Unit A: Chemical Change

Chapter 1: Aqueous Solutions


Getty Images
It is a hot day. You are enjoying a day at the outdoor swimming pool with some friends. Because the pool is outdoors, you know the quantity of chemicals in the water may be a little higher than the quantity found in indoor pools. So, for today, you decide to wear goggles and a swim cap to protect your eyes and hair from the additional chemicals. 




A swimming pool is one place where the properties of solutions are dependent on the elements and compounds dissolved in them. In this chapter you will look at the building blocks of matter and explore how they connect with each other. You will study how chemistry is used to produce many of the consumer goods people use today.

  • Turn to page 4 of the textbook, and read the introduction to Chapter 1.

Observing properties is vital to producing new products. In the next activity you will observe or describe the properties of a number of different substances.

The three materials studied in this investigation represent three kinds of matter.  Each one has different physical and chemical properties.  Physical properties are things like conductivity, colour, hardness, flexibility.  Chemical properties are how the composition of matter changes, or how it reacts chemically.

Chemistry is the study of matter.  People have always used matter to make the things that we need, like tools or medicines, so they have always been interested in the properties of matter.  As we discover or make new kinds of matter with new properties, we can make better things.
 
  • Read the entire activity on page 5 of the textbook.

    If you have access to a supervised laboratory, do Path 1. If you do not have access to a supervised laboratory, do Path 2.

  • Use the sample data for this activity in Path 1 above to answer questions 1 and 2 on page 5.

    Check your answers in Path 1.