Diffusion – video
This video is a great way to see the diffusion of particles in action:
This video is a great way to see the diffusion of particles in action:
When a solid dissolves in a liquid:
Solubility is defined in terms of the maximum mass of a solute that dissolves in 100g of solvent. The mass depends on the temperature.
For example, the solubility of sodium chloride (NaCl) in water at 25⁰C is about 36g per 100g of water.
The solubility of solids changes as temperature changes. This can be plotted on a solubility curve.
The salts shown on this graph are typical: the solubility increases as temperature increases.
For example, the graph above shows that in 100g of water at 50⁰C the maximum mass of potassium nitrate (KNO₃) which will dissolve is 80g.
However, if the temperature were 80⁰C a mass of 160g of potassium nitrate (KNO₃) would dissolve in 100g of water.
At a chosen temperature (e.g. 40⁰C) a saturated solution is created of potassium nitrate (KNO₃) for example.
Some of this solution (not any residual solid) is poured off and weighed. The water is then evaporated from this solution to leave a residue of potassium nitrate which is then weighed.
The difference between the two measured masses is the mass of evaporated water.
The solubility, in grams per 100g of water, is equal to 100 times the mass of potassium nitrate residue divided by the mass of evaporated water.
Element: The simplest type of substances made up of only one type of atom.
Compound: A substance that contains two or more elements chemically joined together in fixed proportions.
Mixture: Different substances in the same space, but not chemically combined.
Note: elements such as oxygen (O2) are described as diatomic because they contain two atoms.
The full list of elements that are diatomic is:
Watch Daniel Radcliffe sing the names of all the elements – it’s just a shame there are now more elements than were written into Tom Lehrer’s famous song…..
There are several things in this video which are “beyond the exam spec” but there are loads of interesting bits…..
Pure substances, such as an element or a compound, melt and boil at fixed temperatures.
However, mixtures melt and boil over a range of temperatures.
Example: although pure water boils at 100⁰C, the addition of 10g of sodium chloride (NaCl) to 1000cm³ of water will raise the boiling point to 100.2⁰C.
Example: although pure water melts at 0⁰C, the addition of 10g of sodium chloride (NaCl) to 1000cm³ of water will lower the melting point to -0.6⁰C.
Simple distillation
This method is used to separate a liquid from a solution. For example: separating water from salt water.
The salt water is boiled. The water vapour condenses back into a liquid when passed through the condenser. The salt is left behind in the flask.
Note: cold water is passed into the bottom of the condenser and out through the top so that the condenser completely fills up with water.
Fractional distillation
This method is used to separate a mixture of different liquids that have different boiling points. For example, separating alcohol from a mixture of alcohol and water.
Water boils at 100oC and alcohol boils at 78oC. By using the thermometer to carefully control of temperature of the column, keeping it at 78oC, only the alcohol remains as vapour all the way up to the top of the column and passes into the condenser.
The alcohol vapours then condense back into a liquid.
Filtration
This method is used to separate an insoluble solid from a liquid. For example: separating sand from a mixture of sand and water.
The mixture is poured into the filter paper. The sand does not pass through and is left behind (residue) but the water passes through the filter paper and is collected in the conical flask (filtrate).
Crystallisation
This method is used to obtain a salt which contains water of crystallisation from a salt solution. For example: hydrated copper sulfate crystals (CuSO4.5H2O(s)) from copper sulfate solution (CuSO4(aq)).
If instead the solution is heated until all the water evaporates, you would produce a powder of anhydrous copper sulfate (CuSO4(s)).
Paper chromatography
This method can be used to separate the parts of a mixture into their components. For example, the different dyes in ink can all be separated and identified.
The coloured mixture to be separated (e.g. a food dye) is dissolved in a solvent like water or ethanol and carefully spotted onto the chromatography paper on the baseline, which is drawn in pencil so it doesn’t ‘run or smudge’.
The paper is carefully dipped into the solvent and suspended so the baseline is above the liquid solvent, otherwise all the spots would dissolve in the solvent. The solvent is absorbed into the paper and rises up it as it soaks into the paper. The choice of solvent depends on the solubility of the dye. If the dye does not dissolve in water then normally an organic solvent (e.g. ethanol) is used.
As the solvent rises up the paper it will carry the dyes with it. Each different dye will move up the paper at different rates depending on how strongly they stick to the paper and how soluble they are in the solvent.
Below is the preparation of copper sulfate crystals (CuSO4.5H2O) through the process of filtration and crystallisation
Paper chromatography can be used to investigate the composition of a mixture.
A baseline is drawn on the paper. The mixture is spotted onto the baseline alongside known or standard reference materials. The end of the paper is then put into a solvent which runs up the paper and through the spots, taking some or all of the dyes with it.
Different dyes will travel different heights up the paper.
The resulting pattern of dyes is called a chromatogram.
In the example shown, the mixture is shown to contain the red, blue and yellow dyes. This can be seen because these dots which resulted from the mixture have travelled the same distance up the paper as have the red, blue and yellow standard reference materials.
When analysing a chromatogram, the mixture being analysed is compared to standard reference materials by measuring how far the various dyes have travelled up the paper from the baseline where they started.
For each dye, the Rf value is calculated. To do this, 2 distances are measured:
The Rf value is calculated as follows:
If the Rf value of one of the components of the mixture equals the Rf value of one of the standard reference materials then that component is know to be that reference material.
Note that because the solvent always travels at least as far as the highest dye, the Rf value is always between 0 and 1.
Dyes which are more soluble will have higher Rf values than less soluble dyes. In other words, more soluble dyes move further up the paper. The extreme case of this is for insoluble dyes which don’t move at all (Rf value = 0). The other aspect affecting how far a dye travels is the affinity that dye has for the paper (how well it ‘sticks’ to the paper).
Common solvents are water or ethanol. The choice of solvent depends on whether most of the dyes are soluble in that solvent.
Atom: An atom is the smallest part of an element.
Atom: An atom is the smallest part of an element.
Molecule: A molecule is made of a fixed number of atoms covalently bonded together.
An atom consists of a central nucleus, composed of protons and neutrons.
This is surrounded by electrons, orbiting in shells (energy levels).
Atoms are neutral because the numbers of electrons and protons are equal.
Mass | Charge | |
---|---|---|
Proton | 1 | +1 |
Neutron | 1 | 0 |
Electron | negligible (1/1836) | -1 |
This video explains the basics of atomic structure, telling you what is inside an atom:
This is a good interactive demonstration showing how subatomic particles make up the atoms in the Periodic Table.
Atomic number: The number of protons in an atom.
Mass number: The number of protons and neutrons in an atom.
Relative atomic mass (Ar): The average mass of an atom compared to 1/12th the mass of carbon-12.
Atomic number: The number of protons in an atom.
Mass number: The number of protons and neutrons in an atom.
Isotopes: Atoms of the same element (same number of protons) but with a different number of neutrons.
Relative atomic mass (Ar): The average mass of an atom compared to 1/12th the mass of carbon-12.
75% of chlorine atoms are the type 35Cl (have a mass number of 35)
25% of chlorine atoms are of the type 37Cl (have a mass number of 37)
In order to calculate the relative atomic mass (Ar) of chlorine, the following steps are used:
Example question:
A sample of bromine contained the two isotopes in the following proportions: bromine-79 = 50.7% and bromine-81 = 49.3%.
Calculate the relative atomic mass (Ar) of bromine.
This excellent video from Tyler de Witt walks you through what isotopes are, and how the relative abundance of those isotopes can be used to calculate the relative atomic mass of an element.
The elements in the Periodic Table are arranged in order of increasing atomic number.
Columns are called Groups. They indicate the number of electrons in the outer shell of an atom.
Rows are called Periods. They indicate the number of shells (energy levels) in an atom.
Electrons are found in a series of shells (or energy levels) around the nucleus of an atom.
Each energy level can only hold a certain number of electrons. Low energy levels are always filled up first.
Rules for working out the arrangement (configuration) of electrons:
Example – chlorine (Cl)
1) Use the periodic table to look up the atomic number. Chlorine’s atomic number (number of protons) is 17.
2) Remember the number of protons = number of electrons. Therefore chlorine has 17 electrons.
3) Arrange the electrons in levels (shells):
Therefore the electron arrangement for chlorine (17 electrons in total) will be written as 2,8,7
4) Check to make sure that the electrons add up to the right number
The electron arrangement can also be draw in a diagram.
Electron arrangement for the first 20 elements:
Metals
Non – Metals
Metals
Non – Metals
Metals on the left of the Periodic Table.
Non-Metals on the top-right, plus Hydrogen.
Elements in the same group have the same number of electrons in their outer shell.
This is why elements from the same group have similar properties.
Elements in the same group of the periodic table have the same number of electrons in their outer shells, which means they have similar chemical properties.
The noble gases are inert (unreactive) because they have a full outer shell of electrons.
Example:
Sodium (Na) reacts with water (H2O) to produce a solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrogen gas (H2).
Word equation:
sodium + water –> sodium hydroxide + hydrogen
Writing the chemical equation
A chemical equation represents what happens in terms of atoms in a chemical reaction.
Step 1: To write a chemical equation we need to know the chemical formulae of the substances.
Na + H2O –> NaOH + H2
Step 2: The next step is to balance the equation: write a large number before each compound so the number of atoms of each element on the left hand side (reactants) matches the number on the right (products). This large number is the amount of each compound or element.
During this balancing stage the actual formulas for each compound must not be changed. Only the number of each compound changes.
2Na + 2H2O –> 2NaOH + H2
If asked for an equation, the chemical equation must be given.
State symbols are used to show what physical state the reactants and products are in.
State symbols | Physical state |
---|---|
(s) | Solid |
(l) | Liquid |
(g) | Gas |
(aq) | Aqueous solution (dissolved in water) |
Example:
A solid piece of sodium (Na) reacts with water (H2O) to produce a solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrogen gas (H2).
2Na(s) + 2H2O(l) –> 2NaOH(aq) + H2(g)
This excellent Tyler de Witt video is an introduction to balancing equations:
And here’s another of the lovely Tyler’s videos with some practice questions and answers on equation balancing:
This is useful to help you to practice how to balance equations:
Relative formula mass (Mr) is mass of a molecule or compound (on a scale compared to carbon-12).
It is calculated by adding up the relative atomic masses (Ar) of all the atoms present in the formula.
Example:
The relative formula mass (Mr) for water (H2O) is 18.
Water = H2O
Atoms present = (2 x H) + (1 x O)
Mr = (2 x 1) + (1 x 16) = 18
Here’s an excellent Tyler de Witt video explaining how to calculate the relative formula mass of compounds with:
In Chemistry, the mole is a measure of amount of substance (n).
The abbreviation for mole is mol.
The mass of 1 mole of a substance is the relative formula mass (Mr) of the substance in grams.
Example:
The Mr of water is 18.
Therefore the mass of 1 mol of water equals 18 g.
The following formula allows for the interconversion between a mass in grams and a number of moles for a given substance:
Example 1:
Calculate the amount, in moles, of 8.8 g of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Step 1: Calculate the relative formula mass (Mr) of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Step 2: Use the formula to calculate the amount in moles.
Example 2:
Calculate the mass of 2 mol of copper(II) sulfate (CuSO4).
Step 1: Calculate the relative formula mass (Mr) of copper(II) sulfate (CuSO4).
Step 2: Rearrange the formula to calculate the mass.
This video shows how to perform calculations involving mass (in grams), amount (in moles) and relative atomic mass:
Example: When calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is heated calcium oxide is produced. You can use reacting mass calculations to calculate the mass of calcium oxide produced when heating 25 g of calcium carbonate.
CaCO3 –> CaO + CO2
Step 1: Calculate the amount, in moles, of 25 g of calcium carbonate (CaCO3)
Step 2: Deduce the amount, in moles, of CaO produced from 0.25 mol of CaCO3.
This step involves using the ratio of CaCO3 to CaO from the chemical equation.
CaCO3 –> CaO + CO2
From the equation you can see that the ratio of CaCO3 to CaO is 1:1.
Therefore if you have 0.25 mol of CaCO3 this will produced 0.25 mol of CaO.
Step 3: Calculate the mass of 0.25 mol of CaO.
A simple format for laying out this method can be used.
Example: What mass of ammonia (NH3) is formed when 7 g of nitrogen (N2) is combined with hydrogen (H2).
This video steps through a very useful method used to calculate reacting masses.