For those taking science stream in Form 4, Chemsitry will be a new subject that are most likely within

your subject combination choices. It might seemed difficult in the beginning. You might even hear stories from seniors about how chemistry gives you sleepless nights. Or stories of exploding chemicals. Dont fret, chemistry is not all too bad if everybody is attentive to their teachers and observe lab safety regulations. Berry Berry Easy would like to share with allBerry Readers the introduction to chemistry. Berry Berry Teacher has decided to make it very short so that students do not feel overwhelmed by new things. If you can fully understand what is written below, then you are cut out to do chemistry. SPM Form 4 Notes Terminology and Concepts: Introduction to Chemistry Chemistry and Its Importance Chemistry earlier study of alchemy (an art of transforming common metals to precious metals, usually lead to gold but to no success) (alchemy has since been proven to be a wrong and currently dead branch of science) Chemistry is the study of the composition, structure, properties and interactions of matter. Founder of Modern Chemistry (try and read up on the history of these two great men) 1. 2. Robert Boyle (1627-1691) performed controlled experiments and published his work with elaborate details such as procedure, apparatus and observations. Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) developed the Law of Conservation of Mass and thetheory of combustion. Scientific Method 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Making Observation Making Inference (smart guess) Identifying the Problem Making a Hypothesis Identifying the Variables Controlling the Variables Planning an Experiment Collecting Data Interpreting Data

10. Making a Conclusion 11. Writing a Report If you observe all 11 steps, you will be a young scientist in the making. Try to enjoy the process of learning chemistry. Berry Berry Important subject if you intend to further your career in the field of engineering.

Among the most basic knowledge in chemistry would be understanding the structure of atom. The understanding of terms and concepts of all the important keywords and key phrases would be crucial in gaining further knowledge in chemistry. Fortunately, the structure of atoms has been simplified for SPM Form 4 students to make it less abstract and more intuitive for students to understand them. It will also be helpful to start to memorise the periodic table for now. (If there as anything that you should memorise, it should be the periodic table. As it could save you more time in the long run) Nonetheless, Berry Berry Teacher hopes that everybody try to understand at minimum the following concepts as terminology before moving on to other topics. SPM Form 4 Terminology and Concepts: The Structure of the Atom Important Terms Matter anything that occupies space and has mass. Compound a substance consists two or more elements that are chemically bonded (molecule or ions).

Element a substance that cannot be made into anything simpler by chemical reaction. Atom smallest particle of an element. Molecule a group of two or more atoms. Ion a positively charged / negatively charged particle. Cations positively-charge ions. Example: H+, K+, NH4+ and Mg2+ Anions negatively-charge ions. Example: Br-, OH-, O2- and S2O32Velocity of the particle increases when  Temperature increases  Kinetic energy increases Diffusion movement of particles from a region of high concentration to a region of lowconcentration. Changes in the States of Matter 1. Freezing / Solidification liquid -> solid 2. Melting solid -> liquid 3. Evaporation liquid -> gas / vapour 4. Condensation gas / vapour -> liquid 5. Sublimation gas / vapour -> solid 6. Sublimation solid -> gas / vapour (Sublimation iodine, ammonium chloride and solid carbon dioxide) Important Scientist and Their Contributions Berry Berry Teacher thinks that it will be good if students can link the contribution of each great scientists to their findings. This will allow a chronological understanding of the discoveries (for easier understanding) and to appreciate the work of these fine scientist. John Dalton (1808) atomic theory 1. Atoms small indivisible particles. 2. Atoms neither created nor destroyed. 3. Atoms an element are alike. 4. Atoms it combine in simple ratio. 5. Atoms chemical reactions result from combination / separation of atoms. J. J. Thomson (1897) 1. Electrons negatively-charged particles. 2. Atoms positively-charged sphere. Ernest Rutherford (1911) 1. Atoms consists of a positively-charged nucleus with a cloud of electrons surrounding nucleus. 2. Protons positively-charged particles. Niels Bohr (1913) 1. Electrons surrounding the nucleus (orbit). James Cadwick (1932) 1. Neutrons electrically neutral subatomic particles. 2. Neutrons mass almost the same with a proton.

3. Nucleus of an atom consists of protons and neutrons. Concepts of the Atomic Model Modern Atomic Model 1. Nucleus of an atom consists of protons and neutrons. 2. Electrons moving around the nucleus (orbits / electron shells/ quantum shells) Proton number / Atomic number / Number of protons 1. Number of protons in its atom. 2. Number of electrons (neutral atom). Nucleon number / Mass number / Number of nucleon 1. Sum of the number protons and neutrons. Isotopes atoms of the same element with same proton number but different nucleonnumbers. (Further clarification on isotopes as there are still students who are confused with this concept Isotopes for any elements simply means that it is another element with the same number of proton and electron but different number of neutrons. It is important to note that the atomic number of isotopes are the same, although the mass number is different. If you can understand this concept, you should be okay)