Grade Ten Science Study Notes

By Bridget Walsh (yeea bitch, y’all owe me)

Basics (review from grd. 9 periodic table stuff)

• Groups are important in the periodic table because they share similar
chemical reactivity due to their valence electrons

• The number of protons increases as you move left to right on the periodic
table

• The atomic radius decreases because of the increased force of attraction

• Reactivity decreases when you move vertically down the periodic table
because the force of attraction decreases due to extra orbits: the electrons
are farther from the nucleus

Unit One- Chemistry

• Noble gases have filled valence shells

• Any atom may aquire a valence shell like that of its closest noble gas in one
of three ways

o An atom may give up electrons

o An atom may gain electrons

o An atom may share electrons

• Any atom or group of atoms that carries an electrical charge is called an ion.
When a neutral atom gives up an electron it is called a cation

o When a neutral atom gains an electron it is called a anion

• When 2 atoms collide, valence electrons on each atom react. A chemical

bond forms it is either:

o Ionic

 Substances that are composed of cations and anions are called

ionic compounds and are joined by ionic bonds. A metal+non-
metal= ionic compound

o Covalent
  Atoms that share a pair of electrons are joined by a covalent
bond. 2 non-metals form covalent bonds. These are known as
molecular compounds.

• Hydrogen gas is formed when 2 hydrogen atoms react so that one pair of
electrons is shared between two atoms

• Compounds that contain 2 different elements are called binary compounds

Writing Names and Formulas of Binary Compounds

• If you are given the formula, count the number of different elements; NaCl
and MgCl₂ are binary compounds but KOH is not it has 3 different elements.

• If you are given the name, look to the end. If is ends in “ide” its usually
binary. Ex. Hydrogen sulphide

• Deciding if the name or formula refers to ionic or molecular compound:

o To help: ask yourself two questions

 Which types of elements combine to form ionic compounds?

 Which types of elements combine to form molecular

compounds? See above

• See page 157 in the textbook for help with the crossover method (ufa kids
only unless you have the sciencepower 10 textbook)

• Some elements have more than one cation!!!

o And example is iron, In iron (II) sulfide the iron cation must be Fe²⁺ and
the sulphur anion is S²⁺. So using the cross over method, the final
formula is FeS.

• In a chemical equation reactants are on the right and products are on the left

• An electrolyte is a substance that dissolves in water producing a solution that

is able to conduct electricity

• Energy releasing reactions are exothermic ex. An explosion

• Energy absorbing reactions are endothermic ex. Electrolysis (separating a

compound into its compound elements)
 • In a synthesis reaction two or more reactants combine to produce a new
product A+B=AB

• In a decomposition reaction a compound breaks down into simpler

compounds or elements AB=A+B

• In single displacement one element takes the place of another A+ BX=AX+B

• In double displacement the cations of two different compounds switch places

AB+XY= AY+XB

• Metals differ in their reactivity. Chemists use their knowledge of single

displacement reactions to form the activity series. This is useful for
predicting if a reaction will occur. If an element is lower on the list it will not
displace the element and no reaction will take place

 Example: Would it be possible to store a silver spoon in a zinc nitrate

solution? That is, will the following reaction occur:

Ag(s) + Zn(NO3)2 (aq) → 2 AgNO3 (aq)+ (aq) + Zn (s)

Since silver is below zinc on the chart, silver metal will not be oxidized by zinc.
Therefore it would be safe to store the silver spoon in the zinc solution; the silver
spoon will not undergo oxidation and corrode.

Unit 2- Acids and Bases

• And acid is a substance that produces hydrogen ions in solution

• A base is a substance that produces hydroxide ions in solution

• Some common indicators are litmus and phenolphthalein paper

• An oxide is a compound that consists of an element combined with only

oxygen

• Scientists use a pH scale to assess the acidity of a substance. 7 is neutral,

below 7 is where acids are found and above 7 are bases

• The lower the number on the ph scale the higher the concentration of
hydrogen atoms

• Acids turn blue litmus paper red, Bases turn red litmus paper blue

• Neutralization- An acid plus a base equals a salt, that’s why when orange
juice tastes salty if your drinking it right after you brushed your teeth, they
base (toothpaste) reacts with the acid (orange juice) to form a salt, water is
also produced
 • acids taste sour, bases taste bitter

• Ionization is separating compounds into their ion form

• The term percent ionization refers to how many molecules that will ionize
out of 100. Strong acids ionize 100% like sulphuric acid. Weak acids only
partially ionize

Acid rain

Explain why unpolluted rain has a ph of 5.5?

Answer: Unpolluted rain has a ph of 5.5 because the naturally occurring carbon
dioxide reacts with the water droplets in the atmosphere to create carbonic acid.
CO₂+HOH= H₂CO₃

• Acid rain is rain contaminated or polluted with either sulphur dioxide or

nitrogen oxide. These pollutants react with the water droplets to create
acid rain. Acid rain has a lower ph than regular rain.

Unit 3- Biology

• Eutrophication is the build up of nutrients in an aquatic ecosystem. It is

caused by a run off which carries nitrates to a water system. The build up of
nitrates casuses a build up of plants on the surface. This blocks the sunlight
from reaching the plants in deeper water. These plants now cannot perform
photosynthesis and create food for themselves so they die. Since they are no
longer producing oxygen, causing oxygen depletion. The decomposers
flourish feeding on the excess decaying matter, causing further oxygen
depletion due to increased cellular respiration. The changing conditions cause
fish and other animals to die.

• Equations for photosynthesis and respiration

o 6 CO₂+6 HOH-C₆H₁₂O₆+ 6 O₂ (photosynthesis)

o C₆H₁₂O₆+ 6 O₂ -6 CO₂+6 HOH (respiration)

• See below for the carbon and nitrogen cycles  nitrogen is first followed by
carbon

• Plants take in more CO₂ than they give off because the plant builds biomass

• Photosynthesis is for both biomass and energy, respiration is just for energy

• Carbohydrates are made by plants in photosynthesis

• Protein facilitates all chemical reactions in living organisms

• Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds (carbon combined
with hydrogen alone or plus other elements

• Biochemistry is the chemistry of living things

• Hydrocarbons are the result of the partial decomposition of biomolecules,

also commonly known as fossil fuels

•
•

Unit Four- Climate

• The sun emits energy in a wider range of frequencies than the earth
mostly in the visible light range

• Water has a high specific heat capacity therefore it requires more

energy to change its temperature

• In heat transfer by conduction colliding particles transfer kinetic

energy highly energetic atoms collide with less energized atoms giving
them some energy (in the form of heat)

• In heat transfer by radiation heat moves through space in

electromagnetic waves until it comes in contact with matter

• In heat transfer by convection particles vibrating at higher rates move

from place to place creating convection currents. Like water boiling
• Absolute humidity is the actual amount of water vapour in the air in
units

• Saturated air is the maximum amount of water vapour the air can hold
at a specific temperature

• Relative humidity is the percentage of water vapour in the air in

comparison to the amount it would have if it were saturated

• “sea breezes”

o The dry land gets hotter than the water during the day because
the water has a higher specific heat capacity. The warm air
rises, expands and cools and falls to the water. The wind created
blows it back to land where it is heated again, the air is heated
thusly by convection.

• Formulas

o Specific heat capacity

 Q= mc∆T or when solving for a change in temperature

∆T=Q/mc

o Water in air

 Relative humidity=absolute humidity/ saturation humidity

x100

• Longitude refers to distances east or west of the prime meridian

• The polar zones are colder because of the curvature of the earth,
although a lot of light reaches them the light density is different , 1
beam of light at the equator can heat 1km² whereas 1 beam of light at
a polar zone will have to heat 2km². By having the heat spread over a
greater distance the overall temperature decreases

• The seasons occur because the axis of the earth is tilted and the earth
orbits around the sun

• A positive feedback loop is defined as a process in which the result

amplifies the original process

• The earths long wave infared radiation is what heats the troposphere
so the heat is coming from below. As the warm air rises it cools and
expands and falls back down to be reheated
 • The albedo effect is the reflection of the sun’s rays of one substance
compared with another, example ice reflects more than water through
positive feedback loops this can contribute to climate change

• Factors that determine local climate

o Topography

o Local bodies of water

• Factors that contribute to global climate change

o Latitude

o World wide winds

o Ocean currents

• Ozone is a greenhouse gas only when present in the troposphere

• The conveyor belt is a major ocean current moving water from the
equator to the poles travelling across the hemispheres this water
current is caused by differences in temperature and salinity

• Thermal expansion is when the volume of matter increases as its

temperature increases

Unit five- Light and Optics

• Light is a form of energy

• Visible light is composed of a continuous sequence of colors called the visible

spectrum

• The process of producing light as a result of high temperature is called

incandescence

• The sun is luminous which means it produces its own light

• A non-luminous source does not produce its own light and can only been seen
using reflected light

• Electrical discharge is produced by electric current passing through a gas.

Like lightening or neon lights
• Phosphorescence give off light primarily through ultra violet light, often
described as glow in the dark because light is emitted over a period of time

• Fluorescence occurs when an object absorbs ultraviolet and immediately

releases it back as visible light

• Phosphorescence is the same process as fluorescence just slower

• A mirror doesn’t scatter light, every molecule is reflected @ the same angle

• All electromagnetic energy travels at the same speed

• The original incoming light ray is called the incident ray, the ray that bounces
back is the reflected ray

• The normal is the line that is perpendicular to the reflecting mirror (or a 90
degree angle)

• The angle of incidence is the angle between the incident ray and the normal

• The angle of reflection is the angle between the reflected ray and the normal

• A concave mirror faced inward like this: )

• A convex mirror faces outward like this: (

• Parallel rays are like this =

• Converging rays come together at a focal point

• Diverging rays go outward in different directions