The word atom comes from atomos, an ancient Greek word meaning
indivisible. The Greek philosopher Democritus (460-370 BCE)
maintained that all matter could be divided and sub-divided into
smaller and smaller units, and eventually there would be a tiny
particle that could not be divided any further - an atom. This was
remarkable because there was no way ancient Greeks could support
this theory by observation or experiment.
John Dalton
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Although the word 'atom' comes from the Greek for indivisible, we now
know that atoms are not the smallest particles of matter. Instead, they
have a small central nucleus surrounded by even smaller particles
called electrons.
All substances are made from atoms. And, as Dalton suggested, any
given element is made of atoms of just one particular sort. The atoms
of any element are different from the atoms of any other element. So
iron contains a different sort of atoms from those of sulphur, and the
atoms in carbon are different from those of oxygen.
Chemical symbols
the atoms of each element are represented by chemical symbols.
These usually consist of one or two different letters, but sometimes
three letters are used for newly-discovered elements. The first letter in
a chemical symbol is always an UPPERCASE letter, and the other
letters are always lowercase. So, the symbol for magnesium is Mg and
not mg, MG or mG.
Every element has its own chemical symbol. For example, iron is Fe,
sulphur is S, sodium is Na and oxygen is O.
There are more than 100 different elements. The periodic table is a
chart showing all the elements arranged in a particular way. The
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vertical columns in the periodic table are called groups. Each group
contains elements that have similar properties.
The periodic table has eight main groups. For example, group 1
contains very reactive metals such as sodium - Na - while group 7
contains very reactive non-metals such as chlorine - Cl.
Note that you will never find a compound in the periodic table,
because these consist of two or more different elements joined
together by chemical bonds.
Chemical bonds involve electrons from the reacting atoms. Bonds can
form when:
Chemical formulae
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The diagram below shows that one carbon atom and two oxygen
atoms combine to make up the units of carbon dioxide - its chemical
formula should therefore be written as CO2.
Carbon dioxide units contain one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms
Equations
You can see that copper and oxygen are the reactants, and copper
oxide is the product.
Cu + O2 CuO
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Notice that we have unequal numbers of each type of atom on the left-
hand side compared with the right-hand side. To make things equal,
we need to adjust the number of units of some of the substances until
we get equal numbers of each type of atom on both sides of the arrow.
2Cu + O2 2CuO
You can see that now we have two copper atoms and two oxygen
atoms on each side. This matches what happens in the reaction.
Two atoms of copper react with two atoms of oxygen to form two units of
copper oxide
Hydrocarbons
Most of the compounds in crude oil are hydrocarbons. This means
that they only contain hydrogen and carbon atoms, joined together by
chemical bonds. There are different types of hydrocarbon, but most of
the ones in crude oil are alkanes.
Alkanes
The alkanes are a family of hydrocarbons that share the same general
formula. This is:
CnH2n+2
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Notice that the molecular models on the right show that the bonds are
not really at 90°
Distillation
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Fractional distillation
Oil fractions
The diagram below summarises the main fractions from crude oil and
their uses, and the trends in properties. Note that the gases condense
at the top of the column, the liquids in the middle and the solids stay
at the bottom.
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Combustion of fuels
Complete combustion
Fuels burn when they react with oxygen in the air. The hydrogen in
hydrocarbons is oxidised to water (remember that water, H2O, is an
oxide of hydrogen). If there is plenty of air, we get complete
combustion and the carbon in hydrocarbons is oxidised to carbon
dioxide:
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Incomplete combustion
if there is insufficient air for complete combustion, we get incomplete
combustion instead. The hydrogen is still oxidised to water, but
instead of carbon dioxide we get carbon monoxide. Particles of carbon,
seen as soot or smoke, are also released.
Sulphur
Most hydrocarbon fuels naturally contain some sulphur compounds.
When the fuel burns, the sulphur it contains is oxidised to sulphur
dioxide.
Summary
the combustion of a fuel may release several gases into the
atmosphere, including:
• water vapour
• carbon dioxide
• carbon monoxide
• particles
• sulphur dioxide
Sulphur dioxide
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result. Acid rain also makes rivers and lakes too acidic for some
aquatic life to survive.
Sulphur can be removed from fuels at the oil refinery. This makes the
fuel more expensive to produce, but it prevents sulphur dioxide being
produced. You may have noticed ‘low sulphur’ petrol and diesel on
sale at filling stations.
Global warming
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As you can see from the graphs, the amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere has increased steadily over the past 150 years, and so
has the average global temperature.
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Global dimming
Tiny particles that are released when fuels are burned cause global
dimming. Like global warming, this process may change rainfall
patterns around the world.
It is likely that global dimming has hidden some of the effects of global
warming, by stopping some of the Sun’s energy reaching the Earth’s
surface in the first place. Governments around the world are
introducing controls on pollution. There is the possibility that as the
air becomes less polluted by smoke and soot, global dimming will
decrease, causing the effects of global warming to become more
obvious.
Limestone
Limestone and its products have many uses, including being used to
make mortar, cement, concrete and glass
Thermal decomposition
heat
calcium carbonate calcium oxide + carbon dioxide
heat
CaCO3 CaO + CO2
Other metal carbonates decompose in the same way. Here are the
equations for the thermal decomposition of copper carbonate:
heat
copper carbonate copper oxide + carbon dioxide
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heat
CuCO3 CuO + CO2
Notice that in both examples the products are a metal oxide and
carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide gas can be detected using
limewater. Limewater turns cloudy white when carbon dioxide is
bubbled through it.
For your exam, you need to know how quicklime and slaked lime are
obtained from limestone.
Making quicklime
If limestone is heated strongly, it breaks down to form calcium oxide
and carbon dioxide. Calcium oxide is also called quicklime. It is yellow
when hot, but white when cold.
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heat
CaCO3 CaO + CO2
A lot of heat is produced in the reaction, which may even cause the
water to boil.
Summary
Using common names instead of chemical names, this is what
happens:
heat
limestone quicklime + carbon dioxide
Uses of limestone
Limestone, quicklime and slaked lime are all used to neutralise excess
acidity - which may be caused by acid rain - in lakes and in soils.
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The flow chart below summarises the main uses of limestone and its
products.
Glass
Glass is made by melting sand and then cooling it. Flat sheets of glass
for windows are made by floating molten glass on a layer of molten tin.
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Benefits Disadvantages
Limestone quarries are visible
Limestone is a valuable natural
from long distances and may
resource, used to make things
permanently disfigure the local
such as glass and concrete.
environment.
Limestone quarrying provides Quarrying is a heavy industry
employment opportunities that that creates noise and heavy
support the local economy in towns traffic, which damages people's
around the quarry. quality of life.
Glass is usually brittle and easily shattered, but toughened glass can
be used for windows. While glass is transparent and so lets light into
a building, buildings with lots of glass can be too hot in the summer.
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Metals
Metals are very useful. Ores are naturally occurring rocks that contain
metal or metal compounds in sufficient amounts to make it
worthwhile extracting them. For example, iron ore is used to make
iron and steel. Copper is easily extracted, but ores rich in copper are
becoming more difficult to find. Aluminium and titanium are metals
with useful properties, but they are expensive to extract. Most
everyday metals are mixtures called alloys.
The Earth's crust contains metals and metal compounds such as gold,
iron oxide and aluminium oxide, but when found in the Earth these
are often mixed with other substances. To be useful, the metals have
to be extracted from whatever they are mixed with. A metal ore is a
rock containing a metal, or a metal compound, in a high enough
concentration to make it economic to extract the metal.
The method used to extract metals from the ore in which they are
found depends on their reactivity. For example, reactive metals such
as aluminium are extracted by electrolysis, while a less-reactive metal
such as iron may be extracted by reduction with carbon or carbon
monoxide.
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Thus the method of extraction of a metal from its ore depends on the
metal's position in the reactivity series:
potassium
sodium
calcium extract by electrolysis
magnesium
aluminium
carbon
zinc
iron
extract by reaction with carbon or carbon monoxide
tin
lead
hydrogen
copper
silver
extracted by various chemical reactions
gold
platinum
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Carbon is more reactive than iron, so it can push out or displace the
iron from iron oxide. Here are the equations for the reaction:
In this reaction, the iron oxide is reduced to iron, and the carbon is
oxidised to carbon dioxide.
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Steel
Iron
Pure iron is soft and easily shaped. This is because its atoms are
arranged in a regular way that lets layers of atoms slide over each
other. Pure iron is too soft for many uses.
Layers of atoms slide over each other when metals are bent or
stretched
Iron from the blast furnace is an alloy of about 96 per cent iron with
carbon and some other impurities. It is hard, but too brittle for most
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uses. So, most iron from the blast furnace is converted into steel by
removing some of the carbon.
Steel
Carbon is removed by blowing oxygen into the molten metal. It reacts
with the carbon producing carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
These escape from the molten metal. Enough oxygen is used to
achieve steel with the desired carbon content. Other metals are often
added, such as vanadium and chromium.
Alloys
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It is more difficult for layers of atoms to slide over each other in alloys
Copper, gold and aluminium are too soft for many uses. They are
mixed with other metals to make them harder for everyday use. For
example:
You need to know where to find the transition metals in the periodic
table. The transition metals are found in the large block between
Groups 2 and 3 in the periodic table. Most metals are placed here,
including iron, titanium, copper and nickel.
Common properties
The transition metals have these properties in common:
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Smart alloys can return to their original shape after being bent. They
are useful for spectacle frames and dental braces.
Copper
Problems
we are running out of ores rich in copper. Research is being carried
out to find new ways to extract copper from the remaining ores,
without harming the environment too much. This research is very
important, as traditional mining produces huge open-cast mines, and
the remaining ores are low-grade, which means that they contain
relatively little copper and produce a lot of waste rock.
Aluminium and titanium are two metals with a low density. This
means that they are lightweight for their size. They also have a very
thin layer of their oxides on the surface, which stops air and water
getting to the metal, so aluminium and titanium resist corrosion.
These properties make the two metals very useful.
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Extraction
Unlike iron, aluminium and titanium cannot be extracted from their
oxides by reduction with carbon:
Recycling
Aluminium is extensively recycled because less energy is needed to
produce recycled aluminium than to extract aluminium from its ore.
Recycling preserves limited resources and requires less energy, so it
causes less damage to the environment.
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