Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 2 Study Notes

Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

Name: Class: ( )

1. Planet Earth as a source of chemicals

We need various substances and materials to maintain our living standards, such as clothes, food, medicines,

and etc. In fact, planet Earth is a major source of the chemicals that we need. We obtain different substances

from the atmosphere, the ocean and the Earth’s crust.

Source of Substances Substances that can be obtained

The atmosphere

The Ocean

The Earth’s crust

In the topic I Planet Earth, we will learn what kinds of substances that human could extract from the planet

Earth and discuss methods for obtaining chemicals from the atmosphere, the ocean and the Earth’s crust

respectively.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 2 Study Notes
Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

2. Classification of matter
Matter is anything that occupies _______________ and has ______________. The world around us is made

up of matter. Air, sea water and rocks are all matter.

Matter is classified into ___________ ____________________ and ___________.

2.1 Mixture
Air is not a pure substance. It is a mixture of gases including nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and other
substances. Nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide are pure substances on their own. Sea water and rocks are
also examples of mixtures.

Exam skill Corner

Definition of mixture:

2.2 Elements and compounds

An impure substance is always a mixture. A pure substance is either an element or a compound.

Element is a pure substance that cannot be broken down into anything simpler by chemical methods, such

as electrolysis (電解) and thermal decomposition (熱分解).

Let’s take water as an example, Water (H2O) can be broken down into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) by

passing electricity through it. Therefore, water is not an element. The decomposition of water by electricity

is known as electrolysis.

Experimental set-up used to break down water

into hydrogen and oxygen by electricity

In contrast, both hydrogen and oxygen can no longer be broken down into anything with a simpler

composition by chemical methods and thus, they are elements.

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Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

2.3 Compounds
A compound is a pure substance made up of two or more elements chemically combined together.

Examples of compound include water, carbon dioxide, common salt and sugar. Water is a compound of

hydrogen and oxygen. Carbon dioxide is a compound of carbon and oxygen.

Sodium chloride (or common salt) is a compound made up of the elements sodium and chlorine chemically

combined together. Sodium chloride can be produced by burning a piece of sodium metal in chlorine.

2Na(s) + Cl2(g) → 2NaCl(s)

Exam skill corner

 Compounds can have very different properties from their constituent elements.

e.g. sodium is a silvery metal that conducts electricity and chlorine gas (Cl2) is a greenish-yellow toxic

gas, but sodium chloride (NaCl) is a white and non-toxic solid that do NOT conduct electricity.

 Definition of element:


Definition of compound:

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Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

3. Comparison on the properties of mixture and compound

Take the mixture of iron & sulphur and iron(II) sulphide as examples. If we mix black iron filings and

yellow sulphur powder together, we get a yellowish grey mixture of the two elements. No sign of heat

change is observed. The iron and sulphur retain their original properties in the mixture.

When a magnet is placed close to the mixture, the black iron fillings are attracted by the magnet while the

yellow sulphur does not.

However, if the mixture of iron and sulphur is heated strongly, they react and form a new substance, called

iron(II) sulphide. A lot of heat is also given out during the process. The iron(II) sulphide formed has many

properties that are different from those of iron and sulphur.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 2 Study Notes
Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

The following table summarizes the main differences between mixtures and compounds.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 2 Study Notes
Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

4. Physical properties and chemical properties of substances

The term “property” describes various characteristics of a substance. In Chemistry, the properties of a

substance are further classified into __________________ properties and ________________ properties.

4.1 Physical properties

 Physical properties of a substance are those properties that can be determined without the substance

changing into other substances.

Physical properties Definition

1. Appearance
It means what a substance looks, such
as its physical state (solid, liquid or gas)
under some particular conditions, its
colour, whether it is shiny or dull.

2. Odour It refers to the smell of a substance.

3. Taste It refers to the flavour of a substance.

4. Hardness It refers to the ability of a substance to

resist scratching. A substance will
scratch any other substance which is
softer than itself.

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Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

5. Density It refers to how much substance can

take up a specific volume of space. The
density of a substance is defined as the
mass (in gram) of the substance per unit
volume (in cm3 )

6. Solubility It refers to how well a substance (the solute) dissolves in

another substance (the solvent). The solubility of a substance
in water at a particular temperature is defined as the mass (in
gram) of the substance that dissolves in 100 cm3 of water at
that particular temperature.

7. Melting point It refers to the temperature at which a substance melts (i.e.

changes from the solid state to the liquid state).

8. Boiling point It refers to the temperature at which a substance boils (i.e.

changes from the liquid state to the gas state)

9. Malleability It refers to how easily a solid can be rolled into sheets.

10. Ductility It refers to how easily a solid can be pulled into wires

11. Electrical conductivity It refers to the ability of a substance to transfer an electric

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 2 Study Notes
Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere
current.

12. Thermal conductivity It refers to the ability of a substance to transfer heat

4.2 Chemical properties

 Chemical properties of a substance are those properties that describe the ability of that substance to

react with other substance(s).

Describe your observation on the experiment:

Experiment: Burning magnesium ribbon in air.

Observation:

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 2 Study Notes
Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

5. Physical changes and chemical changes

5.1 Physical changes
 A physical change is a change in which no new substances are produced.

When a substance undergoes a physical change, some of its properties (e.g. appearance) change.

However, the composition of a substance does not change.

For example, the melting of ice is a physical change. Although ice and liquid water look different, they

both are made up of identical particles, i.e. water molecules. Change of state is a physical change, in

which no new substances are produced.

Some substances, such as dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) and iodine, change directly from the solid state to

the gaseous state on heating. Such physical change is called ___________________.

When the vapour is cooled, it changes to solid directly.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 2 Study Notes
Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

5.2 Chemical changes

 A chemical change is a change in which one or more new substances are produced.

The reaction between magnesium and oxygen is an example of a chemical change. When a piece of

magnesium ribbon is heated in air, it reacts with oxygen to give a new compound, called magnesium

oxide (MgO).

More examples of chemical change:

 Digestion of food

 Photosynthesis

 Acid-alkali neutralization

 Removing stains on clothes with bleach

Class practice

Classify each of the following changes as a physical change or chemical change.

1. Condensation of steam on a cold surface

2. Grinding a vitamin C tablet into powder

3. Burning of petrol in car engine

4. Newspaper turns yellow after exposure to air for a long time

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 2 Study Notes
Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

6. The atmosphere and composition of air

Air is a mixture of gases. It has the following approximate

composition: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon and

0.1% other gases (including carbon dioxide, water vapour

and other noble gases)

Carbon dioxide is important to life on Earth even though it

makes up about 0.03%–0.04% of the air.

6.1 Common use of gases in atmosphere

Gas Use

Oxygen  Cutting and welding metals

 Making medical respirator to help patients with
breathing difficulty
Nitrogen  Used in food packaging
 Used as a refrigerant (冷凍劑) for storing living
cells and tissues
Carbon dioxide  Making dry ice that acts as a refrigerant.

6.2 Chemical tests (化學測試) for gases

Gas Chemical Test Observation

Oxygen  Glowing splint  Oxygen relights a glowing splint.

Nitrogen  There’s no chemical test for  nil

nitrogen
Carbon dioxide  limewater  Carbon dioxide turns limewater from
colourless to milky.
Water 1. Dry cobalt(II) chloride paper 1. Water turns dry cobalt(II) chloride
paper from blue to pink.
2. Anhydrous copper(II) sulphate 2. Water turns anhydrous copper(II)
sulphate from white to blue.

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Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

7. Fractional distillation of liquid air

 The components of air can be separated by fractional distillation based on the difference in their boiling

points. There are three main stages in the separation.

Stage 1: Purification

The air is first filtered to remove dust particles. It is then cooled to –80°C.

At this temperature, carbon dioxide and water vapour become solid Fractional distillation of
liquid air
and are removed from the filtered air.

Stage 2: Liquefaction

The purified air is then cooled and compressed. The cold compressed air is allowed to expand into a

larger space. When it expands, the air cools further. This process is repeated several times until the

temperature of the air reaches –200°C and liquid air is obtained.

Stage 3: Fractional distillation

The liquid air is passed into the bottom of a fractionating column. The column is then warmed up very

slowly. Different gases in the air boil at different temperatures. Nitrogen has the lowest boiling point (–

196°C) and boils off first. It is collected at the top of the fractionating column. Liquid oxygen and

liquid argon are collected at the bottom of the fractionating column. Since the boiling points of oxygen

and argon are very close (–183°C and –186°C respectively), they have to be further separated by

fractional distillation.

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Sha Tin Methodist College Chapter 2 Study Notes
Form 4 Chemistry The atmosphere

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