KS3 CHEMICAL REACTIONS

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Chemical Reactions: changes in

bonding

During chemical reactions atoms become

bonded (joined) together in new ways. E.g.

Magnesium + Copper Oxide Magnesium Oxide + Copper

Cu O

Mg

Mg O

Cu

Chemical reactions are different to physical changes. In

physical changes atoms are bonded to the same atoms
before and after a change. E.g.
Water

ice
H

H
H O

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Activity

Reactants and Products

In chemical reactions new substances are formed.
We call the starting materials reactants and the
substances that are formed: products.
products E.g.
Mg

Cu O

Substance
magnesium oxide
magnesium
copper oxide
copper

Mg O

Cu

Reactant or Product?
product
reactant
reactant
product
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Word Equations

Chemists often use word equations as a way of

quickly telling us what the reactants and products
are.
We just write:
the names of the reactants
an arrow (meaning reacts to give)
the names of the products

E.g. for magnesium reacting with copper oxide to form

magnesium oxide and copper we write

Magnesium + Copper Oxide Magnesium Oxide + Copper

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Activity

Write word equations for these reactions:

1. Magnesium burned brightly reacting with the oxygen

in the air to form magnesium oxide.
magnesium + oxygen magnesium oxide

2. Hydrochloric acid reacted with the calcium hydroxide

to give water and calcium chloride
hydrochlor + calcium
ic acid
hydroxide

water

calcium
chloride

3. Electrolysis of aluminium oxide produced aluminium

metal and oxygen gas
aluminium oxide

aluminium +

oxygen
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No new atoms

Note that chemical reactions can produce very

different looking substances.
This is because atoms have bonded (joined) together
in new ways.
It is not because any new atoms have been formed.
Mg

1 Mg

Cu O

1 Cu

Mg O

Cu

1O

The same number of each type of atom are present before and
after a chemical reaction
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No change in total mass

In a chemical reaction all the atoms present in

the reactants are also present in the products.
It follows that the mass of the reactants will be
equal to the mass of the products
Mg

Cu O

Mg O

Cu

Total Mass = mass of:

Total Mass = mass of:

1Mg, 1 Cu and 1 O atom

1Mg, 1 Cu and 1 O atom

Total mass of reactants = total mass of products

This is known as the Law of Conservation of Mass

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No
Nochange
changeinintotal
totalmass
mass

The Conservation of Mass only works if you include

the mass of all the reactant and product atoms.
In reactions that produce a gas mass may appear to be
lost. This is because some of the atoms have left the
flask in which we are carrying out the reaction.
E.g. When magnesium reacts with acid if we also weigh
the hydrogen that has been given off then we find mass
is conserved.
H Cl
Mg

H Cl

Mg

Cl
+

Cl

Hydrogen leaves the flask and so

products appear to have less mass
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No change in total mass

We can demonstrate the Law of conservation of mass

using any reaction where no gas is lost.
E.g. We can look at the reaction:

Lead nitrate + potassium iodide

Colourless
solution

Colourless
solution

lead iodide + potassium nitrate

Yellow
solid

Colourless
solution

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Activity
1. Half fill a small tube with potassium iodide solution,
then lower it carefully into a conical flask.
2. Add 25cm3 of lead nitrate solution (use a pipette) to the
conical flask.
3. Put a stopper on the flask. Do not let any potassium
iodide spill into the conical flask
4. Measure the mass of the apparatus.
5. Tip the flask so the two liquids mix
6. Measure the mass again.

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Whats actually happening?

potassium + lead
lead
+ potassium
iodide
nitrate
iodide
nitrate
2KI
K
K

+ Pb(NO3)2
I
I

N
O

PbI2 +

2KNO3
O

O
O Pb

Pb

This is a chemical reaction. The atoms become

bonded to different atoms as it changes from
reactant to product but all the atoms are present
both at the start and at the end.

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Chemical Reactions not easy to reverse.

During chemical changes (reactions) different atoms
become bonded.
Chemical bonds are not easy to break.
Because of this chemical changes are usually difficult to
reverse. (It is difficult to change products back into
reactants.) E.g. We cannot un-burn magnesium.
Mg

Mg

magnesium

oxygen

Mg O
O Mg

magnesium
oxide

Note: although many reactions give out heat once started

they often need energy to get them going.
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Activity

Fill in the gaps in the sentences.

reactants
1. The starting substances are called the _________
2. One or more new substance is always formed. These
are called the _________
products
3. It is _________
to change products back into reactants.
difficult
This is because different atoms have become
bonded (joined) together.
_________
equations
4. We can describe reactions by word e_________.
5. There are often visible changes during chemical
reactions such as _______________
colour, bubbles etc
energy to get them started.
6. Many reactions require ______
7. Most reactions give out energy during the reaction.
8. The total mass of reactants = total mass of products.
This is known as ________________.
conservation of mass

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Chemical Reactions everywhere?

Chemical reactions are not something that only happens
in the laboratory. They happen anywhere that one
substance is changed into another. For example:

Cooking

Burning

Rusting

Making metals

Sticking

Living!
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Chemical Reactions good and bad.

Many chemical reactions are useful or even essential to
our very survival. Some that you should know are:
Combustion (burning or oxidation)
Polymerisation (making plastics)
Smelting (making metals or reduction)
Neutralisation (removing acid or alkali)
Electrolysis (used in metal plating)
Fermentation (making bread and alcohol)
Ripening of fruit

Other chemical reactions are a nuisance or dangerous.

Some you should know about are:

Rusting of steel
Spoiling of food
Pollution causing the greenhouse effect
Pollution to give acid rain

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Combustion (Burning)
Mastery of fire was one of the great achievements of
primitive man.
Burning fuels is still a hugely important process.
It does of course provide us with warmth.
It also provides us with over 90% of our energy for
transport, factories and home including electricity.
Without combustion life would be very different!

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Combustion
Over 90% of the worlds energy comes from the burning
of fossil fuels like natural gas, petrol and coal.
Below are some word equations for the reactions.
Coal is mostly carbon
Carbon

oxygen

Carbon
dioxide

Natural gas is mostly methane (formula = CH4)

methane

oxygen

Carbon
dioxide

water

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Combustion an oxidation reaction

Combustion of fuels is an example of a wider group of
reactions known as oxidation.
oxidation
When oxygen combines with substances to form oxides
the substance is said to have been oxidised. E.g.
When carbon burns the carbon is oxidised.
carbon
+
(oxidised)

oxygen

carbon
dioxide

When magnesium burns the magnesium is oxidised.

magnesium +
(oxidised)

oxygen

magnesium
oxide

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Activity

Petrol is a hydrocarbon, formula C8H18

What gas does it react with when it burns?

oxygen

What substance will the carbon change into

when it combines with the above gas?
carbon dioxide CO2

What substance will the hydrogen change into

during the reaction?
Water H2O

What is the word equation for the reaction

octane

oxygen

carbon
dioxide

water

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Plastics from oil

Oil is not only used as a source of fuels. It is also the
starting material for making plastics but first the crude oil
has to be separated into different fractions using fractional
distillation.
This is a physical , not a chemical, process. No bonds are
broken or formed.
It depends on the fact that small molecules usually boil
more easily than big ones.
It separates out molecules of different sizes by boiling
them and then catching them as they cool and condense
back to liquid.
Boils at a
low
temperature

Boils at a
higher
temperature

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 Boardworks Ltd 2001

Activity

Fill in the gaps.

Distillation is used to separate the hydrocarbons in oils
fractions
into different f_____.
hot
The distillation is carried out in a tall tower that is ____
cool at the top.
at the bottom and ____
The boiling points of hydrocarbons depends upon their
low boiling points
size. Small molecules tend to have ___
whereas bigger molecules have _____
boiling points.
higher
Here is a list of some of the fractions:
1)diesel, 2)lubricating oil, 3)fuel gas 4)kerosine,
5)bitumen, 6)petrol, 7)naptha. The boiling points of these
get higher in the order:
1)fuel gas, 2)petrol, 3)naptha 4)kerosine 5)diesel,
6)lubricating oil, 7)bitumen
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Plastics from oil

Once the oil has been separated it has to go through
further reactions known as cracking and polymerisation
before we get to plastic.
Most plastics consist of long chain like molecules.
Polymerisation is a chemical reaction where new chemical
bonds form to join small molecules into very long ones.
H H H H H H H H H H
H C C C C C C C C C C
H H H H H H H H H H

And
lots
more..

Part of a polythene molecule (a polymer)

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Smelting making metals

Another achievement of primitive man was the ability to
make metals. This led the way from the stone age into
the bronze age and iron age.
Mostly getting metals involves taking oxygen away from
rocks (known as ores) that contain metal oxides. Eg.
iron oxide +

carbon

iron

carbon
dioxide

Note this is the reverse of oxidation as it is the taking away

of oxygen.
Reactions where oxygen is taken away are known as
reductions.
reductions The iron oxide is reduced to iron.
iron oxide +
(reduced)

carbon

iron

carbon
dioxide
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Extracting Iron The Blast Furnace

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Neutralisation
Neutralisation is represented by a general word equation:
acid

base

salt

water

water

For example
hydrochloric +
acid

sodium
hydroxide

sodium
chloride

Neutralisations uses range from

indigestion cures through to improving the
pH of soil to grow crops.
Neutralisation is also used to reduce the
acidic gases that would otherwise be
released from coal burning power stations
to cause acid rain.
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Electrolysis
Electrolysis is the use of electrical energy to break up
chemical compounds.
For example it is used in the extraction of aluminium metal
from aluminium oxide
aluminium oxide

aluminium +

oxygen

During electrolysis the metal is always

formed as a coating on the electrode
connected to the negative electrode
(the cathode.) Because of this
electrolysis is also used for the
purification of copper and for
electroplating of other metals.

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Purification: Copper

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Fermentation: bread and alcohol

Fermentation is a chemical reaction in which a living
organism (yeast) makes biological catalysts (enzymes)
that turn sugar into ethanol (alcohol) and carbon dioxide.
glucose

ethanol

carbon
dioxide

This chemical reaction is used to produce

alcohol in beers and wines.
It is also used in bread-making
where the carbon dioxide gas
makes the bread rise by filling
it with bubbles.
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Activity

Which reaction goes with the description?

Description

Reaction

The solid was added to the acid and

the indicator showed that the pH rose
from 2 to 7.

reduction

The zinc burned brightly changing

from a grey metal to a white powder.

neutralisation:

The metal oxide was heated with

carbon which removed the oxygen.

electrolysis

A coating of copper metal was formed

at the cathode

combustion

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Ripening of fruit
The ripening of fruit is a complex collection of
chemical reactions. If we take apples as an
example:
Starch is broken down into sugars
increasing the sweetness.
Acids are neutralised making them less
sour
Chlorophyll (green) changes to anthocyanin
(red)
Pectin (which makes apples hard) is broken
down (making them softer.)
All of these are chemical reactions that involve
atoms joining together in new ways.
The speed of ripening is influenced by
temperature and by the presence of a simple
chemical called ethene.

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 Similar processes take place in the ripening of other

fruits and vegetables.
Supermarkets and the food producers that supply
them know all about the best conditions for slowing
down or speeding up the ripening process.

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Activity

Link the chemical with the property that it affects.

starch

hardness

chlorophyll

sweetness

pectin

sourness

acid

greeness

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Cooking Eggs
Cooking is a chemical reaction. It changes the colour,
texture and taste because the atoms join together in new
ways.
E.g. Eggs contain albumen. These are long chains of
amino acids that are folded up into a ball shape.
When eggs are heated, some of the bonds are broken.
The protein molecules now begin to unfold.
They then join to nearby protein molecules until almost all
of them become linked together in a network.
Water molecules are trapped in the gaps.

Globular protein

networked protein
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 Boardworks Ltd 2001

Activity

There are ten

easy to find
words in the word
square.
Write down each
one followed by a
sentence
explaining about
each word.

Combustion
Neutralisation
Reduction

Electrolysis
Oxidation
Ripening

N
P
V
M
O
X
R
S
G
R
F
H

E
O
M
O
X
V
E
R
O
U
H
X

U
L
F
A
I
S
D
R
U
Q
T
N

T
Y
E
R
D
U
U
E
E
Q
A
T

R
M
R
C
A
P
C
V
X
G
I
L

A
E
M
O
T
E
T
S
B
I
K
I

L
R
E
M
I
R
I
M
T
I
R
I

I
I
N
B
O
G
O
E
Z
Y
I
I

S
S
T
U
N
L
N
L
G
W
P
Y

A
A
A
S
B
U
X
T
Y
E
E
G

T
T
T
T
Z
E
E
I
X
S
N
U

I
I
I
I
F
V
X
N
S
O
I
T

O
O
O
O
E
S
E
G
M
I
N
S

N
N
N
N
T
E
S
I
H
S
G
W

Fermentation
Polymerisation
Smelting
Superglue
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Food spoilage
Chemical reactions do not always help us.
For example the changes that take place as food spoils
are chemical reactions.
E.g. Apples go brown when exposed to the air.

The good thing is that if we understand what causes

the reaction then we can slow it down.
E.g. The browning of apples is an oxidation caused
by reaction with oxygen in the air.
Cooks know that vitamin c (present in lemons) stops
this reaction from happening.
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Rusting of iron and steel

Rusting is another unhelpful chemical reaction.
It is the reaction of iron with oxygen from the air to form
iron oxide; a reaction that is catalysed by water.
iron

oxygen

iron oxide
(rust)

Again, an understanding of what causes the

reaction can help us to slow it down.
New products that contain iron are often boxed
with a small packet of drying agent to soak up
water which encourages the rusting.
Iron that is exposed to the weather is usually
coated (e.g. with paint) to prevent contact
between the iron and oxygen from the air.
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The Greenhouse effect

The burning of fossil fuels gives
us energy.
It also gives us carbon dioxide
which can reduce the rate at
which the planet loses heat and
so cause climate change.
This may cause major problems
such as drought in some countries
and floods in others.
Governments are trying to reduce
production of carbon dioxide

He
a

He
at
tf
lo
ro
ss
m
su
n

Earth

He
He
at
at
fro
lo
ss
m
su
More CO
n

gets
hotter!
Earth

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 Boardworks Ltd 2001

Acid Rain
Some fossil fuels contain considerable amounts
of sulphur. When sulphur burns it produces
sulphur dioxide gas which turns into sulphuric
acid.
Cars and lorry engines produce nitrogen oxides
and this becomes nitric acid.
Both return to Earth as acid rain
which can kill trees, poison
lakes and dissolve the
stonework on buildings.
Governments are working to
reduce the emission of these
acidic oxides.
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Across:
1 natural oxidation of iron
3 green substance affected
by ripening
6 protein in eggs that
uncoils when cooked
8 substance that catalyses
rusting
9 Warming effect caused by
carbon dioxide
Down:
2 acidic oxides of this are
produced by cars
4 living organism used in
fermentation
5 present in coal - leads to
acid rain
7 contains a chemical that
stops apples going
brown

5
6

7
8

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Which of these is a true statement about

chemical reactions?
A. Atoms join up (bond) in new ways.
B.They are easily reversed.
C.The total mass decreases during the reaction.
D.They only occur in laboratories.

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Which of these is NOT a chemical reaction?

A.
B.
C.
D.

combustion
distillation
electrolysis
neutralisation

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Combustion is a chemical reaction that involves:

A.
B.
C.
D.

Removal of carbon
Addition of hydrogen
Removal of atoms
Addition of oxygen

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Rusting is a reaction that requires:

A.
B.
C.
D.

Iron and oxygen

Iron and water
Iron, water and oxygen
Iron, water and carbon dioxide

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Which of these is a true statement about

fermentation?
A.Sugar is an enzyme
B.Ethanol is a reactant
C.Pectin is formed
D.Carbon dioxide is a product

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Which of these is a gas that enhances the

greenhouse effect?
A.nitrogen
B.Carbon dioxide
C.Sulphur dioxide
D.Nitrogen dioxide.

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Which of these is a gas that causes rain to have

a very low pH value?
A.oxygen
B.nitrogen
C.Carbon dioxide
D.Sulphur dioxide

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Which of these reacts to form something that

changes fruit from green to red?
A.
B.
C.
D.

chlorophyll
pectin
acid
starch

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Which of these is NOT a situation or setting

where neutralisation may be useful?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Power stations
Indigestion
Distillation
Farm soil

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