CHEMISTRY

Separation

- Sometimes substances are mixed accidentally and we need to separate them.

- A number of ways are used to separate mixtures and these depend on some chemical
and physical property of one or more substances involved.
- Some methods are commonly used in the home while others require laboratory
equipment.
- Laboratory methods are naturally more efficient at separating substances.

Methods of separating mixtures

1. Filtration and evaporation

- Filtration is one of the simplest methods of separating liquids from solids.
- The mixture is poured through a filter paper, the liquid runs through while the solid
substances remain behind on the filter paper.
- When a solid is dissolved in a liquid, evaporation can be used to remove the liquid
and leave the solid behind.
- Mixture of salt and maize meal is separated by dissolving and filtering.
- Salt dissolves in water so filtering separates the maize meal from the salt solution
while the salt is separated from the water by evaporation.
- Maize meal will remain in the filter funnel while the water and salt solution (filtrate)
collects in the evaporating dish.
- In this method, water is lost.
- A mixture that consists of a solvent (a liquid) and a solute (soluble solid) forms a
solution which can be separated by evaporation.
- A mixture of a liquid and small particles of insoluble solid forms a suspension which
can be separated by filtration.
2. Magnetism
- Some substances can be attracted to a magnet and are magnetic.
- A mixture of solids in which one is magnetic can be separated by magnetism

3. Decanting
- Some liquids mix with each other (miscible) for example milk and water.
- Some liquids will not mix with each other (immiscible) because they have different
densities for example oil and water.
- Because there are distinct layers, liquids which cannot mix can be separated easily by
pouring off the top layer. This is called decanting
4. Sieving
- It is used to separate small things from large ones using a frame with a wire mesh.
5. Winnowing
- It is used to separate grain from the rest of the plant by means of a stream of air which
blows off the lighter chaff. It relies on wind to be successful.
6. Handpicking
- Large things can be picked from a mixture for example stones from beans.
Matter

- Everything around us is made up of particles of some substance.

- Anything that is made up of particles is called matter.
- Matter is anything that occupies space (has volumes) and has mass.

The three states of matter

- Matter exists in three states which are

1. Solid: is firm and stable in shape
2. Liquid: is fluid, it can flow
3. Gas: has no fixed shape and must be kept in a closed container to keep it from
escaping into the air.

- The kinetic theory of matter is used to explain the arrangement and behaviour of
particles in solids, liquids and gases.
- The kinetic theory of matter states that all matter is made up of very small particles
which are always moving.
- These smallest particles are so small that they cannot be seen by naked eyes.
Diffusion

- Particles have some spaces in between them

- Other particles can occupy these spaces in a process called diffusion.
- Gas particles diffuse through the air and are in random motion.
- They have kinetic energy which makes them move.
- Kinetic energy is also called movement energy.
- Particles in gases move freely because there are large spaces between them while
liquid particles move less because the spaces are smaller and have less energy to
move.
- Solid particles have very small spaces between them and therefore have little energy
for movement.

- A bicycle pump or syringe can be used to demonstrate the fact that liquid and gas
particles have spaces between them.
- Compressing the syringe or pump decreases the volume of the air (gas).
- The number of particles does not change.
- A gas can therefore be compressed by moving the particles of the gas closer together
proving that there are spaces between particles.
- Liquids are hard to compress due to how the particles are arranged.
- Solids do not move around as they do in liquids and gases.
- Particles in liquids and gases have free movement.
Brownian motion

- Robert Brown noted that pollen grains continually moved without coming to set when
floating in water.
- This movement is random because one could not predict how and where the
individual pollen grain would move next.
- This was termed Brownian motion and it refers to random and continual motion of
particles.
- Brown concluded that his pollen grains were behaving like solid particles and that
they were continually being knocked around by water particles which are in constant
random motion.
Properties in solids, liquids and gases

- Solids have definite shape and volume

- A liquid has definite volume but takes the shape of the container because the particles
are fairly free to move.
- A gas does not have definite shape and volume. It fills the container into which it is
placed because the particles move freely and fast because they have high kinetic
energy.

State Volume Shape Movement of particles

Solid Definite Definite shape Little
volume
Liquid Definite Takes the shape of the container Slow
volume
Gas No definite No definite shape, fills the Fast
volume, fills container
shape of the
container
Change of states of matter

- The kinetic theory of matter states that matter is made up of moving particles.
- This can be used to explain the change of state when matter is heated or cooled.

Solid liquid gas

(ice) (water) (steam)

- When a liquid is heated, the particles gain more kinetic energy.

- Bubbles will freely form at a certain temperature in the liquid and rises to the surface.
- The liquid will boil and then changes into a gas. It is said to vaporise which means to
change into a gas.
- When steam cools down, it condenses from a gas into a liquid.
- Steam loses heat to the surroundings and cools down.
- Particles in a steam move closer together and slow down.
- If the liquid cools further in a refrigerator, it solidifies or freezes.
- More heat is lost and the particles move very closer to each other.
- The movement slows down and a solid is formed
- When a solid is heated (adding energy to the particles), particles vibrate and move
further apart.
- Strong attractive forces between particles are broken down when heat is increased.
- This happens until the solid cannot maintain its structure and therefore melts.
- The particles completely separate when more heat is added and the liquid will
vaporise.
- The reverse occurs if we start with the vapour and allow it to cool.
 - When solid iodine crystals are heated, no liquid is formed as it turns straight from a
solid into a gas in a process called sublimation.
- Dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) also turns from a solid to a gas at room temperature.

Temperature-time graphs

- A temperature-time graph shows how the temperature changes over time for a specific
substance as it changes state.
- The graphs are called heating curves (when the substance is being heated) and cooling
curves (when the substance is being cooled).
- When a boiling point is reached, energy is used to separate the liquid particles from
each other.
- As heating continues, all the liquid is changed into gas.
- The temperature stays the same (latent heat of vaporisation) during the change into
gas.
- The temperature rises after reaching the boiling point.
- All particles in the gas become free to move and heating further will raise the
temperature of the gas.
 - Heat energy is gained or lost during change of states of matter.
- Some liquids evaporate at low temperatures while others evaporate at higher
temperatures. These are their boiling points.

Elements, compounds and mixtures

- Chemistry is the study of physical matter which can be classified as elements,

mixtures or compounds.
- Many important substances come from the ground.
- Sometimes they are found as pure substances but they are usually found mixed with
other things.
- Soil is an example of a mixture that includes substances such as small stones, humus,
water and air.
- A pure substance is a single substance that is not mixed with anything.
- Water and oxygen can be pure but are usually obtained as mixtures.
Elements

- An element is a substance that cannot be broken down further into a simpler

substance.
- An element is made up of only one type of atom.
- An atom is the smallest particle of an element.
- For example copper element is made up of copper atoms only but it can be used to
make more complicated substances known as compounds such as copper nitrate and
copper sulphate.
- Scientists discovered 118 elements and of these elements 24 elements do not occur in
nature (they are artificially made).
- Elements have physical properties like hardness, size, colour and density.
- They also have chemical properties like reactivity and type of compounds that are
formed.
- All the 118 elements are arranged in the Periodic table of elements.
- All the 118 elements are arranged according to similarities in properties.
-

Mixtures

- Many substances are not pure, they are mixtures.

- A mixture contains more than one substance.
- The components that make up a mixture can be in different proportions – they are not
fixed.
- Stainless steel for example is a mixture of iron and chromium.
- Proportions of iron and chromium can be changed or altered.
- Substance that make up a mixture keep their properties.
- Physical or mechanical methods can be used separate mixtures into their component
substances.

Compounds

- Compounds are pure substances formed when two or more elements combine in fixed
proportions in a chemical reaction.
- A compound has different physical and chemical properties that it obtains form the
elements it contains.
- The solid substance made in the experiment above looks different to the mixture of
iron and sulphur.
- Iron fillings or powdered sulphur cannot be seen anymore.
- The magnet cannot attract fillings in the heated substance.
- A new substance called iron sulphide is formed.
- The process can be summarised as follows: atoms of iron (element) were joined to
atoms of sulphur (an element) to form iron sulphide (a compound).

heat
iron + sulphur iron sulphide
Solubility

- Salt is a solute which dissolves in water at a certain rate.

- Solutes do not dissolve at the same rate.
- There are a number of factors that affect solubility.
The kinetic theory of matter can be used to explain observations made in the above
experiment.

1. Substances dissolve faster when stirred.

- Stirring makes the particles spread out more quickly and mix with water quickly.
- Stirring increases solubility of a solute in a solvent.
2. Particle size
- Smaller particles have larger surface area and dissolve faster than larger particles.
3. Temperatures
- Particles dissolve faster when temperatures are higher.
- Particles gain more kinetic energy, move away faster from each other and are able to
move between water molecules quicker.
Acids and bases

- Many substances can be classified as acids or bases.

- Acids and bases are common ingredients found in foods and cleaning agents.
- All solid substances can be acidic, basic or neutral.
- All acids dissolve in water to form acidic solutions but not all bases dissolve in water.
- Bases that dissolve in water are called alkalis and dissolve in water to form alkaline
solutions.
- An indicator called litmus paper is used to find whether a substance is an acid or a
base (alkali).
- Litmus is a purple dye that can be in the form of a purple solution or in the form of
blue or red paper.
Acids
 A blue litmus paper turns into red when it comes into contact with an acid.
 Litmus solution becomes red when it comes into contact with an acid.

Bases

 Red litmus paper turns to blue when it comes into contact with a base.
 Litmus solution turns into blue when it comes into contact with a base.

Insert experiment 10.1

Properties of acids and bases (alkalis)

- Acids and bases can either strong or weak.

- Strong acids and strong bases are very dangerous.
- They are corrosive (can eat away metals and other materials) and can cause serious
burns.
- Dilute acids and dilute bases are used in the laboratory. This means they are mixed
with water.

Properties of acids

1. Have a sour taste

2. Are corrosive
3. Change the colour of blue litmus to red.
4. Become less acidic when combined with alkalis.

Properties of bases

1. They feel slippery

2. Can be corrosive
3. Change red litmus paper to blue
4. Become less alkaline when combined with acids.
Insert experiment 10.2
Industrial processes

- Peanut butter was first made by the Aztec people of South America but is now a
favourite in the world over.
- It maybe because of its creamy texture and the fact that the plant can be cultivated
anywhere that the foodstuff is popular.
- In Africa, Zimbabwe boast peanut butter cultivation and peanut butter processing
plants.

Peanut butter production

- Peanuts are delivered to the processing plant from the farms where they are cultivated.
- The processing of peanut butter occurs through the following stages.

Step 1: Cleaning and sorting

- The peanuts are first cleaned by blowers that remove any sand, stems, twigs and
leaves.
- They are sometimes sieved through screens to remove any larger impurities like rocks
or pieces of metals.
- The peanuts are then sorted according the size.

Step 2: Shelling

- The peanuts which are size-graded through a system of rollers which are adjusted
according to the size of the peanuts.
- The rollers crack the shells while causing a little damage to the kernels.
- The cracked peanuts are then passed through a system of screens, blowers and even
magnets.
- They are shaken around the air-blown until the shells and the unwanted materials are
removed.

Step 3: Grading

- The peanuts are said to be de-shelled are graded for colour, blemishes, moisture
content broken skins.
- Any unusable peanuts are discarded at this point.
Step 4: Roasting

- Dry roasting is done in a revolving oven.

- The peanuts are heated to 1600C for about an hour to ensure that the batch is roasted
evenly.

Step 5: Cooling and blanching

- The oven-roasted peanuts are quickly cooled in a blower and then blanched.
- Blanching is the loosening of skins by steam or hot water.
- This is followed by gentle rubbing to remove the now loosened skins.

Step 6: Grinding

- The peanuts are ready for grinding.

- The first grinder grinds the peanuts coarsely (to a medium grind).
- Some of the medium-ground peanuts are kept aside so that they are added to smooth
peanut butter to make the peanut butter chunky.
- The second grinder grinds the peanut butter to particles not more than 0,025 cm in
diameter.
- Any required additives like salt, sugar and oil stabiliser are added to the peanut butter
during this stage.
- The mixture is combined in a drum (stainless steel) and cooled down to 500C to allow
packaging.

Step 7: Packaging

- The jars are filled with peanut butter by machines to avoid contamination and
minimise the amount of air that comes into contact with peanut butter. Air can spoil it.
- Jars are capped, labelled and packed into containers where they remain while peanut
butter cools down.
- The jars are carried to retail outlets for marketing.
Oxidation and reduction

- A newly erected fence that looks shiny but will turn to brown after a few years.
- This is called rusting.
- Under what conditions do metals rust and is there a way to ensure that iron
implements do not rust?

Rusting

- The corrosion of iron because of exposure to certain conditions is called rusting.

- Rusting occurs when iron combines with oxygen in the presence of water to form rust
which is chemically known as iron oxide.
- Oxygen and moisture are the two conditions that are necessary for rusting.
- Other factors can influence how quickly rusting process

Insert Experiment 12.1

Methods of preventing rust

- Keeping oxygen and water away is the most obvious way of preventing rusting.
- A number of methods can be used to provide a barrier for water not to get through.
- The following methods can be used:
1. Painting
- Paint is usually applied to items like window frames, doors, bicycles, car bodies and
bridges.
- Paint creates a thin, effective barrier that prevents air from coming into contact with
the iron metal.
2. Oiling/Greasing
- A layer of oil or grease on the metal prevents the metal from coming into contact with
oxygen and water.
- It is usually used to prevent moving parts of machinery from rusting.
3. Electroplating
- This is when one metal is covered.
- It is a process when one metal can be covered with another layer of metal that is
decorative, expensive or corrosion-resistant than the metal being covered.
- Chromium, silver and gold can be used for electroplating.
- For instance to silver-plate an object like a trophy or spoon, the object is hung in a
solution of silver nitrate.
- An electric current is passed through circuit and a chemical reaction occurs in which
silver in the solution becomes solid (metallic) silver and collects on the surface of the
object.
- A layer of silver slowly accumulates on the object until it is completely coated in
silver.

Insert fig 12.4

Galvanising

- This is coating a metal with a thin layer of zinc.

- It is commonly done using the hot-dip method in which the method is dipped in a bath
of molten zinc.
- Galvanised iron is used for roofing among other uses.
- Iron is a strong building material but can quickly rust in most climates hence there is
need to galvanise.
- It stays protected as long as the zinc layer is not scratched.
- The iron will not rust even if the surface is broke.
Organic chemistry

- Fuels play an important role in homes, industries and agriculture.

- Examples are fuels used in vehicles and aeroplanes, those which light and heat our
homes and those which run machinery in factories.

Types of fuels

- A fuel is a material that provides energy when burnt and is therefore an energy source.
There are three types of fuels.

1. Solid fuels
- Examples include coal, wood, coke and charcoal.
- Coal is a fossil fuel made from plant remains millions of years ago.
- It is an excellent fuel for electricity generation but release pollutants like smoke and
carbon dioxide when it burns.
- Wood burns quickly but produces a lot of smoke and carbon dioxide in the process.
- Some other parts of the country use dried animal dung.
- Charcoal is a black porous solid produced by heating wood in the absence of air.
- Coke is produced by heating coal in the absence of air, is efficient and used in metal
extraction industries.

2. Liquid fuels.
- Crude oil, a fossil fuel is a source of liquid fuels.
- It is mined underground and extracted from a mixture of compounds.
- The compounds are separated from each other or refined through fractional
distillation.
- During fractional distillation, crude oil is heated over time and different compounds
boil off at different temperatures.
- They are then liquefied and collected separately.
- Each compound has different properties and therefore useful for different purposes.
- In Zimbabwe, the main liquid fuels are petrol, diesel, paraffin and ethanol.
- Petrol, diesel and paraffin are the products of fractional distillation of crude oil.
- Ethanol is produced by fermentation of sugar at Triangle.
 - A mixture of ethanol and petrol is called blend is commonly sold at fuel stations in
Zimbabwe.
- Ethanol is an active ingredient in all alcoholic beverages and burns with a pale, blue
and clean flame.

3. Gaseous fuels
- Methane (natural gas), propane (bottled gas) and butane (bottled gas) are the most
common gases.
- Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a mixture of gaseous fuels and has recently become
widely used for cooking in Zimbabwe.
- Gaseous fuels cause less pollution and are cleaner than liquid and solid fuels.

Fuel efficiency

- Different fuels give off different amounts of heat when they burn.
- Fuels that produce more heat have greater efficiency.
- The heating efficiency of a fuel tells us how much heat is released when a specific
amount of that fuel is burnt.
- Heating efficiencies are often given in units of kilojoules per kilogram or kilojoules
per litre.

Insert experiment 13.1