Water is distributed on Earth as a solid, liquid and gas

Define the terms solute, solvent and solution

o Solute: substance dissolved by the solvent
o Solvent: substance that dissolves the solute
o Solution: homogenous mixture composed of two or more substances

Identify the importance of water as a solvent

o Water is an excellent solvent for ionic compounds and some low molecular weight, covalent
molecular compounds such as organic acids and sugars

Compare the state, percentage and distribution of water in the biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere
and atmosphere
Sphere of Earth Percentage State(s) Examples of Water in Sphere
of Water in of Water
Sphere in Sphere
Biosphere 70% Liquid Watermelon, transport medium for nutrients
Lithosphere 10% Solid Crystalline water, CuSO4, 5H20
Hydrosphere 75% Liquid Ocean, sea, lakes, ground water, rivers
Atmosphere 0-5% Gas Gaseous water, water vapour

Outline the significance of the different states of water on Earth in terms of water as:
o A constituent of cells and its role as both a solvent and a raw material in metabolism

o A habitat in which temperature extremes are less than nearby terrestrial habitats
o An agent of weather of rocks both as a liquid and solid
o A natural resource for humans and other organisms

The wide distribution and importance of water on Earth is a consequence of its molecular structure and
hydrogen bonding

Construct Lewis electron dot structures of water, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide to identify the
distribution of electrons
Compare the molecular structure of water, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide, the differences in their
molecular shapes and in their melting and boiling points
o Water (H20):
Since there are two lone pairs of electrons, arrangement of the electron pairs will be
tetrahedral, but arrangement of atoms is bent/V-shaped. It has a bond angle of
104.5 and is smaller than the tetrahedral angle because the repulsion due to the two
lone pairs is slightly greater than the repulsion due to the two bonding pairs
Molecular weight: 18
Melting point: 0
Boiling point: 100
o Ammonia (NH3):
Since the NH3 molecule has four electron pairs around the central atom, and one
pair is a lone pair, arrangement is tetrahedral, but arrangement of the atoms is
pyramidal with the nitrogen atom at the apex of the pyramid and the three
hydrogen atoms forming its base. The lone pair of electrons exerts a slightly stronger
repulsive force on the bonding pairs and so the H-N-H bond angle is slightly less than
the tetrahedral angle, being about 170.
Molecular weight: 17
Melting point: -78
 Boiling point: -33
o Hydrogen sulphide (H2S):
Since there are two lone pairs of electrons, arrangement of the electron pairs will be
tetrahedral, but arrangement of atoms is bent/V-shaped. It has a bond angle of
104.5 and is smaller than the tetrahedral angle because the repulsion due to the two
lone pairs is slightly greater than the repulsion due to the two bonding pairs
Molecular weight: 34
Melting point: -86
Boiling point: -60

Describe hydrogen bonding between molecules

o The strongest dipole-dipole forces (which can be 1/3 as strong as a full-scale ionic bond)
occur whenever hydrogen atoms are bonded to nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine, which are
called hydrogen bonds.
o When hydrogen is bonded to the highly electronegative FON atoms, the resulting bond is
very polar and the shared electrons are strongly attracted towards the electronegative
atom.
o Because the hydrogen atom in these circumstances has an appreciable partial positive
charge, it experiences a strong attractive force with lone pairs of electrons on FON atoms of
nearby molecules.
Identify the water molecule as a polar molecule
o In H20, there are two bonded electron pairs and 2 lone electron pairs
o There are dipole bonds between the oxygen and hydrogen atoms
o This is due to oxygen being more electronegative than hydrogen
o Hence, the electrons being shared between the oxygen and hydrogens will be pulled more
towards the nucleus of oxygen
o This makes oxygen slightly negative while the hydrogens are slightly positive.

Describe attractive forces between polar molecules as dipole-dipole forces

o Covalent bonds in which the electrons are unequally shared are called polar covalent bonds
and is due to the differing electronegativities of different atoms.
o A dipole is a poalr molecule which has a net dipole (imbalance)
o As polar molecules have a slightly positive and negative end, they are able to line up so that
the positive end of one molecule attracts the negative end of another molecule.
o The electrostatic attraction of polar molecules is called dipole-dipole forces

Explain the following properties of water in terms of its intermolecular forces:

o Surface tension
Elastic forces exist in the surface layers of a liquid; the surface tension is a measure
of these elastic forces
Water molecules are held together by strong cohesive forces
All polar liquids like water with strong cohesive forces have high surface tensions
Example: a paper clip which has a higher density than water should sink, however,
due to the cohesive forces between water molecules (resulting from hydrogen
bonding) on the surface is so strong that the force of weight from the paper clip is
unable to break these cohesive forces.
o Viscosity
Measure of a liquids resistance to flow
Water runs out of a funnel quicker than substances that have high viscosity
Viscosity depends on the structure of molecules and the intermolecular forces
between molecules
 When the viscosity of water is compared to lqiuids with similar size molecules, the
viscosity of water if very high. This is due to hydrogen bonding between water
molecules. The hydrogen bonds between water molecules cause them to cling to
each other, and make it much more difficult for a move object to move through the
liquid.
o Boiling and melting points
The BP and MP of water is much higher than for molecules of similar mass, reflecting
the strength of the hydrogen bonds between its small polar molecules

Water is an important solvent

Explain changes, if any, to particles and account for those changes when the following types of
chemicals interact with water:
o A soluble ionic compound such as sodium chloride
The negative dipole of water (the oxygen atom) forms an electrostatic ion-dipole
bond with a positive sodium ion
The positive dipole of water (the hydrogen atoms) forms an electrostatic ion-dipole
bond with the chorine ion
o A soluble molecular compound such as sucrose
Sucrose can be transported through plant vascular tissue in aqueous solutions
Strong hydrogen bonding between the sugar and water molecules ensures the high
solubilities of sucrose in water
o A soluble or partially soluble molecular element or compound such as iodine, oxygen or
hydrogen chloride
Covalent molecular substances unable to form hydrogen bonds with water
molecules will only form dipole-dipole or dispersion forces with water
As a result, these substances are generally less soluble in water (slightly soluble)
The lesser solutbility of these substances occurs because the intermolecular forces
between the solute and water molecules are generally much weaker than the
hydrogen bonds that form between water molecules in the solvent
o A covalent network structure substance with large molecules, such as cellulose or
polyethylene
Do not dissolve in water or other solvents due to very strong covalent bonds that
form these large molecules, which cannot be broken by the weaker intermolecular
forces (hydrogen bonds, dispersion forces) that could possibly be formed with the
water molecules.
Analyse the relationship between the solubility of substances in water and the polar nature of the
water molecule
o Ionic compounds dissolve in water strong interactions between the ions and water dipole
o Small polar molecules dissolve in water strong dipole-dipole interactions
o Small non-polar molecules have low solubility in water weka dispersion interactions
o Large molecules and covalent network lattices do not dissolve in water dolute-solvent
interaction is too weak
o Substances with similar properties to its solvent will most likely dissolve in it. Polar
substances will dissolve in polar solvents and vice versa.

The concentration of salts in water will vary according to their solubility, and precipitation can occur when
the ions of an insoluble salt are in solution together

Identify some combinations of solutions which will produce precipitates, using solubility data
o When solutions of different ionic compounds are mixed, they sometimes react to produce a
precipitate (insoluble solid)
o Eg. Silver nitrate(aq) + sodium chloride(aq) -> silver chloride(s) + sodium nitrate(aq)
 Describe a model that traces the movement of ions when solution and precipitation occur
o M
Identify the dynamic nature of ion movement in a saturated dissolution
Describe the molarity of a solution as the number of moles of solute per litre of solution using
C=n/v
o Molarity is one type of measurement more molarity. The molarity of a solution is equal to
the number of moles of solute per litre of solution
Explain why different measurements of concentration are important
o The reason for so many different measurements of concentrations is simply for
convenience. In chem, it is usually best to measure in molL-1 (molarity) because this allows
easy conversions of mass, volumes of gases and volumes of solutions, when chemical
reactions are involved.

Water has a higher heat capacity than many other liquids

Explain what is meant by the specific heat capacity of a substance

o Specific heat capacity is defined as the amount of heat energy (in joules) that causes the
temperature of 1 gram of the material to rise by 1 Kelvin unit (J/K/g). other units used are
J/K/kg or J/K/mol.
o For example, if 50g of silver and zinc is placed in a beaker of boiling water and left long
enough, they will both reach a temp. of 100 degrees Celsius. However, if these hot lumps of
metal are transferred to separate beakers, each containing 100g of cold water at 20 degrees
Celsius, and monitor the rise in temperature of the water, we find that water in the beakers
does not rise to the same temperature
o It can be inferred from the diagrams that zinc has a greater capacity to store heat than the
same mass of silver. Conversely, if equal masses of these two metals (initially at room
temp.) are heated, more heat is required to raise the temp of the zinc by 1 degree than to
raise the silver by the same temperature.

Compare the specific heat capacity of water with a range of other solvents
Water has a higher specific heat capacity (4.18 J/K/g) than most liquids such as ethanol (2.44 J/K/g),
acetone (2.17 J/K/g) and hexane (2.26 J/K/g). If 100g of the four solvents are placed in separate
beakers at room temp. and supplied with the same heat energy, the temp. of water temp. will
increase least. As temp. is a measure of kinetic energy of particles in a liquid, more heat energy is
required to increase the kinetic energy of water molecules than other liquids. This is consistent with
the strong hydrogen bonding between water molecules and the weaker intermolecular forces
between particles in the other liquids.

Explain and use the equation:

o Heat energy changes in chemical reactions or changes of state are often expressed by a
quantity called the heat content or enthalpy energy within a substance (H)
o Enthalpy of a substance is the sum of the kinetic energy and potential energies of one mole
of the particles that comprise the material. The enthalpy change for a reaction is defined as:
H = H(products) H(reactants)
o If the quantity of heat (q) is measured under standard conditions of pressure and
temperature, it can be equated to the enthalpy change for the reaction. The calorimetry
equation then becomes: H = -mCT
o Negative values of H exothermic
o Positive values of H endothermic

Explain how waters ability to absorb heat is used to measure energy changed in chemical reactions
 o Calorimetry: technique used to measure the energy change occurring during chemical
processes. Calorimeter is an equipment used to make energy measurements
o Since many chemical processes occur in water, and because water has such a high specific
heat capacity (i.e. it can absorb lots of energy with little temperature change) calorimetry
often uses water as a medium to absorb heat energy

Describe dissolutions which release heat as exothermic and give examples

o In exothermic reactions, final enthalpy is less than initial enthalpy, hence H is negative
the loss of enthalpy by the system (H) is accompanied by the release of energy to the
surroundings.
o Examples:
forming attractive forces between positive and negative ions and water molecules.
This process of hydration releases energy.

Describe dissolutions which absorb heat as endothermic and give examples

o In endothermic reactions, final enthalpy is greater than initial enthalpy, hence H is positive
the gain in enthalpy by the system is accompanied by the transfer of energy from the
surroundings to the system
o Examples:
Breaking the electrostatic forces between positive and negative ions in ionic solids r
the intermolecular forces between solute molecules which uses energy
Breaking the intermolecular forces, hydrogen bonds, between solvent water
molecules which uses energy
Explain why waters ability to absorb heat is important to aquatic organisms and to life on earth
generally
o High heat capacity means that the ocean can absorb a large amount of energy from the Sun
without much temperature change, whereas air and land can get very hot
o Aquatic organisms for not need complex temp. control mechanisms because their habitat
remains quite stable
o The oceans absorb and transport huge quantities of heat from the tropics towards the poles
o This cools the tropical areas and warms the temp. regions, and even out Earths temp.
o Without water, very little of Earth would have liveable temp. Without the moderating effect
of water, tropics would be too hot for life and temp regions would be too cold

Explain what is meant by thermal pollution and discuss the implications for life if a body of water is
affected by thermal pollution
o Cold water is used to cool hot gases produced during combustion, which in turn heats the
coolant
o To reduce thermal pollution, heated water is cooled in special cooling towers before it is
returned to the ocean
o Warm water classified as thermal pollutant because it alters physical and chemical equilibria
in natural ecosystems
o Organisms that live in water rely on dissolved oxygen to survive. If the temp rises, amount
of oxygen dissolved decreases.
o Due to differences in density, poorly oxygenated warm water that is added to the surface of
a lake does not mix readily with deeper, cooler water. Hence, little oxygen is transported to
deeper water. Organisms that live on the lake floor can experience anoxic conditions due to
lack of dissolved oxygen.
o If warm water is released into a river rather than a lake, it becomes dispersed as the river
flows along its course, which can affect the aquatic population downstream for quite some
distance before the water cools sufficiently
 o Levels of dissolved CO2 also decrease with temp. This significantly impacts on the
photosynthesis protists in aquatic ecosystems, which rely on dissolved CO2 for
photosynthesis. Drop in numbers of these producers affects other organisms higher in the
food chain

Choose resources and perform a first-hand investigation to measure the change in temperature
when substances dissolve in water and calculate the molar heat of solution
1. Measure 100 ml of water using a measuring cylinder
2. Place a polystyrene cup on the scale and click the tare button. Pour the 100 ml of water in the
cup and record the mass of the water
3. Place a magazine paper on the scale and pour approximately 3g of the unknown substance and
record the exact mass
4. Measure the initial temperature of the water using a thermometer
5. Pour the unknown substance in the cup of water and place the lid while stirring it with the
thermometer
6. Record the final temperature at its maximum value
7. Repeat the experiment for other substances
Process and present information from secondary sources to assess the limitations of calorimetry
experiments and design modifications to equipment used
o Calorimeter itself does not absorb a significant amount of heat energy of the reaction
This is minimised by using a foam cup which has an approximated heat capacity of
1.3 J/K/g
Copper, with a specific heat capacity of 0.385J/K/g is a better material to use
Calorimeters use materials with low heat capacities because they take very little
energy away from the solution when equilibrating its temperature with the solution
However, the foam cup is a better insulator, even though it absorbs more energy
than copper, it is able to prevent further heat loss or gain
o There is no heat loss or gained between the calorimeter and it surroundings. This source of
error can be minimised by good heat insulation of calorimeter
Use additional foam cup to reduce the amount of lost to surroundings in an
exothermic reaction
However, using an additional foam cup for endothermic reaction will not increase
the accuracy of a temperature measurement as heat gained from outside the cup is
extremely small

Discussion:
Reliability: experiment was not reliable as it was not repeated at least three times could not
achieve consistent results
Accuracy: poor, use a data probe instead of a thermometer to measure the temperature.
Temperature was only measured to the nearest 0.5 degree
Validity: relatively compromised because heat might have escaped from the cardboard lid,
measurement of temp to 0.5 degree. This could be improved by measuring mass of solute and
water to nearest 0.1 degree

Risk assessment: eye injury chemicals in eye and wear safety glasses