S1 Chemistry Notes

Atoms
Everything in the world is either a solid, a liquid, or a gas. Scientists say that
solids, liquids and gases are the three states of matter.

Solids
Bricks are solid. They do not change their shape. Their volume is also fixed.
We say that these are the properties of a solid.
Solids have fixed shapes and volumes.

Liquids
Water is a liquid. Liquids can flow. When we pour water from a test tube into the
beaker, the water flows and changes its shape to fit the shape of the beaker. If we
pour 50 cm3 of water from the test tube we expect that the beaker will contain 50
cm3 of water. Liquids change their shape but have a fixed volume.

Gas
Air is a gas. Gases can flow. When we pour water from a test tube into a beaker,
the gas flows and changes its shape to fit the shape of the beaker. Unlike liquids
the gas can also change its volume. Gases can change their shape and their
volume.

Atoms
Scientists explain the properties of solids, liquids, and gases by talking about at-
oms. Atoms are like small balls. They are so small that if we placed 1,000,000,000
atoms end to end the line would be about 1 metre long.

We think that the atoms in a solid are packed closely together.

The atoms do not move. This explains why solids have a constant
shape and volume.

In a liquid we believe that the atoms are still closely packed Gases are easily compressed
together, but that they are free to flow. This explains why liquids because of the large spaces
between their particles.
can change their shape but cannot change their volume.

Gases are more complex. The atoms can move freely in three
dimensions. They are only held together by the container the gas
is kept in. The atoms are constantly moving, colliding with the
walls of the container.
This explains why gases have a variable shape and volume.

Solids, like the concrete this

bridge is made from do not
compress easily because their
particles are close together.

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S1 Chemistry Notes

Melting and Boiling

When ice at 0oC is heated the temperature of the ice does not change. The heat
energy is used to change the solid particles in free moving liquid particles. When we
melt a substance the temperature does not change, the substance simply changes
from a solid to a liquid.

Ice Melts 00C

In a similar way, when water at 100oC

is heated the Particles in a solid temperature Particles in a liquid does not in-
crease, the water at 100oC turns
into steam at 100oC.
When we melt or boil a substance we do not increase the temperature, the added
energy simply increases the particles’ freedom to move.
Water Boils 1000C

The Water Cycle.

The diagram below shows the names given to the changes when water, ice, and
steam change from one state of matter to another.

These changes all

happen in nature. The If you put the wrong
way in which water things down the sink,
circulates in nature is called the water cycle. such as cooking oil and
The diagram below shows the water cycle. dairy products it blocks
the water cycle, cost-
ing us all money!

Likewise with the toilet.

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S1 Chemistry Notes

Solutions Salty water solution

If some salt is added to water and the mixture shaken the salt
disappears.
We say that the salt has dissolved in the water, to make a
solution.
Substances which dissolve are said to be soluble. Substances
which do not dissolve are said to be insoluble.

Making a solution

Solvent, solute, Solution

Sugar
Sugar dissolves in water. The liquid which does the
dissolving, the water, is called the solvent.
The substance which is dissolved, the sugar, is called
the solute.
The mixture, the sugary water, is the solution.

Coffee is a complex solution, which

contains among other chemicals, the A saturated solution.
drug caffeine Sea water is a
solution of salt in
water.
One litre of water contains 20 Water
grams of salt. This is a saturated solution of salt in
water.

Solutions everywhere! Sea water contains a large amount of

dissolved salt—it is a solution.
Many things are solutions, Irn Bru contains fla-
vourings, colourings and carbon dioxide which are all dissolved in water.

Sugary water solution—

Sugar dissolves, it is
soluble.
The Irn Bru is a solution.
The water is the solvent.
The flavourings, colourings and carbon dioxide
are the solutes.

Irn Bru is a solution that we drink.

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S1 Chemistry Notes

Separating things
In chemistry it is important to be able to separate one substance from another.
We can see an example of this type of separation in the production of sugar
from sugar cane.
Sugar cane is a bamboo like plant which grows
well in hot countries. The cane contains about
10% sugar mixed with many other things. Pure
sugar can be obtained by using three chemical
techniques
1. Dissolving
Purified cane sugar
2. Filtration
3. Evaporation

Filtration
Filtration is a simple way of removing an insoluble substance from water. The mix-
ture is poured through a filter paper.
Insoluble substances are trapped in the filter
paper, water and other dissolved substances pass
through the paper into the beaker.

Evaporation
Evaporation is a simple way of separating a
dissolved substance from water. The mixture is Sea salt is made by
placed in an evaporating basin and heated. evaporating sea water
The water boils and turns into steam leaving the to leave the salt be-
dissolved solid in hind.
the basin.

Rock salt
Rock salt is a mixture of sand and salt which is ob-
tained from mines, the sand and salt can be sepa-
rated by.
1. Adding water, the salt dissolves, the sand
does not.
2. Filtering, this removes the insoluble sand
from the salt solution.
3. Evaporating the salt solution, this removes the
water and leaves the salt.

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S1 Chemistry Notes

Chemical Elements
Elements and the Periodic Table
Everything in the world is made up of substances called elements. There are about
100 different elements in the world. The elements are listed in the periodic table of
the elements.
Modern computers
use element No. 14—
Each element has a name and a symbol. Hydrogen is the lightest of all the elements Silicon

Many thermometers
used to record high
temperatures contain
and has the symbol H. The next lightest element is Helium which has the symbol element No. 80—
He. Mercury, which is a
liquid.

Hydrogen is the simplest and smallest atom of any element. It is

given an atomic number of 1.

Helium is the next simplest element, it is given the atomic An atom of Hydrogen
number 2.

Most elements are made of much more complicated atoms.

Carbon, an element found in all living things has an atomic

number of 6, and has the symbol C.
An atom of Helium

As you can see the atoms of different elements are different

from each other. But atoms of the same element are the same as
each other.
Mendeleev, a Russian
chemist who made
the first periodic ta-
ble in 1867.
An atom of Carbon

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S1 Chemistry Notes

Compounds
Making compounds
When a piece of magnesium is held in
tongs and heated in a Bunsen flame it
burns brightly to form a white powder.
This powder is a compound of magnesi-
um and oxygen. The two elements have
joined to make a new substance called
magnesium oxide.

Salt is Sodium Chlo-

Heating magnesium changes it into mag- ride - a compound
The space shuttle gets its power by nesium oxide. made of Sodium and
burning hydrogen with oxygen. Chlorine.
The hydrogen and oxygen react together to form a
compound called hydrogen oxide- this is the chemi-
cal name for water. The clouds of ‘smoke’ seen
when the shuttle launches are in fact clouds of
steam.

Launching the space shuttle. Naming Compounds

The name of a compound tells us the elements present in the compound. Rust has
the chemical name Iron oxide. It contains the elements iron and oxygen.

The ‘stinky’gas which comes from bad

eggs is called hydrogen sulfide.
The name tells us that it contains
hydrogen and sulfur.

Water is Hydrogen
Oxide, a compound
made of hydrogen and
The bubbles in beer contain the gas carbon oxygen.
dioxide- a compound of carbon and oxy- As cars get older iron changes into iron
gen. The Di part of the name tells us that oxide—rust.
there are two atoms of
oxygen for every atom of carbon.

Aspirin is a very com-

plicated chemical
which contains only 3
elements.

Carbon dioxide bubbles

in a pint of beer.

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S1 Chemistry Notes

Complex Compounds
Until now we have only looked at compounds made from two elements. More
complicated compounds exist. Any compound whose name ends in ate contains
oxygen. e.g.

Potassium sulfate contains potassium, sulfur, and oxygen.

Sodium carbonate contains sodium, carbon, and oxygen.

Aluminium nitrate contains aluminium, nitrogen, and oxygen.

Similarly the ending -ite also tells us that a compound contains oxygen. e.g.
Sodium nitrite contains the elements sodium, nitrogen, and oxygen.

Word equations Fertilisers contain

potassium nitrate- a
compound containing
Carbon & oxygen potassium, nitrogen
and oxygen.
Charcoal is used as a fuel for barbecues. Charcoal contains the element Carbon
which is a good fuel. When the charcoal is heated the carbon in it begins to react
with the oxygen in the air. The carbon and oxygen are Reactants.
When the carbon and oxygen react
together they make carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide is the product of the re-
action. We show this reaction as a
word equation:
Carbon + Oxygen ---> Carbon dioxide

Hydrogen & oxygen

Carbon reacting with oxygen to help
Many elements react with oxygen. Most cook chicken.
space rockets use hydrogen as a fuel.
In the photograph on the left you can see a space shuttle launch. The large, dark
coloured tank attached to the shuttle contains hydrogen and oxygen. These two
chemicals react together. They are the reactants. When they react together they Barbecuing—chemical
make water, Water is the product. reactions in action.

The word equation for this reaction is:

Hydrogen + Oxygen —> Water

Hydrogen reacting with oxygen Lighters contain pro-

to power the space shuttle. pane gas which reacts
with oxygen and pro-
duces energy.

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S1 Chemistry Notes

Compounds & Formulae

Water
Water has the chemical name hydrogen oxide.
This tells us that it contains hydrogen and
oxygen.
The diagram on the right shows how the
hydrogen and oxygen join. This is a molecule of
A molecule of caf-
water.
feine, the drug in cof-
Because the molecule contains 2 atoms of A molecule of water, chemi- fee and tea. Caffeine
hydrogen joined to one atom of oxygen it has the cal formula H2O. contains the elements
chemical formula H2O. carbon, hydrogen, &
oxygen.

Ammonia
Ammonia is a gas which contains the elements
nitrogen and hydrogen.
In a molecule of ammonia there are 3 atoms of
hydrogen and one atom of nitrogen.
Ammonia has the formula NH3.

A molecule of ammonia,
chemical formula NH3.
Vinegar A molecule of benzene
- a hydrocarbon pre-
Vinegar contains the chemical ethanoic acid. A sent in petrol.
molecule of ethanoic acid contains 2 atoms of
carbon, 4 atoms of hydrogen, and 2 atoms of
oxygen. It has the chemical formula C2H4O2.

Butane A molecule of ammonia,

On the left is a model of a molecule chemical formula NH3.
of a gas called butane, which is a hydrocarbon. Bu-
tane is used as a fuel in gas barbecues.
The molecule contains 4 atoms of carbon and 10 atoms of hydrogen.
Butane has the formula C4H10.

Vinegar is used to fla-

A molecule of ammonia, vour foods, such as
chips.
chemical formula NH3.

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S1 Chemistry Notes

Chemical reactions
Changes
Eggs contain various chemicals, proteins,
fats, minerals, and vitamins, as well as
water.
When the egg is heated these chemicals
change, we say that a chemical reaction
has occurred.
When you toast bread a
chemical reaction oc-
A mixture of chemicals! curs.
The cooked egg is solid, it is very different
from the uncooked egg.
In chemical reactions new substances are formed.
These new substances can look very different
from the original substances.

Energy changes
After the reaction! Many chemical reactions involve energy changes.
An example is the reaction which powers the
space shuttle.
The rocket motors of the shuttle react hydrogen and oxygen together. When
the hydrogen and oxygen react together they
produce steam and a large amount of heat.
The ‘smoke’ at a shuttle launch is clouds of
A chemical reaction is
steam.
used to change milk into
This is another exothermic reaction- a reaction cheese.
where chemical energy changes into heat
energy.

Electrolysis
The
two elements, copper and chlorine react togeth- Space shuttle at take off.
er to form the compound copper chloride. This
process can be reversed. The compound copper
chloride can be broken down into the elements copper and chlorine.
To do this the copper chloride is dissolved in water and electricity passed
through the solution.
The process is called electrolysis.

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S1 Chemistry Notes

Carbon Cycle
Most of the chemicals that make
up living tissue contain carbon.
When organisms die the carbon is
recycled. The model that de-
scribes this process is called the
carbon cycle.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse The burning of fossil
gas, this means it traps heat in fuels for power pro-
the earth’s atmosphere. duces large quantities
of carbon dioxide.
The carbon cycle is closely linked
to the greenhouse effect— dead
The carbon cycle has remained steady for
organisms are eaten by other or-
thousands of years.
ganisms and the carbon in their
bodies is returned to the atmos-
phere as carbon dioxide.
In some conditions decomposition doesn't happen. The plant and animal material
may then be available as fossil fuel in the future for combustion. Carbon enters the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide from respiration and combustion.
The more combustion that occurs, the more carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere,
and the earth heats up more as a results.

Rocks
Naturally occurring elements and compounds are called minerals. These are present Granite is used for
in the Earth’s crust. At present there are over 3000 minerals, 300 are common worktops in kitchens—
enough to have uses to us. These materials come from different rock and soil types it is an extrusive rock.
across the earth.
Igneous Rock
Igneous, from Latin, means fire or heat. These rocks are made by molten rock deep
within the Earth which then cools. Extrusive rock is formed when the molten rock is
cooled quickly on Earth’s surface, these have fine crystals.
Intrusive rock is formed when the molten rock cools slowly
(thousands/ millions of years) deep within the Earth’s crust.
These have large crystals.
Sedimentary Rock
A pumice stone is an Sedimentary rock is made from rocks that have been erod-
example of an ed. The eroded rock is called sediments and flows in rivers
extrusive rock. and other moving water. The sediment flows, settles and is Glasgow’s famous ten-
then squeezed into solid rock. You can often see fossils in ements are built using
sedimentary rock. sandstone—a sedimen-
tary rock.
Metamorphic Rock
Meta, from Greek means after, and morph, from Greek
means to form or shape. Sedimentary rocks are made from
rocks that have been changed into something new by heat
and pressure. Igneous and Sedimentary rock can both un-
dergo this change.
A sedimentary rock face

Marble can also be

used for flooring.

A Marble statue in the bo-

tanical gardens, Glasgow

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S1 Chemistry Notes

I should be able to: State that water boils and steam condenses at 100°C.

Identify the changes which happen in the water cycle

as being evaporation, condensation, melting and
State that there are three states of matter; solids, freezing.
liquids, and gases.

State that a substance which dissolves in water is said

State that solids have a constant shape and volume. to be soluble.

State that liquids can change their shape to fit the State that a substance which does not dissolve in water
container they are in, but that liquids cannot change is said to be insoluble.
their volume.

State that when salt dissolves in water to make salty

State that gases can change their shape and volume to water, the solid which dissolves, the salt, is called a
fit the container they are in. solute the liquid which does the dissolving, the water,
is called the solvent. The liquid produced ( salty water)
is called the solution.
State that all things in the world are made of tiny
particles called atoms
State that a liquid in which no more solid will dissolve
is called a saturated solution.
State that the atoms in a solid are:
1. tightly packed together with very little space State that if a warm, saturated solution is left to cool,
between atoms crystals of the solute are produced.
2. arranged in a neat and regular way
3. not able to move freely State that filtration is used to remove an insoluble
solid from water.

State that the atoms in a liquid are:

State that soluble substances can be recovered from a
1. tightly packed together with very little space solution by evaporation.
between atoms
2. free to move about within the liquid
State that a mixture of salt and sand can be separated
by:
State that in a gas: 1. Adding water to dissolve the salt
1. atoms can move around freely in all directions 2. Filtering to remove the sand
2. there are large spaces between all the atoms 3. Evaporating to remove the water and leave the salt
behind
State that melting is the change from a solid to a liquid
State that everything in the world is made of small
State that freezing is the change from a liquid to a particles called Atoms.
solid.
State that there are about 100 substances called
State that evaporation is the change from a liquid to a elements which are not mixtures. All of the atoms in
gas. an element are the same.

State that condensation is the change from a gas to a State that the atoms in different elements are not the
liquid. same.

State that water freezes and ice melts at 0°C. State that all of the elements are arranged in a chart
called the periodic table.

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S1 Chemistry Notes

When elements join together in a chemical reaction

they form compounds. Know that burning fossil fuels releases large quantities
of carbon dioxide into the air

When chemical reactions occur new substances are

made. Know that there are three types of rock:
1. Igneous
You should be able, given the name of a compound, to 2. Metamorphic
work out the elements present in the compound. 3. Sedimentary

Compounds whose names end in -ate contain oxygen You should be able to describe the processes by which
the three types of rock are formed
Breaking up compounds into it’s elements using elec-
tricity is called electrolysis. Know different uses for the different types of rock

Many chemical reactions involve an energy change and Know that ores and minerals can be extracted from
that for most reactions the energy change is Chemical the rocks and used to make items such as light bulbs
Energy ---> Heat energy. and glass.

A reaction in which
Chemical Energy ---> Heat energy is called an exother-
mic reaction

You should be able to write a word equation for a

chemical reaction.

You should know that a word equation is made up of

four things—reactants, products, plus signs and an ar-
row.

A group of atoms held together by chemical bonds is

called a molecule.

The molecular formula of a compound shows the num-

ber of atoms of each element in the compound

Know that carbon is recycled when organisms die

Know that carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse

gases

Know that without greenhouse gases earth couldn't

support life

Know that increasing the quantity of greenhouse gases

in the atmosphere to much will heat the earth up irre-
versibly

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