Air and Water IGCSE Notes

Chemical tests for water using cobalt(II) chloride and
copper(II) sulfate:
You can find out whether a colourless liquid contains water by adding the
unknown liquid to anhydrous copper(ii) sulfate. If this changes from white to blue,
then the liquid contains water.
CuSO4(s) + 5H2O(l) → CuSO4.5H2O(s)
Another test is to dip blue cobalt chloride paper into the liquid. If the paper turns
pink, then the liquid contains water.
CoCl2(s) + 6H2O(l) → CoCl2.6H2O(s)
Uses of Water:
Water has many other important uses besides sustaining life. These include:
In the home:
 cooking
 cleaning
 drinking.
 General sanitation.
 In car radiators, for gardens and plants
In industry:
 As a coolant to reduce the temperature of some industrial processes e.g: in

nuclear power plants
 Watering crops
 As a solvent in many chemical production processes
 Hydroelectric power stations to generate electricity
 As a first raw material or Chemical reactant for many processes e.g: the
production of ethanol from ethene and steam (water)
 for cleaning
Water is a neutral, colourless liquid which (at 1 atmosphere pressure) boils at 100
°C and freezes at 0 °C
Water pollution and treatment

An adequate supply of water is essential to the health and well-being of the
world’s population. Across the planet, biological and chemical pollutants are
affecting the quality of our water. An adequate supply of fresh drinking water is
needed for everyone on the planet. Lack of availability of fresh water leads to
water borne diseases, such as cholera and typhoid, and to diarrhoea, which is one
of the biggest killers across the world.
Agriculture needs a water supply in order to irrigate crops, especially in areas of

the world with hot climates. The production of more and more crops for the ever-
increasing population is essential.
Water is very good at dissolving substances. Thus, it is very unusual to find really
pure water on this planet. As water falls through the atmosphere, on to and then
through the surface of the Earth, it dissolves tremendous variety of substances.
Chemical fertilisers washed off surrounding land will add nitrate ions (NO3 −) and
phosphate (PO43 ions −) to the water, owing to the use of artificial fertilisers such
as ammonium nitrate and ammonium phosphate.
The nitrates encourage the growth of algae which eventually die and decay,
removing oxygen from the water.
It may also contain human waste as well as insoluble impurities such as grit and
bacteria, and oil and lead ‘dust’ (to a decreasing extent) from the exhaust fumes
of lorries and cars.
All these artificial, as well as natural, impurities must be removed from the water
before it can be used.
Recent regulations in many countries have imposed strict guidelines on the

amounts of various substances allowed in drinking water.
A lot of drinking water is obtained from lakes and rivers where the pollution levels
are low. Undesirable materials removed from water include:
 colloidal clay (clay particles in the water)

 bacteria
 chemicals which cause the water to be colored and foul tasting
 acids, which are neutralized.
Making water fit to drink:
The treatment needed to make water fit to drink depends on the source of the
water. Some sources, for example mountain streams, may be almost pure and
boiling may be enough to kill any microorganisms present. However, others, such
as slow flowing rivers, may be contaminated. The object of treating contaminated
water is to remove all microorganisms that may cause disease.
The process of water treatment involves both filtration and chlorination and is
summarised in
1. Impure water is passed through screens to filter out floating debris.
2. Filtration through coarse sand traps larger, insoluble particles. The sand
also contains specially grown microbes which remove some of the bacteria.
3. A sedimentation tank has chemicals known as flocculants, for example

aluminium sulfate, added to it to make the smaller particles (which remain
in the water as colloidal clay) stick together and sink to the bottom of the
tank.
4. These particles are removed by further filtration through fine sand.
Sometimes carbon slurry is used to remove unwanted tastes and odours,
and lime slurry is used to adjust the acidity.
5. Finally, a little chlorine gas is added, which sterilizes the water and kills any
remaining bacteria. Excess chlorine can be removed by the addition of
sulfur dioxide gas. The addition of chlorine gas makes the water more acidic
and so appropriate amounts of sodium hydroxide solution are added.
Fluoride is sometimes added to water if there is insufficient occurring
naturally, as it helps to prevent tooth decay.
The composition of the atmosphere
If a sample of dry, unpolluted air was taken from any location in the troposphere
and analysed, the composition by volume of the sample would be similar to that
shown in Table.
Air Pollution
How do we get the useful gases we need from the air?
Air is the major source of oxygen, nitrogen and the noble gases. The gases are
obtained by fractional distillation of liquid air but it is a complex process, involving
several different steps.
1. The air is passed through fine filters to remove dust.

2. The air is cooled to about −80 °C to remove water vapor and carbon
dioxide as solids. If these are not removed, then serious blockages of
pipes can result.
3. Next, the cold air is compressed to about 100 atm of pressure. This
warms up the air, so it is passed into a heat exchanger to cool it
down again.
4. The cold, compressed air is allowed to expand rapidly, which cools it
still further. The process of compression followed by expansion is
repeated until the air reaches a temperature below −200 °C. At this
temperature the majority of the air liquefies except for neon and
helium. These gases are removed. They can be separated from each
other by adsorption on charcoal.
5. The liquid air is passed into a fractionating column and it is
fractionally distilled. The gases can be separated because they have
different boiling points.
6. Nitrogen boils at -196. And is separated first.
7. Oxyegen boils at -183.
8. The gases are then stored separately in large tanks and cylinders.
A fertiliser is any substance added to the soil to make it
more fertile.
 Plants need nitrogen for making chlorophyll, and proteins.
 Potassium helps them to produce proteins, and to resist disease.
 Phosphorus helps roots to grow, and crops to ripen.
Plants obtain these elements from compounds in the soil, which they take in
through their roots as solutions. The most important one is nitrogen. Plants take it
in as nitrate ions and ammonium ions.

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Chemical tests for water using cobalt(II) chloride and

CuSO4(s) + 5H2O(l) → CuSO4.5H2O(s)

CoCl2(s) + 6H2O(l) → CoCl2.6H2O(s)

 As a coolant to reduce the temperature of some industrial processes e.g: in

Water pollution and treatment

Agriculture needs a water supply in order to irrigate crops, especially in areas of

Recent regulations in many countries have imposed strict guidelines on the

 colloidal clay (clay particles in the water)

Making water fit to drink:

1. Impure water is passed through screens to filter out floating debris.

3. A sedimentation tank has chemicals known as flocculants, for example

1. The air is passed through fine filters to remove dust.

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