Acids and Alkalis
Acids
Properties of acids
- Acids have a sour taste
- Acids conduct electricity (due to the presence of ions in the solution, which
can conduct electricity)
- Acids react with alkalis
- Acids react with metal
Common acids
- Hydrochloric acids
- Sulphuric acids
- Nitric acids
- All acids have hydrogen
Uses of acids
- Preservatives
- Stain removal
- Industrial chemicals (fertilizers)
Alkalis
Properties of alkalis
- Alkalis have a bitter taste
- Alkalis have a slippery feel
- Alkalis conduct electricity (due to the presence of ions in the solution, which
can conduct electricity)
- Alkalis react with acids
Common alkalis:
- Sodium hydroxide
- Ammonia solution
- Calcium hydroxide (limewater)
- All alkalis have hydroxide (hydrogen + oxygen)
Uses of Alkalis
- Removing grease
- Making industrial chemicals (Potassium hydroxide used in batteries)
Lab safety
Precautions
- Read hazard warning labels on reagent bottles
- Wear safety goggles and protective gloves
- Pour waste into the waste bucket
- Wash hands thoroughly after experiment
- Never taste acids and alkalis in the laboratory
- Never mix acids or alkalis with other chemicals without teacher permission
When accidents occur
- Wash affected area under slow running water for at least 10 minutes
- Carefully remove all contaminated clothing and avoid contacting the chemical
- Wash eye with eye wash bottle immediately for at least 10 minutes
- Call an ambulance for more serious injuries
Acid-Alkali indicators and pH-scale:
Natural indicators
- Natural indicators can distinguish acids and alkalis (this is due to alterations
in their chemical structure caused by the presence or absence of protons,
for example, pigments lose protons when in contact with alkali, and gains
protons when in contact with acids)
- Natural indicators are made by using a mortar and pestle
- Common natural indicators: red cabbage extracts, red rose flower extract,
blueberry extract, strawberry extract and beetroot extract
- Some plants contain pigments which change color when mixed with acids and
alkalis
Litmus
- Extracted from lichen pigments, which grows on tree trunks on tree trunks
- Litmus comes in two forms: litmus solution or litmus paper
- Blue litmus paper turns red in acidic solutions
- Red litmus paper turns blue in alkaline solutions
- (They work the same way as plant pigments do)
Universal indicators and pH scale
Universal indicators
- Can be used to determine the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a substance
(works by using a lot of different pH sensitive dyes, and acidic and alkaline
solutions can cause them to gain or lose protons, changing their colors)
- Available in solution and paper forms
- Paper form is pH paper
pH paper
- Color changes according to the acidity or alkalinity of the substance. The
color corresponds to a pH value
Universal indicator solution
- Turns solution into a different color corresponding to the pH value
pH value
- Shown in a pH scale.
- pH scale: Acidic <7, Alkaline >7, Neutral =7
- Lower the pH value, the more acidic the substance
- Higher the pH value, the more alkaline the substance
- A neutral substance has a pH value of 7
pH meter
- The probe generates a different voltage according to the hydrogen ions
concentration (the glass probe attracts hydrogen ions), and the device
calculates the pH value according to the voltage
- Measure pH values more accurately than universal indicator
- Can be used with a pH sensor connected to a data logger
Pros of pH meter:
- More accurate than universal indicators
- Reuseable
- Can record pH values of a liquid with a dark color
Cons of pH meter:
- More expensive
- Less convenient
- Needs to be calibrated before use
Neutralization
- Neutralization occurs when acids and alkalis react with each other
- When acids and alkalis mix, the molecular bonds break apart in the water,
and join to make another substance (the ionic attraction between positive
ions from acids and negative ones from alkalis allow them to always produce
the same product)
- When an acid and alkali (reactants) neutralize each other, salt and water are
produced (products), and heat is released
- Heat is released during bond formation from neutralization (the bonds break
apart in water and new bonds are formed, and this process gives off heat)
- Mass is conserved in neutralization
Products of neutralization:
- Acid + Alkali → salt + water
- Hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide → sodium chloride + water
- Nitric acid + potassium hydroxide → potassium nitrate + water
- Sulphuric acid + calcium hydroxide → calcium sulphate + water
Applications of neutralization
Prevention of tooth decay
- Bacteria in mouth convert sugar left in food residue into acids, which attack
teeth and cause tooth decay. Toothpaste is slightly alkali, which can
neutralize such acids.
- Chewing sugar free gum can stimulate saliva production in mouth, which is
slightly alkali and can neutralize acids in mouth
Relieving stomach upset
- Our stomach produces hydrochloric acid to digest food, which causes a
burning sensation in our stomachs, which can be relieved by antacids
containing alkali to neutralize excess acid
Treatment of insect stings and bites
- Bites of insects may contain acidic or alkaline substances that irritate the
skin. Applying acidic or alkaline substances to the affected area can treat
insect stings or bites
Treatment of industrial waste
- Industrial waste sometimes contains acids or alkali, which may cause water
pollution. To reduce pollution, alkalis (e.g. calcium hydroxide) are used to
neutralize acidic waste, while acids (e.g. Sulphuric acid) are used to
neutralize alkaline waste.
Regulation of pH value of soil
- Plants donÕt grow well in soil which is acidic or alkaline. When the soil is too
acidic, farmers will add slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) to neutralize the soil.
If the soil is too alkaline, farmers will add sulphur to the soil, which bacteria
will convert into sulphuric acid, which can neutralize alkali in the soil.
Corrosive nature of acids
Acids and metals
- Acids react with some metals. A salt and hydrogen are produced during the
reaction
- This is because when acids meet the water, their hydrogen ions separate
(hydrogen ions are positive), the metals lose electrons, and because the
hydrogen ions want to stabilize, they will join with the electrons, so they
become neutral, while the metals become more positive as they lose
electrons. Acid has negative ions, which will join with the more positive
substance, which is now the metal. So acid joins with the metal, making salt,
and the now more negative hydrogen ions become a hydrogen gas.
- Acid + metal → salt + hydrogen
- Hydrochloric acid + magnesium → magnesium chloride + hydrogen
- Hydrochloric acid + aluminum → aluminum chloride + hydrogen
- Sulphuric acid + magnesium → magnesium sulphate + hydrogen
- Sulphuric acid + aluminum → aluminum sulphate + hydrogen
Acids and other substances
- Acids also react with calcium carbonate
- Marble and limestone contain calcium carbonate
- Acid + carbonate → salt + carbon dioxide + water
- Hydrochloric acid + calcium carbonate → calcium chloride + carbon dioxide +
water
- Sulphuric acid + calcium carbonate → calcium sulphate + carbon dioxide +
water
- Nitric acid + calcium carbonate → calcium nitrate + carbon dioxide + water
Acid rain
- Rainwater is naturally slightly acidic
- If rainwater is more acidic than it should be, it is acid rain
Cause of acid rain
- Burning fossil fuels produces air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and
nitrogen oxide, which are acidic gases. They dissolve in water droplets and
become sulphuric acid and nitric acid, and fall as acid rain
Effect of acid rain
- Acid rain corrodes metal objects and building materials, damages plants, and
causes harm to aquatic life
Potential hazards related to acids and alkalis
Strong acids
- Hydrochloric acid
- Sulphuric acid
- Nitric acid
Weak acids
- Citric acid
- Ethanoic acid
- Carbonic acid
Strong alkali
- Sodium hydroxide
- Potassium hydroxide
Weak alkali
- Ammonia solution
Corrosion related to acids and alkalis
- Strong acids and alkalis are more corrosive than weak acids and alkalis
- Acids and alkalis in concentrated form are more corrosive
Proper handling of substances containing strong acids or alkalis
- Alkali and acid vapors are irritating and corrosive
- They may react and produce toxic vapors, which are harmful to health
- Do not mix cleaning products
- Dilute strong acids and alkalis by adding them to a large amount of water
- Handle such substances in a well-ventilated area
- Wear protective gloves and safety goggles
- There are many potential hazards when handling household cleaners
containing acids and alkalis. Read safety instructions for cleaners before use
Force and Motion
Motion
- Average speed = Distance/ time
- 1 m/s = 3.6 km\h
- Motion can be represented in a distance-time graph
- An object in uniform motion moves at a constant speed in a fixed direction
- An object in non-uniform motion moves at a changing speed or changing
direction
Force
- Force is the push or pull on an object
- Force can change the speed and direction of motion of an object
- Forces can be measured using a spring balance or a force sensor connected
to a data logger
- The unit of force is newton (N)
- Forces that exist only in objects in contact are called contact forces
- Forces that exist between objects without any contact between them are
called non-contact forces
Contact forces
- Air resistance
- Frictional force
- Tension force (of the object being pulled)
- Applied force
- Supporting force
- Spring force
Non-contact
- Magnetic force
- Electromagnetic force
- Gravitational force
Free-body diagrams
- Free-body diagrams show all the forces acting on an object
- Contact force: Arrow starts from the point of contact
- Gravitational force: Arrow starts in the middle
- Arrow length corresponds to size of force
Gravity
- If balanced force acts on an object, it stays at rest or in uniform motion
(The net force applied on the object beforehand will keep it moving in the
same direction at a uniform speed)
- If unbalanced forces act on an object, the motion of the object changes (It
may change direction/ change speed/ stay at rest)
Weight and Mass
- Mass is the amount of matter the object contains (Unchanged)
- The unit of mass is g or kg
- Weight is the force of gravity acting on the object (Changes according to
gravitational force in different planets)
- The unit of weight is N
- Weight on the Moon is 1/6 of the weight on Earth
- The ratio of Weight(N)/Mass(kg) on earth is always 9.8 on Earth
- The greater the mass, the greater the weight.
Friction and Air Resistance
- Friction opposes the motion of an object over a surface it is in contact with
- Air resistance opposes the motion of an object moving in the air
Methods to reduce friction or air resistance
- Use lubricants (such as soapy water or lubricating oil)
- Separating surfaces using an air cushion (used by maglev trains and jetfoils)
- Using rolling objects (e.g. rollers, ball bearings)
- Streamlining the shapes of objects (so that air can flow more smoothly over
the object without hitting it head-on)
Use of friction and air resistance
- Walking (friction between shoes and ground enables walking and prevents
slipping)
- Holding objects in position (holding food in chopsticks, friction between hand
and object prevents object from falling out of our hands)
- Slowing down moving objects (Air resistance acting on a parachute slows
down parachuter, brakes generate friction between the brake and the tyre
to slow the object down)
- In some daily life situations, friction and air resistance are important and we
need to make use of them
Action and Reaction Force
- Forces occur in pairs called action-reaction pairs.
- They act on different objects
- They are of the same magnitude but are opposite in direction
- Newton's Third Law of Motion states that "for every action, there is an
equal and opposite reaction
Senses
Senses and sense organs
- Sensitivity is the ability to detect and respond to stimuli
- Stimuli are detected by body parts called sense organs
- In each sense organs are specialized sensory cells, which send signals to the
brain through nerves to produce a sense
- Humans detect stimuli with five sense organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin
- The five senses are sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch
Hearing
- Sound is produced by the vibrations of objects
- The number of vibrations per second is called frequency
- The unit of frequency is hertz (Hz)
- The higher the sound frequency, the higher the pitch
- Sound must travel through a medium. This can be a solid, liquid or gas
- Sound travels fastest through solids (bricks, steel), liquid (water)
- Sound cannot travel through a vacuum (such as space) (No particles for the
sound to vibrate and transmit through)
Structure of the ear
Ear Bone
- The ear is divided into three sections: the outer ear, middle ear and Inner
ear
- The ear contains: pinna, ear canal, ear drum, ear bone, cochlea and auditory
nerve
How we hear sound
- The pinna in the outer ear has a funnel shape. It collects sound from the
surroundings and directs the sound into the ear canal
- Sound travels down the ear canal to the middle ear
- There is a thin membrane in the middle ear called the eardrum. Sound causes
the eardrum to vibrate, which are then transmitted to the ear bones
- The three ear bones in the middle ear then amplify the vibrations of the
eardrum and transmit them into the inner ear
- In the middle ear is the cochlea, in which there are sensory hair cells, which
are specialized sensory cells that detect vibrations and produce signals
- These signals are then sent to the brain through the auditory nerve, and the
brain then interprets the signals as sound
- The ear is divided into the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear
- There are specialized sensory cells in the cochlea that detect vibrations and
send signals to the brain, which are interpreted as sound
Limitations of our ears
Audible frequency range of humans
- There are limitations to our sense of hearing. We can only hear things within
an audible frequency range
- Humans can hear sounds of frequency from about 20 Hz to about 20000 Hz.
This is called the audible frequency range
- The audible frequency range varies among different people
- Different animals have different audible frequency ranges
Noise pollution:
- Noise is unwanted sound
- Noise pollution may be caused by traffic, construction work, human voices or
loud music.
- The unit of sound level is decibel (dB). It is measured with a decibel meter
- Prolonged exposure to noise (over 85 dB) may cause mental stress, sleep
disturbance and hearing loss
- We can protect our sense of hearing by keeping the volume low when
listening to music using headphones, shorten the time we stay in noisy
environments, wearing earplugs or ear protectors when noise exposure is
unavoidable and not picking our ears with hard objects.
Air
Components of air
- The layer of air on Earth is called the atmosphere
- Air is made up of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), carbon dioxide (0.03%),
noble gases (0.9%) and water vapour (0.07%)
Oxygen
- Oxygen is colourless and odourless
- It makes burning splints burn brighter
- It makes glowing splints relight
- Turns hydrogencarbonate indicator from red to purple
Carbon dioxide
- Carbon dioxide is colourless and odourless
- It makes burning splints go out
- Turns limewater milky
- Turns hydrogencarbonate indicator from red to yellow
Water vapour
- Turns dry cobalt chloride paper from blue to pink
Nitrogen and noble gases
- No simple tests
Hydrogencarbonate indicator
- > 0.04% carbon dioxide: yellow
- < 0.04% carbon dioxide: purple
- = 0.04% carbon dioxide
- The more the carbon dioxide content, the brighter the hydrogencarbonate
indicator becomes
Daily applications
- Oxygen:
- Oxygen is used to help patients with breathing difficulties
- In industry, for metal cutting, a mixture of gas fuel and oxygen is burnt to
produce a very high temperature, which can cut through metals
- Carbon dioxide:
- Carbon dioxide does not support burning and is denser than air. It is used in
fire extinguishers to put out fires
- Solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) changes directly to a gas at room temperature
and is used on stages to produce a fog effect
- Nitrogen:
- Nitrogen is used to fill some food packaging to prevent the food from going
bad
- Liquid nitrogen (with a temperature below -196°C) is used for storing living
cells and tissues
- Noble gases:
- Argon is used to fill light bulbs
- Helium is used to fill balloons and airships
- Neon is used to fill advertising light
Photosynthesis
- Plants make their own food through photosynthesis
- Raw materials needed: Carbon dioxide from the air, water absorbed from
the soil
- Energy source: light energy from the sunlight is absorbed by chlorophyll in
plants, which are converted into chemical energy in the food produced
- Glucose (carbohydrate) is the food produced. Plants use glucose for growth
and respiration. Glucose that is not used immediately are stored as starch
for temporary storage
- Oxygen is produced as a by-product and is given out in the air
- Carbon dioxide reacts with water to produce glucose and oxygen
Iodine solution
- We can use iodine solution to test for starch. Iodine changes from brown to
blue-black in the presence of starch
- How to test for starch in green leaves
1. Put the leaf in boiling water: to kill the leaf cells
2. Put the leaf in hot alcohol: To remove the chlorophyll from the leaf
3. Wash the leaf in hot water: To remove the alcohol and to make the leaf soft
4. Add iodine solution: to test for the presence of starch in the leaf
Testing for oxygen produced by photosynthesis
1. Put a water plant in a bottle full of water and add sodium hydrogencarbonate
powder
2. Sodium hydrogencarbonate provides carbon dioxide for the plant to carry
out photosynthesis
3. Gas bubbles are formed on the surfaces if the leaves and will rise to the
water surface
4. Glowing splint will relight when put over bottle mouth
- This shows that there is oxygen
Testing for the factors needed for photosynthesis
Chlorophyll:
- Destarch plant
- Place destarched plant in bright light for four hours
- Remove a variegated leaf from plant and test for starch
- After the iodine test, the green parts of the variegated leaf (contains
chlorophyll) become blue-black while the non-green parts (no chlorophyll) are
brown in colour.
- This shows that starch is produced the green parts of the variegated leaf,
which contains chlorophyll
- This means that chlorophyll is necessary for photosynthesis
Carbon dioxide
- Destarch plant
- Place a leaf from the plant in a transparent plastic bag, and tie it with a
string
- Place another leaf from the plant in another transparent plastic bag, but
place soda lime in the bag before tying it up with string
- Soda lime will absorb the carbon dioxide, leaving the leaf with no carbon
dioxide to use for photosynthesis
- The leaf with the soda lime in the bag will remain brown after the iodine
test, indicating that there isnÕt any starch
- The leaf without the soda lime will turn blue-black after the iodine test,
indicating that there is no starch
- Carbon dioxide is necessary for photosynthesis
Light
- Cover middle of a leaf of the destarched plant using a black paper and paper
clips.
- Leave the plant in bright light for about four hours.
- Remove the covered leaf from the plant.
- Remove the black paper and paper clips, and carry out the iodine test on the
leaf
- The covered parts will remain brown after the iodine test, while the parts
uncovered parts will turn blue-black
- Light is necessary for photosynthesis
Chlorophyll, light, carbon dioxide and water are necessary for photosynthesis
Importance of photosynthesis
- Photosynthesis provides food for living things and maintains the balance of
oxygen and carbon dioxide in Nature
Food Chain:
- Plants can make their own food through photosynthesis, so they are called
producers
- Animals eat other things, so are called consumers
- Food chain shows the feeding relationship amongst living things
- Arrows in the food chain show the direction of the flow of energy
Respiration
- Food is the source of energy for all living things
- Respiration takes place in our body cells
- During respiration, cells use oxygen to break down food to release energy in
useful forms
- Carbon dioxide and water are produced in respiration
Relationship between respiration and photosynthesis
- The products of photosynthesis (glucose and oxygen) are the raw materials
used in respiration
- The products of respiration (carbon dioxide and water) are the raw
materials for photosynthesis
- During photosynthesis, light energy is converted into chemical energy in
food. The food is broken down in respiration to release energy
- Photosynthesis only takes place in plants and under the presence of light,
and the energy is stored in food
- Respiration takes place in both plants and animals all the time, and the
energy is released from food
Net gas exchange in plants
Daytime
- Both photosynthesis and respiration take place.
- Rate of photosynthesis > Rate of respiration
- Net uptake of carbon dioxide
- Net release of oxygen
Nighttime:
- Photosynthesis stops. Only respiration takes place.
- Net uptake of oxygen
- Net release of carbon dioxide
Net gas exchange in plants depends on the relative rates of photosynthesis and
respiration.
Stomata
- Gas exchange in plants is carried out through the stomata on the leaf
epidermis
- Surrounding each stoma are two guard cells, which control the opening and
closing of the stomata
- In the daytime, the guard cells are full of water and open the stomata
- During photosynthesis, the plant gives out the oxygen produced through the
stomata
- At night, the guard cells shrink as they lose water, and so the stoma closes
Gas exchange in animals
Inhaled air and exhaled air
- Collecting inhaled air: leave gas jars open to air for a moment then cover
them with a cover plate
- Collecting exhaled air: fill gas jars with water in a water through, then place
it upside down. Insert one end of a bendable straw into the gas jar and blow
slowly through the straw.
- Comparing the oxygen content: put a burning splint into a jar of exhaled and
exhaled air and compare the time it took to go out
- Exhaled air contains less oxygen than inhaled air
- Comparing the carbon dioxide content: add hydrogencarbonate indicator to
both jars
- Exhaled air contains more carbon dioxide than inhaled air
- Comparing the water vapour content: breathe onto a cobalt chloride paper
and set another one in the open
- Inhaled air contains less water vapour than exhaled air
- Comparing the temperature: measure the room temperature with a
thermometer, and blow into a boiling tube with a thermometer in it through a
straw
- The temperature of inhaled air is lower than that of exhaled air.
- Inhaled air: 21% oxygen (more), 0.04% carbon dioxide (less), variable water
vapour content (less), and lower temperature
- Exhaled air: 16% oxygen (more), 4% Carbon dioxide (more), saturated water
vapour content (more) and higher temperature
Human breathing system
- Humans have a breathing system for gas exchange
- Nasal cavity → trachea → bronchi → bronchioles → air sacs
- Gas exchange allows a continuous supply of oxygen to the body cells for
respiration, and removal of carbon dioxide from the body
Air sacs
- Gas exchange in humans takes place at the air sacs
- Air sacs are surrounded by capillaries
- Oxygen passes from the air sacs into the blood capillaries. The blood then
carries the oxygen to the body cells for respiration.
- Carbon dioxide is produced during respiration. It is carried by blood flowing
to the lungs. Carbon dioxide passes from the blood into the air sacs. It is
then breathed out.
Balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in Nature
- Photosynthesis and respiration are two essential life processes which
maintain the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in Nature
- Human activities such as burning fossil fuels are disrupting the balance of
carbon dioxide and oxygen in Nature.
- The increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere enhances the
greenhouse effect and leads to global warming
- Global warming will result in melting of ice at polar regions and climate
change.
- To slow down global warming, we can help reduce the emission of greenhouse
gases/carbon dioxide
Electricity
Electrical circuits
- A closed circuit with a source of electrical energy is required for electricity
to flow
- Materials that allow electricity to flow through them are called electrical
conductor
- Materials that do not allow electricity to flow through are called electrical
insulators
- A switch is used to open or close a circuit
Circuit diagrams
- A circuit diagram is drawn to represent an actual circuit
Electrical current
- An atom has a nucleus surrounded by tiny electrons. The nucleus carries a
positive charge while electrons carry a negative charge
- In metals, some electrons can escape from the atoms and move freely within
the metal. These are called free electrons
- When a metal is connected to an energy source, the free electrons are
driven to flow in a direction from the negative pole to the positive pole of
the electric cell. This flow forms an electric current
- An electric current is a flow of free electrons
Conventional current
- It was believed that electrical current was a flow of positive charges from
the positive pole of the electric cells to the negative pole
Electron flow
- Flows from the negative pole to the positive pole
Ampere
- The size of electric current relates to the number of electrons that flow
through a point in the circuit every second, the more electrons flowing
through it, the larger the electric current
- We can use an ammeter to measure the size of the current
- The unit of electric current is ampere (A)
Heating effect of electric current
- When an electric current flows through a conductor, some of the electrical
energy is converted into thermal energy. This is called the heating effect of
an electric current
Voltage
- The voltage of an electric cell is a measure of the amount of energy supplied
to the free electrons by the energy source
- Voltage can be measured by a voltmeter
- The unit of voltage is volts (V)
- When an energy source such as an electric cell are connected end to end
with each other, the total voltage is the sum of the voltage of all the
electric cells
- The higher the voltage, the greater the current
- Voltage is the energy supplied to the electrons for the electrons to move
Resistance
- Resistance is the opposition of a material to the flow of electric current
- It is measured in ohm
- When resistance increases, the electric current in a circuit decreases (since
the “push” the electrons get from the energy source stays the same, when
there is more opposition, then the speed at which the electrons pass through
a point also decreases)
- When resistance increases, the voltage stays the same (because voltage is
fixed according to the energy source)
- The material, thickness and length of a wire affects the resistance of an
electric current
- The thinner the wire, the higher its resistance
- The longer the wire, the higher the resistance
- A resistor is a circuit component with a fixed of resistance
- A rheostat is a circuit component whose resistance can be adjusted
- Common rheostats include sliding rheostats and rotary type rheostats
Series vs Parallel circuits
- Components are connected one after the other in a series circuit
- Components are connected on different branches in a parallel circuit
Series
- Voltage across different electrical components is different in a series
circuit
- This is because the energy is used by the electrical component, resulting in
less energy for the electrons, which leads to a decrease in voltage
- If there is a gap, there is no current flowing though the circuit
Parallel circuit
- Total current of a parallel circuit is the sum of current in all the branches
- Voltage is equal in a parallel circuit
- If there is a gap in one of the branches, there is still current flowing in the
other branches
Household electricity
- Electrical energy is converted into thermal energy for use in the heating
effect in electrical appliances
- The mains voltage in Hong Kong is 220 volts
- We plug appliances into a mains socket
- We use a three pin plug
Three pin plugs
- Three pin plugs consist of an earth pin (at the top), a live pin (on the left),
and a neutral pin (on the right)
- The earth wire is green-yellow, the live wire is brown, and the neutral wire is
blue
Use of earth wire
- The earth wire is connected to the outer metal casing of the appliance
- If a faulty live wire touches the metal casing, it could cause the user to have
an electric shock
- The earth wire provides a path with low resistance for the flow through,
driving the current away from the metal into the ground, preventing an
electric shock (making use of short circuit)
Domestic circuits
- Domestic circuits are connected in parallel
- This is to allow other appliances to operate independently
- For example, if one appliance is broken, other appliances can still work
Electrical Safety
Overloading
- When connecting too many appliances to a universal adaptor, the current
drawn from the mains socket may be too large
- This will cause overloading
Short circuit
- When the wire casing is melted or broken due to overheating, the exposed
wire may touch the metal casing.
- Since the metal casing has less resistance than the wire, the current will
flow through the metal casing rather than the wire.
- This causes a short circuit, and a very large current flows through the less
resistant material
- This may cause overheating
Fuses
- A fuse will blow and break a circuit if the current is above its fuse rating
Circuit breaker
- A circuit breaker will turn off by itself and break a circuit if the current is
above its rating