpentine

Chlorophyll, iodine, shellac, ink

Nail varnish, lipstick, cellulose Nail varnish, lipstick, iodine, paint, ink Grease, rubber, rust Plastic Grease, fats, oil Grease, paint, tar Grease, paint, tar Grease, paint, tar

ACIDS Taste: Sour. Corrosive: Concentrated acids are corrosive Touch: Like water. Tested with litmus paper: Turn blue litmus red. pH value: From 0 to less than 7. Reaction with metals: Form hydrogen and a salt. Reaction with carbonates: Form a salt, water and carbon dioxide. Reaction with ammonium compounds: No reaction.
NEUTRAL

ALKALIS Taste: Bitter. Corrosive: Concentrated alkali are corrosive Touch: Soapy. Tested with litmus paper: Turn red litmus blue. pH value: From above 7 to 14. Reaction with metals: No reaction. Reaction with carbonates: No reaction. Reaction with ammonium compounds: Give off ammonia gas

The table below shows some substances which are acidic and alkaline in everyday life

Acidic substances Orange, Grape, Vinegar, Tea, Sour milk

Alkaline substances Toothpaste, milk of magnesia, lime water, ammonia

Uses of acids
Dilute sulphuric acid is used as electrolyte in the car battery. Vinegar is used in cooking. Formic acid is used in coagulating latex.

Uses of alkalis
Lime water is used to test for the presence of carbon dioxide. (white cloudy=calcium carbonate) Ammonia is used to prevent the coagulation of latex. Sodium hydroxide is used for making soap.

NEUTRALISATION
a chemical reaction (also called a water forming reaction since a water molecule is formed during the process) in which an acid and a base or alkali (soluble base) react to produce salt and water (H2O). Acid Alkali Salt Water

Examples:
Hydrochloric acid Sodium Hydroxide Sodium Chloride Water

Sulphuric acid Potassium Hydroxide Potassium sulphate Water

Uses of NEUTRALISATION
Tooth paste is alkaline. It neutralizes the acids produced by bacteria in the mouth. Stomach ache is caused by too much acid. Milk of magnesia (antacid) can be used to neutralize the acid.

WATER PURIFICATION
The natural resources of water are Rain River Sea Well Pond Spring The water from these sources contains impurities. These impurities must be removed before the water is safe for drinking. The various types of water purification are filtration Boiling Chlorination Distillation

WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

The water from the sources are collected in the dam. Water flows into coagulation tank. Alum is added to coagulate suspended particles. Slaked lime is added to decrease the acidity of the water. The water is then filtered. Filtration removed suspended impurities from the water. However, it cannot remove dissolve impurities and microorganisms in the water.

WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

Chlorine is added to water to kill the microorganisms. Fluoride is added to water to prevent tooth decay. Water that has been treated enters the storage tank.

Preservation of Water Quality. Some examples of water pollutants include:

Industrial wastes such as chemical and radioactive residues. Domestic waste such as garbage and sewage. Chemicals from agricultural activities such as fertilisers and pesticides. Siltation caused by construction and deforestation Accidental spillage from tankers.

Water pollution will kill aquatic animals and plants.

Preservation of Water Quality. Various ways should be carried out to control water pollution:

Do not dispose of rubbish into rivers. Controls usage of pesticides and chemical fertilisers by farmers. Encourage people to recycle. Control logging, construction and mining activities. Enforce laws to prevent disposal of industrial waste and sewage to rivers and seas.