Alchemy Unit
Investigation II:
Basic Building
Materials
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Lesson 1: A New Language
Lesson 2: Now You See It . . .
Lesson 3: What Goes Around
Lesson 4: Create a Table
Lesson 5: Breaking the Code
Alchemy Unit – Investigation II
Lesson 1:
A New Language
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ChemCatalyst
There are two bottles on a shelf in a
chemistry lab. Both contain a shiny metal
substance that resembles gold. Bottle A
is labeled Au(s). Bottle B is labeled
FeS2(s).
• Do you think both bottles contain gold?
Why or why not?
• What do you think the symbols on the
bottles mean?
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
The Big Question
• What do the chemical symbols tells us
about the substance inside the bottle?
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
You will be able to:
• Make sense of chemical names and
symbols.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes
• An element is a unique form of matter
that serves as a building material for
more complex matter.
• Elements cannot be broken apart into
two different substances.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Activity
Purpose: The goal of this lesson is to
give you practice making sense of some
of the “language” of chemistry, and
translating chemical names and
formulas.
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Name
Chemical
formula
Description
Vial 1
Vial 2
copper nitrate
Vial 3
blue-green crystals
Vial 4
Vial 5
NaNO3(s)
Vial 6
Vial 7
Vial 8
Vial 9
nitric acid
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Name
Chemical
formula
Vial 10
Description
fine, brown powder
Vial 11
NaOH(aq)
Vial 12
Vial 13
Vial 14
Vial 15
clear liquid
zinc sulfate
Vial 16
Vial 17
Cu(NO3)2(aq)
Vial 18
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Making Sense
• When you turned the penny silver on
the first day of class, you used zinc,
Zn(s), and sodium hydroxide,
NaOH(aq). Do you think the penny
was coated with silver, Ag(s)? Explain
your reasoning.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes
• A chemical formula is the set of
symbols a chemist uses to represent a
compound. Carbon dioxide is a
compound. Its chemical formula is
CO2.
• A compound is a substance that
consists of two or more elements
chemically combined together.
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes (cont.)
• A substance is aqueous if it is
dissolved in water.
• The substance that is dissolved with
water is called the solute.
• The water is referred to as the
solvent.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Check-In
• Imagine you find a vial that is labeled
Na2SO4(aq). What does the label tell
you about what is in this flask?
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Wrap-Up
• Chemical symbols represent the
elements that combine to form various
substances. Each element has either a
one or two letter symbol. The first letter
is always capitalized, the second letter
is always lower case.
• The chemical formula of a substance
tells us what elements are in it as well
as the relative amounts of each
element in that substance.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Alchemy Unit – Investigation II
Lesson 2:
Now You See It . . .
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ChemCatalyst
• What is the starting ingredient you will
be using in this lab?
• Why must part of the lab be done in a
fume hood?
• When you filter, will you keep the solid
or the liquid?
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
The Big Question
• What happens to copper once it has
been mixed with other substances?
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
You will be able to:
• Follow a procedure for a series of lab
experiments and make observations.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Activity
Purpose: In this lesson you will
complete a formal laboratory procedure.
You will begin with copper powder and
take it through a series of chemical
steps, carefully observing and recording
what happens at each stage. The goal is
to figure out what happened to the
original copper.
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
(cont.)
• You will not be allowed to begin the
experiment until you can answer the
questions about the lab correctly.
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
(cont.)
Setup and Safety Precautions:
This lab is safe, as long as each step is done
carefully and correctly. Here are some safety
guidelines.
• Everyone will wear safety goggles at all times.
• Be very careful handling the nitric acid, as it
will burn any exposed skin. If some gets on
your skin, wash the area immediately with
water and inform your teacher.
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
(cont.)
• As you add the nitric acid to the copper,
nitrogen dioxide, NO2(g), a poisonous gas,
will be produced. Be careful not to breathe
this gas. Use the fume hood when you add
the nitric acid to the copper.
• Always be careful when heating chemicals—
they will burn exposed skin more quickly
when hot. When using the hot plate, make
sure to set it at a medium setting (e.g. setting
4 out of 10). Be especially careful not to
splash when stirring the chemicals.
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
(cont.)
• Sulfuric acid is an extremely strong acid,
although you are using it here in a fairly
dilute (unconcentrated) form. If you get it on
your skin, wash it off with plenty of water,
and inform your teacher.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
(cont.)
What you added or did
What you observed
Got copper powder from teacher
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Making Sense
Experimental stage
Observations
1. Copper at the start
Brownish, copper-colored, fine solid.
2. After adding nitric acid
(HNO3)
Turned sky blue – liquid. Brownish gas.
3. After adding water (H2O)
Still a blue liquid.
4. After adding sodium
hydroxide (NaOH)
Clumpy dark blue.
5. After heating
Turned black. Black solid in clear
liquid.*
6. After adding sulfuric acid
(H2SO4)
Clear blue solution.
7. After adding zinc (Zn)
Bubbled. Chunks of solid appeared.
8. Final
Zinc turned black and disappeared.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Check-In
• No Check-In
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Wrap-Up
• No Wrap-Up
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Alchemy Unit – Investigation II
Lesson 3:
What Goes Around
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ChemCatalyst
• What do you think happened to the
copper powder in the copper cycle
experiment when it was mixed with the
nitric acid?
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
The Big Question
• What happened to the copper?
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
You will be able to:
• Use your observations to draw
conclusions and summarize them in a
lab report.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes
“Nitric acid is added to solid copper powder,
resulting in a blue solution and a brown gas.”
HNO3(aq) is added to Cu(s), resulting in
and
.
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes (cont.)
HNO3(aq) is added to Cu(s), resulting in
Cu(NO3)2(aq) and NO2(g).
“Nitric acid is added to solid copper powder,
resulting in a solution of copper nitrate and the
release of nitrogen dioxide gas.”
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Activity
Purpose: The goal of this activity is to
use chemical symbols to keep track of
an element when it goes through various
chemical transformations.
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
(cont.)
removes H2O (water)
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
What you
did
Got a
sample of
copper
Added nitric
acid
Chemical
added
What you
saw
Write the
chemical
formula
Your
observations
from the lab
Cu(s)
orangishbrown fine
powder
Write the chemical
formula and name
of the copper
compound at each
stage
Where is the
copper?
Cu(s)
solid copper powder
The copper is in the
beaker because the
teacher put it there.
HNO3(aq)
Added
sodium
hydroxide
Added heat
(removes
H2O)
none
Added
sulfuric acid
Added zinc
Cu(s)
solid copper powder
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Making Sense
• How would you describe what
happened to the copper throughout
this experiment?
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes (cont.)
• An element is a unique form of matter
that serves as a building material for
more complex matter.
• Elements cannot be broken apart into
two different substances.
• When elements are combined under
ordinary conditions, the elements are
not destroyed.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Check-In
Sodium chloride, NaCl(aq), is added to
silver nitrate, AgNO3(aq), resulting in
NaNO3(aq) and a white solid. Identify the
white solid from the list below.
A) AgCl(s)
B) AgCl(aq)
C) AgNO3(s)
D) NaCl(s)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Wrap-Up
• Elemental copper can be transformed
through chemical reactions, and then
recovered again.
• We can represent elements with
symbols and keep track of them during
chemical reactions.
• Elements combine and recombine but
they are not destroyed in chemical
reactions.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Alchemy Unit – Investigation II
Lesson 4:
Create a Table
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ChemCatalyst
In 1889 a Russian chemistry teacher
created an organized table of the
elements. At the time only 63 different
elements were known. Below is a
reproduction of that table.
• What do you think the numbers
represent?
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
The Big Question
• How did Mendeleyev organize the
elements?
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
You will be able to:
• Explain how the periodic table of
elements is organized.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes
• Dimitri Mendeleyev is credited
with organizing the elements
into the first periodic table.
• The main properties that
Mendeleyev used to sort the
elements were reactivity with
one another and a number
describing the atomic weight of
each element.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Activity
Purpose: The goal of this lesson is to
acquaint you with Mendeleyev’s
organization of the elements by allowing
you to create your own table from the
patterns you see in the elements.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Making Sense
Below are five possible cards for the
element germanium. Where does
germanium belong in the table? Which
card seems most accurate to you? What
is your reasoning?
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Germanium
Germanium
Germanium
Ge
62.7
Ge
62.7
Ge
66.0
A
B
C
Germanium
Ge
72.6
Germanium
Ge
72.6
(cont.)
D
E
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
(cont.)
• What would you add to the three empty
corners to complete the card?
Germanium
Ge
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
(cont.)
Completed Table
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Check-In
• Which of the following elements would
you find in the same group on the
periodic table? Explain your thinking.
Cadmium
Cd
Moderately soft,
silvery solid, metal
React very slowly with
water
Found in
CdCl2 (s)
Zinc
Zn
Moderately hard,
silvery solid, metal
Reacts very slowly with
water
Found in
ZnCl2 (s)
Iodine
I
Purple solid,
nonmetal
Reacts slowly with
metals
Found in
ICl (s)
Mercury
Hg
Silvery liquid,
metal
Does not react with
water
Found in
HgCl2 (s)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Wrap-Up
• Mendeleyev organized the periodic
table based on the properties of the
elements.
• Mendeleyev’s arrangement of the
elements helped to predict the
existence of undiscovered elements.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Alchemy Unit – Investigation II
Lesson 5:
Breaking the Code
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ChemCatalyst
• Where did Mendeleyev place copper,
Cu, on the periodic table he created?
(Note: The atomic weight of copper
is 63.)
• Where would you put copper, Cu, on
your periodic table? Explain your
thinking.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
The Big Question
• How can you predict properties of
elements using a periodic table?
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
You will be able to:
• Interpret some of the information given
in the periodic table.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes (cont.)
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes (cont.)
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes (cont.)
• The elements in the middle of the
table are referred to as the transition
elements, or the transition metals.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Activity
Purpose: This lesson will help to identify
many of the patterns that are contained
in the periodic table of the elements.
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
(cont.)
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Making Sense
• The elements copper and gold are
both relatively unreactive. It is easy to
bend and shape both metals. Both are
used to make coins and jewelry. Is the
similarity in their properties consistent
with their locations on the periodic
table? Explain why or why not.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Notes
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Check-In
• Use the cards for Cu, copper, and Au,
gold, to describe all you can about the
element silver, Ag.
Copper
shiny, yellow
metal
Cu
63.5
not
very reactive
Gold
shiny, reddish
metal
Au
197.0
found in
AuCl
reacts
slowly in air
found in
CuCl
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II
Wrap-Up
• Elements in each column of the
periodic table have similar properties.
• We can predict the characteristics of a
missing element based on the qualities
of the elements found adjacent to it in
a periodic table.
© 2004 Key Curriculum Press.
Unit 1 • Investigation II