Chemistry

Why does sodium explode in water while gold stays shiny for thousands of years? Why does salt melt at 801 °C while sugar melts in a frying pan? In this first unit of Grade 11 Chemistry you will answer questions like these by connecting the structure of atoms to the properties of the substances they make.

You will start inside the atom: atomic and mass numbers, isotopes and radioisotopes (and their uses in medicine and industry), and how isotopic abundance gives the atomic masses on the periodic table. Then you will meet effective nuclear charge, the idea that explains the periodic trends in atomic and ionic radius, ionization energy, electron affinity and electronegativity, and you will analyse real data across a period. You will investigate how metals and non-metals react with oxygen, water and acids and build an activity series.

Next comes bonding: how ionic and covalent bonds form, how to draw Lewis structures, how to predict bond type from electronegativity, how to build molecular models and picture ionic crystals, and why ionic and molecular compounds have such different physical properties. You will extend your Grade 10 naming skills to the full set of IUPAC rules. Finally, you will use chemistry to weigh the benefits and risks of common substances, from road salt and fertilizers to medicines and cosmetics, for the environment and for human health.

Remember from earlier grades: in Grade 9 you learned about protons, neutrons and electrons, Bohr-Rutherford and Lewis dot diagrams, chemical families, and ionic and molecular compounds; in Grade 10 you named compounds (including multivalent metals, polyatomic ions and acids), balanced equations and used an activity series. This unit builds on all of that, and it is the foundation for the next units of this course, Chemical Reactions and Quantities in Chemical Reactions, and for Grade 12 Chemistry (SCH4U).

Scientific investigation skills (strand A: planning safe investigations, analysing data, evaluating sources and exploring careers) are woven through the lessons. Every lesson has worked examples, a hands-on activity that is safe to do at home (with a grown-up where noted), lots of practice and a short quiz. All laboratory work with acids and reactive metals is described for the school lab only.

Curriculum: The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Science (2008), Chemistry, Grade 11, University Preparation (SCH3U), strand B. Matter, Chemical Trends, and Chemical Bonding: B1.1 and B1.2 (relating science to technology, society and the environment), B2.1 to B2.7 (developing skills of investigation and communication) and B3.1 to B3.5 (understanding basic concepts), with strand A expectations integrated.

Chemical reactions heat our homes, make our steel and fertilizer, and clean our air and water, but they can also cause pollution and health risks. In this unit you will learn to predict what a reaction will make. You will start by making your equation-writing fast and accurate, then study the five types of reactions (synthesis, decomposition, single displacement, double displacement and combustion) and the rules for predicting their products: ion charges and oxide families, the activity series and halogen series, a solubility table, gas-forming and neutralization reactions, and complete and incomplete combustion. You will learn the standard tests for products (oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and more), work safely with WHMIS, and plan and report your own investigations. Finally, you will analyse industrial reactions in Ontario communities (steelmaking, smelting, ammonia and cement) and assess chemical solutions such as scrubbers, liming and catalytic converters, and meet some of the scientists and careers involved.

Remember from earlier grades: in Grade 10 (SNC2D) you named compounds, balanced equations, met the five reaction types with a simplified solubility guide, and studied acids, bases and neutralization. In this course's Matter, Chemical Trends, and Chemical Bonding unit you studied periodic trends and IUPAC naming, which this unit uses constantly. The next unit, Quantities in Chemical Reactions, uses the balanced equations you write here to calculate amounts with moles.

You will need a periodic table and a table of common ions for every lesson. Every lesson has worked examples, a hands-on activity that is safe to do at home with a grown-up, lots of practice and a short quiz.

Curriculum: The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Science (2008), Chemistry, Grade 11, University Preparation (SCH3U), Strand C: Chemical Reactions, with Strand A (Scientific Investigation Skills and Career Exploration) woven through the lessons.

How do chemists know how much of each chemical to mix, or how much product a reaction will make? In this unit you will learn to count atoms by weighing them. You will start with the mole and Avogadro's constant, then use molar mass to move between grams, moles and numbers of particles with the mole map. You will apply the law of definite proportions to calculate percentage composition, test it in a lab investigation, and work backwards from lab data to empirical and molecular formulas.

Next you will read balanced equations as mole ratios and use stoichiometry to predict the masses of reactants and products, identify limiting and excess reagents, and compare theoretical, actual and percentage yield, including an investigation where you measure a yield and analyse sources of error. The unit ends by looking at how quantitative chemistry is used at home (medicine doses, cleaning products), at work and in industry, and why accuracy matters for people and the environment.

This unit builds on balancing equations and conservation of mass from Grade 10 (Chemical Reactions) and on the sibling unit Chemical Reactions in this course. The mole is used again in Solutions and Solubility and Gases and Atmospheric Chemistry, and throughout Grade 12 Chemistry (SCH4U). You will need a scientific calculator.

Almost all the chemistry in living things, in the environment and in industry happens in solutions, and most of those solutions are in water. In this unit you start with the water molecule itself: why it is polar, how hydrogen bonds give water its unusual properties, and how water dissolves ionic and polar substances but not non-polar ones ("like dissolves like"). You will learn what solubility means, read solubility curves, and explain how temperature and pressure change solubility.

Next you will measure solutions: concentration as percent, g/100 mL, ppm, ppb and mol/L, and how to prepare a standard solution and dilute a stock solution safely. You will use a solubility table to predict precipitates, test for ions, write net ionic equations, and solve solution stoichiometry problems. Then you will explain acids and bases with the Arrhenius theory and the hydronium ion, calculate pH, compare strong and weak acids and bases, and find the amount of acetic acid in vinegar by titration.

Finally, you will use these skills on real issues: the sources and cumulative effects of water pollution (including farm runoff, landfill leachate, industrial effluent, road salt and mercury in northwestern Ontario), and the chemistry, standards, costs and fairness of safe drinking water in Canada.

Remember from earlier: in Grade 9 and Grade 10 science you learned about ions, ionic and molecular compounds, double displacement reactions, and acids, bases and pH. This unit uses the mole and stoichiometry from the Quantities in Chemical Reactions unit, and links to gas pressure in the Gases and Atmospheric Chemistry unit. You will need a scientific calculator. Every lesson has worked examples, a hands-on activity that uses safe household materials (lab procedures with hazardous chemicals are described, not done at home), lots of practice and a short quiz.

Curriculum: The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: Science (2008), Chemistry, Grade 11, University Preparation (SCH3U), strand E. Solutions and Solubility: E1.1 and E1.2 (water pollution and drinking-water issues), E2.1 to E2.8 (investigating properties of solutions and solving related problems) and E3.1 to E3.6 (understanding the properties of water, solutions, solubility, and acids and bases). Scientific investigation skills and career exploration (strand A) are woven through the lessons.

In this unit you will find out why gases behave so predictably, and how the gases around us affect our health and our planet. You will start with intermolecular forces and the kinetic molecular theory, which explain why some substances are gases and how gas particles move. After learning to measure pressure (kPa, atm, mmHg) and temperature (kelvins), and to use STP and SATP, you will develop Boyle's, Charles's, Gay-Lussac's and the combined gas laws, investigate them with real-style data, and meet Avogadro's hypothesis, molar volume, the ideal gas law (PV = nRT) and Dalton's law of partial pressures. You will use these in gas stoichiometry and in inquiries that find the molar volume and molar mass of a gas. Finally you will study the composition of the atmosphere and the sources of air pollutants, analyse how technologies such as smelting and gasoline vehicles affect air quality, calculate and reduce your own carbon footprint, and evaluate Canadian initiatives such as the Air Quality Health Index, the Canada–United States Air Quality Agreement and Ontario's coal phase-out. This unit builds on the mole from Quantities in Chemical Reactions and connects to acids and pH in Solutions and Solubility.