1. Investigation II: Basic Building Materials
Alchemy Unit
Investigation II: Basic Building Materials
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

2. Alchemy Unit – Investigation II
Lesson 1:
A New Language

3. 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?
Unit 1 • Investigation II

4. The Big Question
What do the chemical symbols tells us about the substance inside the bottle?
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5. You will be able to: Make sense of chemical names and symbols.
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6. 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.
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7. 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.)
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8. 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.
Every Capital letter represents an element.
Ex. C stands for Carbon
If it is a capital and a lowercase letter it represents one element.
Ex. Co = Cobalt
(cont.)
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9. Compound
A compound is a substance that consists of two or more elements chemically combined together.
Ex. Carbon dioxide is a compound. Its chemical formula is CO2.
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10. Notes (cont.) A substance is aqueous if it is dissolved in water. (aq)
The substance that is dissolved with water is called the solute.
The water is referred to as the solvent.
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11. Symbols in parentheses
1. (l) stands for liquid. This can be an element or a compound in a liquid form.
2. (s) stands for solid. Elements and compounds in solid form can be grains, crystals, sheets, etc.
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12. Check-In
Imagine you find a vial that is labeled Na2SO4(aq). What does the label tell you about what is in this flask?
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13. Making Sense (Check In #2)
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.
Unit 1 • Investigation II

14. 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.
Unit 1 • Investigation II

15. Alchemy Unit – Investigation II
Lesson 2:
Now You See It . . .

16. 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?
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17. The Big Question
What happens to copper once it has been mixed with other substances?
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18. You will be able to:
Follow a procedure for a series of lab experiments and make observations.
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19. 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.)
Unit 1 • Investigation II

20. (cont.)
You will not be allowed to begin the experiment until you can answer the questions about the lab correctly.
(cont.)
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21. (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.)
Unit 1 • Investigation II

22. (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.)
Unit 1 • Investigation II

23. (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.
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24. (cont.) What you added or did What you observed
Got copper powder from teacher
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25. 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.
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26. Check-In
No Check-In
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27. Wrap-Up
No Wrap-Up
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28. Alchemy Unit – Investigation II
Lesson 3:
What Goes Around

29. ChemCatalyst
What do you think happened to the copper powder in the copper cycle experiment when it was mixed with the nitric acid?
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30. The Big Question What happened to the copper?
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31. You will be able to:
Use your observations to draw conclusions and summarize them in a lab report.
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32. HNO3(aq) is added to Cu(s), resulting in
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.)
Unit 1 • Investigation II

33. HNO3(aq) is added to Cu(s), resulting in
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.”
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34. 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.)
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35. (cont.)
removes H2O (water)
(cont.)
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36. What you did Chemical added What you saw
Write the chemical formula
What you saw
Your observations from the lab
Write the chemical formula and name of the copper compound at each stage
Where is the copper?
Got a sample of copper
Cu(s)
orangish-brown fine powder
solid copper powder
The copper is in the beaker because the teacher put it there.
Added nitric acid
HNO3(aq)
Added sodium hydroxide
Added heat (removes H2O)
none
Added sulfuric acid
Added zinc
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37. Making Sense
How would you describe what happened to the copper throughout this experiment?
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38. 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.
Unit 1 • Investigation II

39. 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)
Unit 1 • Investigation II

40. 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.
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41. Alchemy Unit – Investigation II
Lesson 4:
Create a Table

42. 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.)
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43. Unit 1 • Investigation II

44. The Big Question How did Mendeleyev organize the elements?
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45. You will be able to:
Explain how the periodic table of elements is organized.
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46. 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.
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47. 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.
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48. 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.)
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49. C A B (cont.) D E Ge 62.7 Ge 62.7 Ge 66.0 Ge 72.6 Ge 72.6 Germanium
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50. (cont.)
What would you add to the three empty corners to complete the card?
Germanium Ge
(cont.)
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51. (cont.)
Completed Table
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52. 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)
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53. 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.
Unit 1 • Investigation II

54. Alchemy Unit – Investigation II
Lesson 5:
Breaking the Code

55. 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.
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56. The Big Question
How can you predict properties of elements using a periodic table?
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57. You will be able to:
Interpret some of the information given in the periodic table.
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58. Notes
(cont.)
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59. Notes (cont.)
(cont.)
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60. Notes (cont.)
(cont.)
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61. Notes (cont.)
The elements in the middle of the table are referred to as the transition elements, or the transition metals.
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62. Activity
Purpose: This lesson will help to identify many of the patterns that are contained in the periodic table of the elements.
(cont.)
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63. (cont.)
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64. 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.
Unit 1 • Investigation II

65. Notes
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66. Check-In
Use the cards for Cu, copper, and Au, gold, to describe all you can about the element silver, Ag.
shiny, yellow
metal
found in
AuCl
not
very reactive
Copper
shiny, reddish
CuCl
reacts
slowly in air
Gold Cu
63.5 Au
197.0
Unit 1 • Investigation II

67. 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.
Unit 1 • Investigation II