SCIENCE - CHEMISTRY

OUTCOME 1
Identify the properties of acids and bases

Acids
 all acids taste sour
 defined by Svante Arrhenius as a material that can release hydrogen ions (H+)
 turn litmus paper red
 corrosive
 help digest food
 break down fat and hair
 conduct electricity
Some common acids
Name Chemical formula Use
Hydrochloric acid HCl Cleaning brickwork
Sulfuric acid H2SO4 Car batteries
Nitric acid HNO3 Fertilisers and dyes
Acetic acid CH2COOH Vinegar

Bases
 all bases taste bitter
 many are cleaning products and have a slippery feel
 bases release OH- (hydroxide) ions into solution
 turn litmus paper blue
 corrosive
 used to produce many drugs

bases (react
with acids)  all alkalis are bases but not all bases are alkalis
o alkalis are bases that are soluble in water
alkalis o bases that do not dissolve in water are
(soluble
bases) simply bases

Some common bases

Name Chemical formula Use
Sodium hydroxide NaOH Oven cleaning
Potassium hydroxide KOH Soap-making
Ammonium hydroxide NH4OH Household cleaners
Sodium hydrogen carbonate NaHCO3 Baking soda

OUTCOME 2
Use the pH scale to identify if a substance is acidic, basic or neutral

pH: measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution

o concentration of solutions often measured in moles per litre
o the pH scale takes the logarithm of this to give a simple way of measuring acidity
o scale measures strength of aqueous solutions of acids and bases
 lower pH = more hydrogen ions present = more acidic the substance
 hydrogen ion concentration is often written as [H+], square brackets mean “concentration of”
 to calculate the pH of a solution when given the [H+] use:
pH = -log [H+]
 to calculate the [H+] when given the pH use:
[H+] = 10-pH
 change in 1 pH unit = tenfold change in [H+]

OUTCOME 3
Describe the role of indicators:
- natural (red cabbage, blueberries and beetroot)
- universal indicator / phenolphthalein

indicator: a substance that changes colour if placed in an acid or a base

 uses of indicators include:
o testing of soil acidity / basicity
o checking the water in swimming pools (water needs to be close to 7.4)
o testing aquarium water (about 8.5)

Natural
 occur naturally and change different colours in acids and bases
 alternative to synthetic indicators
 very hot water / ethanol can both be used to extract the dye as they break open the cell
membrane

Universal indicator / phenolphthalein

 universal indicator is a mixture of several dyes
o simplified formula for indicator molecules can be show as HIn
 H = hydrogen atom
 In = ‘rest’ of the molecule
o indicator molecules ionise, forming a hydrogen ion and an indicator ion  equilibrium
HIn  H+ + In-
o the HIn molecule is a different colour to the In- ion
 e.g. bromothymol blue
o in acid = yellow
o in base (ionises) = blue
o equal number of Hln molecules and In- ions  indicator will be green

OUTCOME 4
Conduct practical investigations and write word equations for the following reactions:
- acids and metals (acid + metal  salt + hydrogen gas)
- acid and base (acid + base  salt + water)
- acids and carbonates (acid + carbonate  salt + water + carbon dioxide)
ACIDS AND METAL
acid + metal  salt + hydrogen
 acid reacts with metal to produce a salt and hydrogen gas
 hydrochloric acid reacts with magnesium to produce magnesium chloride and hydrogen:

hydrochloric acid + magnesium  magnesium chloride + hydrogen

HCl + Mg  MgCl + H2

Testing for the reaction

 use the ‘pop’ test
o only neutralisation reaction that produces hydrogen as a product, the ‘pop’ test
distinguishes the acid + metal reaction from the others
o hydrogen gas is explosive, presence of flame will produce light, heat and sound

ACIDS AND ALKALIS

Acids release H+ ions and alkalis release OH= ions.
acid + alkali  salt + water In a neutralisation reaction, the H+ and OH- combine
H- + OH+  metal + non-metal + H2O to produce water (H2O).

Making salts
 salt produced by neutralisation reaction depends on acid and alkali used
 sodium chloride is produced by the reaction between hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide:

hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide  sodium chloride + water

HCl + NaOH  NaCl + H2O

Naming rules for salts

 hydrochloric acid + alkali  salt produced is chloride
 sulfuric acid + alkali  salt produced is a sulfate
 nitric acid + alkali  salt produced is nitrate

Testing for the reaction

 pH value of products is 7
o add drops of indicator to find out pH of mixture is neutral; should turn green

ACIDS AND CARBONATES

acid + carbonate  salt + water + carbon dioxide
 acid reacts with carbonate to produce salt, water and carbon dioxide gas
 sulfuric acid reacts with calcium carbonate to produce calcium sulfate, water and carbon dioxide:

sulfuric acid + calcium carbonate  calcium sulfate + water + carbon

dioxide
H2SO4 + CaCO3  CaSO4 + H2O + CO2

 acid-carbonate reaction best for cleaning up acid spills

 carbonates relatively harmless but can completely neutralise concentrated acids without
producing flammable gases

Testing for the reaction

 use limewater and carbon dioxide test
o only neutralisation reaction that produces carbon dioxide as a product
o limewater will turn cloudy in the presence of carbon dioxide

OUTCOME 5
Investigate applications of neutralisation reactions in everyday life and industrial processes

Neutralisation and the stomach

 in many natural systems, balance of acids and/or base is important in maintaining health of
system and is regulated by naturally occurring processes
o stomach produces HCl to aid with digestion and to kill harmful micro-organisms that may
have been swallowed
o too much HCl produced  heartburn or indigestion
 fixed by consuming antacid, which contains a base like magnesium hydroxide or
aluminium hydroxide  neutralises excess acid
 other active ingredients include magnesium oxide, magnesium carbonate,
calcium carbonate and sodium hydrogen carbonate
 in digestive tract, acidic component from partially digested food is neutralised by bile from liver
o alkaline environment needed for enzymes of small intestine to work best and for nutrients
to be absorbed through intestinal wall
 many foods and drinks are acidic
o apples contain malic acid, tea contains tannic acid and carbonated drinks contain
carbonic acid
 enamel of teeth is 95% hydroxyapatite and easily decayed in presence of acid
(demineralisation)

Neutralisation and toothpaste

 toothpaste is alkaline and used to neutralise acids in mouth and remove food particles that
produce acids when they decay
 contains milk abrasives like calcium carbonate, aluminium oxides and magnesium carbonates
that remove food particles and neutralise acids
 many toothpastes also contain fluoride that strengthens and demineralises tooth enamel
 replaces OH- ions in hydroxyapatite, forming flurohydroxyapatite which is more resistant to acids

Neutralisation in cooking
 acid + carbonate  salt + water + carbon dioxide
o carbon dioxide produces air bubbles in dough  bread, cakes and other baked goods
rise
o baking soda (sodium hydrogen carbonate) is basic
 baking soda + acidic ingredient (buttermilk, lemon juice, sour cream)  CO2 
dough rises
 baking powder contains both an acid and base in dry form
o sodium hydrogen carbonate and tartaric acid
o components of baking powder react in presence of a liquid  CO2

Neutralisation in industry
Agriculture
 neutralisation of soil important for plant growth
o acidity or alkalinity of soil
o most plants grow well in neutral soil, some grow well in acidic (azaleas, blueberries,
potato), while others grow best in basic soil (leeks, thyme, lilacs)
 soil too acidic  calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate added  neutralisation
 soil too alkaline  calcium sulfate and powdered sulfur  neutralisation

Production of fertilisers
 ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate made using neutralisation reaction between sulfuric
acid or nitric acid and ammonium gas
Textiles
 many processes that occur in alkaline conditions
 neutralisation used at end of many steps
 fabric made from natural fibres often difficult to dye because they contain natural oils and waxes
 oils and waxes removed by scouring
o treating fabric with strong alkali solution of sodium hydroxide or a mixture of sodium
hydroxide and sodium carbonate at boiling temperatures for 1-2 hours
o at the end, fabric is put through cold rinse with acetic acid to neutralise sodium hydroxide

Neutralisation and wastewater

Mining industry
 wastewater from mining drainage contains large amount of acidity from sulfuric acid produced
from oxidation of pyrite
o acid water neutralised with calcium oxide
 most widely used methods of neutralising acids:
o passing acidic water through lime stone bed
o mixing acid waste with calcium oxide slurries
o supplementing acidic water with sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate
 acidic wastes are neutralised by adding lime alkalis
o usually quicklime (CaO) or slaked lime (Ca(OH)2)
o sodium alkalis – caustic soda (NaOH) or soda ash (Na2CO3)
o calcium and magnesium oxide may also be used, typically only in slurries because only
moderately soluble
 if wastewater too alkaline, commonly neutralised using sulfuric, hydrochloric or nitric acid
 industrial spills involving acids and bases must be dealt with quickly due to their corrosive nature
 sodium carbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate for acid spills
 dilute sulfuric or hydrochloric acid for base spills

OUTCOME 6
Recall the structure of the atom and formation of ions

Octet rule
octet rule: atoms are more stable when they have a full outer shell
o if the atom has one shell, it is full with two electrons
o if the atom has more than one shell, it is full with eight electrons
o all elements try to gain a noble gas configuration

Metals
 metals tend to lose electrons to form positive ions (cations)
o tend to gain configuration of noble gas above it
Example:

Li+
Written as Li+ because there are 3
 protons and 3 electrons in a neutral
atom, but after a reaction, there are
3 protons and 2 electrons.
Therefore, there is more positive
charge than negative, making it a
cation.
Non-metals

Lithium ion (Li+) is like the noble

Lithium atom gas, helium (He)
(neutral or no charge)
 non-metals gain electrons to achieve a full outer shell
o form negative ions (anions) to form a configuration like the noble gas on the same period
Example:

The fluorine ion (F-) now has 9

 protons and 10 electrons, making it
an anion.

Fluorine atom Fluoride ion (F-) is like the noble

(neutral or no charge) gas, neon (Ne) from the period
above.
Chemical formulae for ionic compounds
 shows ratio of atoms ionically bonded
 says how many electrons are lost by a metal and how many electrons are gained by non-metal
o calcium bromide – Ca2+ + Br1-  CaBr2
 requires 2 bromides to neutralise 2+ charge of calcium
o magnesium chloride – Mg2+ + Cl-  MgCl2
 requires 2 chlorides to neutralise 2+ charge of magnesium

Polyatomic ions
 cancel charges
o sodium hydroxide – Na+ + OH-  NaOH
o sodium sulfate – Na+ + SO42-  Na2SO4
 needs two sodiums to cancel out 2- charge of sulphate
o calcium hydroxide – Ca2+ + OH-  Ca(OH)2
 needs two OH to cancel 2+ charge

Ionic bonding
 a metal will readily donate electrons to a non-metal
o results in formation of oppositely charged anion (-) and cation (+)
 electrostatic attraction between anion and cation
o ionic bond
+
Li + F-  LiF – lithium fluoride (neutral)

OUTCOME 7
- conducting a practical
- write equations showing the reactants and products
- apply the solubility rules to predict and name the products

Reactants and products

 in a precipitation reaction, two clear solutions are mixed and an insoluble solid (precipitate)
forms
o example: two colourless solutions, lead nitrate and potassium iodide were mixed, a
yellow precipitate forms
 metals switch the non-metal they are bonded to

lead nitrate + potassium iodide  lead iodide + potassium nitrate

 Ionic bond
Lead nitrate form between
and potassium lead
iodide and
ions
suspended in water. Potassium nitratea
iodide ions to form lead iodide,
precipitate.inLead
ions suspended wateriodide appears as
after reaction
a bright yellow substance

double
displacement  a double displacement reaction is when substances swap
which reactants they are ionically bonded to
 in some double displacement reactions, a solid is formed
precipitation
reactions as a product, a precipitate

Solubility rules
1. All nitrates are soluble
2. All sodium and potassium compounds are soluble
3. All chlorides are soluble, except silver, lead and mercury chloride
4. All sulfates are soluble except silver, sodium, calcium, barium and lead sulfate
5. All carbonates are insoluble except sodium and potassium carbonate
6. All hydroxides are insoluble except sodium, potassium and barium hydroxide

Soluble compounds Insoluble exceptions

Nitrates None
Chlorides Silver chloride, lead chloride
Sulfates Barium sulfate, lead sulfate, calcium sulfate, silver sulfate
Insoluble compounds Soluble exceptions
Hydroxides Sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, barium hydroxide
Carbonates Sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, ammonium
carbonate

OUTCOME 8
Describe the formation of covalent bonds by sharing electrons (hydrocarbons)
Covalent bonds
 non-metals covalently bond to non-metals
 in a covalent bond, electrons are shared in order to achieve the noble gas configuration

Example: H2 (hydrogen gas)

 hydrogen gas is a diatonic molecule where two hydrogen hydrogens are covalently bonded
o noble gas configuration of helium

Organic compounds
 an organic compound contains carbon
 hydrocarbons are organic compounds consisting of mainly hydrogen and carbon carbons
covalently bonded

carbon needs 4
hydrogen atoms to
have noble gas
noble gas Carbon now has 8
electrons and hydrogen
now has 2 electrons. Both
 elements now have a
noble gas configuration
and are stable.

Naming hydrocarbons
 the ending of the name tells us the
following:
( – ) ane means all single bonds
( = ) ene means that the compound contains a double bond
yne means that the compound contains a triple bond
 the first part of the name tells us how many carbons in the compound:
1 – methane
2 – eth
3 – prop
4 – but
5 – pent
6 – hex
7 – hept
8 – oct
9 – non

OUTCOME 10
Identify that chemical reactions can occur at different rates

Fast and slow chemical reactions

 time it takes for a chemical reaction to take place can be controlled by changing certain
variables
 fast chemical reactions – combustion of natural gas, welding
 slow chemical reactions – rusting, ripening and fermentation
Controlling the rate of chemical reactions
 rate of almost every reaction can be increased or decreased
o harder breathing and faster heart rate  rate of respiration increases
o hibernation reduces respiration rate  reserve body fat during winter
 factors that affect the rate of reaction are:
o temperature
o concentration of the reactants
o surface area
o agitation
o catalysts

OUTCOME 11
Describe the factors that affect the rate of reaction:
- temperature
- concentration
- surface area
- agitation
- catalysts

Temperature
 increase temperature  increase rate of chemical reaction
o occurs for two reasons:
 increasing temperature increases speed of particles of liquids and gases
 particles collide more frequently  more chemical reactions occur in
shorter amount of time
 increasing temperature gives particles more energy
 when molecules collide, they hit harder  bonds more likely to break
 reactants can rearrange more easily to form products
 decrease temperature  decrease rate of reaction
o milk in fridge  slows rate of reaction that turns milk sour

Concentration
concentration: amount of particular substance present in a particular volume of liquid or gas
 increase concentration of reactants  increase rate of reaction
o particles more likely to collide and react when there are more of them
o collisions between particles are necessary for reactants to rearrange to form products
 e.g. turn up gas on stove
 add more wood to fire
 drink 20ml instead of 10ml to antacid to relieve heartburn
 reduce concentration  slow rate
o paint iron  limit amount of oxygen that can react with surface to form iron oxide

Surface area
 larger surface area  faster rate of reaction
o if calcium carbonate placed in acid as single solid lump, acid can only react with outside
o if lump is broken down into smaller pieces, particles are exposed and can react faster
 more particles are reacting at same time  faster rate
o cutting up or crushing solid reactants into smaller pieces  larger surface in contact with
reactants
 larger surface area important for delivery of medicines into body
o capsules contain powdered medicines  capsule breaks apart  drugs absorbed into
bloodstream more quickly
Agitation
 agitation of reactants  increase rate
 ensure reactants are kept in contact
 removes build-up of products around reactants
o e.g. calcium carbonate + hydrochloric acid  calcium chloride + water + carbon dioxide
 calcium chloride and water build up around carbonate  more difficult for HCL to
come into contact with carbonate
 agitation  flushes products away and allows reactants to come into contact

Catalysts
catalysts: chemicals that speed up chemical reactions but are not consumed during the
reaction
 help reactants form products
 catalysts do this in two ways
1. reduce amount of energy required to convert reactants to products
2. make it easier for reactant molecules to collide and form products
o e.g. platinum metal in car exhaust
 converts carbon monoxide  carbon dioxide
 CO and CO2 stick to platinum catalysts and move around surface
 platinum helps reactant molecules to rearrange and form carbon dioxide, leaves
surface of platinum and flushed out via exhaust