CHEMICAL

REACTIONS
Changing Matter with Chemical Equations

Science Holiday Homework Term 1

Maryam Farhan
Task 1: Match the definitions to the correct terms
Term Definition

Matter A compound is a substance formed when two or

more chemical elements are chemically bonded
together using covalent bonds and ionic bonds.
Atom A substance that cannot be broken down into
simpler substances. An element is made up of
atoms.

Element The atom is the basic building block for all matter
in the universe. Atoms are extremely small and are
made up of a few even smaller particles. The basic
particles that make up an atom are electrons,
protons, and neutrons
Compound Atoms and molecules are all composed of
matter. Matter is anything that has mass and takes
up space.

 Watch the clip “ what is an atom” https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=R1RMV5qhwyE

Task 2: Fill in the blanks using the following words-

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 Five states of matter:
Matter can be found in different states depending on the atmosphere it is present
in. the main states we need to remember are:
- solid
- liquid
- gas
All matter is made up of atoms and has Mass.
Types of reactions:
When looking at chemical and physical reactions, we can write what is visible
in- front of us in two ways:
- The first is a word equation. A word equation only tells us what the
compounds involved are. I.e., it does not tell us how much of each of
the elements involved there is.
- The second is a chemical equation. This type of equation is very
precise and allows the reader to know exactly how much of any
element involved in the reaction there is.
Example: burning magnesium metal

Word equation Chemical Equation

Magnesium + Oxygen  Burnt magnesium metal +
light

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Task 3:
Create some common reactions and write down their word
equations and chemical equations like the example above.
carbon + oxygen   carbon dioxide
C + O2   CO2
magnesium + oxygen   magnesium oxide
2Mg + O2   2MgO
hydrogen + oxygen hydrogen oxide
2H + 0 H20
magnesium + chlorine magnesium chloride
Mg + Cl2 MgCl2

How would rust form?

Rust forms when iron or iron-containing alloys become exposed to
moisture air and oxygen for a long time. During this time, the oxygen and
the metal merge and form a bunch of compounds called rust.

How does your body get oxygen?

The human body gets oxygen through the respiratory system. Oxygen
enters the body through the mouth and nose, through the larynx and the
trachea, and then passes through the two bronchial tubes. The oxygen
passes through the smaller tubes that the bronchi splits into. The oxygen
then passes through the thin walls of the alveoli sacks. From where, the
oxygen enters our blood, and the oxygen is transported all over the
body. The carbon dioxide is then emitted from the body.

How does your blood become acidic?

When someone’s lungs do not discharge enough carbon dioxide from
the body at an efficient rate, there is a very high chance that the acidity
levels in their blood increases.
Blood acidity levels also increase rapidly when the body consumes and
digests foods and substances that contain a large amount of acid.

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Task 4:
Look at the period table to understand the different features.
Let’s label the following:

- Metals
- Non-metals
- Semimetals
- Transition metals

 What is a COMPOUND?
Compounds are two or more different elements chemically joined in fixed
proportions by mass. E.g. H2O, CO2. they may be covalent or ionic.
 What is a COVALENT bond compound?
Covalent compounds are those, which are made up of two different non-metal
elements.
 An ionic bond
It is a compound which is made up of a metal and non-metal.

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Task 4: Using your periodic table and the information about
the two different types of compounds, create four ionic and
two covalent compounds.
Ionic compounds:
1. water
2. aluminium chloride (AlCl3)
3. thallium bromide (TiBr)
4. indium nitride (InN)
5. gallium sulfide (GaS)

Covalent compounds:
1. carbon dioxide
2. hydrogen chloride (HCl)
3. phosphorus trichloride (PCl3)
4. bromine dioxide (BrO2)
5. sulfur dichloride (SCl2)

When naming chemical compounds we need to know certain rules:

RULE 1: Metal / Non-Metal compound; two elements only
 The metal element is named first
 The name of the non-metal is shortened
 The suffix -IDE (means by itself) is added to the shortened name
E.g. NaCl = sodium chlorine sodium chloride
MgBr2 = magnesium bromine magnesium bromide

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Task 5 : Name the following compounds :

a) Potassium Chloride

b) Magnesium Sulfide

c) Sodium Iodide

d) Magnesium Oxide

e) Potassium Oxide

f) Aluminium Chloride

g) Iron Sulfide

h) Magnesium Fluoride

i) Zinc Iodide

j) Silver Bromine

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 Law of conservation of mass:
States that, mass cannot be created or destroyed!

Let’s watch this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=2S6e11NBwiw

By stating that mass cannot be created or destroyed, chemical

reactions should have equal mass both before and after the
reaction.

Let’s look at this equation:

NaOH + HCl  NaCl + H2O

Sodium hydroxide + hydrochloric acid sodium chloride + water

Fill in the amount of atoms on each side of the

reaction:

Left hand side Right hand side

Sodium (Na)- 1 Sodium (Na)- 1

Hydrogen (H)- 2 Hydrogen (H)- 2

Oxygen (O)- 1 Oxygen (O)- 1

Chlorine (Cl)- 1 Chlorine (Cl)- 1

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TYPES OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS
There are a number of types of chemical reactions. For
example:

 NEUTRALISATION: When we react acid with an alkali to

produce a salt and water.

 COMBUSTION: When we burn a substance in an oxygen

rich

environment, usually air. E.G. burning a fuel.

 CORROSION: When one substance eats away at

another,usually quite slowly. E.G. Rust.

 PRECIPITATION: This reaction (in Chemistry) occurs

when two

solutions are mixed together and one of the products is a solid.

 DECOMPOSITION: This type of reaction occurs when

only one

reactant is used. This is broken down into its constituent parts.

E.G. 2HgO Hg + O2.

Making elephant toothpaste !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
t=54&v=3Tn-7JcZJuQ

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What is an acid?
An acid is a chemical compound which is soluble in water (dissolves in
water), tastes sour and turns blue litmus paper pink.
Acids neutralize bases, meaning, they cancel each other’s effects.
We can divide acids into two groups: weak acids and strong acids.

WEAK ACIDS
Many weak acids occur naturally in foods and can be eaten such as the
food below in the table:   
Food acid Food

Citric acid Citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, limes and mandarins.

Lactic acid Fermented milk products like yogurt, buttermilk and sour
cream.

Malic acid Green apples and grapes

Tartaric acid Grapes and wines

Acetic acid Vinegar

STRONG ACIDS
Strong acids are corrosive and should not be tasted. They react with active metals
like magnesium, zinc and iron to produce hydrogen gas.

Name Chemical Common use of acid

formula

Hydrochloric HCl Used to clean mortar of bricks and to

acid lower the pH of swimming pools

Sulfuric acid H SO
2 4 Used in lead acid automobile batteries
and in industry as a catalyst and a
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 dehydrating agent.

Nitric acid HNO 3 Used to make fertilizer and explosives.

What is an alkali? What is a base?

A base is a compound that can neutralize an acid (eliminate the effect of the acid).
An alkali is a soluble base which is very corrosive. Alkali solutions turn pink litmus
paper blue.

REACTIONS
Bases can be strong or weak. All bases can be used to neutralize an acid. The
reaction between an acid and a base is called a neutralization reaction.
Acid + Base => Salt + Water
The products of a neutralization reaction are salt and water.

ALKALIS
Strong bases are called alkalis.  Alkalis are used to dissolve fats and are found in
oven cleaning and general cleaning products.

Alkali/ base Chemical formula

Lithium hydroxide LiOH

Sodium hydroxide NaOH

Potassium hydroxide KOH

Ammonia NH3

The elements of Group I of the Periodic table are called alkali metals as they all
react with water producing alkali solutions.

What is a chemical indicator?

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 A chemical indicator is a substance that changes colour when placed with an acid or
base.
Acids taste sour and bases taste bitter. However, when testing a solution to know
if it is an acid or a base, it is not very intelligent to taste them, because most of them
are toxic and corrosive !!
Chemical indicators are a safer way to decide if a chemical is acidic or basic.

Chemical Colour in acid Colour in

indicator base

Litmus paper Pink Blue

Phenolphthalein Colourless Pink/ violet

Bromothymol Yellow Blue

blue

 Chemical indicators are commonly used to test the acidic. basic nature of soils.
They are also used to test the acidic basic conditions of water in swimming pools
and fish tanks.

What is the pH scale?

To measure how acidic or basic something is, we use a measuring technique known
as the pH scale.

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 A pH of 7 is netural

 A pH less than 7 is acidic 

 A pH greater than 7 is basic

Strength strong acids weak acids neutral weak bases strong bases

pH 0-2 3-6 7 8-10 11-14

Examples Car acid batteries Lemon juice Water Toothpaste Oven cleaner

USES OF THE pH SCALE

It is important to know the pH of substances.

For example:

1) A farmer may need to know if his soil is too

acidic to grow a crop. If it is, he may add lime to
neutralise it.

2) In a swimming pool, pH is controlled so that the

pool water does not harm swimmers.

3) Make sure that medicines do not harm patients

when they enter the body.

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