Date: _______________ Lab No.

:________ SBA:________

TOPIC: States of Matter

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Two sisters Martha, and Ruth, had gone to the country to spend
summer holidays with their aunt. Upon returning home and unpacking their knapsacks, Martha
realised that the clear plastic bag which she had placed her wet rag in had water droplets on the
inside. Surprisingly, her sister’s bag with her wet rag did not have as much water droplets as
Martha’s own. Ruth concluded that this was because of Martha’s knapsack being in the back of
their aunt’s pick-up van exposed to the sun while her bag had travelled with her in front of the van.
Plan and design an experiment to account for the sisters’ findings.

HYPOTHESIS: ……………………………………………………………………………………
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AIM: ……………………………………………………………………………….
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APPARATUS/MATERIALS: …………………………………………………………
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METHOD: ………………………………………………………………………….
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Date: _______________ Lab No.:________ SBA:________

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VARIABLES:
● Independent/manipulated variable: …………………………………………………
● Dependent/responding variable: ……………………………………………………
● Controlled variable: ………………………………………………………………..

EXPECTED RESULTS: ……………………………………………………………………..

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ASSUMPTION/PRECAUTION/SOURCE OF ERROR: ………………………………..

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 Date: _______________ Lab No.:________ SBA:________

MARKSCHEME
SKILL: PLANNING AND DESIGN

Criteria Marks Teacher’s Moderator’s

allotted marks marks
Hypothesis
● Clearly stated 1
1
● Testable

Aim
● Related to hypothesis 1

Materials and apparatus

● Appropriate materials and apparatus 1

Method
● Suitable 1
1
● At least one manipulated or responding variable

Controlled variable
● Controlled variable stated 1

Expected results
● Reasonable 1
1
● Link with method

Assumption/precautions/possible source of error

● Any ONE stated 1

Total 10

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Date: _______________ Lab No.:________ SBA:________

TOPIC: States of Matter

AIM: To investigate diffusion in gases using ammonia and hydrochloric acid.

APPARATUS/MATERIALS: cotton ammonia glass tube

retort stand hydrochloric acid

DIAGRAM OF APPARATUS:

DIAGRAM SHOWING SET UP OF EXPERIMENT

THEORY: Matter can be solid, liquid, or gaseous. One can distinguish amongst these states
because of their physical properties such as shape, volume and ease of flow. These properties can
be linked to the theory that matter is made up of particles. This is known as the
______________________. Whether matter exist as a solid, liquid or gas is determined by the
arrangement of the particles within and the strength of the attraction between the particles.

METHOD:
1. Place a glass tube at least 1m in length between two retort stands.
2. Soak separate pieces of cotton wool in a concentrated ammonia solution of a concentrated
hydrochloric acid solution and place them simultaneously at each end of the glass tube.
3. Seal the ends of the glass tube with rubber stoppers.
4. Allow time for the ammonia and hydrogen chloride vapours to diffuse and observe any
changes.

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Date: _______________ Lab No.:________ SBA:________

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OBSERVATION/RESULTS:
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CALCULATIONS:

1. Imagine that it took 10 minutes for the white ring to form. Calculate the rate of diffusion of
each gas if the white ring was formed on the 30 cm mark.

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Date: _______________ Lab No.:________ SBA:________

DISCUSSION:
1. How did the white ring form? Explain the process.
2. What is the name of the solid that forms the white ring?
3. Write a worded and chemical equation for the chemical reaction.
4. Which gas is denser? Account for the distance travelled by the two gases.
5. If all air had been sucked out of the glass tube before the experiment, would the
rates be affected? Explain your answer.
6. Explain TWO evidence for the particulate theory of matter based on the
experiment.
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PRECAUTION: ……………………………………………………………………………………
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CONCLUSION: …………………………………………………………………………………...
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 Date: _______________ Lab No.:________ SBA:________

MARKSCHEME
SKILL: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Criteria Marks Teacher’s Moderator’s

allotted marks marks
Makes accurate calculations from data
2
● Correct rate of diffusion of ammonia
2
● Correct rate of diffusion of hydrochloric acid

Equation
● Balanced chemical equation for reaction in experiment
2
(must include state symbols)

Background information/theory
1
● Correctly fill in the blank with ‘particle theory’

Evaluates data from experiment

1
● List ONE precaution taken

Logical conclusion
1
● Stated
1
● Linked to aim

Total 10

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