Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Solute + Solvent = Solution


Let's imagine the solid blue particles are salt and the red liquid particles are water. This is just an image of the liquid particles moving in between the solid particles and breaking them apart. This is how particle theory explains how a solute dissolves in a solvent to make a solution. (i.e. Salt dissolves in water)

Solutions

A SOLVENT is a substance that dissolves other materials.

A SOLUTE is a substance that dissolves in a solvent.

A SOLUTION is a mixture of a solute and a solvent.

Differences between Compounds and Mixtures

Mixture:
1. The amounts of the substances in the mixture can vary
2. A mixture contains two or more substances.
3. The properties of a mixture are similar to those of the substances in the mixture.
4. There are practically no energy changes when a mixture is made.
5. It is usually easy to separate the components of a mixture.

Compound:
1. The elements in a compound are always present in the same fixed proportion or ratio.
(e.g. H2O).
2. A compound is a single substance.
3. The properties of a compound are different to those of the elements which reacted to 
form the compound.
4. Heat is usually given out or taken in when a compound is formed.
5. It is usually difficult to separate the components of a compound. 

Compounds and Mixtures - Iron Sulfide



Here's a youtube clip of the experiment we carried out, making a mixture of iron and sulfide into the compound iron sulfide.

Periodic Table

Here's a link to a nice website giving information on all the elements of the periodic table.
http://periodictable.com/

Remember:
An Element is something that cannot be broken down into simpler parts by chemical means.
A Compound is a substance that is made up of two or more different elements chemically combined together [e.g. FeS (Iron Sulfide) which we formed by heating iron (Fe) and sulfur (S)].
A Mixture consists of two or more different substances mingled with each other but not chemically combined.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Everybody loves a jigsaw..

http://www.creative-chemistry.org.uk/funstuff/jigsaw/table.htm

Above is a link to an online jigsaw which contains the first 20 elements of the periodic table!

Fun times!

A bit of history..

Only 9 of the elements—carbon, sulfur, copper, iron, tin, gold, silver, mercury, and lead—were known in the uncombined state in ancient times.

Although they were recognized as distinct materials, they were not classified as elements. In ancient and medieval times, the elements were earth, air, fire, and water, the four simple substances of which all material bodies were thought to be made.

The modern use of the concept of an element dates from the early 1660s, when the chemist Robert Boyle (who was born in Lismore, County Waterford) described elements as primitive and simple materials that are not made of any other materials or of one another.

Robert Boyle was born in Co. Waterford in 1627. He was the 7th son, and the 14th child of Richard Boyle, who was the first Earl of Cork!

(www.juniorscience.ie)

Uses of Elements

Click on the link below for an animated clip of the uses of some elements and how our understanding of their properties dictates how they are put to use!

http://lgfl.skoool.co.uk/content/keystage3/chemistry/pc/learningsteps/USELC/launch.html

The Elements Song!



A great old tune to remember some of the elements!

Diffusion of a liquid



So we know gases diffuse to fill all available space, think of when you spray perfume of deodorant. But don't forget liquids also diffuse, think of your cup of tea, or look at this clip!

Diffusion

DIFFUSION IS THE MOVEMENT OF PARTICLES TO SPREAD OUT AND FILL ALL OF THE AVAILABLE SPACE


Here's an animated picture showing this.




Evaporation, Melting and Boiling Point.

This is an animation on the melting and boiling point of water.

http://lgfl.skoool.co.uk/content/keystage3/chemistry/pc/learningsteps/MBPLC/launch.html

Fun interactive game - Learning is fun!

The link below from www.skoool.co.uk is a fun interactive animation showing what happens to the particles of water when they are heated. Clink on the link below and use your mouse or touchpad to move the arrow to the left of the thermometer up or down to see what happens to the particles. Notice how the particles look and behave with or without heat (energy.)

http://lgfl.skoool.co.uk/content/keystage3/chemistry/pc/learningSimulations/COSSC/launch.html

What common substance can exist in all three states...WATER!

This is a nice interactive animation of the changing of state of water..there's even a nice interactive test (let's say quiz!) at the end of it to test your knowledge! Just click on the link below.

http://lgfl.skoool.co.uk/content/keystage3/chemistry/pc/learningsteps/WATLC/launch.html

Particle Theory

This is another nice animation explaining particle theory.

http://lgfl.skoool.co.uk/content/keystage3/chemistry/pc/learningsteps/TPTLC/launch.html

The properties of the three states of matter.

This is a nice animation showing the properties of the three states of matter; solids, liquids and gases.
Just click on the link!

http://lgfl.skoool.co.uk/content/keystage3/chemistry/pc/learningsteps/SLGLC/launch.html

Alternative video show that gas has mass.



Another way to show that a gas has mass.

To show that a gas has mass



This is an experiment to show that GAS HAS MASS!


Remember, gas is one of the three states of matter.
MATTER IS ANYTHING THAT OCCUPIES SPACE AND THAT HAS MASS!

To show that air takes up space!



These are some interesting methods to remember that a gas occupies space!

How to plot the magnetic field of a bar magnet.




This is a great youtube clip demonstrating how to plot the magnetic field lines of a bar magnet using a plotting compass. Note how the magnetic field lines travel from NORTH  to SOUTH!






1st year science

This is a website to give you some helpful tips for studying science this year. I will post things here from time to time, when we change topics etc.