Living By Chemistry
Unit 1: ALCHEMY
Matter, Atomic Structure, and Bonding
In this unit you will learn:
• what matter is composed of
• to use the language of chemistry
• to decode information contained in the
periodic table
• how new substances with new properties
are made
• what holds substances together
Section I: Defining Matter
Lesson 1 Tools of the Trade
Lesson 2 A Penny for Your Thoughts
Lesson 3 What’s the Matter?
Lesson 4 Mass Communication
Lesson 5 All That Glitters
Lesson 1: Tools of the Trade
Lab Equipment and Safety
ChemCatalyst
List at least four tools or pieces of equipment
you think a chemist might use in a chemistry lab.
Key Question
What tools and equipment do chemists use?
You will be able to:
• recognize common chemistry tools and
equipment that you will be using in the course
• find all the safety equipment in the laboratory
and understand its use
• understand the rules of safety in the chemistry
laboratory
Prepare for the Activity
Work in groups of four.
Discussion Notes
Safety Equipment:
fire blanket
first aid kit
fire extinguisher
aprons/lab coats
eye wash
shower
safety goggles
hood
Wrap Up
What tools and equipment do chemists use?
• Chemists have a set of tools that are useful for
studying matter.
• Chemistry laboratories have a number of
potential hazards.
• Chemists know the safety rules and how to use
the safety equipment.
Check-in
1. Sketch or describe these items.
graduated cylinder
test tube rack
Erlenmeyer flask
balance or scale
2. Where are these items located in your
classroom?
eye wash
fire extinguisher
Lesson 2: A Penny for Your
Thoughts
Introduction to Chemistry
ChemCatalyst
Long ago, early scientists tried to turn ordinary
things into gold. This pursuit was called
alchemy, and the people who engaged in
alchemy were called alchemists.
Do you think these early scientists were
successful in turning things into gold? Explain
your thinking.
Key Question
What is chemistry?
You will be able to:
• observe a procedure and write observations
• define and formulate a hypothesis to explain
observed phenomena
• define chemistry and begin to describe what
chemists study
Prepare for the Demonstration
In this demo, you will observe a chemical
transformation firsthand.
Discussion Notes
To determine whether the new penny is gold, you
need to study its properties.
Property: A characteristic of a substance.
Physical Properties:
Chemical Properties:
color, hardness, size,
weight
how a substance reacts
Discussion Notes (cont.)
Chemistry: The study of substances, their
properties, and how they can be transformed. The
study of matter and how matter can be changed.
Discussion Notes (cont.)
Scientists use a systematic approach to solve
problems in science.
Hypothesis: A testable explanation for an
observation.
Wrap Up
What is chemistry?
• Chemistry is the study of what substances are
made of, how they behave, and how they can be
transformed. It is the study of matter and how
matter can be changed.
• A hypothesis is a testable explanation for an
observation.
• Scientists use a systematic approach to solving
problems in science.
Lesson 3: What’s the Matter?
Defining Matter
ChemCatalyst
Modern chemistry is defined as the study of
matter.
1. What do you think matter is?
2. Name two things that are matter and two
things that are not matter.
Key Question
What is matter?
You will be able to:
• define matter
• classify an item as matter or not matter
Prepare for the Activity
Work in groups.
Discussion Notes
The items that are clearly matter are all objects, or
things, that are tangible.
Energy and ideas are not matter, but they involve
matter.
Matter has some sort of dimension and substance
to it.
Discussion Notes (cont.)
A good definition should work 100% of the time.
Here are some textbook definitions of matter:
Matter: Anything that has substance and takes up
space.
Matter: Anything that has mass and volume.
Discussion Notes (cont.)
Energy is the ability to do work or make reactions
happen.
Wrap Up
What is matter?
• Matter is everything that has substance and takes
up space, or that has mass and volume.
• Ideas and energy are examples of things that are
not matter.
• Chemists study all kinds of matter.
Check-in
Which of the following can be classified as
matter?
a. a beam of sunlight
c. an idea
e. rain
b. an automobile
d. your breath
f. sadness
Lesson 4: Mass Communication
Mass and Volume
ChemCatalyst
1. Which has more mass and weighs more, 5
kilograms of bricks or 5 kilograms of
feathers? Explain your thinking.
2. Would it hurt more to be hit with 5 pounds of
feathers or 5 pounds of bricks? Explain your
thinking.
Key Question
How do you determine the masses and volumes of
different substances?
You will be able to:
•
•
measure mass using a balance
measure the volume of regularly and irregularly
shaped objects
Prepare for the Lab
Work in groups of four.
Prepare for the Lab (cont.)
In this lab, you will be measuring volume with a
graduated cylinder.
To the nearest hundredth
of a milliliter, the volume of
liquid is 5.52 mL.
Discussion Notes
Mass is commonly measured in units of grams (g)
or kilograms (kg).
1 kg = 1000 g
Discussion Notes (cont.)
Volume is a measure of the amount of space
occupied by something.
1000 mL = 1 L
1 mL = 1 cm3
Mass: A measure of the quantity of matter in an
object.
Volume: The amount of space a sample of matter
occupies.
Wrap Up
How do you determine the masses and volumes of
substances?
• Mass is a measure of the amount of substance.
Mass can be measured using an electronic or
triple beam balance.
• Volume is the amount of space occupied by an
object. The volume of a liquid can be measured
in a graduated cylinder.
• Objects with similar volumes can have different
masses, and vice versa.
Check-in
A penny has a mass of 2.498 g.
a. What is the mass to the nearest tenth of a
gram?
b. How would you determine the volume of a
penny?
c. What is the difference between mass and
volume?
d. Suppose you find that the golden penny has a
mass of 2.6 g. If you compare it with the mass
of this penny, what can you conclude?
Lesson 5: All That Glitters
Density
ChemCatalyst
In the year 250 B.C.E., King Hiero commissioned
a goldsmith to make him a crown out of pure
gold. However, when he received the crown, he
suspected that the goldsmith had taken some of
the gold and replaced it with a cheaper metal,
even though it still weighed the same. He asked
Archimedes to determine whether the crown was
solid gold.
How do you think Archimedes determined
whether the crown was solid gold?
Key Question
How can you use mass and volume to determine
the identity of a substance?
You will be able to:
• define density as the amount of mass in a
certain space, or mass per unit volume
• solve problems for density, mass, or volume
using the equation D = m/V
• explain how and why density can be used to
identify a substance.
Prepare for the Lab
Work in pairs.
Discussion Notes
Extensive property: A characteristic that is
specific to the amount of matter.
Intensive property: A characteristic that does not
depend on the size or the amount of matter.
Density: The mass of a substance per unit volume.
D = m/V, where D is density, m is mass, and V is
volume. Density is usually reported in g/cm3 or
g/mL.
Discussion Notes (cont.)
Common materials and their densities.
Material
Density
Material
Density
zinc
7.1 g/cm3
gold
19.3 g/cm3
paper
0.9 g/cm3
brass
8.4 g/cm3
water
1.0 g/mL
copper
9.0 g/cm3
aluminum
2.7 g/cm3
lead
11.4 g/cm3
Wrap Up
How can you use mass and volume to determine the
identity of a substance?
• One substance can be distinguished from
another by examining its intensive physical
properties, such as density.
• Density is a measure of the mass per unit
volume of a substance.
• The density of any given substance is always the
same (as long as the temperature remains
constant).
Check-in
In 1999, the United States Mint produced a coin
called the Golden Dollar. It features an image of
Sacagawea, the famous Native American guide
for Lewis and Clark. It has a mass of 9.8 g and
volume of 1.1 mL.
Is this coin truly gold? Explain. (The density of
gold is 19.3 g/mL.)