Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 6

All materials can be considered to be matter. Matter is anything around us that has mass and occupies space.

There are three main states of matter: solid, liquid, gas. They consist of very small moving particles. These particles differ in size, mass, arrangement and behaviour. These particles are in constant motion. In solids: 1. the particles are closely packed together 2. the particles have a fixed position in relation to other particles which rotate about a fixed point 3. fixed volume 4. fixed shape In liquids: 1. the particles are closer together than gases 2. the particles have a vibratory motion 3. fixed volume 4. assume the shape of the container In gases: 1. the particles are further apart than in liquids and solids 2. the particles are freer to move than in liquids and solids 3. if placed in a container, the particles of gas would assume the shape of the container 4. if placed in a container, the particles of a gas would assume the volume of the container Particles of the different states of matter behave differently because they have different energy levels. Freezing point is the same as melting point. Boiling point is the same as condensation point. Atoms of the same element are similar; atoms of different elements differ in size, mass and chemical behaviour. Chlorine is a gas used to purify water. An element is a chemical substance which is composed of one type of atom. An atom is the smallest part of an element that retains the properties of the element. However, there are sub-atomic particles, viz., protons, neutrons and electrons.

All atoms have a nucleus in the centre. Protons and neutrons are found in the nucleus of the atom while electrons move in paths around the nucleus. Protons have a positive electric charge; electrons have a negative electric charge; neutrons have no electric charge. An atom has the same number of protons as electrons: therefore, atoms are not charged. Nuclear power is released when atoms are broken. Hydrogen atoms have 2 electrons on 1 orbit. Carbon atoms have 6 electrons and 2 orbits. Calcium atoms have 20 electrons and 4 orbits. However, they all have 1 nucleus. No two elements have the same number of protons and electrons. The discovery of some elements took place after the Stone Age. There are about 92 natural elements but there are a few artificially made in nuclear reactions. Some of these elements occur in the earths crust in large quantities either by themselves or in compounds. There are two elements which occur naturally as liquids: mercury and bromine. There are 118 elements on the periodic table. N2, O2, Cl2 and H2 are diatomic elements. Water is not an element- it is a compound: H2O. The composition of elements on the earths crust is as follows: 1. Oxygen- 50% 2. Silicon- 23% 3. Aluminium- 8% 4. Iron- 5% 5. Calcium- 3.5% 6. Sodium- 2.7% 7. Potassium- 2.5% 8. Magnesium- 2% 9. Hydrogen- 1% 10. The rest- 2.1% Aluminium- Al Calcium- Ca Carbon- C

Chlorine- Cl Hydrogen- H Iron- Fe Oxygen- O Sodium- Na Sulphur- S Lead- Pb Magnesium- Mg Silver- Ag Nitrogen- N Helium- He Gold- Au These symbols are abbreviations of the names e.g. hydrogen- H and helium- He, or abbreviations of the Latin words e.g. iron (ferrum)- Fe, sodium (natrium)- Na. A compound is the new substance formed when two or more different elements are combined or react together chemically. Compounds are called molecules because they consist of different types of elements bonded together. They can be broken down into elements. Glaubers salt- sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) - laxative Vinegar- acetic acid/ ethanoic acid- preservative Table salt- sodium chloride (NaCl) - seasoning Baking soda- sodium bicarbonate- raising agent Sugar-sucrose (C11H22O12) - sweetening agent Water-hydrogen oxide (H2O)- universal solvent Salt petre- potassium nitrate (KNO3) - preservative Epsom salts- magnesium sulphate- laxative Carbon dioxide- CO2 Magnesium chloride- MgCl2 Aluminium oxide- Al2O3 Compounds made from two elements bear names which end in ide e.g. sodium chloride, magnesium oxide. Compounds made from three elements which usually include oxygen, have names sometimes ending in ate e.g. potassium nitrate. Some compounds have names ending in ite e.g. sodium sulphite, potassium sulphite. Chemical formulae are the formulae of compounds which denote one molecule of the compound, using chemical symbols and numbers. They are used to identify the elements present and the proportions in which they are found.

A subscript is the little number in chemical formulae which denotes the number of each type of atom present in each molecule of the compound. When elements combine, the nucleus of the element is not changed. However, the outer paths or shells rearrange during the reaction; the electrons on the outer path are used in bonding during a reaction. In an oxygen atom, there are six electrons in the outer shell. If that shell had two more electrons, the element would be totally unreactive. (An element becomes totally unreactive or stable when all the shells are full. The first shell requires two electrons to be full; the second, third, fourth and fifth shells require eight electrons). The calcium atom has two electrons in the outer shell. When calcium combines with oxygen, each calcium atom gives up the two outer electrons to the outer shell of each atom of oxygen. By the combination, each element becomes totally unreactive or stable. Ions are atoms which have received or given electrons. Unlike atoms, ions are charged. Before reacting, the calcium atom had twenty protons and twenty electrons. After the reaction, the calcium ion still has twenty protons but has eighteen electrons: the calcium atom has two more units of positive charge than negative charge and has the formula Ca2+. The reactions that occur can be expressed in the form of a chemical equation e.g. magnesium+ oxygen= magnesium oxide, sulphur+ oxygen= copper sulphide, aluminium+ oxygen= aluminium oxide. Cane-sugar (sucrose- C12H22O11) is manufactured from the juice of cane sugar. 1. The juice is extracted from the cane. 2. Then, the chemical, calcium hydroxide, is added to the juice and the mixture is boiled. This chemical causes impurities to collect in such a way to make their removal easy (clarification). 3. The mixture is then filtered. 4. The clear syrup that is left is boiled in a special way until a mixture of brown sugar crystals and molasses is formed. 5. The mixture is cooled and molasses is then separated from the crystals by a machine called a centrifuge. The by-products of cane sugar are: 1. Molasses- used in the distilling industry to manufacture rum and other alcoholic beverages, to produce vinegar and acetic acid and as medicine for cattle 2. Bagasse- used as fuel when boiling the cane 3. Filter mud- used as fertiliser in the cane fields Rum is mainly ethanol or ethyl alcohol. Rum is made by the process of fermentation followed by distillation.

Fermentation is caused by the presence and action of yeast. Fermentation is seen in home-made wine-making when the ripe fruit such as jamoon, is mixed with sugar, yeast and a little water and left in a sealed jar and there are some changes: The amount of liquid in the jar seems to increase and later bubbles rise to the surface of the liquid. Spores of yeast are floating around in the air all the time. The yeast cells grow on the sugar and produce alcohol. This is called anaerobic respiration. When molasses is allowed to ferment, rum is produced. After some time, it is distilled. The distillation process is carried out in stills and the rum is stored in casks to mature. This adds to its flavour. Ammonia (NH3) is an important gas manufactured from the elements, nitrogen and hydrogen. Ammonia is used in the manufacture of nitric acid, fertilisers, nylon and other man-made fibres. Nitric acid is used in the manufacture of explosives, fertilisers, dyes and many more chemicals. Electrolysis is the process by which an electric current passes through a solution and breaks it up. The solution contains ions (particles). Copper chloride gives a blue solution when dissolved in water. When the chlorine had passed over the copper, the metal became red hot. This showed that a lot of energy was given out during the reaction. Therefore, the method of separation must put back that energy that was given off. Heating solutions strongly can sometimes break up compounds but it does not break up copper chloride. Copper chloride must be separated by electricity. If you connect two carbon rods from batteries to a battery or a low voltage supply of electricity, place the rods in the copper chloride solution and close the switch, after a few minutes, one of the electrodes will be covered with a reddish coloured substance and the other with tiny bubble of gas. The reddish substance is the copper. The bubbles are chlorine. The copper would be on the negative terminal and the chlorine would be on the positive terminal. Bauxite is a reddish brown rock found in some parts of Guyana. Bauxite is impure aluminium oxide. Electrolysis is used to separate aluminium from aluminium oxide.

1. The impure aluminium oxide is boiled in sodium hydroxide solution in order to purify it. This purification is done in the country where the bauxite is mined. The impurity removed is brown iron oxide. The pure alumina is white powder. Alumina is insoluble in water and has a very high melting point. 2. An unusual solvent, a mineral cryolite, which itself contains aluminium is used. The alumina is dissolved in molten cryolite at a temperature of about 9000C in iron tanks. A very high current of about 10 000A is used. 3. Aluminium and oxygen are produced. 4. The carbon burns away and has to be replaced from time to time. The high temperature in this electrolysis is sufficient to keep the contents of the tank molten. 5. The aluminium runs off from the bottom of the tank and is cast into bars. It is not economical to do this type of refining in countries like Jamaica and Guyana since electricity is not cheap in these countries. The process is done overseas. However, it would be beneficial to countries in which bauxite is mined, since it would mean more jobs and money. Aluminium is used to make pots, pans, trucks, chassis for aeroplanes, roof sheeting and baking pans.

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi