Purity
Pure Elements
• Pure elements consist of only one type of atom. For example, pure
gold is made entirely of gold atoms, while gold alloys include other
metals like copper or silver.
• When purchasing gold, it is often marked to indicate its purity, such
as 24 carat (pure gold), 18 carat, or 9 carat.
• The higher the carat, the more gold the item contains.
• For example, 18 carat gold has 18 parts gold out of 24, with the
remaining 6 parts being other metals, giving it a purity of 75%. To
calculate the purity percentage, use the formula: ( Parts of gold /
Total parts ) × 100.
Understanding Salts
• Salts are compounds formed from acids, and their names indicate
which acid was used.
• For example: Sodium chloride comes from hydrochloric acid.
Sodium sulfate comes from sulfuric acid.
Composition of Seawater
• Salts In seawater, the composition of salts is roughly as follows:
Sodium chloride : 68% Calcium chloride : 3.1% Magnesium chloride :
14.6% Sodium sulfate : 11.4% Other salts : 2.9%
• Purity of Sodium Chloride
• The sodium chloride obtained from seawater is only 68% pure. To
calculate the amount of sodium chloride in 1000g of seawater, use:
350g of salts in 1000g of seawater × 68% = 238g of sodium chloride.
Pure Products
• When a chemical reaction produces a product from reactants, it is
crucial that the product is pure, especially in medicine.
• If impurities are present, they could affect the medicine's efficacy. In
a simple reaction, there is only one product formed.
• For example: magnesium + oxygen → magnesium oxide. In some
reactions, there may be multiple products that need to be
separated and purified.
UNIT 5.3 WEATHER AND CLIMATE
LO: To be able to differentiate between weather and climate
Keywords
• atmosphere
• climate
• climatology
• humidity
• meteorology
• statistics
• visibility
• weather
Weather
• Weather = condition of atmosphere at a particular time and place.
• Weather changes over short time periods (minutes, hours, days).
• People talk about weather daily (e.g., “Will it rain today?”).
Weather is made up of many factors:
• temperature
• humidity (amount of water vapour in air)
• precipitation (rain, snow, hail)
• cloud cover
• visibility (how clearly we can see)
• wind
Examples of Weather in Different Regions
• Scotland – very unpredictable; rain, sun, wind can all occur in one
day.
• Namibia – very hot and dry; desert areas and very little rain.
• Canada – very cold snowy winters; warm summers.
• Republic of Ireland – mild weather but lots of rain.
• Bangladesh – tropical; hot and humid; strong monsoon season.
Climate
• Climate = the average weather pattern in a place over a long period
(about 30 years).
• Climate tells us the usual pattern of temperature and rainfall in an
area.
Difference between Weather and Climate
Weather Climate
Short term (hours, days) Long term (decades)
Changes frequently Remains consistent pattern
Example: It is raining today. Example: The region is usually
dry in summer.
Climate Zones
The main climate zones on Earth are:
• Polar : Extremely cold and dry throughout the year. Temperate :
Cold winters and mild summers.
• Arid : Hot and dry all year round.
• Tropical : Hot and humid throughout the year. Mediterranean : Mild
winters and hot, dry summers. Mountains/Tundra/Taiga : Very cold
throughout the year.
UNIT 5.4 Climate and Ice Ages
LO: To be able to learn about how the Earth’s climate has changed in past
• find out about ice ages, glacial periods and interglacial periods • look
at some of evidence that the Earth’s climate cycles between colder and
warmer periods
Keywords
• boulder
• cycled
• glacial period
• glaciers ice ages
• interglacial period
• peat bog
• Ice Sheets in the Past 25,000 years ago, the Earth was much colder.
• Large parts of the Earth were covered by huge ice sheets.
• Glacial and Interglacial Periods
• Glacial period = very cold phase on Earth.
• Ice spreads further from poles toward the equator.
• Interglacial period = warmer phase.
• Ice remains only near the poles.
• Yuka (the mammoth) lived during a glacial period.
• The last glacial period ended about 10,000 years ago.
• We are currently in an interglacial period.
Ice Ages
• Earth’s climate has changed many times.
• There were times with no permanent ice (warm periods).
• These periods alternated with freezing periods (ice ages).
• Ice ages consist of cycles: glacial → interglacial → glacial →
interglacial.
How Scientists Know About Past Climate
• Evidence is found on Earth’s surface.
• Boulders in unusual places (e.g., California) show glaciers carried
them.
• Scratches on rocks show that glaciers once rubbed across them.
• Fossils of cold-adapted plants and animals found in warm regions
show those places were once cold.
Pollen Evidence for Glacial and Interglacial Periods
• Scientists study pollen grains to know what plants grew in the past.
• Pollen is preserved in places like peat bogs.
• Peat bogs are wet, contain low oxygen and high acidity →
decomposition is slow.
• Scientists take a soil core (tube-shaped sample) from peat bog.
• Each layer of peat represents a time period:
• deeper layer = older
• upper layer = more recent
By identifying pollen types in each layer, scientists can tell:
• what plants lived there
• what the climate was like at that time
• Cold climate → pollen from cold-loving plants.
• Warm climate → pollen from warm-loving plants.
• Thus, pollen helps in understanding past glacial (cold) and
interglacial (warm) periods.
UNIT 5.5 The Atmosphere and Climate
LO: To be able to learn about the atmosphere of the Earth , how a
change in the atmosphere can affect the climate , renewable resources
Keywords
• analogy
• biodegradable
• bioplastics
• deforestation
• emissions
• fossil fuels
• global warming
• greenhouse effect
• locked up
• photosynthesis
• recycled
• renewable resource
The Atmosphere
• The atmosphere is a layer of gases that surrounds Earth.
• It protects Earth and is necessary for life.
• It has changed a lot over billions of years.
Early Atmosphere
• Earth formed around 4,600 million years (4.6 billion years)
• Initially, Earth was very hot and molten.
• As Earth cooled, lots of volcanoes erupted.
• Volcanoes released gases → these gases formed the early
atmosphere.
• The early atmosphere had a lot of carbon dioxide.
• Oxygen was very low in early Earth’s atmosphere.
Earth’s Atmosphere Today
• Present atmosphere mainly contains:
• 78% nitrogen
• 21% oxygen
• small amounts of carbon dioxide, water vapour, ammonia, methane
Changes to the Atmosphere Over Time
Early Biological Changes
• About 3,500 million years ago – first microorganisms appeared.
• These microorganisms used carbon dioxide for food.
• They released oxygen as waste.
• Later, plants evolved and did photosynthesis, which also produced
oxygen.
• Oxygen levels gradually increased.
• Oxygen reacted with iron in rocks to form iron oxide (rust).
• Reduction in Carbon Dioxide
• By 200 million years ago, carbon dioxide levels had dropped a lot.
• Carbon became part of living organisms → used to make essential
biological molecules.
• Some organisms died and did not decompose → formed fossil fuels
(coal, oil, natural gas).
• Between 600–400 million years ago, shell-forming organisms
evolved.
• Their shells turned into limestone → trapped carbon inside rock.
Modern Atmospheric Changes
• Human Activities Increasing Carbon Dioxide
• About last 200 years (Industrial Revolution onwards) → carbon
dioxide levels started rising again.
Causes:
• Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) releases CO₂.
• Deforestation → fewer trees to absorb CO₂.
• Livestock (cows, sheep) produce methane during digestion.
• Processing limestone (e.g., for cement) releases CO₂.
Overall Impact
• Human activities are increasing greenhouse gases (CO₂ and
methane).
• This is altering the natural balance of gases in the atmosphere.