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Topic outline

 

  • Time: 15 hours
    Level: Introductory

 
 

Introduction

  • Introduction Resource
  • This unit is an introduction to chemistry concepts, using water as the main illustration. Much of the unit is devoted to exploring the smallest water particle – a water molecule – what it is and how it...
 

1 The power of water

  • 1 The power of water Resource
  • The ways in which human activities interact with the water cycle can have devastating consequences for all forms of life. These range from the very large scale – for example, the effects of the movement...
 

2 Earth's store of water

 

3 What are compounds?

 

4 Inside the atom

  • 4 Inside the atom Resource
  • Before going on to see how atoms can link (bond) with each other, you need to look at atoms in a little more detail. Doubtless they are not like blocks of Lego! So what are they like?
 

5 Molecules and covalent bonding

  • 5 Molecules and covalent bonding Resource
  • Covalent bonding is one kind of linking that joins atoms together. The group of atoms held together by covalent bonds is a molecule. The example you are most familiar with is the compound water: water...
 

6 Chemical language

  • 6.1 Introduction Resource
  • The previous sections in this unit include many terms which may have been unfamiliar to you: for example, atom, element, compound, molecule and bond. Chemistry has a language all of its own and grasping...
  • 6.2 Chemical symbols Resource
  • So far, atoms have been represented as labelled spheres or circles and the bonds that link atoms in molecules have been represented as lines. This is a rather cumbersome method of writing down molecules....
  • 6.3 Chemical formulas Resource
  • By using symbols, elements can be represented much more conveniently and much more briefly. This method of using symbols can be extended to compounds. You will now look further into this idea using a very...
  • 6.4 Chemical equations and chemical reactions Resource
  • The previous section shows how different elements can either exist on their own or combine with other elements to make compounds. This section builds on these ideas by looking at chemical reactions in...
 

7 Ions and ionic bonding

  • 7 Ions and ionic bonding Resource
  • This section returns to bonding – the way in which atoms are joined to each other. You have already met one type of bonding involving covalent bonds, which is found in molecules. However, this is not the...
 

8 Water and its impurities

  • 8 Water and its impurities Resource
  • Water must be of a certain quality to be suitable for human consumption. No natural water found on Earth is pure; any sample of water contains more than just water molecules. Some materials, such as sodium...
 

9 Unit summary

 

References and Acknowledgements

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