Year 9 – Chemistry Mr J.

Borg

Unit 1
Basic Chemistry

Year 8

Name: ______________________
Class: ______________________
Year 9 – Chemistry Mr J. Borg

States of Matter

Matter is what the physical universe is made up of. There are _________________ states of
matter - solid, liquid and gas. We know that wood is a solid, water is a liquid and air is a gas.

Some types of matter can exist in more than one state. For instance, water can exist as ice
(solid), water (liquid) and steam (gas).

Solids, Liquids and Gases

A ____________________ has both a fixed shape and volume. It can be affected

by changes in temperature. Solids ___________________ (get bigger) when
heated and contract (get smaller) when _____________________.

A liquid has a fixed ____________________ but no fixed ____________________.

It will take the shape of the ______________________. The volume of a liquid
is slightly affected by changes in temperature.

A gas has neither a fixed volume nor a _____________________________. It will take up

the shape of the container it is in. The volumes of gases are greatly affected by changes in
________________________.

Gases can be compressed (squashed). It is very hard, though not impossible to

compress liquids. But it is impossible to compress solids. When matter is
compressed it means that its volume can be reduced by applying
_______________________.

Fill in the physical properties of the three states of matter in the following table:

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Property Solids Liquids Gases

Volume

Shape

Density

Ease to flow

Expansion on heating

Compressibility

Invisible Particles

The ancient Greeks were the first to suggest that everything is made up of particles.
Democritus (460-370BC) believed that everything was made up of solid particles called
atoms, which are too small to be seen.

No one could prove the existence the existence of particles

until in 1927, a Scottish botanist called Robert Brown noticed
grains of pollen wiggling about in water. Today scientists have
developed some powerful ways of looking at things. The
scanning electron microscope (SEM) can produce an image of a
particle magnified millions of times. In 1979, it was used to
‘see’ single atoms of uranium and thorium.

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Particles in Solids, Liquids and Gases

Differences between solids, liquids and gases can be explained in terms of the arrangement,
forces between particles and movement of particles. The particle model represents
particles by small, solid spheres.

State of matter Particles in solids, liquids and gases

• The particles in a solid are packed tightly in a regular pattern.
• There are strong forces holding them together so they cannot
leave their positions.
• The only movements they make are tiny vibrations to and fro.
Solid
• They are still close together but are not in a fixed pattern.
• The forces that hold them together are weaker than in a solid.
• The particles in a liquid can move about and slide past each

Liquid other.

• The particles in a gas are far apart.

• There are almost no forces holding them together.
• They move about at high speeds and in a random manner.
They collide with each other and bounce off in all directions.
Gas

Kinetic Theory of Matter

This theory helps us understand how matter behaves. According to the kinetic theory of
matter; solids, liquids and gases are made up of tiny, moving, particles called
________________ which strongly attract each other when they are close together. These
atoms move all the time, however the higher the temperature, the more energy they have
and the faster they move.

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In a solid, the atoms are held together by strong forces of ______________________. The
atoms are only able to vibrate at a fixed position (from side to side and rotate on
themselves). They are arranged in a regular pattern [they are closely packed]. The forces of
attraction between atoms in a liquid are weaker, and therefore, although the atoms are still
held close together, they can move around. This gives liquids a fixed volume but not a fixed
shape. In a gas, the forces of attraction between the atoms are close to nothing, and so, the
atoms can move around freely at very high __________________ and quickly fill any space
available to them. As they move, they __________________ with each other and with the
walls of any container they happen to be in.

Changing State

We all like a cool drink on a hot day! Have you noticed what happens to the size of
the ice cubes in your glass? Yes….the ice slowly melts into your drink.

When you heat up a solid, like ice, it turns into a liquid. We say it changes state.
If you carry on heating, the liquid turns into a gas. A change of state occurs when a
substance is heated or cooled. These changes are physical changes because no new
substances are formed when substances change state. You can also reverse the change
quite easily.

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Change of state…… in terms of particles!

When a solid is heated its particles get more __________________ energy and vibrate more
quickly. This makes the solid __________________. Eventually the particles vibrate so much
that they begin to break free from each other because the heat energy overcomes the
forces of attraction between particles, and the bonds are broken. The solid starts
__________________ and it turns into a liquid.

If the liquid is heated further, the particles get more energy and move faster. Some particles
at the __________________ have enough energy to overcome the forces of attraction
between them and escape as a ____________. The liquid starts ______________________.
This is how puddles of rain dry up in sunshine.

With more heating, the liquid eventually _______________. At the boiling point, the
particles get enough energy to overcome the forces holding them together and break away
from the liquid into separate particles forming a gas.

Condensation and solidifying

• When a gas is cooled, the particles lose energy. They move more and more slowly.

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• When they are bumping into each other, they do not have enough energy to overcome
the forces that keep them stuck together. They stay close together and a liquid forms.
This is what happens during condensation.

• When the liquid is cooled, the particles slow down even more. Eventually, they stop
moving except for tiny vibrations and a solid forms. This process is called solidification.

Sublimation

When some solids like iodine, carbon dioxide (dry ice) and ammonium chloride are heated,
they immediately turn into a gas, skipping the liquid stage. This change of state is called
sublimation. When the substance is cooled it changes from gas to solid. It is important to
note that the particles themselves do not change when a substance changes state.

Heating/cooling curves

Heating curve

The below temperature vs time graph is called a heating curve. It also shows what happens
during the changes of state.

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1. First a solid is heated. Heat energy gives particles more kinetic energy which makes
them vibrate faster. As they vibrate faster, the temperature of the solid rises.

2. At a specific temperature known as the ______________________________, the

temperature stops rising and the solid starts turning into a liquid.

3. When the liquid is heated further, the temperature increases due to an increase in the
kinetic energy of the particles.

4. At the _____________________________, the temperature stops rising and the liquid

starts to turn into a gas.

Therefore, in a heating curve you will notice that there are two flat sections in the graph
showing that although you carry on heating the temperature stays the same for a while.
This takes place during the change of state, that is during melting and boiling, because at
this point, the energy is being used to separate the particles from each other, that is to
break bonds.

Cooling curve

Can you interpret the following cooling curve? This time, the gas is being cooled down so
the energy is being removed.

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1. As the temperature decreases, the ___________________ energy of the gas also

____________________.

2. The temperature remains the same when

________________________________________________________________________
and energy supplied is _____________________________________________________.

3. As the temperature continues to ___________________, the particles in a liquid lose

more energy and their kinetic energy decreases.

4. The flat section shows when the liquid freezes into a _________________ and more
bonds form. Heat energy is _____________________ to the surroundings as the solid
forms.

Criteria of Purity

The Melting Point and Boiling Point of Substances

We know that matter can change state from solid to liquid to gas. Such substances change
their state at particular temperatures. The _________________ _______________ is the
temperature at which a solid turns into a liquid. The temperature at which a liquid becomes
gas is called the _________________ _______________. Different substances have
__________________ melting points and boiling points. However, a ______________
substance has definite melting and boiling points. So, we may use melting and boiling points
to identify substances. [Melting point = Freezing point]

The Effect of Impurities on the Melting and Boiling Points

Impurities ____________________ the melting point of water. While pure water freezes at
________________, impure water will freeze at a lower temperature, e.g. _____________.
For this reason, salt is placed on icy roads. The salt will make the frozen water impure and
make it freeze at a lower temperature. Hence, it is more likely that the ice will melt if the
weather temperature is not very low.

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Impurities _____________________ the boiling point of water. While pure water boils at
________________, impure water will boil at a higher temperature, e.g. _____________.

For this reason, salt is placed in water when boiling pasta or potatoes. The salt will make
the water boil at a higher temperature. Therefore, the pasta will be cooking at a higher
temperature and it will cook faster.

Pressure in gases

When you blow up a balloon, you fill it with air particles moving at high speed. The particles
knock against the sides of the balloon and exert pressure on it. The pressure is what keeps
the balloon inflated. All gases exert pressure in the same way.

The pressure of a gas depends on the temperature of a gas and the volume
it fills as you shall see below.

1. How gas pressure changes with temperature

The gas particles are moving at high speed. They hit the walls of the container and exert
pressure on them. The same happens with all gases. If the gas is heated, the particles take in

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heat energy and move faster. They hit the walls more often and with more force. So the
gas pressure increases.

If the volume of a gas is kept constant, its pressure increases with

temperature.

2. How gas pressure changes with volume

Again, the gas exerts a pressure due to its particles colliding

with the walls of the container.

Now, the gas is squeezed into a smaller volume. So the

particles hit the walls more often. The gas pressure increases.

The same thing is true for all gases.

When a gas is squeezed into a smaller volume, its pressure increases (when
temperature is kept constant).

3. How gas volume changes with temperature

Now let us see what happens if the gas pressure is kept constant, but the temperature
changes.

The plunger in the container (left) can move in and out. When the gas is heated, particles hit
it more often and with more energy, so it moves out. This means that pressure does not
change. But now the gas fills a larger volume (i.e. the gas expands).

This concludes that:

If the pressure of a gas is constant, its volume increases with

temperature.

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Elements, compounds and mixtures

Elements

An element is a ____________ substance that cannot be ____________________________

into other simpler substances. This is because all the atoms in them are of the same type. So
different elements have different types of atoms. All known elements are listed in the
_____________________ _________________.

Elements are substances that contain only one type of __________________.

Atoms are very small and vary in size according to the particular element. For example, an
atom of hydrogen is __________________ than an atom of aluminium. The atoms of some
elements do not join together, but instead they stay as separate atoms, for example
helium. When atoms are joined together (by chemical bonds), a _____________________ is
formed, e.g. a molecule of water (H2O). The atoms of some elements pair up. When this
happens, these pair of atoms are called a __________________ __________________. E.g.
a diatomic molecule of chlorine (Cl2).

Molecules are groups of two or more atoms bonded together.

Symbols

Each element has its own name and chemical ________________. The latter is either one or
two letters and is a ‘language’ that all scientists understand. Most symbols are taken from
the elements’ English names; some are derived from their Latin names. You must always use

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a capital letter for the first letter of the symbol. If the symbol has a second letter, it is always
a small letter.

The Periodic Table

General properties of metals and non-metals

The majority of the elements in the Periodic table are of metallic nature, and only a few are
non-metals. Over three-quarters of the elements are metals. The following table compares
the common physical properties of metals and non-metals.

Metals Non-metals
Shiny Dull in appearance
Hard and strong Have low densities
Most are solids except for mercury About half are solids and half are liquids

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Malleable – can be made into different shapes Weak and brittle – can break easily
Ductile – can be made into wires Make a dull sound if hit
Good conductors of heat and electricity Poor conductors of heat and electricity

…some exceptions!
kith

• Lithium, sodium and potassium are soft metals (can be easily cut with a knife), and they
have low densities and low melting and boiling points. Mercury also has a low melting
point for a metal!

• Carbon is a good conductor of electricity when in the form of graphite. Carbon in the
form of diamond has a very high melting point.

Compounds

Compounds are formed when _____________________________ elements combine

chemically. For example, when hydrogen and oxygen combine chemically, ______________
(H2O) is formed. The chemical name for salt is ________________ ________________. Salt
is made up of the combination of two elements, i.e. _________________ and
_________________. When these elements combine, they form white sodium chloride
crystals (NaCl). All the above are ___________________ changes.

Compounds are substances that contain _______________ or ______________ types of

atoms chemically joined together.

Mixtures

A ______________ substance consists only of one element, such as gold, or a compound,

such as water. However, very few natural substances are pure. For example, rainwater
contains tiny amounts of other chemicals as well. Mixtures are a group of chemicals which
are not __________________ ___________________ together. Mixtures are present all
around us. For example:

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• ____________ is a mixture of gases: it is made up of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon

dioxide, water vapour and noble gases.
• ____________ is composed of clay, silt and sand.
• In lemonade, there are many dissolved substances: water, carbon dioxide bubbles,
sugar and citric acid.
• _____________ is a mixture of dyes.
• _____________ are a mixture of metals, e.g. brass (an alloy of copper and zinc).

Activity: Choose the correct letter that best describes the statement

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Physical and chemical changes

When a substance changes state there is a change involved. This is an example of a

_____________________ change since the particles do not change. When an ice cube melts
into water, the physical change does not produce any new substance; and is reversible.

A ____________________ change is one in which new substances are formed. When a

piece of bread is toasted, a chemical change occurs. Can you change the toasted bread back
into fresh bread? Surely not! Therefore, a chemical change: always produces any new
substance/s and is ______________________.

In chemistry, we study chemical changes mostly. Chemical changes are

brought about by chemical reactions.

The iron and sulfur experiment

In this experiment, you can look at the differences between a compound and the elements
that it is made from.

1. Collect a spatula of iron filings and a spatula of sulfur powder. Describe what they look
like.

Iron __________________________ Sulfur __________________________

2. Mix the iron and sulfur together with a spatula. This is called a _________________. Use
the hand lens provided to look closely at the mixture.

What does it look like? _____________________________________________________

How can you separate iron and sulfur? ________________________________________

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Since the mixture of iron and sulfur can be separated, this shows
that they are not yet chemically combined.

3. Put the mixture into a boiling tube. Heat it strongly in a fume

cupboard. [Take care to keep the flame away from the mouth
of the tube]. Stop heating once the reaction starts.

What do you observe in the boiling tube?

________________________________________________________________________

Can you separate the iron and sulfur after they are heated?

_______________________________________________________________________

The compound made from iron and sulfur is called iron(II) sulfide.

In step 3, a chemical change has occurred as iron has chemically bonded with sulfur to form
a new substance called iron(II) sulfide. The reaction can be shown by the chemical equation:

Fe (s) + S (s) → FeS (s)

Iron and sulfur are the __________________ while iron(II) sulfide is the ________________.

Substance Appearance Effect of magnet Effect of acid

Iron, Fe

Sulfur, S

Iron/sulfur
mixture

Iron sulfide, FeS

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Activity: Physical or chemical change?

1. Sugar is dissolved in a glass of water ___________________________

2. A metal rod is heated until it becomes red hot ___________________________

3. Making toast for breakfast ___________________________

4. A rotting apple ___________________________

5. Pieces of wood burning in a fireplace ___________________________

6. Making ice cubes ___________________________

7. Melting butter in a pan ___________________________

8. Combustion of petrol in a car engine ___________________________

9. Boiling some water ___________________________

10. Frying an egg ___________________________

11. Crumpled paper _____________________

12. Cutting slices of bread ___________________________

13. Milk goes sour ___________________________

14. Mixing vinegar and baking soda ___________________________

Mixed States

Making a solution

When we put some salt in water, it dissolves. The mixture of salt and water is called a
___________________. The solvent is the ________________ and the solute is the
___________________ (solvent + solute → solution). Remember that water is not the only
solvent for dissolving solutes, e.g. ethanol dissolves ink and propanone dissolves nail polish.

Making a saturated solution

When we add sugar to water, it dissolves. If we continue adding sugar, we arrive to a point
where the sugar does not dissolve anymore. We say we have a _____________________
___________________. The solution is saturated with sugar.

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Making a suspension

Some substances are soluble in water whereas others are not. Refer to the table below:

Soluble in water Insoluble in water

Salt (sodium chloride) powdered chalk

sugar stone
copper(II) sulfate crystals wood
sodium carbonate powder sand

When chalk is added to water, a milky mixture is obtained. Since chalk powder is
___________________ in water, we do not have a solution, but this time we have a
_____________________. The chalk particles are suspended in water. After some waiting
time, you can see that the chalk particles settle at the bottom of the container. The chalk
________________________ at the bottom.

Some examples of suspensions are:

• powdered chalk suspended in water

• muddy water (mud suspended in water)
• paints (suspension of coloured substances in several liquids

Liquid-liquid mixtures

_____________________ liquids are liquids which mix freely, e.g. orange squash with
water. On the other hand, _____________________ liquids do not mix together but remain
separate, one on top of the other.

Oil

Water

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Separating Mixtures

A) Separating solid/liquid mixtures

1. Filtration

This method is used to separate an ______________________ solid

from the __________________. The mixture is poured down a filter
funnel that has been lined with filter paper. Filtering separates the
solid from the liquid. The solid gets trapped in the filter paper and is
called the __________________. The solvent that goes down in the
conical flask is called the ____________________.

We use filtration to separate an insoluble solid from a liquid or a solution.

2. (i) Evaporation and (ii) Crystallisation

(i) This method is used to separate a ___________________ solid from the

_______________. When the liquid is heated, it ____________________ leaving the solid
behind in the container. (ii) A _____________________ solution is one which contains as
much solute as can be dissolved at that particular temperature. When the solvent is allowed
to evaporate, the solute ________________________. Please note that crystallisation is
often carried out rather than evaporation to dryness to avoid the thermal decomposition of
the crystals obtained. A water bath is especially used if the solvent is flammable, e.g.
ethanol. The dish is heated by the steam from the water in the beaker. The water bath
prevents overheating and decomposition of the solute.

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We use evaporation/crystallisation to separate a soluble solid

substance from a mixture.

3. Simple Distillation

Simple distillation is a technique used to separate a _________________ from a

__________________. it involves two processes. The below diagram shows the
experimental set-up that needs to be prepared for simple distillation.

Anti-bumping granules are added beforehand to the solution in the flask to avoid violent
boiling. As the solution is heated, the ________________ evaporates and passes through
the _________________________________, where it is cooled, so it condenses into the
second flask. The ___________________ remains in the first flask. A Liebig condenser
consists of a tube through which steam passes through a cooling jacket, which is filled with
water to cool the steam.

For example, if salt solution is distilled, the liquid which condenses is called the
_________________. It is colourless and presumed to be ________________. The solution
which remains in the first flask would become more concentrated in salt. If you would like to
obtain the salt afterwards, heating should be stopped and crystallisation carried out.

We use simple distillation to separate a solvent from a solution.

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B) Separating liquid/liquid mixtures

When two liquids do not mix completely with each other, we

say that the liquids are ____________________. Immiscible
liquids can be separated by means of a ________________
______________. The mixture is poured into the funnel and
the tap is opened slowly. The liquid at the bottom of the funnel
(the denser liquid) is allowed to drain into the bottom flask.
The diagram shows separation using the separating funnel.

4. Fractional distillation

Fractional distillation is a technique used to separate two ______________________ liquids

with close boiling points (e.g. a mixture of water and ethanol). The diagram below shows
the apparatus required for fractional distillation.

When the mixture is heated the liquid that has the

_______________ boiling point (ethanol) boils,
evaporates, passes through the
______________________________________ and is
then condensed into the second flask. The liquid that has
the _________________ boiling point (water) remains
in the first container. The fractionating column is a long
glass column, packed with glass beads. These will cool
the vapour and condense it back down into the heated
flask. In this way, the purity of the fractions increases.

Eventually, the thermometer reading rises above 78°C. This is a sign that all the ethanol has
been separated so heating can be stopped. Some anti-bumping granules are also added to
the mixture of ethanol and water (round-bottomed flask) beforehand to prevent violent
boiling.

We use fractional distillation to separate a mixture of two miscible liquids.

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C) Separating solid/solid mixtures

5. Sublimation

Let’s say we are given a mixture of two solids which are

both soluble, e.g. a mixture of ammonium chloride and
salt. It is possible for ammonium chloride to turn straight
into a gas without melting. This is because it
____________________. Note that this change is
______________________. Ammonium chloride is a
white solid which sublimes when heated. Other
substances that sublime include iodine and dry ice (solid carbon dioxide).

Sublimation is required to separate a mixture of two solids.

6. Chromatography

Chromatography is used to separate two or more dissolved solids in solution which vary in
solubility. For example, the separation of colours – dyes and inks. There are several types of
chromatography but they all follow the same principle. In ___________________
chromatography, a spot of dye is placed on the chromatography paper. The paper is then
set in an appropriate solvent according to solubility of the dye. If the dye is water soluble,
__________________ is used as the solvent. If the dye is alcohol-based, ________________
is used as the solvent. As the solvent travels up the chromatography paper, the dyes are
carried with it and begin to _____________________. The separation occurs because the
different substances making up the dye have different _______________________. The
resulting chromatography paper is known as a ___________________________.

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