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Changing Position
To describe an object in motion, you must first recognize that the object is in motion.
Something is in motion if it is changing position. It could be a fast-movi ng airplane, a
leaf swirling in the wind, or water trickl ing from a hose. Even your school, attached to
Earth, is movi ng through space. When an object moves from one location to another, it is
changing position. The runners shown in a sport sprint from the start line to the finish
line. Their positions change, so they are in motion.
Relative Motion
Determining whether something changes position requires a point of reference. An object
changes position if it moves relative to a reference point. To vi sualize this, picture
yourself competing in a 100-m dash. You begin just behind the start line. When you pass
the finish line, you are 100 m from the start line. If the start line is your reference point,
then your position has changed by 100 m relative to the start line, and motion has
occurred.
Distance and Displacement Suppose you are to meet your friends at the park in
five minutes. Can you get there on time by walki ng, or should you ride your bike? To
help you decide, you need to know the distance you will travel to get to the park. This
distance is the length of the route you will travel from your house to the park.
Suppose the distance you traveled from your house to the park was 200 m. When you get
to the park, how would you describe your location? You could say that your location was
200 m from your house. However, your final position depends on both the distance you
travel and the direction. Did you go 200 m east or west? To describe your final position
exactly, you also would have to tell the direction from your starting point. To do this, you
would specify your displacement. Displacement includes the distance between the
starting and ending points and the direction in which you travel.
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Speed
To describe motion, you usually want to describe how fast something is movi ng. The
faster something is movi ng, the greater the distance it can travel in a unit of time, such as
one second or one hour. Speed is the distance an object travels in a
unit of time.
The unit for speed is the unit of distance divi ded by the unit of time. In SI units, speed is
measured in units of m/smeters per second. However, speed can be calculated using
other units such as ki lometers for distance and hours for time.
Average Speed A car traveling in city traffic might have to speed up and slow down
many times. How could you describe the speed of an object whose speed is changing?
One way is to determine the object s average speed between where it starts and
stops. The speed equation written above can be used to calculate the average speed.
Aver age speed is found by divi ding the total distance traveled by the total time taken.
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Velocity
The motion of an object also depends on the direction in which the object is movi ng. The
direction of an object s motion can be described with its velocity. The velocity of an
object is the speed of the object and the direction of its motion. For example, if a car is
movi ng west with a speed of 80 km/h, the car s velocity is 80 km/h west. The velocity of
an object is sometimes represented by an arrow. The arrow points in the direction in
which the object is movi ng. The velocity of an object can change if the object s speed
changes, its direction of motion changes, or they both change. For example, suppose a car
is traveling at a speed of 40 km/h north and then turns left at an intersection and
continues on with a speed of 40 km/h. The speed of the car is constant at 40 km/h, but the
velocity changes from 40 km/h north to 40 km/h west.
Constant speed means steady speed, neither speeding up nor slowing down. Constant
velocity, on the other hand, means both constant speed and constant direction. Constant
direction is a straight line-the object's path doesn't curve. So constant velocity means
motion in a straight line at a constant speed-motion with no acceleration.
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Figure : 7
Figure : 8
Slowing Down Now suppose you are biki ng at a speed of 4 m/s and you apply the
brakes. This causes you to slow down. When you slow down, your velocity changes
because your speed decreases. This means that acceleration occurs when an object
slows down, as well as when it speeds up. The car in Figure 8 is slowing down. During
each time interval, the car travels a smaller distance, so its speed is decreasing.
Changing Direction The velocity of an object also changes if the direction of motion
changes. Then the object doesn t move in a straight line, but instead moves in a curved
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Calculating Acceleration
If an object is moving in only one direction, its acceleration can be calculated using this
equation.
In this equation, time is the length of time over which the motion changes. In SI units,
acceleration has units of meters per second squared (m/s2).
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HANG TIME:
Some athletes and dancers have great jumping ability. Leaping straight up, they seem to defy gravi ty,
hanging in the air for what feels like at least two or
three seconds. In reality, however, the "hang time"
of even the best jumpers is almost always less than
1 s. What determines hang time? Now, the world record for a
standing vertical jump is held by basketball star
Spud Webb, who jumped 1.25 m in 1986. What was his hang
time when he made that jump? At the top of a jump, right when
you stop going up and are about to start coming down, your
speed is zero and you are at rest. The relationship between time
down and vertical height for a uni-formly accelerating object
starting from rest is
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The hang time is actually double this, since this is the time for only one way of an
up-and-down round trip-so Spud's total hang time is 1 s. And that, remember,
is a world record.
Figure:
A particle moving along the x axis with constant acceleration ax; (a) the position time graph, (b) the
velocitytime graph, and (c) the accelerationtime graph.
Worked-out Problems:
1.
2.
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4.
5.
Problems:
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What is force?
When you shoot a basketball or ki ck a soccer ball, you are exerting a force on an object.
In fact, every push or pull you exert results in a force being applied to some object. A
for ce is a push or pull that one obj ect exer ts on another . Just like velocity and
acceleration, force also is a vector that has a size and a direction. The size of a force often
is called the strength of the force. The direction of a force is the direction in which the
push or pull is applied. For example, when you lift your backpack, you apply an upward
force. In SI units, force is measured in newtons (N).
Changing Motion What happens to the motion of an object when you exert a force on
it? A force can cause the motion of an object to change. If you have played billiards, you
know that you can cause a ball at rest to roll into a pocket by striki ng it with another ball.
The force applied by the movi ng ball causes the ball at rest to move in the direction of the
force.
Balanced Forces Force does not always change velocity. In Figure 12A, two
students are pushing on opposite sides of a box. Both students are pushing with an equal
force but in opposite directions. When two or more forces act on an object at the
same time, the forces combine to form the net for ce. The net force on the box in Figure
12A is zero because the two forces cancel each other. Forces on an object that are equal
in size and opposite in direction are called balanced for ces.
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Unbalanced Forces Change Velocity When the forces acting on an object are
balanced, the velocity of an object doesn t change. If you and a friend push on a door
from opposite sides with the same size force, the door doesn t move. The net force is zero
and the forces are balanced. But if you push harder, the door moves in the direction of
your push. The velocity the door, or any object, changes only when the forces on it are
unbalanced.
Friction
Suppose you give a skateboard a push with your hand. The skateboard speeds up as you
push it and then keeps movi ng after it leaves your hand. What happens to the
skateboard s speed if it is movi ng on a flat, level surface? You know the answer. The
skateboard slows down and finally stops. After it left your hand, the skateboard s velocity
changed because the forces acting on it were unbalanced. The unbalanced force that
slowed the skateboard was friction. Fr iction is the force that opposes the sliding motion
of two surfaces that are in contact.
What causes friction? The size of the frictional force exerted by one surface on
another depends on the materials the surfaces are made from and the roughness of the
surfaces. All surfaces have bumps and dips, including highly-polished metal surfaces that
seem very smooth. When two surfaces are in contact, sticki ng occurs where the bumps
and dips touch each other. This causes microwelds to form between the two surface.
These microwelds tend to make the surfaces stick together and cause friction to occur.
The frictional force between two surfaces increases when the force pushing the surfaces
together increases, as shown in Figure 13. When the surfaces are pushed together with
more force, more of the bumps and dips come into contact. This increases the strength of
the microwelds.
Figure 13
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Air Resistance
When an object falls toward Earth, it is pulled downward by the force due to gravi ty.
However, a type of frictional force called air r esistance opposes the motion of objects
that move through the air. Air resistance causes objects to fall with different accelerations
and different speeds. If there were no air resistance, then all objects, like the apple and
feather would fall with the same acceleration.
Air resistance acts in the direction opposite to the velocity of an object movi ng in air. If
an object is falling downward, air resistance acts upward on the object. The size of the air
resistance force depends on the size and shape of an object. Imagine dropping two
identical plastic bags. One is crumpled into a ball and the other is spread out. When the
bags are dropped, the crumpled bag falls faster than the spread-out bag.
Air r esistance incr eases with incr easing velocity of the falling obj ect.
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Inertia and the First Law of Motion According to the first law of motion, the
velocity of an object doesn t change unless the forces acting on the object are
unbalanced. In other words, if you observe a change in an object s velocity, you know
an unbalanced force acted on it. This is similar to the definition of inertiaan object
resists a change in its motion. As a result, the first law of motion sometimes is called the
law of inertia. Inertia and the first law of motion explain why the boxes in the Figure
below slide off the cart when the cart comes to a sudden stop. The student applies an
unbalanced force to the cart that makes it stop. However, the inertia of the boxes causes
them to keep moving even after the cart stops.
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Acceleration is directly
proportional to the force
Acceleration is inversely
proportional to the mass
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A given force exerted on a small mass produces a large acceleration, while the same force
exerted on a large mass produces a small acceleration. Thus we see why the change in
velocity of the cannonball is so large compared with the change in velocity of the cannon.
Same principle applies to a rocket, which continually "recoils" from the ejected exhaust
gas. Each molecule of exhaust gas is like a tiny cannonball shot from the rocket.
We see Newton's third law in action everywhere. A fish propels water backward with its
fins, and the water propels the fish forward. The wind caresses the branches of a tree, and
the branches caress back on the wind to produce whistling sounds. Forces are interactions
between different things. Every contact requires at least a two-ness; there is no way that
an object can exert a force on nothing. Forces, whether large shoves or slight nudges,
always occur in pairs, each opposite to the other.
SOLVED PROBLEMS
1.
2.
3.
4.
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5.
6.
6.
Problems
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We can see from the definition that a movi ng object can have a large momentum if either
its mass or its velocity is large or both its mass and its velocity are large. A truck has
more momentum than a car movi ng at the same velocity because it has a greater mass.
We can see that a huge ship movi ng at a small velocity can have a large momentum, as
can a small bullet movi ng at a high velocity.
I mpulse
Changes in momentum may occur when there is a change in the mass of an object, or a
change in its velocity, or both. If momentum changes while the mass remains unchanged,
as is most often the case, then the velocity changes. Acceleration occurs. And what
produces acceleration? The answer is force. The greater the force acting on an object, the
greater will be the change in velocity and, hence, the change in momentum.
But something else is important also: time-how long the force acts. Apply a force briefly
to a stalled automobile and you produce a small change in its momentum. Apply the same
force over an extended period of time, and a greater momentum change results. A long
sustained force produces more change in momentum than the same force applied briefly.
So, for changing an object's momentum, both force and the time interval during which
the force acts are important.
The quantity " for ce X time inter val" is called impulse.
The gr eater the impulse exer ted on something, the gr eater will be its change in
momentum. This is known as the impulse-momentum r elationship. M athematically,
the exact r elationship is
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What is energy?
Wherever you are sitting as you read this, changes are taki ng placelight bulbs are
heating the air around them, the wind might be rustling leaves, or sunlight might be
glaring off a nearby window. Even you are changing as you breathe, blink, or shift
position in your seat. Every change that occurslarge or smallinvolves energy.
Imagine a baseball flying through the air. It hits a window, causing the glass to break.
The window changed from a solid sheet of glass to a number of broken pieces. The
movi ng baseball caused this changea movi ng baseball has energy. Even when you
comb your hair or walk from one class to another, energy is involved.
Energy and Work In science, ener gy is defined as the ability to do work. Work is
done when a force causes something to move. The ball does work on the window when it
exerts a force on the glass and causes it to break. Energy also can be defined as the ability
to cause change. When work is done, something moves and a change occurs. When work
is done and a change occurs, energy moves from place to place or changes from one form
to another.
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The unit of energy is the same as the unit of work so SI unit of KE is Joule
A car movi ng along a road has ki netic energy. A car that is twice as heavy moving at the
same speed has twice the ki netic energy. That's because a car that is twice as heavy has
twice the mass. Kinetic energy depends on mass. But note that it also depends on speednot just plain speed, but speed multiplied by itself speed squared. If you double the speed
of a car, you'll increase its ki netic energy by four (2x 2 = 4). Or, if you drive three times
as fast, you will have nine times the kinetic energy (3x 3 = 9). The fact that kinetic
energy depends on the square of the speed means that small changes in speed can
produce large changes in ki netic energy. The squaring of speed means that ki netic energy
can only be zero or positive-never negative.
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SOLVED PROBLEMS
1.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
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8.
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Problems:
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Gravity
The Legend of the Falling Apple
According to popular legend, Newton was sitting under an apple
tree when he made a connection that changed the way we see the
world. He saw an apple fall. Perhaps he then looked up through the
branches toward the origin of the falling apple and noticed the
Moon. In any event, Newton had the insight to realize that the
force pulling on the apple was the same force that pulls on the
Moon. Newton realized that Earth's gravi ty reaches to the Moon .
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Thus, the greater the masses m1 and m2, the greater the force of attraction between them.
The greater the distance of separation r , the weaker is the force of attraction-weaker as
the inverse square of the distance between their centers.
CHECK YOURSELF
1. According to the equation for gravi ty, what happens to the force between two bodies if
the mass of only one body is doubled?
2. What happens if the masses of both bodies are doubled?
3. What happens if the mass of one body is doubled and the other is tripled?
4. Gravi tational force acts on all bodies in proportion to their masses. Why, then, doesn't
a heavy body fall faster than a light body?
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CHECK YOURSELF
1. How much does the force of gravi ty change between the Earth and a receding rocket
when the distance between them is doubled? When it is tripled? When it is increased
tenfold?
2. Consider an apple at the top of a tree. The apple is pulled by Earth's gravi ty with a
force of 1 N. If the tree were twice as tall, would the force of gravity be only 1/4 as
strong?
CHECK YOUR ANSWERS
1. When the distance is doubled, the force is only as much. When the distance is
tripled, the force is only 1/9 as much. When the distance is increased tenfold, the force is
only 1/100 as much.
2. No, because the twice-as-tall apple tree is not twice as far from the Earth's center.
The taller tree would have to be 6370 km tall (as tall as the Earth's radius) for the
apple's weight to reduce to N. For a decrease in weight by 1 %, an object must be
raised 32 km-nearly four times the height of Mt. Everest. So, as a practical matter,
we disregard the effects of everyday changes in elevation for gravi ty. The apple has
practically the same weight at the top of the tree as it has at the bottom.
Weight and Weightlessness
When you step on a bathroom scale, in effect,
you compress a spring inside it that is affixed
to a pointer. When the pointer stops moving,
the elastic force of the deformed spring
balances the gravi tational force between you
and the Earth-you and the scale are in
equilibrium. The pointer is calibrated to show
your weight. If you stand on a bathroom scale
in a movi ng elevator, you'll find variations in
your weight. If the elevator accelerates
upward, the springs inside the bathroom scale
are more compressed and your weight reading
is greater. If the elevator accelerates
downward, the springs inside the scale are less
compressed and your weight reading is less. If
the elevator cable breaks and the elevator falls freely, the reading on the scale goes to
zero. According to the scale's reading, you would be weightless. Would you really be
weightless?
We know, weight is the force due to gravi ty on a body, mg. Your weight does have the
value of mg if you're not accelerating. To generalize, we now refine this definition by
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saying that the weight of something is the force it exerts against a supporting floor or
weighing scale.
According to this definition, you are as
heavy as you feel. So, in an elevator that
accelerates downward, the supporting force
of the floor is less and, therefore, you weigh
less. If the elevator is in free fall, your
weight is zero. Even in this weightless
condition, however, there is still a
gravi tational force acting on you, causing
your downward acceleration. But gravi ty
now is not felt as weight because there is no support force.
Center of Gravi ty of People
The center of gravi ty (CG) of an object is the point located at the object's average
position of weight. For a symmetrical object, this point is at the geometric center.
But an irregularly shaped object, such as a baseball bat, has more weight at one
end, so its CG is toward the heavi er end. A piece of tile cut into the shape of a triangle has its CG one third of the way up from its base. The position of an object's CG
relative to its base of support determines the object's stability. The rule for stability is
this: If the CG of an object is above the area of support, the object will remain upright. If
the CG extends outside the area of support, the object will topple.
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This is why the Leaning Tower of Pisa doesn't topple. Its CG does not extend beyond its
base. If the tower leaned far enough over so that its CG extended beyond its base, it
would topple . When you stand, your CG is somewhere above your support base, the area
bounded by your feet. In unstable situations, you place your feet farther apart to increase
this area. Standing on one foot greatly decreases the area of your support base. A baby
must learn to coordinate and position its CG above one foot. Many birds-pigeons for
example-do this by jerki ng their heads back and forth with each step.
Gravi ty Can Be a Centripetal Force
If you whirl an empty tin can on the end of a string, you find that you must keep
pulling on the string . You pull inward on the string to keep the can revolvi ng over your
head in a circular path. A force of some ki nd is required for any circular motion,
including the nearly circular motions of the planets around the Sun.
Any force that causes an object to follow a circular path is called a centripetal force.
Centripetal means "center-seeki ng," or "toward the center." Centripetal force is not a new
ki nd of force. It is simply a name given to any force that is directed at right angles to the
path of a movi ng object and that tends to produce circular motion. The gravi tational force
acting across space is a centripetal force that keeps the Moon in Earth's orbit. Likewise,
electrons that revolve about the nucleus of an atom are held by an electrical force that is
directed toward the central nucleus.
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Projectile Motion
Without gravi ty, you could toss a rock upward at an angle and it would follow a straightline path. But, due to gravi ty, the path curves. A tossed rock, a cannon- ball, or any object
that is projected by some means and continues in motion by its own inertia is called a
projectile.
A very simple projectile is a falling stone, as shown in Figure 5.22. The stone gains speed
as it falls straight down, as indicated by a speedometer. Remember that a freely falling
object gains 10 meters/second during each second of fall. This is the acceleration due to
gravity, 10 m/s-2 . If it begins its fall from rest, 0 m/s, then at the end of the first second of
fall its speed is 10 m/s. At the end of 2 seconds, its speed is 20 m/s-and so on. It keeps
gaining 10 m/s each second it falls.
Although the change in speed is the same each second, the distance of fall keeps
increasing. That's because the average speed of fall increases each second. Let's apply
this to a new situation-throwing the stone horizontally off the cliff. First, imagine that
gravi ty doesn't act on the stone. In Figure 5.23 we see the positions the stone would have
if there were no gravity. Note that the positions each second are the same distance apart.
That's because there's no force acting on the stone.
In the real world, there is gravi ty. The thrown stone falls beneath the straight
line it would follow with no gravi ty (Figure 5.24). The stone curves as it falls.
Interestingly, this familiar curve is the result of two ki nds of motion occurring at
the same time. One ki nd is the straight -down vertical motion of Figure 5.22. The
other is the horizontal motion of constant velocity, as imagined in Figure 5.23.
Both occur simultaneously. As the stone moves horizontally, it also falls straight
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downward-beneath the place it would be if there were no gravi ty. This is indicated in
Figure 5.24.
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at an angle of 30. For the smaller angle, of course, the object remains in the air for a
shorter time.
The Effect of Air Drag on Projectiles
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2.
3.
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5.
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7.
Problems:
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Communications Satellites
Satellites are payloads carried above the atmosphere by rockets. Putting a payload into
orbit requires control over the speed and direction of the rocket. A rocket initially fired
vertically is intentionally tipped from the vertical course as it rises. Then, once above the
drag of the atmosphere, it is aimed horizontally, whereupon the payload is given a final
thrust to orbital speed.
For a satellite dose to Earth, the period (the time for a complete orbit about the Earth) is
about 90 minutes. For higher altitudes, gravi tation is less and the orbital speed is less, so
the period is longer. For example, communication satellites located at an altitude of 5.5
Earth radii have a period of 24 hours. This period matches the period of daily Earth
rotation. For an orbit around the equator, such a satellite stays above the same point on
the ground. That is, it is in geo-synchronous orbit.
Satellite television employs communications satellites. Satellite TV is much like
traditional broadcast televi sion, but it has a larger range. Both systems use
electromagnetic signals (radio waves) to send programming to your home. Broadcast
stations transmit the waves from powerful land-based antennas, and vi ewers pick up the
signals with smaller antennas.
The problem with this technology is that radio signals travel away from a broadcast
antenna in a straight line. To receive the signals, you need to be in the direct "line-ofsight" of the antenna. The Earth's curvature interrupts the line of sight, so the broadcast
signals can only be sent over a short distance. Satellite TV solves the problem by
transmitting the signals from satellites in orbit high above Earth. This way, Earth's
curvature doesn't interrupt the line of sight. Since the satellite is in geosynchronous orbit,
the relative positions of the satellite and receiving dish are fixed. You don't need to read
just your dish-just grab the remote.
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Escape Speed
We know that a cannonball fired horizontally at 8 kilometers per second from Newton's
mountain goes into orbit. But what would happen if the cannonball were instead fired at
the same speed vertically? It would rise to some maxi mum height, reverse direction, then
fall back to Earth. Then the old saying "What goes up must come down" would hold true,
just as surely as a stone tossed skyward will be returned by gravi ty (unless, as we shall
see, its speed is great enough.)
In this age of space travel, it is more accurate to say "What goes up may come down," for
there is a critical starting speed that allows a projectile to outrun gravi ty and to escape the
Earth. This critical speed is called the escape speed, or, if direction is involved, the
escape velocity. From the surface of the Earth, the escape speed is 11.2 kilometers per
second. Launch a projectile at any speed greater than that and it will leave the Earth,
traveling slower and slower, but never stopping due to Earth's gravi ty.
How much work would be required to lift a payload against the force of Earth's gravity to
a distance very, very far ("infinitely far") away? We might think that the change of
potential energy (PE) would be infinite because the distance is infinite. But gravitation
diminishes with distance by the inverse-square law. The force of gravi ty on the payload
would be strong only near the Earth. It turns out that the change of PE of a 1-ki logram
body moved from the surface of the Earth to infinite distance is 62 million joules, or 62
megajoules (62 MJ). SO to put a pay- load infinitely far from Earth's surface requires at
least 62 megajoules of energy per kilogram of load. We won't go through the calculation
here, but 62 megajoules per ki logram corresponds to a speed of 11.2 ki lometers per
second, whatever the total mass involved. This is the escape speed from the surface of the
Earth.
If we give the payload any more energy than 62 megajoules per kilogram at the surface of
the Earth-or, equivalently, any more speed than 11.2 ki lometers per second-then,
neglecting air resistance, the payload will escape from the Earth, never to return. As it
continues outward, its PE increases and its ki netic energy (KE) decreases. Its speed
becomes less and less, although it is never reduced to zero. The payload outruns the
gravi ty of the Earth. It escapes.
The escape speeds from various bodies in the solar system are shown in the following
Table . Note that the escape speed from the surface of the Sun is 620 km/s. Even at a
150,000,OOO-km distance from the Sun (Earth's distance), the escape speed needed to
break free of the Sun's influence is 42.5 km/s, which is consider- ably more than the
escape speed of the Earth. An object projected from the Earth at a speed greater than 11.2
km/s but less than 42.5 km/s will escape the Earth, but it will not escape the Sun. Rather
than receding forever, it will occupy an orbit around the Sun.
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Composition of Matter
Pure Substances
Every material has its own properties. The properties of materials can be used to classify
them into general categories. Every material is made of a pure substance or a mixture of
substances. A pure substance is a type of matter with a fixed composition. A substance
can be either an element or a compound. Some substances you might recognize are
helium, aluminum, water, and salt.
Elements You know that atoms make up the matter around you, from stars to steel to
chocolate ice cream. Given alI these various materials, you might think that there
must be many different ki nds of atoms. But the number of different ki nds of
atoms is surprisingly small. The great variety of substances results from the many
ways in which a few ki nds of atoms can be combined. Just as the three colors
red, green, and blue can be combined to form any color on a television screen, or
just as the 26 letters of the alphabet make up all the words in a dictionary, only a
few ki nds of atoms combine in different ways to produce all of the countless substances in the universe. To date, we know of 115 distinct ki nds of atoms. Of
these, about 90 are found in nature. The remaining ki nds of atoms have been
created in the laboratory.
Any mater ial that is made up of only one type of atom is classified as an element. Pure gold, for example, is an element-it contains only gold atoms. Nitrogen gas is
an element because it contains only nitrogen atoms. Likewise, the graphite in your pencil
is an element-carbon. Graphite is made up solely of carbon atoms.
Compounds When two or more different elements combine, the substance formed is
called a compound. A compound is a pure substance in which the atoms of two or more
elements are combined in a fixed proportion. For example, water is a compound
in which two atoms of the element hydrogen combine with one atom of the element
oxygen. Chalk contains calcium, carbon, and oxygen in the proportion of one atom each
of calcium and carbon to three atoms of oxygen.
Molecules A particle consisting of two or more atoms that are bonded together is called
a molecule. Oxygen in the air, as an example, is a diatomic (two-atom) molecule. A
molecule is a basic unit of a molecular compound. The simple sugars you eat; the
proteins in your body; and the wool and cotton fibers in your clothes all consist of
molecules formed from bonded atoms.
States of Matter
Gases, liquids and solids are all made up of microscopic particles, but the behaviors of these
particles differ in the three phases.
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Note that:
Particles in a:
o gas are well separated with no regular arrangement.
o liquid are close together with no regular arrangement.
o solid are tightly packed, usually in a regular pattern.
Particles in a:
o gas vibrate and move freely at high speeds.
o liquid vibrate, move about, and slide past each other.
o solid vibrate (jiggle) but generally do not move from place to place.
Liquids and solids are often referred to as condensed phases because the particles are very close
together.
The following table summarizes properties of gases, liquids, and solids and identifies the
microscopic behavior responsible for each property.
The following table summarizes properties of gases, liquids, and solids and identifies the
microscopic behavior responsible for each property.
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liquid
solid
compressible
lots of free space between
particles
flows easily
particles can move past
one another
flows easily
particles can move/slide
past one another
Properties of Matter
Just as you use several adjectives to describe someone (color of hair or
eyes, how tall or short, etc.) several properties, or characteristics, must be
used in combination to adequately describe a kind of matter. Simply saying
that something is a colorless liquid isn't enough to identify it as water. The
following chart shows the differences between the two kinds of properties,
chemical and physical, as well as how the two kinds of physical properties,
intensive and extensive, differ.
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Brownian Motion
Brownian Motion is the erratic and constant movement of tiny particles when they are suspended
in a fluid or gas. For example, if you sprinkle tiny grains of dust into some water, and then look
at the dust particles under a microscope, the dust particles will appear to dance around, quite
randomly.This zig-zag motion happens regardless of how still the water is.
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The phenomenon was discovered in 1827 by the British botanist Robert Brown. He was
investigating pollen grains in water, and noticed that they wouldn't sit still under his
miscroscope. At first he thought the pollen was moving because it was alive. But even hundredyear old pollen grains danced around. When he looked at non-living particles, they moved too,
so he knew there had to be some other explanation.
Futher experiments by Brown and others showed that the motion became more rapid and the
particles moved farther in a given time interval when the temperature of the water was raised,
when the viscosity of the fluid was lowered, or when the size of the particles was reduced.
This motion makes sense if you imagine the pollen grain or dust mote being bombarded on
all sides by particles too tiny to see, that are in constant motion.
The atoms or molecules that make up a liquid or gas are in constant thermal motion, and their
velocity distribution is determined by the temperature of the system. The motion of the
molecules of the fluid, due to the fact that the fluid contains heat, causes the molecules to strike
the suspended particles at random. The impact makes the particles move ... the net effect is an
erratic, random motion of the particle through the fluid.
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Problems
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Figure 3
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paths between the levels. But electrons can jump from a path in one level to a path in another
level. Think of the levels as rungs on a ladder. You can stand on the rungs of a ladder but not
between the rungs. Bohrs model was a valuable tool in predicting some atomic behavior. But
the atomic theory still had room for improvement.
The Parts of
an Atom
Almost all kinds of
atoms are made of
the same three
particles. These
particles are
protons, neutrons,
and electrons, as
the model in Figure
1 shows. The
particles in the
pictures are not
shown in their
correct proportions.
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The Nucleus
Only two kinds of particles can make up a nucleus. Protons are positively charged particles of
the nucleus. The mass of a proton is about 1.7 x 1024 g. This number can also be written as
0.0000000000000000000000017 g. Because the masses of particles in atoms are so small,
scientists made a new unit for these particles. The SI unit that describes the mass of a
particle in an atom is the atomic mass unit (amu). Each proton has a mass of about 1 amu.
Neutrons are the particles of the nucleus that have no electric charge. Neutrons are a little more
massive than protons. But the difference in mass is so small that the mass of a neutron can be
thought of as 1 amu.
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The element carbon has an atomic number of 6. So, every carbon atom has six protons in its
nucleus. Similarly, if an atom has 8 protons, you know that it is an oxygen atom, because
the element oxygen has an atomic number of 8. The atomic number of each element is listed on
the periodic table.
Mass Number The mass number of an atom is the sum of the number of protons and
the number of neutrons in the nucleus of the atom. Look at Table 3 to see that this is
true. If you know the mass number and the atomic number of an atom, you can calculate
the number of neutrons. The number of neutrons is equal to the atomic number subtracted
from the mass number.
Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons can have different
properties. For example, carbon with a mass number equal to 12, or carbon-12, is the
most common form of carbon. Carbon-14 is present on Earth in much smaller quantities.
Carbon-14 is radioactive, while carbon-12 is not.
Isotopes
Models of two kinds of
hydrogen atoms are shown
in Figure 4. They are both
hydrogen atoms because
they each have one proton.
But one of the atoms also
has a neutron in its nucleus.
The two hydrogen atoms are
isotopes of each other.
Isotopes are atoms that have
the same number of protons but have different numbers of neutrons. Atoms that are isotopes of
each other are always the same element, because isotopes of the same element always have
the same number of protons. They have different numbers of neutrons, however, which gives
them different masses.
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Discovering a Pattern
In the late 1800s, Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist, searched for a way to
organize the elements. When he arranged all the elements known at that
time in order of increasing atomic masses, he discovered a pattern. Chemical properties
found in lighter elements could be shown to repeat in heavi er elements. Because the
pattern repeated, it was considered to be periodic. Today, this arrangement is called the
periodic table of elements. In the per iodic table, the elements are arranged by increasing
atomic number and by changes in physical and chemical properties.
Mendeleevs Predictions Mendeleev had to leave blank spaces in his periodic table
to keep the elements properly lined up according to their chemical properties. He looked
at the properties and atomic masses of
the elements surrounding these blank
spaces. From this information, he was
able to predict the properties and the
mass numbers of new elements that had
not yet been discovered. Table 4
shows Mendeleev s predicted
properties for germanium, which he
called ekasilicon. His predictions
proved to be accurate. Scientists later
discovered these missing elements and
found that their properties were
ext remely close to what Mendeleev had
predicted.
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Energy Levels Energy levels are named using the numbers one to seven. Energy level
one can contain a maxi mum of two electrons. Energy level two can contain a maxi mum
of eight electrons. Notice that energy levels three and four contain several electrons. A
complete and stable outer energy level will contain eight electrons. In elements in periods
three and higher, additional electrons can be added to inner energy levels, although the
outer energy level contains only eight electrons.
Rows on the Table Remember that an atomic number found on the periodic table is
equal to the number of electrons in an atom. Look at Figure 10. The first row has
hydrogen with one electron and helium with two electrons both in energy level one.
Because energy level one is the outermost level containing an electron, hydrogen has one
outer electron. Helium has two outer electrons. Recall from Figure 9 that energy level
one can hold only two electrons. Therefore, helium has a full or complete outer energy
level.
The second row begins with lithium, which has three electrons, two in energy level one
and one in energy level two. Lithium has one outer electron. Lithium is followed by
beryllium, with two outer electrons, boron with three, and so on until you reach neon,
with eight outer electrons. Again, looki ng at Figure 9, energy level two can hold only
eight electrons. Therefore, neon has a complete outer energy level. Do you notice how
the row in the periodic table ends when an outer energy level is filled? In the third row of
elements, the electrons begin filling energy level three. The row ends with argon, which
has a full outer energy level of eight electrons.
Figure 10
Electron Dot Diagrams Did you notice that hydrogen, lithium, and sodium
each have one electron in their outer energy levels? Elements that are in the
same group have the same number of electrons in their outer energy levels. An
electr on dot diagr am uses the symbol of the element and dots to represent the
electrons in the outer energy level. Figure shows the electron dot diagram for
four of the Group 1 elements.
Same Group, Similar Properties The elements in Group 17, the
halogens, have electron dot diagrams similar to chlorine, shown in Figure 12.
All halogens have seven electrons in their outer energy levels.
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A common property of the halogens is the ability to form compounds readily with
elements in Group 1.Group 1 elements each have only one electron in their outer energy
levels. Figure 12 shows an example of a compound formed by one such reaction. The
Group 1 element, sodium, reacts easily with the Group 17 element, chlorine. The result is
the compound sodium chloride, or NaCl, ordinary table salt.
Not all elements will combine readily with other elements. The elements in Group 18
have complete outer energy levels. This special configuration makes Group 18 elements
relatively unreactive.
Fig: 12
Regions on the
Periodic Table
The periodic table has several
regions with specific names. The
horizontal rows of elements on the
periodic table are called per iods.
The elements incr ease by one
pr oton and one electr on as you
go fr om left to r ight in a per iod.
All of the elements in the blue
squares in Figure are metals.
Iron, zinc, and copper are
examples of metals. Most metals
exi st as solids at room temperature. They are shiny, can be drawn into wires, can be
pounded into sheets, and are good conductors of heat and electricity.
Those elements on the right side of the periodic table, in yellow, are classified as
nonmetals. Oxygen, bromine, and carbon are examples of nonmetals. Most nonmetals are
gases, are brittle, and are poor conductors of heat and electricity at room temperature.
The elements in green are metalloids or semimetals. They have some properties of both
metals and nonmetals. Boron and silicon are examples of metalloids.
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Radioactivity
Protons and Neutrons in the Nucleus Protons and neutrons are packed together
tightly in a nucleus. The region outside the nucleus in which the electrons are located is
large compared to the size of the nucleus. The nucleus occupies only a tiny fraction of the
space in the atom. If an atom were enlarged so that it was 1 km in diameter, its nucleus
would have a diameter of only a few centimeters. But the nucleus contains almost all the
mass of the atom, because the mass of one proton or neutron is almost 2,000 times greater
than the mass of an electron.
How do you suppose protons and neutrons are held together so tightly in the nucleus?
Positive electric charges repel each other, so why don t the protons in a nucleus push
each other away? Another force, called the str ong for ce, causes protons and
neutrons to be attracted to each other, as shown in Figure. The strong force is one of the
four basic forces in nature and is about 100 times stronger than the electric force. The
attractive forces between all the protons and neutrons in a nucleus keep the nucleus
together. However, protons and neutrons have to be close together, like they are in the
nucleus, to be attracted by the strong force. The strong force is a short-range force that
quickl y becomes extremely weak as protons and neutrons get farther apart. The electric
force is a long-range force, so protons that are far apart still are repelled by the electric
force.
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Radioactivity
Many types of nuclei are held together permanently and are stable. However, there are
many other types of nuclei that are unstable. These nuclei break apart, or decay, by
emitting particles and energy. This process of nuclear decay is called r adioactivity.
A nucleus that decays is called a radioactive nucleus.
Nuclei that contain large numbers of protons and neutrons tend to be unstable. In fact, all
nuclei that contain more than 83protons are radioactive. However, many other nuclei that
contain fewer than 83 protons also are radioactive. Even some nuclei with only one or a
few protons are radioactive.
Almost all elements with more than 92 protons don t exi st naturally on Earth. They have
been produced only in laboratories and are called synthetic elements. These synthetic
elements are unstable and decay soon after they are created.
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Converting Mass into Energy When an unstable nucleus decays, energy is emitted.
If energy is conserved and cannot be created or destroyed, where does this energy come
from? Recall that in nuclear reactions, mass can be converted into energy. As an unstable
nucleus decays, a small amount of mass is converted into energy. As a result, the mass of
the initial nucleus is slightly larger than the mass of the final nucleus plus the mass of any
particles that are emitted. A large amount of energy is produced by the conversion of only
a small amount of mass.
Nuclear Numbers A nucleus can be described by the number of protons and neutrons
it contains. A nucleus can be represented by a symbol that includes its atomic number,
mass number, and the symbol of the element it belongs to. The symbol for the nucleus of
the stable isotope of carbon is shown below as an example.
This isotope is called carbon-12. The number of neutrons in the nucleus is the mass
number minus the atomic number. So the number of neutrons in the carbon-12 nucleus is
12 - 6 = 6. Carbon-12 has six protons and six neutrons. Now, compare the isotope
carbon-12 to this radioactive isotope of carbon:
Nuclear Radiation
When an unstable nucleus decays, particles and energy called nuclear radiation are
emitted from it. The three types of nuclear radiation are alpha, beta (BAY tuh), and
gamma radiation. Alpha and beta radiation are particles. Gamma radiation is an
electromagnetic wave.
Alpha Particles
When alpha radiation occurs, an alpha par ticlemade of two protons and two neutrons,
is emitted from the decaying nucleus. An alpha particle is the same as the nucleus of a
helium atom. It has a charge of +2 and an atomic mass of 4.Its symbol is the same as the
symbol of a helium nucleus,42
Compared to beta and gamma radiation, alpha particles are much more massive. They
also have the most electric charge. As a result, alpha particles lose energy more quickl y
when they interact with matter than the other types of nuclear radiation do. When alpha
particles pass through matter, they exert an electric force on the electrons in atoms in
their path. This force pulls electrons away from atoms and leaves behind charged ions.
Alpha particles lose energy quickl y during this process. As a result, alpha particles are the
least penetrating form of nuclear radiation. Alpha particles can be stopped by a sheet of
paper.
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Damage from Alpha Particles Alpha particles can be dangerous if they are released
by radioactive atoms inside the human body. Biological molecules inside your body are
large and easily damaged. A single alpha particle can damage many fragile biological
molecules. Damage from alpha particles can cause cells not to function properly, leading
to illness and disease.
Transmutation When an atom emits an alpha particle, it has two fewer protons, so it is
a different element. Tr ansmutation is the process of changing one element to another
through nuclear decay. In alpha decay, two protons and two neutrons are lost from the
nucleus. The new element has an atomic number two less than that of the original
element. The mass number of the new element is four less than the original element.
Beta Particles
A second type of radioactive decay is called beta decay. Sometimes in an unstable
nucleus a neutron decays into a proton and emits an electron. The electron is emitted
from the nucleus and is called a beta par ticle. Because the atom now has one more
proton, it becomes the element with an atomic number one greater than that of the
original element. Atoms that lose beta particles undergo transmutation. However, because
the total number of protons and neutrons does not change during beta decay, the mass
number of the new element is the same as that of the original element.
Figure 9 shows a transmutation caused by beta decay.
Damage from Beta Particles Beta particles are much faster and more penetrating
than alpha particles. They can pass through paper but are stopped by a sheet of aluminum
foil. Just like alpha particles, beta particles can damage cells when they are emitted by
radioactive nuclei inside the human body.
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Gamma Rays
The most penetrating form of nuclear radiation is gamma radiation. Gamma r ays are
electromagnetic waves with the highest frequencies and the shortest wavelengths in the
electromagnetic spectrum. They have no mass and no charge and travel at the speed of
light. They usually are emitted from a nucleus when alpha decay or beta decay occurs.
Thick blocks of dense materials, such as lead and concrete, are required to stop gamma
rays. However, gamma rays cause less damage to biological molecules as they pass
through livi ng tissue. Suppose an alpha particle and a gamma ray travel the same distance
through matter. The gamma ray produces fewer ions because it has no electric charge.
Radioactive Half-Life
If an element is radioactive, how can you tell when its atoms are going to decay? Some
radioisotopes decay to stable atoms in less than a second. However, the nuclei of certain
radioactive isotopes require millions of years to decay. A
measure of the time required by the nuclei of an isotope to decay
is called the half-life. The half-life of a radioactive isotope is the
amount of time it takes for half the nuclei in a sample of the
isotope to decay. The nucleus left after the isotope decays is
called the daughter nucleus. For example, radium-226 has a halflife of 1620 years, which means that half of a pure radium-226
sample will be converted to other elements by the end of 1620
years. In the next 1620 years, half of the remaining radium
will decay, leaving only one-fourth the original amount of
radium. (After 20 half-lives, the initial quantity of radium-226
will be diminished by a factor of about 1 million; Figur e 11)
The half-life of an element is remarkably constant and not
affected by external conditions. Some radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less
than a millionth of a second, while others have half-lives of more than a billion years.
Figure 10 shows how the number of decaying nuclei decreases after each half-life.
Half-lives vary widely among the radioactive isotopes. For example, polonium-214 has a
half-life of less than a thousandth of a second, but uranium-238 has a half-life of 4.5
billion years. The half-lives of some other radioactive elements are listed in Table 4.
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Figure 11
Radioactive Dating
Some geologists, biologists, and archaeologists, among others, are interested in the ages
of rocks and fossils found on Earth. The ages of these materials can be determined using
radioactive isotopes and their half-lives. First, the amounts of the radioactive isotope and
its daughter nucleus in a sample of material are measured. Then, the number of half-lives
that need to pass to give the measured amounts of the isotope and its daughter nucleus is
calculated. The number of half-lives is the amount of time that has passed since the
isotope began to decay. Also, it is usually the amount of time that has passed since the
object was formed, or the age of the object. Different isotopes are useful in dating
different types of materials.
Carbon Dating The radioactive isotope carbon-14 often is used to estimate the ages of
plant and animal remains. Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5,730 years and is found in
molecules such as carbon dioxi de. Plants use carbon dioxi de when they make food, so all
plants contain carbon-14.When animals eat plants, carbon-14 is added to their bodies.
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The decaying carbon-14 in a plant or animal is replaced when an animal eats or when a
plant makes food. As a result, the ratio of the number of carbon-14 atoms to the number
of carbon-12 atoms in the organism remains nearly constant. But when an organism dies,
its carbon-14 atoms decay without being replaced. The ratio of carbon-14 to carbon 12
then decreases with time. By measuring this ratio, the age of an organism s remains can
be estimated. However, only material from plants and animals that lived within the past
50,000 years contains enough carbon-14 to be measured.
Nuclear Fission
In the 1930s, physicist Enrico Fermi thought that by bombarding nuclei with neutrons,
nuclei would absorb neutrons and heavi er nuclei would be produced. However, in 1938,
Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann found that when a neutron strikes a uranium-235
nucleus, the nucleus splits apart into smaller nuclei. In 1939 Lise Meitner was the first to
offer a theory to explain these results. She proposed that the uranium-235 nucleus is so
distorted when the neutron strikes it that it divi des into two smaller nuclei, as shown in
Figure 16. The process of splitting a nucleus into several smaller nuclei is nuclear
fission. The word fission means to divide.
Mass and Energy Albert Einstein proposed that mass and energy were related in his
special theory of relativi ty. According to this theory, mass can be converted to energy and
energy can be converted to mass. The relation between mass and energy is given by this
equation:
A small amount of mass can be converted into an enormous amount of energy. For
example, if one gram of mass is converted to energy, about 100 trillion joules of energy
are released.
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Nuclear Fusion
Even though nuclear fission reactions release tremendous amounts of energy, even more
energy can be released by nuclear fusion reactions. In a nuclear fusion reaction, two
nuclei with small masses combine to form a nucleus of larger mass. Nuclear fission
reactions release millions of times more energy than can be released by chemical
reactions.
Temperature and Fusion For nuclear fusion to occur, positively charged nuclei
must get close to each other. However, nuclei repel each other because they have the
same positive electric charge. If nuclei are movi ng fast, they can have enough
ki netic energy to overcome the repulsive electrical force between them and get close to
each other. Remember that the ki netic energy of atoms or molecules increases as their
temperature increases. Only at temperatures of millions of degrees Celsius are nuclei
movi ng so fast that they can get close enough for fusion to occur. These extremely high
temperatures are found in the center of stars, such as the Sun.
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Problems:
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Solved Questions/Problems
1.
2.
3.
4.
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5.
6.
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Problems:
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Chemical Bonding
Formulas
The chemical symbols Na and Cl
represent the elements sodium and
chlorine. When written as NaCl, the
symbols make up a formula, or chemical
shorthand, for the compound sodium
chloride. A chemical for mula tells what
elements a compound contains and the
exact number of the atoms of each
element in a unit of that compound. The
compound that you are probably most
familiar with is H2O, commonly known
as water. This formula contains the
symbols H for the element hydrogen and
O for the element oxygen.
Notice the number 2 written as a
subscript after the H for hydrogen.
Subscript means written below. A
subscript written after a symbol tells
how many atoms of that element are in a
unit of the compound. If a symbol has no subscript, the unit contains only one atom
of that element. A unit of H2O contains two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.
Look at the formulas for each compound listed in Table 1. What elements combine to
form each compound? How many atoms of each element are required to form each of the
compounds?
Atomic Stability
Why do atoms form compounds? The electric forces between electrons and protons,
which are oppositely charged, hold atoms and molecules together, and thus they are the
forces that cause compounds to form. The periodic table on the inside back cover of your
book lists the known elements. However, the six noble gases in Group 18 do not form
compounds, or do so with difficulty. Atoms of noble gases are unusually stable.
Compounds of these atoms rarely form because they are almost always less stable than
the original atoms.
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Energy Levels and Other Elements How do the dot diagrams represent other
elements, and how does this relate to their ability to make compounds? Hydrogen and
helium, the elements in period 1 of the periodic table, can hold a maximum of two
electrons in their outer energy levels. Hydrogen contains one electron in its lone energy
level. A dot diagram for hydrogen has a single dot next to its symbol. This means that
hydrogen s outer energy level is not full. It is more stable when it is part of a compound.
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In contrast, helium s outer energy level contains two electrons. Its dot diagram has two
dotsa pair of electronsnext to its symbol. Helium has a full outer energy level and is
chemically stable. Helium rarely forms compounds and the element is a commonly used
gas. When you look at the elements in Groups 13 through 17, you see that none of the
elements has a stable energy level. Each group contains too few electrons for a stable
level of eight electrons.
Outer LevelsGetting Their Fill As you just learned, hydrogen is an element that
does not have a full outer energy level. How does hydrogen, or any other element,
become stable? Atoms with partially stable outer energy levels can lose, gain, or share
electrons to obtain stable outer energy levels. They do this by combining with other
atoms that also have partially complete outer energy levels. As a result, each becomes
stable. Figure 5 shows electron dot diagrams for sodium and chlorine. When they
combine, sodium loses one electron and chlorine gains one electron. You can see from
the electron dot diagram that chlorine now has a stable outer energy level, similar to a
noble gas. But what about sodium?
Stability Is Reached Sodium had only one electron in its outer energy level, which it
lost when it combined with chlorine to form sodium chloride. However, look back to the
next, outermost energy level of sodium. This is now the new outer energy level, and it is
stable with eight electrons. When the outer electron of sodium is removed, a complete
inner energy level becomes the new outer energy level. Sodium and chlorine are
stable now because of the exchange of an electron. In the compound water, each
hydrogen atom needs one electron to have a stable outer energy level. The oxygen atom
needs two electrons for its outer level to be stable with eight electrons. Hydrogen and
oxygen become stable and form bonds in a different way from sodium and chlorine.
Instead of gaining or losing electrons, they share them. Figure 6 shows how hydrogen
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A Bond Forms What happens when potassium and iodine atoms collide? A neutral
atom of potassium has one electron in its outer level. This is not a stable outer energy
level. When potassium forms a compound with iodine, potassium loses one electron from
its fourth level, and the third level becomes the complete outer level. However, the atom
is no longer neutral. The potassium atom has become an ion. When a potassium atom
loses an electron, the atom becomes positively charged because there is one electron less
in the atom than there are protons in the nucleus. The 1+charge is shown as a superscript
written after the element s symbol, K + , to indicate its charge. Superscript means
written above. The iodine atom in this reaction undergoes change as well. An iodine
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atom has seven electrons in its outer energy level. Recall that a stable outer energy level
contains eight electrons. During the reaction with potassium, the iodide atom gains an
electron, leavi ng its outer energy level with eight electrons. This atom is no longer neutral
because it gained an extra negative particle. It now has a charge of 1- and is called an
iodide ion, written as I - . The compound formed between potassium and iodine is called
potassium iodide. The dot diagrams for the process are shown in Figure 8.
Another way to look at the electron in the outer shell of a potassium atom is as an
advertisement to other atoms saying, Available: One electron to lend. The iodine atom
would have the message, Wanted: One electron to borrow. When the two atoms get
together, each becomes a stable ion. Notice that the resulting compound has a neutral
charge because the positive and negative charges of the ions cancel each other.
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Metals and nonmetals usually combine by forming ionic bonds. Looki ng at the periodic
table, you will see that the elements that bond ionically are often across the table from
each other. Ionic compounds are often crystalline solids with high melting points.
Sharing Electrons
Some atoms of nonmetals are unlikely to lose or gain electrons. For example, the
elements in Group 14 of the periodic table have four electrons in their outer levels. They
would have to either gain or lose four electrons to have a stable outer level.
Losing four electrons takes a great deal of energy. Each time an electron is removed, the
nucleus holds the remaining electrons even more tightly. These atoms become more
chemically stable by sharing electrons, rather than by losing or gaining electrons.
The attraction that forms between atoms when they share electrons is known as a
covalent bond. A neutral particle that forms as a result of electron sharing is called a
molecule, as shown in Figure 11.
Single Covalent Bonds A single covalent bond is made up of two shared electrons.
Usually, one of the shared electrons comes from one atom in the bond and the other
comes from the other atom in the bond. A water molecule contains two single bonds. In
each bond, a hydrogen atom contributes one electron to the bond, and the oxygen atom
contributes the other. The two electrons are shared, forming a single bond. The result of
this type of bonding is a stable outer energy level for each atom in the molecule.
Figure 12
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Multiple Bonds A covalent bond also can contain more than one pair of shared
electrons. An example of this is the bond in nitrogen (N2), shown in Figure 12. A
nitrogen atom has five electrons in its outer energy level and needs three more electrons
to become stable. It does this by sharing three of its electrons with another nitrogen atom.
The other nitrogen atom also shares three of its electrons. When each atom contributes
three electrons, they share six electrons, or three pairs of electrons. Each pair of electrons
represents a bond. Therefore, three pairs of electrons represent three bonds, or a triple
bond. Each nitrogen atom is stable with eight electrons in its outer energy level. In a
similar way, a bond that contains two shared pairs of electrons is a double bond. Carbon
dioxi de is an example of a molecule with double bonds. Covalent bonds form between
nonmetallic elements. These elements are close together in the upper right-hand corner of
the periodic table. Many covalent compounds are liquids or gases at room temperature.
Covalent
Compounds
and
Molecules
An atom is the
smallest particle into
which an element can
be divided and still be
the same element.
Likewise, a molecule
is the smallest particle
into which a covalently
bonded compound
can be divided and
still be the same
compound. The
models in Figure 4
show how a sample of
water is made up of many individual molecules of water. Imagine dividing water again and
again. You would finally end up with a single molecule of water. What would happen if you
separated the hydrogen and oxygen atoms that make up a water molecule? Then, you would no
longer have water.
Unequal Sharing Electrons are not always shared equally between atoms in a
covalent bond. The strength of the attraction of each atom to its electrons is related to the
size of the atom, the charge of the nucleus, and the total number of electrons the atom
contains. Part of the strength of attraction has to do with how far the electron being
shared is from the nucleus. For example, a magnet has a stronger pull when it is right
next to a piece of metal rather than several centimeters away. The other part of the
strength of attraction has to do with the size of the positive charge in the nucleus. Using a
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magnet as an example again, a strong magnet will hold the metal more firmly than a
weak magnet will.
One example of this unequal sharing is found in a molecule of hydrogen chloride, HCl,
which is shown in Figure 13. In water, HCl is hydrochloric acid, which is used in
laboratories and in industry to clean metal, and is found in your stomach, where it helps
to digest food. Chlorine atoms have a stronger attraction for the shared electrons than
hydrogen atoms do. As a result, the shared electrons in hydrogen chloride will spend
more time near the chlorine atom than near the hydrogen atom. The chlorine atom has a
partial negative charge, represented by a lowercase Greek symbol delta followed by a
negative superscript, -. The hydrogen atom has a partial positive charge, represented by
a +.
Tug-of-War You might think of a covalent bond as the rope in a tug-of-war, and the
shared electrons as the knot in the center of the rope. Each atom in the molecule attracts
the electrons that they share. However, sometimes the atoms aren t the same size.
The same thing happens in tug-of-war. Sometimes one team has more people or stronger
participants than the other. When this is true, the knot in the middle of the rope ends up
closer to the stronger team. Similarly, the electrons being shared in a molecule are held
more closely to the atoms with the stronger pull or larger nucleus.
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nonpolar molecule is one in which electrons are shared equally in bonds. Such a
molecule does not have oppositely charged ends. This is true of molecules made from
two identical atoms or molecules that are symmetric, such as CCl 4.
Properties:
Ionic Compounds
The ions that make up an ionic compound are bonded in a repeating three-dimensional pattern
called a crystal lattice. In ionic compounds such as table salt, the crystal lattice is built up so that
the positive ions are nearest to the negative ions, forming a solid. The model in Figure 5 shows
a small part of a crystal lattice. The shape of the crystals of an ionic compound depends on the
pattern of ions in its crystal lattice.
Covalent Compounds The covalent bonds between atoms in molecules are strong.
However, the attraction between indivi dual molecules is weak. It is the weak forces
between indivi dual molecules that are responsible for the properties of covalent
compounds. Melting and boiling points of covalent compounds are relatively lower when
compared to ionic compounds. Sugar will melt at approxi mately 185C, whereas table
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salt will melt at 801C. Covalent compounds, which will form soft solids, have poor
electrical and thermal conductivi ty. Candles and propane gas are covalent compounds.
Metallic Bonds
Think about a metal sculpture. Some metal pieces can be flattened, and others can be shaped
into wires. How could the artist change the shape of the metal into all of these different forms
without breaking the metal into pieces? Metal can be shaped because of the presence of
metallic bonds, a special kind of chemical bond. A metallic bond is a bond formed by the
attraction between positively charged metal ions and the electrons around the ions. Positively
charged metal ions form when metal atoms lose electrons.
Properties of Metals
Metallic bonding gives metals their particular properties. These properties include electrical
conductivity, malleability, and ductility.
Reshaping Metals
Because the electrons move freely around the metal ions, the atoms in metals can be
rearranged. As a result, metals can be reshaped. The properties of ductility (the ability to be
drawn into wires) and malleability (the ability to be rolled or pounded) describe a metals ability
to be reshaped. For example, copper is made into wires for use in electrical cords. Aluminum
can be pounded into thin sheets and made into aluminum foil.
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expect the metal to break because all of the metal ions are positively charged. Positively
charged ions repel one another. However, positive ions in a metal are always surrounded by
and attracted to the electrons in the metaleven if the metal ions move.
The electrons constantly move around and between the metal ions. The moving electrons
maintain the metallic bonds no matter how the shape of the metal changes. So, metal objects
can be bent without being broken.
Ionization Energy
Q& A
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Oxidation Numbers You need to know which elements are involved and what
number of electrons they lose, gain, or share to become stable. Section 1 discussed the
relationship between an element s position on the periodic table and the number of
electrons it gains or loses. Because all elements in a given group have the same number
of electrons in their outer energy levels, they must gain or lose the same number of
electrons. Metals always lose electrons and nonmetals always gain electrons when
they form ions. The charge on the ion is known as the oxidation number of the atom.
For ionic compounds, the oxi dation number is the same as the charge on the ion. For
example, a sodium ion has a charge of 1+ and an oxi dation number of 1+ . A chloride ion
has a charge of 1- and an oxi dation number of 1-.
Oxidation Numbers and the Periodic Table The numbers with positive or
negative signs in above Fig are the oxi dation numbers for the elements in the columns
below them. Notice how they fit with the periodic-table groupings. The elements in
Table 3 can have more than one oxi dation number. When naming these compounds, the
oxi dation number is expressed in the name with a roman numeral. For example,
the oxi dation number of iron in iron(III) oxi de is 3+.
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Writing Formulas After you ve learned how to find the oxi dation numbers and their
least common multiple, you can write formulas for ionic compounds. Write the formula
for an ionic compound containing sodium and oxygen by using the following
rules in this order.
1. Write the symbol of the element that has the positive oxi dation number or charge.
Sodium, a Group 1 element, has an oxi dation number of 1+.
2. Write the symbol of the element with the negative number. Nonmetals other than
hydrogen have negative oxi dation numbers. Oxygen has an oxi dation number of 2-.
3. To have a neutral compound, the positive charges have to balance the negative
charges. It takes two sodium ions to balance the one oxygen ion. Thus, the formula
becomes Na2O.
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CaSO4 . 2H2O, is the formula for the hydrate of calcium sulfate that contains two
molecules of water.
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Conservation of Mass
By the 1770s, chemistry was changing from the art of alchemy to a true science. Instead
of being satisfied with a superficial explanation of unknown events, scientists began to
study chemical reactions more thoroughly. Through such study, the French chemist
Antoine Lavoisier established that the total mass of the products always equals the total
mass of the reactants.
Writing Equations
Consider the reaction:
Nickel(I I ) chlor ide, dissolved in water , plus sodium hydr oxide, dissolved in water ,
pr oduces solid nickel(I I ) hydr oxide plus sodium chlor ide, dissolved in water .
This series of words is rather cumbersome, but all of the information is important. The
same is true of descriptions of most chemical reactions.
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Unit Managers
What do the numbers to the left of the formulas for
reactants and products mean? Remember that according
to the law of conservation of mass, matter is neither
made nor lost during chemical reactions. Atoms are
rearranged but never lost or destroyed. These numbers,
called coefficients, represent the number of units of each substance taking part in a
reaction. Coefficients can be thought of as unit managers.
Knowing the number of units of reactants enables chemists to add the correct amounts of
reactants to a reaction. Also, these units, or coefficients, tell them exactly how much
product will form. An example of this is the reaction of one unit of NiCl 2 with two units
of NaOH to produce one unit of Ni(OH)2 and two units of NaCl. You can see these units
in Figure 5.
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Balanced Equations
Lavoisier s mercury(II) oxi de reaction, can be written as:
Notice that the number of mercury atoms is the same on both sides of the equation but
that the number of oxygen atoms is not the same. One oxygen atom appears on the
reactant side of the equation and two appear on the product side.
But according to the law of conservation of mass, one oxygen atom cannot just become
two. Nor can you simply add the subscript 2 and write HgO2 instead of HgO. The
formulas HgO2 and HgO do not represent the same compound. In fact, HgO2 does not
exist. The formulas in a chemical equation must accurately represent the compounds that
react. Fixi ng this equation requires a process called balancing. Balancing an equation
doesn t change what happens in a reaction t simply changes the way the reaction is
represented. The balancing process involves changing coefficients in a reaction to
achieve a balanced chemical equation, which has the same number of atoms of each
element on both sides of the equation.
Balancing Equations Magnesium burns with such a brilliant white light that it is
often used in emergency flares. Burning leaves a white powder called magnesium
oxi de. To write a balanced chemical equation for this and most other reactions, follow
these four steps.
Step 1 Write a chemical equation for the reaction using formulas and symbols. Recall
that oxygen is a diatomic molecule.
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Step 3 Choose coefficients that balance the equation. Remember, never change
subscripts of a correct formula to balance an equation. Try putting a coefficient of 2
before MgO.
Step 4 Recheck the numbers of each atom on each side of the equation and adjust
coefficients again if necessary. Now two Mg atoms are on the right side and only one is
on the left side. So a coefficient of 2 is needed for Mg to balance the equation.
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Solved Problems
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Problems:
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Solved Problems:
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Problems:
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Combustion Reactions If you have ever observed something burning, you have
observed a combustion reaction. A combustion r eaction occurs when a substance reacts
with oxygen to produce energy in the form of heat and light. Combustion reactions also
produce one or more products that contain the elements in the reactants. For example, the
reaction between carbon and oxygen produces carbon dioxi de.
Many combustion reactions also will fit into other categories of reactions. For example,
the reaction between carbon and oxygen also is a synthesis reaction.
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describe the gain of electrons. Chemical reactions involving electron transfer of this sort
often involve oxygen, which is very reactive, pulling electrons from metallic elements.
Corrosion of metal is a vi sible result of this type of reaction. Reduction is the partner to
oxi dation; the two always work as a pair, which is commonly referred to as redox.
Activation Energy
As you learned earlier, atoms and molecules have to bump into each other before a
product can be formed. In order to form new bonds, atoms have to be close together. In
addition to being close, the reactants require a certain amount of energy in order to allow
the reaction to start. This minimum amount of energy needed to start a reaction is called
activation ener gy.
Heat Absorption When the energy needed is in the form of heat, the reaction is called
an endother mic r eaction. The term endothermic is not just related to chemical
reactions. It also can describe physical changes. The process of dissolvi ng a salt in water
is a physical change. If you ever had to soak a swollen ankl e in an Epsom salt solution,
you probably noticed that when you mixed the Epsom salt in water, the solution became
cold. The dissolvi ng of Epsom salt absorbs heat. Thus, it is a physical change that is
endothermic. Some reactions are so endothermic that they can cause water to freeze.
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Endothermic
Reactions With an
endothermic reaction, the
chemical reaction will not
take place unless energy is
added. A constant source of
energy must be added to
keep the reaction going.
The products have more
stored energy than the
reactants.
Figure shows an energy
diagram for the reaction of
carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen monoxi de (NO). With an endothermic reaction, the
reactants have a lower energy level than the products. In order for the products to form,
an input of energy is needed for the reactants to overcome the activation energy barrier.
Exothermic
Reactions When the
energy given off in a
reaction is primarily in
the form of heat, the
reaction is called an
exother mic r eaction.
The burning of wood and
the explosion of
dynamite are exothermic
reactions. Exothermic
reactions provi de most of
the power used in homes
and industries. Fossil
fuels that contain carbon, such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas, combine with oxygen
to yield carbon dioxi de gas and energy. Unfortunately impurities in these fuels, such as
sulfur, burn as well, producing pollutants such as sulfur dioxi de. Sulfur dioxi de combines
with water in the atmosphere, producing acid rain.
Energy Release The energy diagram for an exothermic reaction is the reverse of an
endothermic reaction. With an exothermic reaction, the products have less stored energy
than the reactants. As shown in Figure 21, the reactants, carbon monoxi de (CO) and
nitrogen dioxi de (NO2) have a higher energy level than the products. The molecules have
enough energy to overcome the activation energy barrier.
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Temperature Energy is needed by atoms and molecules to break old bonds and to
form new ones. One way to increase the activation energy is to add heat or increase the
temperature. With an increase in temperature, atoms and molecules move faster and
ki netic energy increases. With faster moving atoms and molecules, more molecules
have ki netic energy greater than activation energy. The atoms and molecules now will
have enough energy to break old bonds at higher temperature, which will increase the
reaction rate.
Concentration When you walk through the hallways at school, you are more likely to
bump into another student if the hallways are crowded. The closer atoms and molecules
are to each other, the greater the chance of collision. The amount of substance present
in a certain volume is called its concentration. Increasing the concentration of a substance
increases the reaction rate.
Surface Area Only atoms or molecules in the outer layer of a substance can collide
with other reactants. When a substance is finely divi ded, it has a larger surface area than
when it was whole. Increasing the surface area increases the chance for collisions,
which will increase the reaction rate.
Agitation If you are maki ng lemonade, the water, sugar, and lemon juice are mixed in
order to get the product. Agitation or stirring is a physical process that allows reactants to
mix. A low stirring rate will slow the reaction due to fewer collisions. Chemical reactions
can be controlled by agitation.
Pressure Another way to influence the reaction rate is with pressure. By increasing the
pressure of gases, molecules have less room to move about and the concentration of the
reactants increases. This will boost the chance of collisions, which means the reaction
rate increases. Decreasing the pressure means fewer collisions, and lower reaction rate.
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Catalysts and Inhibitors Some reactions proceed too slowly to be useful. To speed
them up, a catalyst reaction can be added. A catalyst is substance that speeds up a
chemical reaction without being permanently changed itself. When you add a catalyst
to a reaction, the mass of the product that is formed remains the same, but it will form
more rapidly. At times, it is worthwhile to prevent certain reaction from occurring.
Substances that are used to slow down a chemical reaction are called inhibitor s. The
food preservations BHT and BHA are inhibitors that prevent spoilage of certain foods,
such as cereals and crackers.
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Solved Problems:
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Problems:
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How It Happens Molecules of sugar dissolvi ng in water are shown in Figure in the
next page. First, water molecules cluster around sugar molecules with their negative
ends attracted to the positive ends of the sugar. Then, the water molecules pull the sugar
molecules into solution. Finally, the water molecules and the sugar molecules mix
evenly, forming a solution.
The process described in Figure repeats as layer after layer of sugar molecules move
away from the crystal, until all the molecules are evenly spread out. The same three steps
occur for most solid solutes dissolvi ng in a liquid solvent.
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Rate of Dissolving
When two substances form a solution, the
dissolvi ng occurs at different rates. Sometimes
the rate at which a solute dissolves into a solvent
is fast, while other times it is slow. There are
several things you can do to speed up the rate of
dissolvi ngstirring, reducing crystal size, and
increasing temperature.
Stirring How does stirring speed up the
dissolving process? Think about how you make a
drink from a powdered mix. After you add the
mix to water, you stir it. Stirring a solution
speeds up the dissolvi ng process because it
brings more fresh solvent into contact with more
solute. The fresh solvent attracts the particles
of solute, causing the solid solute to dissolve
faster.
Crystal Size Another way to speed the
dissolvi ng of a solid in a liquid is to grind large
crystals into smaller ones. Suppose you
want to use a 5-g crystal of rock candy to
sweeten your water. If you put the whole crystal into a glass of water, it might take
several minutes to dissolve, even with stirring. However, if you first grind the crystal of
rock candy into a powder, it will dissolve in the same amount of water in a few seconds.
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Why does breaki ng up a solid cause it to dissolve faster? Breaki ng the solid into many
smaller pieces greatly increases its surface area, as you can see in Figure 5. Because
dissolvi ng takes place at the surface of the solid, increasing the surface area allows more
solvent to come into contact with more solid solute. Therefore, the speed of the
dissolvi ng process increases.
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Types of Solutions
How much solute can dissolve in a given amount of solvent? That depends on a number
of factors, including the solubility of the solute. Here you will examine the types of
solutions based on the amount of a solute dissolved.
Saturated Solutions If you add 35 g of copper(II) sulfate, CuSO4, to 100 g of water
at 20C, only 32 g will dissolve. You have a saturated solution because no more
copper(II) sulfate can dissolve. A satur ated solution is a solution that contains all the
solute it can hold at a given temperature. However, if you heat the mixture to a higher
temperature, more copper(II) sulfate can dissolve. Generally, as the temperature of a
liquid solvent increases, the amount of solid solute that can dissolve in it also
increases. Table 2 shows the amounts of a few solutes that can dissolve in 100 g of water
at different temperatures to form saturated solutions.
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Unsaturated Solutions An
unsatur ated solution is any solution that
can dissolve more solute at a given
temperature. Each time a saturated
solution is heated to a higher temperature,
it generally becomes unsaturated. The term
unsaturated isn t precise. If you look at
Table 2, you ll see that at 20C, 35.9 g of
NaCl (sodium chloride) forms a
saturated solution in 100 g of water.
However, an unsaturated solution of NaCl
could be any amount less than 35.9 g in
100 g of water at 20C.
Solubility of Gases
When you shake an opened bottle of soda, it bubbles up and may squirt out. Shaki ng or
pouring a solution of a gas in a liquid causes gas to come out of solution. Agitating the
solution exposes more gas molecules to the surface, where they escape from the liquid.
Pressure Effects What might you do if you want to dissolve more gas in a liquid?
One thing you can do is increase the pressure of that gas over the liquid. Soft drinks are
bottled under increased pressure. This increases the amount of carbon dioxi de that
dissolves in the liquid. When the pressure is released, the carbon dioxide bubbles out.
Temperature Effects Another way to increase the amount of gas that dissolves in a
liquid is to cool the liquid. This is just the opposite of what you do to increase the speed
at which most solids dissolve in a liquid. Imagine what happens to the carbon
dioxi de when a bottle of soft drink is opened. Even more carbon dioxide will bubble out
of a soft drink as it gets warmer.
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Solved Problems:
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Problems:
Acids
Properties of Acids When an acid dissolves in water, some of the hydrogen is
released as hydrogen ions, H_. An acid is a substance that produces hydrogen ions in a
water solution. It is the ability to produce these ions that gives acids their characteristic
properties. When an acid dissolves in water, H- ions interact with water molecules to form
H3O_ ions, which are called hydronium ions.
Acids have several common properties. For one thing, all acids taste sour. The familiar,
sour taste of many foods is due to acids. However, taste never should be used to test for
the presence of acids. Some acids can damage tissue by producing painful burns. Acids
are corrosive. Some acids react strongly with certain metals, eating away the metals and
forming metallic compounds and hydrogen gas. Acids also react with indicators
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Bases
You might not be as familiar with bases as you are with acids. Although you eat some
foods that are acidic, you don t consume many bases. Some foods, such as egg whites,
are slightly basic. Another example of basic materials is baki ng powder, which is
found in some foods. Medicines, such as milk of magnesia and antacids, are basic, too.
Still, you come in contact with many bases every day. Each time you wash your hands
using soap, you are using a base. One characteristic of bases is that they feel slippery,
like soapy water.
Bases can be defined in two ways. Any substance that for ms hydr oxide ions, OH _, in
a water solution is a base. I n addition, a base is any substance that accepts H _ fr om
acids. The definitions ar e r elated, because the OH _ ions pr oduced by some bases
do accept H _ ions.
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Dissociation of Acids You have learned that substances such as HCl, HNO3, and
H2SO4 are acids because of their ability to produce hydrogen ions (H+) in water. When an
acid dissolves in water, the negative areas of nearby water molecules attract the positive
hydrogen in the acid. The acid dissociates into ions and the hydrogen atom combines
with a water molecule to form hydronium ions (H3O+). Dissociation is the process in
which an ionic solid separates into its positive and negative ions. An acid can more
accurately be described as a compound that produces hydronium ions when dissolved in
water, as shown in above Figure.
Dissociation of Bases Compounds that can form hydroxi de ions (OH) in water are
classified as bases. When bases that contain OH dissolve in water, the negative areas of
nearby water molecules attract the positive ion in the base. The positive areas of nearby
water molecules attract the OH of the base. The base dissociates into a positive ion and
a negative iona hydroxi de ion (OH). This process also is shown in Figure.
Neutralization Advertisements for antacids claim that these products neutralize the
excess stomach acid that causes indigestion. Normally, gastric juice is acidic. Too much
acid can produce discomfort. Antacids contain bases or other compounds containing
sodium, calcium, magnesium, or aluminum that react with acids to lower acid
concentration. What happens when you ingest an antacid tablet containing sodium
bicarbonate, NaHCO3? The acid (HCl) is neutralized by the base (NaHCO3).
Neutralization is a chemical reaction between an acid and a base that takes place in a
water solution. When HCl is neutralized by NaOH, hydronium ions from the acid
combine with hydroxi de ions from the base to produce water.
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Salt Formation The acid-base equation accounts for only half of the ions in the
solution. The remaining ions react to form a salt. A salt is a compound formed when the
negative ions from an acid combine with the positive ions from a base. In the reaction
between HCl and NaOH, the salt formed in water solution is sodium chloride.
An Exception Ammonia is a base that does not contain OH. In a water solution,
dissociation takes place when the ammonia molecule attracts a hydrogen ion from a water
molecule, forming an ammonium ion (NH4+). This leaves a hydroxide ion (OH).
Ammonia (NH3) is a colourless pungent gas that is familiar to us as the smell of urine. In fact
probably no other compound can be identified by its smell and correctly named by as many
people as ammonia. It can be detected in the air at a level of only about 50-60 ppm, and at levels
of 100-200 ppm it sharply irritates the eyes and lungs. At even higher concentrations it makes the
lungs fill with fluid and can quickly cause death. Ammonia takes it name from the worshippers
of the Egyptian god Amun - the Ammonians, because they used ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) in
their rites. Ammonium chloride (also known as sal volatile) occurs naturally in cracks near
volcanoes, and when it is warmed it decomposes into the pungent ammonia.
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for the length of the war, since without this process Germany would not have been able to make
explosives (since it had no natural sources of nitrates from which explosives were made), and the
war might have ended much sooner than it did.
The Haber-Bosch Process - which takes place at 400-500C and about 200 atm pressure, in the
presence of an iron catalyst.
In the mid-1980s, the annual production rate for ammonia was about 16 million tons. About 25%
of this went directly for fertiliser, and the rest was used to make nitric acid (and from there into
explosives), dyes, pharmaceuticals and cleaning agents. It has a relatively high heat of
vaporisation, and so some ammonia is used as the heat-exchanger gas in large refrigeration units
(rather than the ozone-destroying CFCs). With all of these important applications, it is no
surprise that more molecules of ammonia are produced each year than any other industrial
chemical.
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Organic Chemistry
Like tiny toy Lego pieces, carbon atoms can link together in countless different
orientations to form an endless diversity of molecules. Interestingly, carbon is the only
element of the periodic table to have this property. Life itself is based upon this unique
ability of carbon. Reflecting this fact, the br anch of chemistr y that is the study of
car bon-containing compounds has come to be known as or ganic chemistr y.
Hydrocarbons
Organic compounds that contain only carbon and hydrogen are hydrocarbons. These
differ from one another by the number of carbon and hydrogen atoms they contain. The
simplest hydrocarbon is methane, CH4, with only one carbon per molecule. Methane is
the main component of natural gas. The hydrocarbon octane, C8H18 , has eight carbons
per molecule and is a component of gasoline. The hydrocarbon polyethylene contains
hundreds of carbon and hydrogen atoms per molecule. Polyethylene is a plastic used to
make many items, including milk containers and plastic bags.
Hydrocarbons also differ from one another in the way the carbon atoms connect to each
other. Figure 14.2 shows the three hydrocarbons n-pentane, iso-pentane, and neo-pentane.
These hydrocarbons all have the same molecular formula, C5 H12 , but are structurally
different from one another.
M olecules such as n-pentane, iso-pentane, and neo-pentane, which have the same
molecular for mula but differ ent str uctur es, ar e known as str uctur al isomer s.
Structural isomers have different physical and chemical properties. For example, npentane has a boiling point of 36C, iso-pentane's boiling point is 30C, and neopentane's is l0C. The number of possible structural isomers for a chemical formula
increases rapidly as the number of carbon atoms increases.
There are three structural isomers for compounds havi ng the formula C5 H12, 18
for C8H18 , 75 for C10H22, and a whopping 366,319 for C20 H42.
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Petroleum
Millions of gallons of petroleum, or crude oil, are pumped every day from wells deep in
Earth s crust. Petr oleum is a highly flammable liquid formed by decayed ancient
organisms, such as microscopic plankton and algae. Petroleum is a mixture of thousands
of chemical compounds. Most of these compounds are hydrocarbons, which means their
molecules contain only carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms.
The hydrocarbons we use are obtained primarily from coal and petroleum. These fossil
fuels are both formed from the remains of organisms that decayed under water in the
absence of oxygen millions of years ago. Coal is a solid material containing many large,
complex hydrocarbon molecules. Most of the coal mined today is used for the production
of steel and for generating electricity at coal-burning power plants. Petroleum, or "cr ude
oil," is a liquid readily separated into its hydrocarbon components through a process
known as fr actional distillation, shown in Figure 14.3. Distillation is a method of
separating mixtures often used in chemistry. During distillation, a liquid is boiled to
produce a vapor that is then condensed again to a liquid. Fractional distillation refers
specifically to the distillation of petroleum.
Petroleum is heated in a pipe still to a temperature high enough to vaporize most of the
components. The hot vapor flows into the bottom of a fractionating towel; which is
warmer at the bottom than at the top. As the vapor rises in the tower and cools, the
various components begin to condense. Hydrocarbons that have high boiling points, such
as tar and lubricating stocks, condense first at warmer temperatures. Hydrocarbons that
have low boiling points, such as gasoline, travel to the cooler regions at the top of the
tower before condensing. Pipes drain the various liquid hydrocarbon fractions from the
tower. Natural gas, which is primarily methane, does not condense. It remains a gas and
is collected at the top of the tower.
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Other Uses for Petroleum Not all of the products obtained from petroleum are
burned to produce energy. About 15 percent of the petroleum-based substances that are
used in the United States go toward nonfuel uses. Look around at the materials in
your home or classroom. Do you see any plastics? In addition to fuels, plastics and
synthetic fabrics are made from the hydrocarbons found in crude petroleum. Also,
lubricants such as grease and motor oil, as well as the asphalt used in surfacing roads, are
obtained from petroleum.
Natural Gas
The chemical processes that produce petroleum as ancient organisms decay also produce
gaseous compounds called natural gas. These compounds rise to the top of the petroleum
deposit and are trapped there. Natural gas is composed mostly of methane, CH4, but it
also contains other hydrocarbon gases such as propane, C3H8, and butane, C4H10.Natural
gas is burned to provi de energy for cooki ng, heating, and manufacturing. About one
fourth of the energy consumed in the United States comes from burning natural
gas. There s a good chance that your home has a stove, furnace, hot-water heater, or
clothes drier that uses natural gas. Natural gas contains more energy per ki logram than
petroleum or coal does. It also burns more cleanly than other fossil fuels, produces fewer
pollutants, and leaves no residue such as ash.
Coal
Coal is a solid fossil fuel that is found in mines underground. In the first half of the
twentieth century, most houses in the United States were heated by burning coal. In fact,
during this time, coal provi ded more than half of the energy that was used in the United
States. Now, almost two-thirds of the energy used comes from petroleum and natural gas,
and only about one-fourth comes from coal. About 90 percent of all the coal that is used
in the United States is burned by power plants to generate electricity.
Origin of Coal Coal mines were once the sites of ancient swamps. Coal formed from
the organic material that was deposited as the plants that lived in these swamps died.
Worldwide, the amount of coal that is potentially available is estimated to be 20 to 40
times greater than the supply of petroleum. Coal also is a complex mixture of
hydrocarbons and other chemical compounds. Compared to petroleum and natural gas,
coal contains more impurities, such as sulfur and nitrogen compounds. As a result, more
pollutants, such as sulfur dioxi de and nitrogen oxi des, are produced when coal is burned.
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Generating Electricity
How is the chemical energy contained in fossil fuels converted to electrical energy in an
electric power station?
The process is shown in Figure 8. In the first stage, fuel is burned in a boiler or
combustion chamber, and it releases thermal energy. In the second stage, this thermal
energy heats water and produces steam under high pressure. In the third stage, the steam
strikes the blades of a turbine, causing it to spin. The shaft of the turbine is connected to
an electric generator. In the fourth stage, electric current is produced when the spinning
turbine shaft rotates magnets inside the generator. In the final stage, the electric current is
transmitted to homes, schools, and businesses through power lines.
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Efficiency of Power
Plants
When fossil fuels are burned in power
plants, not all of the chemical energy
stored in the fuels is converted into
electrical energy. In each energy
transformation, some energy is converted
into thermal energy that cannot be used.
As a result, no stage of the process is 100
percent efficient. The efficiency of each
stage of the process in a fossil-fuel
burning power plant is given in Table 1. The overall efficiency is found by multiplying
the efficiencies together, and is only about 35 percent. This means that only about 35
percent of the chemical energy contained in fossil fuels is converted into electrical energy
by power plants. The other 65 percent is converted into thermal energy that is transferred
to the envi ronment.
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Nonrenewable Resources
All fossil fuels are nonr enewable
r esour ces, which means they are
resources that cannot be replaced by
natural processes as quickl y as they are
used. Therefore, fossil fuel reserves are
decreasing at the same time that
population and industrial demands are
increasing. Figure shows how the
production of oil might decline over the
next 50 years as oil reserves are used up.
As the production of energy from fossil
fuels continues, the remaining reserves
of fossil fuels will decrease. Fossil fuels
will become more difficult to obtain, causing them to become more costly in the future.
Polymers
Polymers are exceedingly long molecules that consist of repeating molecular units called
monomers, as Figure 14.21 illustrates. Monomers have relatively simple structures
consisting of anywhere from 4 to 100 atoms per molecule. When chained together, they
can form polymers consisting of hundreds of thousands of atoms per molecule. These
large molecules are still too small to be seen with the unaided eye. They are, however,
giants in the world of the submicroscopic-if a typical polymer molecule were as thick as a
ki te string, it would be 1 ki lometer long.
Many of the molecules that make up livi ng organisms are polymers, including DNA,
proteins, the cellulose of plants, and the complex carbohydrates of starchy foods. For
now, we focus on the human-made polymers, also known as synthetic polymers, that
make up the class of materials commonly known as plastics.
We begin by exploring the two major types of synthetic polymers used today-addition
polymers and condensation polymers.
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Addition Polymers
Addition polymers form simply by the joining together of monomer units. For this to
happen, each monomer must contain at least one double bond. As shown in Figure 14.22,
polymerization occurs when two of the electrons from each double bond split away from
each other to form new covalent bonds with neighboring monomer molecules. During
this process, no atoms are lost, meaning that the total mass of the polymer is equal to the
sum of the masses of all the monomers.
Nearly 12 million tons of polyethylene are produced annually in the United States; that's
about 90 pounds per U.S. citizen. The monomer from which it is synthesized, ethylene, is
an unsaturated hydrocarbon produced in large quantities from petroleum.
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The addition polymer polyvinylidene chloride (trade name Saran), shown in Figure
14.24, is used as plastic wrap for food.
The addition polymer
polytetrafluoroethylene,
shown in Figure 14.25, is
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what you know as Teflon. In contrast to the chlorine-containing Saran, fluorinecontaining Teflon has a nonstick surface because the fluorine atoms tend not to
experience any molecular attractions. (Fluorine atoms are relatively small and so they
don't readily form induced dipoles.) In addition, because carbon-fluorine bonds are
unusually strong, Teflon can be heated to high temperatures before decomposing. These
properties make Teflon an ideal coating for cooki ng surfaces. It is also relatively inert,
which is why many corrosive chemicals are shipped or stored in Teflon containers.
Condensation Polymers
A condensation polymer forms when the joining of monomer units is accompanied by the
loss of a small molecule, such as water or hydrochloric acid. Any monomer capable of
becoming part of a condensation polymer must have a functional group on each end.
When two such monomers come together to form a condensation polymer, one functional
group of the first monomer links up with one functional group of the other monomer. The
result is a two-monomer unit that has two terminal functional groups, one from each of
the two original monomers. Each of these terminal functional groups in the two-monomer
unit is now free to link up with one of the functional groups of a third monomer, and then
a fourth, and so on. In this way a polymer chain is built.
Figure 14.26 shows this process for the condensation polymer called nylon, created in
1937 by DuPont chemist Wallace Carothers (1896-1937). Because this polymer is
composed of two different monomers, it is classified as a copolymer. One monomer is
adipic acid, which contains two reactive end groups, both carboxyl groups. The second
monomer is hexamethylenediamine, in which two amine groups are the reactive end
groups. One end of an adipic acid molecule and one end of a hexamethylamine molecule
can be made to react with each other, splitting off a water molecule in the process. After
twO monomers have joined, reactive ends still remain for further reactions, which leads
to a growing polymer chain. Aside from its use in hosiery, nylon also finds great use in
the manufacture of ropes, parachutes, clothing, and carpets.
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The synthetic-polymers industry has grown remarkably over the past 50 years.
Annual production of polymers in the United States alone has grown from 3 billion
pounds in 1950 to 100 billion pounds in 2000. Today, it is a challenge to find any
consumer item that does not contain a plastic of one sort or another.
In the future, watch for new kinds of polymers havi ng a wide range of
remarkable properties. We already have polymers that conduct electricity, others
that emit light, others that replace body parts, and still others that are stronger but
much lighter than steel. Imagine synthetic polymers that mimic photosynthesis by
transforming solar energy to chemical energy or efficiently separate fresh water
from the oceans. These are not dreams. They are realities chemists have already
demonstrated in the laboratory. Polymers hold a clear promise for the future.
The plastics industry is but one outgrowth of our knowledge of organic
chemistry. As we explore in the next chapter, our understanding of life itself is
based on our understanding of the properties of carbohydrates, fats, proteins,
and nucleic acids, all of which are polymers containing the functional groups introduced in this chapter.
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We depend on our environment. People can live only in an environment with certain
kinds of characteristics and within certain ranges of availability of resources. Because
modern science and technology give us the power to affect the environment, we have to
understand how the environment
works, so that we can live within its constraints.
People have always been fascinated with nature, which is, in its broadest view, our
environment. As long as people have written, they have asked three questions about
ourselves and nature:
What is nature like when it is undisturbed by people?
What are the effects of people on nature?
What are the effects of nature on people?
Environmental science is our modern way of seeking answers to these questions.
We enjoy our environment. To keep it enjoyable, we must understand it from a
scientific viewpoint.
Our environment improves the quality of our lives. A healthy environment can help
us live longer and more fulfilling lives.
Its just fascinating.
Ecosystems
Although humans are primarily land dwellers, the Earth s surface is largely water. World s
oceans make up 99% of the planet s biosphere and contain the greatest diversity of life. Even the
most biologically rich tropical rain forests cannot match the biodiversity (measured by the
number of species) found in a coral reef community (Coral reefs are underwater structures
made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals).Rain forests, deserts, coral reefs, grasslands,
and a rotting log are all examples of ecosystems.
An ecosystem is a complex community of plants, animals, and micr oor ganisms linked by
ener gy and nutr ient flows that inter act with each other and their envir onment.
Biosphere
The part of the Earth system that directly supports life, including the oceans, atmosphere, land,
and soil, is the biosphere. All the Earth s plants and animals live in this layer, which is measured
from the ocean floor to the top of the atmosphere. All livi ng things, large and small, are grouped
into species,
or separate types. The main compounds that make up the biosphere contain carbon, hydrogen,
and oxygen. These elements interact with other Earth systems.
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The biospher e includes the hydr ospher e, cr ust, and atmospher e. I t is located above the
deeper layer s of the ear th.
The vertical range that contains the biosphere is roughly 20,000 meters high. The section most
populated with livi ng species is only a fraction of that. It includes a section measured from just
below the ocean s surface to about 1,000 meters above it. Most livi ng plants and animals live in
this narrow layer of the biosphere. Fig. 2-1 gives an idea of the depth of the biosphere.
Hydrosphere
The global ocean, the Earth s most noticeable feature from space, makes up the largest single
part of the planet s total covering. The Pacific Ocean, the largest ocean, is so big that the land
mass of all the continents could fit into it. The combined water of all of the oceans makes up
nearly 97% of the earth s water. These oceans are much deeper on average than the land is high,
and make up what is known as the hydrosphere.
The hydr ospher e descr ibes the ever -changing total water cycle that is par t of the closed
envir onment of the ear th.
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The macronutrients in turn include the big six elements that are the fundamental building
blocks of life: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Each one plays a
special role in organisms. Carbon is the basic building block of organic compounds; along
with oxygen and hydrogen, carbon forms carbohydrates.
Nitrogen, along with these other three, makes proteins. Phosphorus is the energy elementit
occurs in compounds called ATP and ADP, important in the transfer and use of energy within
cells.
Other macronutrients also play specific roles. Calcium, for example, is the structure element,
occurring in bones and teeth of vertebrates, shells of shellfish, and wood-forming cell walls of
vegetation. Sodium and potassium are important to nerve-signal transmission. Many of the
metals required by living things are necessary for specific enzymes. (An enzyme is a complex
organic compound that acts as a catalystit causes or speeds up chemical reactions, such as
digestion.)
For any form of life to persist, chemical elements must be available at the right times, in the right
amounts, and in the right concentrations. When this does not happen, a chemical can become a
limiting factor, preventing the growth of an individual, a population, or a species, or
even causing its local extinction.
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Chemical elements may also be toxic to some life-forms and ecosystems. Mercury, for example,
is toxic even in low concentrations.
A biogeochemical cycle is the complete path a chemical takes through the four major
components, or reservoirs, of Earths system: atmosphere, hydrosphere (oceans, rivers, lakes,
groundwaters, and glaciers), lithosphere (rocks and soils), and biosphere (plants and animals).
A biogeochemical cycle is chemical because it is chemicals that are cycled, bio- because the
cycle involves life, and geo- because a cycle may include atmosphere, water, rocks, and soils.
The tectonic cycle involves the creation and destruction of Earths solid outer layer, the
lithosphere. The lithosphere is about 100 km (60 mi) thick on average and is broken into several
large segments called plates, which are moving relative to one another (Figure 6.11). The slow
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movement of these large segments of Earths outermost rock shell is referred to as plate
tectonics. The plates float on denser material and move at rates of 2 to 15 cm/year (0.8 to 6.9
in./year), about as fast as your fingernails grow. The tectonic cycle is driven by forces originating
deep within the earth.
Plate tectonics has important environmental effects. Moving plates change the location and size
of continents, altering atmospheric and ocean circulation and thereby altering climate. Plate
movement has also created ecological islands by breaking up continental areas. When this
happens, closely related life-forms are isolated from one another for millions of years, leading
to the evolution of new species. Finally, boundaries between plates are geologically active
areas, and most volcanic activity and earthquakes occur there. Earthquakes occur when the
brittle upper lithosphere fractures along faults (fractures in rock within the Earths crust).
Movement of several meters between plates can occur within a few seconds or minutes, in
contrast to the slow, deeper plate movement described above.
Three types of plate boundaries occur: divergent, convergent, and transform faults.
Even the world s total amount of rainfall is incredibly large. To give you an idea of the volume of
water we are talki ng about, think of this: If all the rain that falls on the Earth in one year fell on the
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state of Texas (total area around 692,408 km2) in one day, the entire state would be covered with
approxi mately 560 meters of water!
A water r eser voir is a place in the atmospher e, ocean, or under gr ound, wher e water is stor ed
for some per iod of time.
Water is constantly circulating between the atmosphere and the Earth and back to the atmosphere
through a cycle involving condensation, precipitation, evaporation, and transpiration. This is called
the hydrologic cycle. Fig. 5-1 illustrates the many ways water is transported through the hydrologic
cycle.
Water vapor is carried by wind and air currents throughout the atmosphere. When an air mass cools
down, its vapor condenses into clouds and eventually falls to the ground as precipitation in the form
of snow, rain, sleet, or hail.
Water takes one route from the atmosphere to the ground, but can take a variety of paths and time
periods to get back up into the atmosphere. These paths include the following:
Absorption by plants;
Evaporation from the sun s heating;
Storage in the upper levels of soil;
Storage as groundwater deep in the earth;
Storage in glaciers and polar regions;
Storage or transport in springs, streams, rivers, lakes; and
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evaporation.
Water held inside plants returns to the atmosphere as a vapor through a biological process called
transpiration. When plants pull water up through their roots from the soil, use some of the dissolved
minerals to grow, and then release the water back through the leaves, the entire cycle is known as
evapotranspiration.
This happens the most during times of high temperatures, wind, dry air, and sunshine. In temperate
climates, this occurs during the summertime. When air currents rise into the colder atmospheric
layers, water vapor condenses and sticks to tiny particles in the air. This is called condensation.
When a lot of water vapor coats enough particles (dust, pollen, or pollutant), it forms a cloud.
As the air gets wetter and wetter (saturated), water droplets accumulating within the cloud get bigger
and bigger. When these droplets get too heavy, gravity wins and they fall as precipitation.
After rain hits the ground, it can evaporate quickly, be absorbed (by the land or the sea), or run off
into storm sewers, streams, or rivers. Even though the hydrologic cycle balances what goes up with
what comes down, one part of the cycle gets stuck in polar regions during the wintertime.
In cold climates, rain is stored as snow or ice on the ground for several months. In glacial areas, the
time period can extend from years to thousands of years. Then, as the temperature climbs in the
spring, the water is released. When this happens in a very short period of time, flooding occurs.
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen (N2) makes up 79% of the atmosphere. All life, like proteins, requires nitrogen compounds
to survive. However, they can t generally use nitrogen in the gaseous form.
To be used by an organism, nitrogen must be combined with hydrogen and oxygen. Nitrogen is taken
out of the atmosphere by lightning or nitrogen-fixi ng bacteria. During storms, large amounts of
nitrogen are oxi dized by lightning and mixed with water (rain). This falls and is converted into
nitrates. Plants take up nitrates to form proteins. Plants are consumed by herbivores(Herbivores are
organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods) or
carnivores(meaning 'meat eater' (Latin carne meaning 'flesh' and vorare meaning 'to devour'), is an
organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively
of animal tissue). When these die (organic matter), the nitrogen compounds are broken down into
ammonia. Ammonia can be taken up by plants again, dissolved by water, or remain in the soil to be
converted to nitrates (nitrification). Nitrates stored in soil can end up in rivers and lakes through
runoff. They can also be changed into free nitrogen and returned to the atmosphere. Fig. gives you an
idea of the nitrogen cycle.
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Carbon Cycle
Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen, helium, and oxygen. At
last count, there were more than 2 million known organic compounds, nearly 20 times more than all
the other known chemicals combined. Carbon is known as the building block of life and is the
foundational element of all organic substances, from molds to mosquitoes to fossil fuels. Carbon
cycles through the land, ocean, atmosphere, and the Earth s interior in a major biogeochemical cycle.
Or ganic matter must contain carbon from living or nonliving material in order to be considered
organic.
The transport of carbon takes place in the atmosphere, biosphere, oceans, and landmasses. All of
carbon s different lives are described by the carbon cycle. The carbon cycle has many different
storage spots, also known as reservoirs or sinks, where carbon exchanges take place. The carbon
cycle is shown in Fig. 11-3. The global carbon cycle is divided into two types, the geological carbon
cycle, which has been going on for millions of years, and the biological carbon cycle, which stretches
from days to thousands of years.
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Plants and animals use carbohydrates during respiration, the opposite of photosynthesis. Respiration
converts this biological (metabolic) energy back to carbon dioxi de. As a process pair, respiration and
decomposition (respiration by bacteria and fungi) restore the biologically fixed carbon to the
atmosphere. Yearly carbon levels taken up by photosynthesis and sent back to the atmosphere by
respiration are 1,000 times higher than carbon levels transported through the geological cycle each
year.
We ve seen how photosynthesis and respiration play a big part in the long term geological cycling of
carbon. Land plants pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In the oceans, the calcium carbonate
shells of dead phytoplankton sink to the sea bed and form sediments. When photosynthesis is higher
than respiration, organic matter gradually builds over millions of years and forms coal and oil
deposits. These biologically regulated activities characterize atmospheric carbon dioxi de removal and
the storage of carbon in geologic sediments.
Atmosphere
Next to the ground we walk on, the atmosphere is the easiest to identify. The atmosphere also
provides the air (oxygen) we breathe. Humans can survive for about 28 days without food and 3 days
without waterbut only three to four minutes without air. For this reason, it is the single most
important resource we have. All other environmental concerns must tie into the preservation
of our atmosphere.
Atmospheric variables include temperature, pressure, and water vapor. The gradients and interactions
of these variables and how they change over time are also important.
A meteor ologist is a per son who
studies the weather and its
atmospher ic patter ns.
Composition
The atmospheric gases blanketing the
Earth exist in a mixture. This mixture is
made up (by volume) of about 79%
nitrogen, 20% oxygen, 0.036% carbon
dioxi de, and trace amounts of other
gases.
The atmosphere is divided into four
layers according to the mixi ng of gases
and their chemical properties, as well as
temperature. The layer nearest the earth
is the troposphere, which reaches an
altitude of about 8 km in polar regions
and up to 17 km around the equator. The
layer above the troposphere is the
stratosphere, which reaches to an
altitude of around 50 km. The
mesosphere reaches up to approxi mately
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90 km and lies above the stratosphere. Finally, the thermosphere, or ionosphere, is still further out
and eventually fades to black in outer space. There is
very slight mixi ng of gases between the layers.
TROPOSPHERE
The lowest of the atmospheric layers, the troposphere, extends from the earth s surface up to about
14 km in altitude. Virtually all human activities occur in the troposphere. Mt. Everest, the tallest
mountain on the planet, is only about 9 km high.
Nitrogen and oxygen make up the majority of the Earth s gases, even in the higher altitudes. But it s
the atmospheric level closest to the Earth where everything is perfect to support life. At this level,
living organisms are protected from harmful cosmic radiation showers that constantly assault the
earth s atmosphere.
This active layer is called the troposphere. If you have ever survived a hurricane or tornado, you
know that the troposphere is an active place. It is the atmospheric layer where all the weather we
experience takes place. Rising and falling temperatures, as well as circulating masses of air, keep
things lively. Air pressure also adds to the mix.
The warmest portions of the troposphere are found at the lowest altitudes. This is because the earth s
surface absorbs the sun s heat and radiates it back into the atmosphere. Commonly, temperature
decreases as altitude increases
STRATOSPHERE
Above the troposphere is the stratosphere, where air flow is mostly sideways There is a gradual
change from the troposphere to the stratosphere, which starts at around 14 km in altitude. The
stratosphere extends from 14 km to around 50 km. Most commercial aircraft travel takes place in the
lower part of the stratosphere. Military aircraft travel at much higher altitudes: Some classified
stealth aircraft are thought to graze the boundary of the mesosphere and beyond.
NASA s Space Shuttle generally travels to altitudes between 160 and 500 km.
Although the temperature in the lower stratosphere is cold and constant, hovering around at 57C,
there are strong winds in this layer that are part of specific circulation patterns. Extremely high and
wispy clouds can form in the lower stratosphere. In general, there are no major weather formations
that take place regularly in the stratosphere.
Ozone
Ozone is one of our atmospheric bodyguards. Even small amounts have an important role in
protecting planetary life. Concentrated in a thin layer in the upper stratosphere, atmospheric ozone is
an exceptionally reactive form of oxygen. It is found in the stratospheric layer, around 15 to 30 km
above the Earth s surface. The ozone layer is largely responsible for absorbing most of the sun s
ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Most importantly, it absorbs the fraction of ultraviolet light called UVB.
Ultraviolet radiation is a bad, bad thing! It causes breaks in the body s nuclear proteins, leaving the
door open for cancers and other health issues to get a foothold. UVB has been connected with many
serious health problems, like different ki nds of ski n cancer and cataracts. It is also harmful to certain
crops, materials, and marine organisms
Ozone is much less widespread than normal oxygen. The formation of the ozone layer is a tricky
matter. Out of every 10 million air molecules, about 2 million are normal oxygen and only three are
ozone molecules. Instead of two atoms of oxygen like normal oxygen molecules (O2), ozone (O3)
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contains three oxygen atoms. Ozone has a distinctive odor and is blue in color. Regular oxygen has
no odor or color.
Ozone Depletion
For the past 50 years, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) held the answer to lots of material problems. They
were stable, nonflammable, not too toxic, and cheap to produce. They had a variety of uses including
applications as refrigerants, solvents, and foam-blowing agents.
Chlorine has been used for everything from disinfecting water to serving as solvents (methyl
chloroform and carbon tetrachloride) in chemistry labs.
Unfortunately, these compounds are not so good for the atmosphere. They don t just break down and
disappear. They hang around. This lingering characteristic allows them to be carried by winds into
the stratosphere. The net effect is to destroy ozone faster than it is naturally created. Roughly 84% of
stratospheric chlorine comes from manmade sources, while only 16% comes from natural
sources.
Unfortunately, CFCs break down only by exposure to strong UV radiation. When that happens, CFCs
release chlorine. Scientists have found that one atom of chlorine can destroy over 100,000 ozone
molecules. As CFCs decay, they release chlorine and damage the ozone layer.
In 1985, since chlorine compounds were still being used, the policy of the Vienna Convention was
adopted to gather international cooperation and reduce the number of all CFCs by half. It s important
to remember that just because CFCs were banned doesn t mean that long-lived chemicals will
disappear immediately from the atmosphere. Until CFCs degrade to negligible levels, the annual
South Polar ozone hole will keep appearing for many years to come. The annual hole or thinning
of the ozone layer over Antarctica was first noticed in 1985.
In 1992, with new information on the ever-shrinki ng ozone layer, developed countries decided to
totally stop production of halons by 1994 and CFCs by 1996. Halons are compounds in which
hydrogen atoms of a hydrocarbon are replaced by bromine or fluorine. The halons are used as fireextinguishing agents, both in built-in systems and in handheld fire extinguishers.
Halons cause ozone depletion because they contain bromine, which is a lot stronger than CFCs in
destroying ozone. Halons are also very stable and break down slowly once formed.
This course of action turned out to be what turned the tide in falling ozone levels. Levels of inorganic
chlorine in the atmosphere stopped increasing in 19971998, and stratospheric chlorine levels peaked
and are no longer rising. If nothing happens to change this trend, natural ozone recovery should mend
the ozone layer in about 50 years.
MESOSPHERE
Above the stratosphere is the mesosphere, a middle layer separating the lower stratosphere from the
inhospitable thermosphere. Extending from 80 to 90 km and with temperatures around 101C, the
mesosphere is the intermediary of the earth s atmosphere layers.
THERMOSPHERE
The changeover from the mesosphere to the thermosphere layer begins at a height of approxi mately
80 km. The thermosphere is named because of the return to rising temperatures that can reach an
amazing 1,982C.
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Greenhouse Effect
and Global Warming
Have you ever been in a greenhouse? Greenhouses are special buildings usually made from glass and
steel. They are used to grow plants that need humidity, tropical temperatures, and constant growing
conditions. Gardeners also use greenhouses to protect plants from freezing in the winter.
Greenhouses, sometimes called hothouses, work by trapping the sun s heat. A greenhouse s glass
sides and roof let sunlight in, but keep heat from escaping.
The earth s atmosphere surrounds our planet like a blanket. It protects us from harmful cosmic
radiation, regulates temperature and humidity, and controls the weather. The atmosphere is critical to
life on this planet and provides the air we breathe.
Greenhouse gases are a natural part of the atmosphere. They trap the sun s warmth, and preserve the
earth s surface temperature at a median level needed to support life. Atmospheric greenhouse gases
act like the glass windows of a greenhouse. Sunlight enters the Earth s atmosphere, passing through
greenhouse gases that act like a lens. Then, as it reaches the Earth s surface, the land, water, and
biosphere absorb the sun s energy. Once absorbed, this energy gets recycled into the atmosphere. A
portion of the heat is reflected into space, but a lot of it stays locked in the atmosphere by greenhouse
gases, causing the Earth to heat.
The gr eenhouse effect descr ibes how atmospher ic gases pr event heat fr om being r eleased back
into space, allowing it to build up in the Ear th s atmospher e.
The more gases there are, the more the Earth heats
up. The greenhouse effect is important. Without it,
the Earth would not be warm enough for most
living things to survive. However, if the
greenhouse effect gets too strong, it can make the
Earth warmer than normal. The problem is that
even a little more heat (a few degrees higher)
creates problems for people, plants, and animals.
Greenhouse Gases
We know that the earth is surrounded by a mixture
of gases. The Earth s atmosphere consists of
roughly 79.1% nitrogen, 20.9% oxygen, 0.03%
carbon dioxi de, and trace amounts of other gases.
Greenhouse gases are a natural part of the
atmosphere. Greenhouse gases include water
vapor, carbon dioxi de, methane, nitrous oxi de,
halogenated fluorocarbons, ozone, perfluorinated
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carbons, and hydrofluorocarbons. Water vapor is the most important greenhouse gas, but human
activity doesn t have much direct impact on its amount in the atmosphere.
Global warming is caused by an increase in the levels of these gases brought about by human
activity. The greatest impact on the greenhouse effect has come from industrialization and increases
in the amounts of carbon dioxi de, methane, and nitrous oxi de. The clearing of land and burning of
fossil fuels, for example, have raised atmospheric gas concentrations of soot and other aerosols (fine
particles in the air).
Manufactured greenhouse gases and particles, rather than the occasional volcanic eruption, now
account for higher gas concentrations. The planet has begun to warm at a steep rate, and future
temperature increases are predicted by climatic models programmed with the volumes of gases
released yearly into the atmosphere. Some scientists are already seeing the consequences of global
warming, such as the melting of the polar ice sheets and rising sea levels. Since 1991, the National
Academy of Sciences has found clear evidence of global warming and recommended immediate
reductions in greenhouse gases. Depending on whether or not changes are made, they have predicted
temperature increases of between 3 and 9 Fahrenheit in the next 100 to 200 years, with sea
level increases of 3 to 25 feet.
CARBON DIOXIDE
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a natural greenhouse gas and also the biggest human supplied gas to the
greenhouse effect (about 70%). A heavy, colorless gas, carbon dioxi de is the main gas we exhale
during breathing. It dissolves in water to form carbonic acid, is formed in animal respiration, and
comes from the decay or combustion of plant/animal matter. Carbon dioxi de is absorbed from the air
by plants in photosynthesis and is also used to carbonate drinks.
You may be thinki ng that the Earth s
inhabitants don t have the option to
stop breathing. You re right.
However, the amount of carbon
dioxi de in the atmosphere,
unfortunately, is about 30% higher
now than it was at the beginning of
the 1800s. Fig. 4-2 shows carbon
dioxi de concentration trends over the
past 250 years. The industrial
revolution is responsible for this
jump. Ever since fossil fuels
such as oil, coal, and natural gas
were first burned to create energy for
electricity and transportation fuel,
carbon dioxi de levels have climbed.
Additionally, when farmers clear and
burn weeds and crop stubble, carbon
dioxi de is also produced.
NITROGEN OXIDES
The colorless gas known as nitrous oxi de is an atmospheric pollutant produced by combustion. It is
also one of the greenhouse gases. There are several ways that nitrogen and oxygen team up in the
atmosphere, including nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, and nitrous oxide. Nitrogen oxi des are stable
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gases and do not break down quickl y. For this reason, they build up in the atmosphere in greater and
greater concentrations.
Nitrogen combines with moisture in the atmosphere to form nitric acid. This comes down as rain and
acidifies lakes and soils, ki lling fish, and small animal populations and damaging forests. Acid
particulates are also precipitated, along with the leaching of heavy metals, into water supplies.
Nitrous oxi de is also used in dentistry to put patients to sleep during dental procedures and is
sometimes called laughing gas. The amount of nitrous oxi de in the atmosphere is about 15% higher
now than it was in the 1800s.
At high altitudes, nitrogen oxi des are responsible for some ozone depletion. When ozone is thin or
gone in places, the amount of solar ultraviolet radiation that reaches the ground is increased. This
causes plant damage and injury to animals and humans in the form of ski n cancers and other
problems. As a greenhouse gas, nitrogen oxi des trap heat much more efficiently than
carbon dioxi de.
METHANE
Another greenhouse gas, methane, is a colorless, odorless, flammable hydrocarbon that is released by
the breakdown of organic matter and the carbonization of coal. This gas is the second biggest
additive, after carbon dioxide, to the greenhouse effect at around 20%.
Methane is the main component of natural gas, which is found in deposits, like oil, in the earth s
crust. Methane is a byproduct of the production, transportation, and use of natural gas. Underwater
decaying plants create methane known as marsh or swamp gas.
One of the best known sources of methane in rural populations is that of belching (Belching (also
known as burping, ructus, or eructation) involves the release of gas from the digestive tract (mainly
esophagus and stomach) through the mouth.) farm animals. Cows have complicated digestive
systems, and release large amounts of methane in satisfying belches. It sounds funny, but when you
consider herds of hundreds of animals, it adds up!
The amount of methane in the atmosphere is about 145% higher now than it was in the 1800s. The
major causes of this increase are thought to include:
Digestive gases of sheep and cattle
Growth and cultivation of rice
Geologic release of natural gas
Decomposition of garbage and landfill waste
HALOCARBONS
As we learned earlier, halocarbons levels dropped since being banned in the 1990s. The phasing out
of chlorofluorocarbons has removed a lot of the ozone threat and is allowing the protective ozone
layer to recover.
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coal mining and certain natural gas pipelines. Animals, especially sheep and cattle, produce methane
as food breaks down within their stomachs. Some fertilizers release nitrous oxide. Rice production
in paddy fields generates methane under water.
When organic matter such as table scraps, garden waste, and paper is left in landfills, its
decomposition forms methane and carbon dioxi de. Sewage and water treatment plants also release
these gases in the process of breaki ng down wastes.
Many industrial processes create greenhouse gases. Cement production, used for everything from
building roads to laying the foundations of homes and businesses, requires chemical processes that
produce an assortment of greenhouse gases.
Climate Change
Climate change includes temperature increases (global warming), rise in sealevels, rainfall pattern
changes, and increased incidence of ext reme weather events. Scientific data discussed at the 2002
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World Summit on Sustainable Development and the 2004 United Nations Convention on Biological
Diversity suggests that global warming is causing shifts in species habitat and migrations that
average 6.1 km per decade towards the poles. This shift, predicted by climate change models, notes
that spring arrives 2.3 days earlier per decade, on average.
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In addition, most of the ill effects of climate change are linked to extreme weather events, such
as hot or cold spells of temperature, or wet or dry spells of rainfall, or cyclones and floods.
Predictions of the nature and distributions of such events in a changed climate are even more
uncertain- to the extent that vi rtually no authoritative predictions exist at all. While there are
costs as well as benefits associated with climate change, the scientific consensus is clearly that
the overall effects are likely to pose a significant burden on the global community. Unlike many
other envi ronmental issues, such as local air or water pollution, or even stratospheric ozone
depletion caused by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), global warming poses special challenges due to
the spatial and temporal extent of the problem covering the globe and with decades to centuries
time scales.
Analysis and assessment of just what steps needed to be taken to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
This process resulted in the negotiation of a protocol, the final details of which were completed
at the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention held
December 1-12, 1997, in Kyoto, Japan. The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change commits industrialized nations to specific, legally binding
emission reduction targets for six greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,
hydro fluorocarbons, per-fluorinated compounds and sulphur hex fluoride. First, although India
does not currently have any obligations under the Convention to reduce its greenhouse gas
emissions. It is important for us to develop a clear understanding of our emission inventory. We
also need to document and analyze our efforts in areas such as renewable energy, wasteland
development and a forestation - all of which contribute towards either reducing CO2 emissions
or increasing CO2 removal from the atmosphere. Considering that these efforts may often be
undertaken for a variety of reasons not directly related to global warming, but yet has benefits as
far as climate change is concerned, we may be able to leverage such efforts in the international
context. The Research community
could contribute substantially in this regard. We need to significantly improve our ability to plan
and adapt to extreme events such as floods, droughts, cyclones and other meteorological hazards.
Any robustness that we build into the system in this regard will always stand us in good stead no
matter what climate change actually transpires.
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Pollutants
Pollutants are by-products of man s action. The important pollutants are summarised
below:
Deposited matter Soot, smoke, tar or dust and domestic wastes.
GasesCO, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, halogens (chlorine, bromine and iodine).
M etalsLead, zinc, iron and chromium.
I ndustr ial pollutantsBenzene, ether, acetic acid etc., and cyanide compounds.
Agr icultur e pollutantsPesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers.
Photochemical pollutantsOzone, oxides of nitrogen, aldehydes, ethylene,
photochemical smog and proxy acetyl nitrate.
Radiation pollutantsRadioactive substances and radioactive fall-outs of the
nuclear test.
Classification of Pollutants
On the basis of natural disposal, pollutants are of two types:
(i) Non-degradable pollutants
These are the pollutants, which degrade at a very slow pace by the natural biological processes. These are inorganic
compounds such as salts (chlorides), metallic oxides waste producing materials and materials like, aluminium cans,
mercuric salts and even DDT. These continue to accumulate in the environment.
(ii) Biodegradable pollutants
These include domestic sewage that easily decomposes under natural processes and can be rapidly decomposed by
natural/ artificial methods. These cause serious problems when accumulated in large amounts as the pace of
deposition exceeds the pace of decomposition of disposal.
On the basis of the form in which they persist after their release into the environment, pollutants can be categorized
under two types:
(i ) Pr imar y pollutants : These include those substances, which are emitted directly from some identifiable sources.
This include(a) Sulphur compounds: SO2, SO3, H2S produced by the oxidation of fuel.
(b) Carbon compounds: Oxides of carbon (CO+CO2) and hydrocarbons.
(c) Nitrogen compounds: NO2 and NH3.
(d) Halogen compounds: Hydrogen fluoride (HF) and hydrochloric acid (HCl).
(e) Particles of different size and substances: These are found suspended in air.
The fine particles below the diameter of 100u are more abundant and include
particles of metals, carbon, tar, pollen, fungi, bacteria, silicates and others.
(ii ) Secondar y pollutants. The secondary pollutants are produced by the combination of primary emitted pollutants.
in the atmosphere. In bright sunlight, a photochemical reaction occurs between nitrogen oxides; oxygen and waste
hydrocarbons from gasoline that forms peroxyacetyle nitrate (PAN) and ozone (O3), Both of them are toxic
components of smog and cause smarting eyes and lung damage.
(iii ) Smog. The fog deposited with smoke and chemical fumes forms a dark and thick covering, the smog. Smog is
very common in almost all the industrial areas as the smog is trapped for many days by the stagnant air. It is harmful
both for animals and plants.
AIR POLLUTION
The WHO defines air pollution as the presence of materials in the air in such concentration which are harmful to
man and his environment. A number of ingredients find their way in the air and these are mostly gases, which
rapidly spread over wide areas.
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(iii) Industries
Paper and pulpfactories, petroleum refineries, fertilizer plants, and steel industries, thermal power plants are the
main sources of air pollution. They add various harmful gases like CO, SO3, NO, Hydrocarbons etc., to the
atmosphere. Textile factories release cotton dust into the air. The pesticide and insecticide industries are posing
serious threat to the environment. Food processing industries and tanneries emit offensive odors. Release of
poisonous gases from accidents also poses serious threats. e.g. Bhopal Gas Tragedy in which methyl isocynate
(MIC) gas leakage killed several people. In Tokyo, about 34 tones of carbon particles mixed with other suspended
particles settle per square kilometer every day.
(v) Wars
Various forms of explosives used in war pollute the air by releasing poisonous gases. This greatly disturbs the
ecology of the area. Nuclear explosions pollute air by radioactive rays. The effects of nuclear explosions on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki are well-known examples.
(vi) Hydrocarbons
These are unburnt discharges from incomplete combustion of fuel in automobiles. These form PAN with nitrogen
oxides, which is highly toxic.
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from textile mills; and pesticides sprayed on crops are examples of particulate pollutants in the air. These are
injurious to respiratory tract.
(viii) Aerosols
Aerosols are chemicals released in the air in vapour form. These include fluorocarbon (carbon compound having
fluorine) present in emissions from the Jet aeroplanes. Aerosols deplete the ozone layer. Thinning of ozone layer
results in more harmful ultraviolet rays reaching the earth, which are harmful to skin, and can lead to skin cancer
also.
(x) Fluorides
Rocks, soils and. minerals containing fluorides release an extremely toxic gas called hydrogen fluoride on heating.
This gas is highly injurious to livestock and cattle.
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Water Pollution
Water is extremely essential for life, this common fact is known to all. It is required to
meet our basic needs in day to day life viz., cooking, drinking, bathing, disposal of sewage,
irrigation, generating electricity in power plants, cooling and manufacturing different products
in industries and the disposal of industrial wastes. During all these processes the undesirable
substances are added to the water resources to a great extent. This alters the basic chemistry
of water in rivers and streams.
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For example, DDT after reaching a water system is absorbed by the microorganisms on which smaller fishes feed.
From them, DDT reaches the carnivorous animals. Since bigger fishes consume more food, large amounts of DDT
accumulates in their body.
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the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, Hyderabad, showed that if the watershed technology
is to succeed it must be specific to natural endowments of the location; it must be built on indigenous knowledge; it
should be based on people s participation; it must be equitable in sharing of costs and benefits, and village-based
institutions must be put-in-place right from inception of the project.
Watershed Management
It was suggested that, rather than allowing residential, commercial, or industrial development on flood plains, these
areas should be reserved for water storage, aquifer recharge, wildlife habitat, and agriculture. Sound farming and
forestry practices can reduce runoff. Retaining crop residue on fields reduces flooding, and minimizing. Ploughing
and forest cutting on steep slopes protects watersheds. Wetlands conservation preserves natural water storage
capacity and aquifer recharge zones. A river fed by marshes and wet meadows tend to run consistently clear and
steady rather than in violent floods.
A series of small dams on tributary streams can hold backwater before it becomes a great flood. Ponds formed by
these dams provide useful wildlife habitat and stock-watering facilities. They also catch soil where it could be
returned to the fields. Small dams can be built with simple equipment and local labour; eliminating the need for
massive construction projects and huge dams. Watershed-based frame for rain fed agriculture provides uncommon
opportunities for achieving sustainable food and nutritional security. It is time that the watershed development
agenda is considered a programme for-the masses.
Radiation
The radiations from the atomic blasts cause several health hazards. The radiations carry high energy and remove
electrons from atoms and attach them to other atoms producing positive and negative ion pairs. Hence, they are
known as ionizing radiations. The ionization property of these radiations proves to be highly injurious to the
protoplasm. The ionizing radiations of ecological concern are classified as follows:
Corpuscular Radiations
These consist of streams of atomic or subatomic particles, which transfer their energy to the matter they strike.
(i) Alpha particles
These particles are large and travel few centimeters in the air. These cause large amount of local ionization.
(ii) Beta particles
These are small particles characterized by having high velocities. They can travel a few meters in space. These are
capable of entering into the tissues for few centimeters. Since alpha and beta particles have low penetration power
they can produce harmful effects only when absorbed, ingested or deposited in or near living tissues.
(iii) Electromagnetic radiations
Electromagnetic radiations include waves of shorter wavelengths. These are capable of traveling long distances and
can readily penetrate the living tissue. These include gamma rays. These can penetrate and produce effect even
without being taken inside.
Sources of Radiations
The radiations are produced from the radioactive elements, which are known as radionuclides or radioactive
isotopes, e.g. Uranium. Radium, Thorium, and Carbon-14. These contribute to background radiation. But isotopes of
certain metabolically important elements like Carbon-14, Cobalt-60, Calcium 45, Iodine-131, Phosphorus-32, etc.
are not ecologically harmful but are used as tracers. The third category of radionuclides comprises of fission
products of uranium and certain other elements. These are cesium, strontium, and plutonium etc.
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Cobalt-60 or Cesium-137 gamma radiations have now been studied on communities and on ecosystems at different
places. The research concludes that Irradiations eliminate varieties in species. The sensitivity of cells, tissues and
organisms to radiation varies. The cells with larger chromosomes are more sensitive. Herbaceous communities and
early stages of succession are resistant than the mature forest.
Case studies
Hiroshima and Nagasaki Episode
The tale of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a painful experience. It is for the first time that an atomic bomb has been
exploded over human population. The incident took place on August 6,1945 at 8:15 a.m. The bomb with an
approximate temperature of around 100 million 0C was exploded on a fine morning in Hiroshima (Japan). The
temperature of the city hiked like anything, almost like an oven. After three days, Nagasaki too suffered the ravages
of a nuclear attack. More than 1,00,000 people were reported to die just after the event took place. Since radiations
from nuclear elements remain active even after, the generations to follow up also suffered from various diseases.
Even the babies in the mother s womb were affected and a few perished. Blindness, deafness, skin diseases and
cancers, distortion of bones and other parts became the fortune of human civilization.
Chernobyl Accident
This incident took place in Ukraine on April 26, 1986. There was a Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine after
which the event has been named. Approximately four million people had been reported to suffer from the accident.
The accident contaminated neighboring environment up to several kilometers. The sites were evacuated and
resettlement was done for the affected people. The radiations released affected ground water and surface waters,
affecting large areas of Europe. 131 Iodine and 137 Cesium are the most dangerous amongst the 20-odd radioactive
elements released during Chernobyl disaster. As per the Soviet Health Ministry, 31-persons died shortly after the
disaster. Of the 276,614 people who worked for rehabilitation and cleaning operations, a total of 1065 died by the
end of 1990.
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of hazardous waste: biological, chemical, and radioactive. These types of waste are generated by
many different industries and services. We will take a closer look at a few of these and their potential
dangers.
Hazar dous waste is highly flammable, corrosive reactive (explosive or unstable), or toxi c.
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5. Isolation waste: biological waste and discarded material contaminated with human or animal body
fluids and isolated because they are known to be infected with a highly communicable disease;
6. Spills: any material collected during or resulting from the cleanup of a spill of infectious or
chemotherapy waste; and
7. Mixed waste: any waste mixed with infectious waste not considered to bechemical hazardous
waste or radioactive waste.
These various categories are used by every major hospital, company, and university to protect
anyone handling potentially hazardous biological wastes.
CHEMICAL WASTES
Scientists began to examine human impact on the planet as the world s population grew towards 6
billion. Chemists have become environmental sleuths. They have the huge task of understanding
complex elemental interactions found in wastewater and smokestack gases. It s no surprise that cities
have higher metal and acid levels in their wastes and air than rural areas. Scientists are worki ng to
piece together the total environmental interrelationship picture. The interconnectedness of all life
forms also affects the complexi ty of environmental waste and hazardous pollution.
Many elements today were discovered using cutting edge technology and equipment. Since the
1960s, many elements added to the Periodic Table (chart of all the known elements) have been
manufactured and not found in nature. These atoms have unheard-of uses that many research and
applications scientists are just beginning to understand.
Chemists working in the plastics industry came under heavy criticism when landfills got overloaded
with disposable plastic containers and a softer compound called styrofoam. Environmentalists
sounded the alarm for consumers to think before they bought products, especially fast food, that
came in these containers.
In order to meet the new concern, chemists doubled their interest in the biodegradability of plastic
products. They found that by adding large complex carbohydrates (C6H10O5)n to plastics
microorganisms were able to break plastics down.
Chemical wastes are usually inorganic (without carbon). They include metals like mercury and lead,
found to be extremely toxi c in high levels to living systems. These refined materials are added to
metals, paints, and other products.
However, there are also naturally occurring inorganic hazardous compounds like mercury or uranium
that are mined and released in large amounts. There are several sources of hazardous chemical waste.
They include batteries, ki ln dust, construction debris, crude oil, natural gas, fossil fuel combustion,
industry waste, pesticides, fertilizers, medical facilities, and used oil from vehicles and machinery.
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
Land, water, and air can be affected by radioactive contamination. Depending on the wind or water
flow, radioactive levels remain in place or are spread over a wide region. Radioactive wastes from
uranium mining, production of energy (land-based power plants and nuclear submarines), or
weapons development (missiles) are hot environmental issues. Public concern wants responsible
longterm storage of radioactive wastes until they are safe.
Radioactive elements eventually decay or break down to form harmless materials, but these elements
have very different decay rates. A few radioactive elements decay in a matter of hours or days, but
there are some elements that take thousands of years to decay.
Radioactive decay is referred to in half-life periods; the time it takes for onehalf of an element s
original mass to decay and become harmless.
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While elements are decaying, they give off radioactive energy. This is where the problem of
radioactive waste comes in. Strontium (Sr90) and Cesium (Cs137) have half-lives of about 30 years (12
the radioactivity of a given amount of Sr90 will decay in 30 years). Plutonium (Pl 239) has a half-life of
24,000 yearsnot easy to handle or store!
The storage of nuclear wastes during the time they take to decompose to safe
materials is an area of high concern and study for governments; they are trying
to figure out how to dispose of radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants and
atomic weapons.
Radioactive waste also comes from reactors and other nuclear facilities being
decommissioned or permanently shut down. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
divides wastes into two categories: high-level or low-level waste.
Nonhazardous Waste
Municipal solid waste is the garbage generated by homes, businesses, and institutions. Other kinds of
solid wastes include sludge from wastewater treatment plants, water treatment plants, and air
pollution control facilities. Additional discarded materials includes solid, liquid, semisolid, or
containerized gaseous materials from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and
community activities.
Although an unknown quantity of solid waste is managed by individuals and organizations, a recent
Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) study listed the amount of solid waste
General Science and Environment
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managed off-site in the United States at 544.7 million tons (reported by waste facilities). Of these
544.7 million tons of solid wastes, 63% was in municipal solid waste landfills, 21% in material
recycling facilities, 6% in incinerators, 5% in construction and demolition landfills, and 5% in
compost facilities. Private companies own 5% of the off-site facilities that manage solid waste and
the public sector owns 47%. Fig. 12-1 shows a few of the nonhazardous wastes treated at waste
disposal facilities.
Responsible waste processing facilities handle nonhazardous waste as carefully as hazardous waste.
Nonhazardous waste arrives at facilities in a variety of containers including fiber and plastic drums,
original packaging, bags, and shrink-wrapped or steel-strapped pallets, along with steel drums, cubicyard boxes, railcars, tank trucks, roll-off boxes, and dump trailers.
Disposal methods depend on the waste type, but commonly include incineration, sludge-dewatering,
wastewater treatment, waste-to-energy, secure landfill, and others.
Making a Difference
Sometimes it seems like the buildup of hazardous waste is beyond our individual efforts. However,
by demanding responsible environmental processing, treatment, and storage, individuals can have a
positive impact.
There are plenty of things we can do about nonhazardous environmental problems. These fall into the
larger category of reuse and recycling.
As individuals, we can buy recycled paper products so that original wood fibers are used again and
again. The same thing can be done with recycled glass and plastics. And it s easy! Many cities have
recycling programs that allow people to recycle right at their door or driveway.
Ink cartridges from computer printers and electronics parts can be recycled.
Used oil from vehicles, paints, and other products can be taken to approved recycling and disposal
sites.
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In order to make garbage disposal costs fair, some municipal areas have adopted pay-as-you-throw
policies. Those people who don t want to recycle and produce high trash and waste have to pay more
than people who are lowering their waste output through recycling.
Waste can be reduced in terms of space. Trash compaction is another easy way of reducing landfill
volume and disposal costs. Although trash is highly compacted at landfill sites, the initial compacting
at home helps make landfill sites more productive, as well as lowering processing costs and pollution
from bull dozers and machinery used at landfill sites.
Composting by collecting organic waste (potato, banana and orange peels, watermelon rinds, etc.)
and reusing the degraded material as fertilizer and soil nutrients is another good way to recycle.
There is a popular slogan that helps focus environmental efforts: reduce, reuse, and recycle. It
reminds us that our global resources are not infinite as people once thought.
Reusing paper bags and plastic containers is easy and helps lower the resource hit of creating new
ones.
Cars and Air Pollution
The extent of the problem
Drive time, peak hour, freeway, take-away delivery, drive through....the introduction of the
automobile has had a huge impact on our lifestyle and environment.
Cars may get us from A to B (and sometimes even C and D) with a minimum of fuss, but they
also cause lots of pollution.
Yes, that's right. In major cities and large towns throughout the world, motor vehicles cause a
wide range of air pollution problems.
What's the largest contributor to air pollution in the world?
Cars!
Fossil fuel combustion, particularly as it occurs in motor vehicles, has been identified as the
LARGEST contributor to air pollution in the WORLD.
In Melbourne, motor vehicles cause most of the air pollution, except during cooler months when
wood fires contribute significantly.
The impact of petrol run vehicles
Not all pollution produced by cars is the same. In fact, there are two types of pollution
discharged by petrol vehicles.
1. Exhaust emissions: including dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen,
hydrocarbons and particulates.
2. Evaporative emissions: vapours of fuel which are released into the atmosphere, without being
burnt.
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Fuel vapour can be seen coming out of the car's petrol tank when you fill up at the service
station, and can be reduced if we avoid spilling petrol and overfilling our cars. Properly fitted
fuel caps can also stop further leakage of fuel vapours.
Smoky vehicles
What exactly is a smoky vehicle?
Under Victorian guidelines, a car is only considered smoky if it emits visible smoke from its
exhaust pipe for a continuous period of more than 10 seconds.
Your car is not classified as smoky if the exhaust emissions are caused by heat or the
condensation of water vapour, which can occur when the car has just been started, particularly on
cold days.
Smoky cars contribute far more to air pollution than well maintained cars. Anyone who has
driven behind or walked near a smoky car will know, smoky car exhausts are very offensive as
well as posing a risk to public health.
In certain circumstances, even well maintained vehicles can sometimes produce smoke from
their exhaust. This can occur during heavy acceleration, climbing steep hills and as engine turbos
and supercharges are building sufficient speed to provide enough air to burn fuel properly.
How is the smoke harmful?
There are many reasons why a vehicle might emit continuous smoke:
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Remember, this list is just a guide and might not be relevant to both diesel and petrol cars.
What does the future hold?
Car use is increasing every year, however, Victoria's air quality has actually been improving
because of tighter controls on car emissions.
Hybrid vehicles are now available which get their energy from batteries or petrol. These cars are
still uncommon, but they are pointing the way to a future with cars contributing less to air
pollution.
The battle isn't over! People will need to use their cars responsibly and keep them in tip top
condition so we can continue to improve matters and ensure we have nice clean air.
Carrying Capacity
The carrying capacity of an area is the number of individuals of a species that can survive in that area over time. In
most populations, four broad categories of factors determine the carrying capacity for a population. These factors
are: (1) the availability of raw materials, (2) the availability of energy, (3) the accumulation of waste products and
their means of disposal and (4) interactions among organisms. The total of all of these forces acting together to limit
populations size is known as environmental resistance, and certain limiting factors have a primary role in limiting
the size of a population. In some cases, these limiting factors are easy to identify and may involve lack of food, lack
of oxygen, competition with other species, or disease.
Population Characteristics
A population can be defined as a group of individuals of the same species inhabiting an area. Some of the
characteristics or a population are nasality (birth rate), mortality (death rate), sex ratio, age distribution, growth rates,
and special distribution.
Population Density is population size in relation to some unit of space and time. It varies with food availability and
climatic conditions. It can be measured as:
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Obviously, the most important determinant of the rate at which human populations grow is related to the number of
women in the population who are having children and the number each will have. The total fer tility r ate of a
population is the number of children born per woman per lifetime. A total fertility rate of 2.1 is known as
r eplacement fer tility, since in the long run, if the total fertility rate is 2.1, population growth will stabilize. When
population is not growing and the number of births equals the number of deaths, it is said to exhibit zer o population
gr owth. The age structure of a population also has a great deal to do with the rate of population growth. If a
population has a large number of young people who are in the process of raising families or who will be raising
families in the near future, the population will continue to increase even if the families limit themselves to two
children.
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pressure for these resources will intensify as the industrialized countries seek to maintain their current standard of
living. People in less developed countries will continue to seek more land to raise the crops needed to feed
themselves unless major increases in food production per hectare occur. Developed countries may have to choose
between helping the less developed countries while maintaining their friendship, or isolating themselves from the
problems of the less developed nations.
Even if the industrialized countries continue to get a disproportionate share of the world s resources, the amount of
resource per person will decline as population rises. It seems that, as world population increases, the less developed
areas will maintain their low standard of living.
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