NATURAL SCIENCES TERM 02 NOTES Grade 07

INTRODUCTION TO THE PERIODIC TABLE

THE PERIODIC TABLE

1. The version of the Periodic Table we use today is based on the version that was first proposed by
Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian scientist, in the 1860s.

2. The Periodic Table is a classification system.

3. The elements are arranged on the Periodic Table according to their properties.

4. An element is a pure substance that cannot be broken down.

5. The rows on the table are called periods.

6. The columns on the table are called groups.

ARRANGEMENT OF ELEMENTS ON THE PERIODIC TABLE

1. Each element has its own name, symbol, atomic number, position and atomic mass on the
Periodic Table.

2. The symbol:

a. This comes from the name of the element.

b. This is usually the first letter, or the first two letters of the element’s name.

3. The first letter of the symbol is always a capital letter, for example, the symbol for Nitrogen is ‘N’.

4. If the symbol has two letters, the second letter is always a small letter, for example, Aluminium is
‘Al’.

5. Some elements have symbols that come from their Latin names, for example, Potassium which is
‘K’ from the Latin word, Kalium.

6. The atomic number is the number of protons in one atom of that element.

7. If the atomic number of the element is 7 it means that the element has seven protons.

8. The atomic number is found above the symbol.

9. The elements are arranged from left to right, in numerical order according to their atomic
number, on the Periodic Table.

10. The atomic mass is the number which is written below the symbol. This means that Nitrogen has
an atomic mass of 14.

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11. This is the key for the Nitrogen box on the Periodic Table:

7 ________________ atomic number

N ________________ symbol

Nitrogen ________________ name

14 ________________ atomic mass

THE THREE MAIN CATEGORIES OF ELEMENTS

1. The elements on the Periodic Table are arranged into three main categories: metals, semi-metals
and non-metals.

2. Metals are found on the left-hand side of the table.

3. Non-metals are found on the right-hand side of the table.

4. Semi-metals are found in the region between metals and non-metals.

PROPERTIES OF METALS

Metals have the following properties:

1. They are shiny.

2. They are ductile which means that they can be stretched.

3. They are malleable which means that they can be bent and flattened.

4. They are solid at room temperature except for mercury.

5. Mercury is a metal which is a liquid at room temperature.

6. They have high boiling points and melting points.

7. They are good conductors of heat and electricity.

PROPERTIES OF NON-METALS

1. The properties of non-metals will vary depending on whether they are a solid, liquid or gas.

2. Most non-metals are dull and weak.

3. Non-metals are brittle and can be crushed into a powder.

4. Non-metals are not ductile or malleable.

5. Non-metals are poor conductors of heat and electricity.

6. Non-metals have lower melting and boiling points than metals.

7. Non-metals are found on the right-hand side of the Periodic Table.

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PROPERTIES OF SEMI-METALS

1. Semi-metals have some properties of metals and some properties of non-metals.

2. Semi-metals are solids at room temperature.

3. There are only seven semi-metals: boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, tellurium and
polonium.

4. Semi-metals can be dull or shiny.

5. Semi-metals make good semi-conductors.

6. Semi-conductors are materials that conduct electricity only when they are heated.

ELEMENTS IN EVERYDAY LIFE

1. Copper is used in wire because it is a good conductor of electricity.

2. Lithium is used in rechargeable batteries.

3. Oxygen is the gas that we breathe in and need in order to survive.

4. Aluminium has many uses. Some include:

a. Foil in packaging

b. Cooking pots and pans

c. Cool drink cans

d. Constructing cars, aeroplanes, doors and windows.

5. Gold and silver are used in jewellery.

6. Chlorine is used to clean swimming pools.

7. Phosphorus and sulfur are used in matchstick heads.

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PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

1. Everything around us is made of matter.

2. Matter takes up space and has mass. It can be a liquid, solid or gas.

3. Materials are substances we use to make things or do things with.

4. Materials can be natural like wood, or man-made like plastic.

5. We choose materials for certain uses, depending on their physical properties.

6. Physical properties include:

a. Strength - how strong it is

b. Flexibility - how easily it bends

c. Melting point - the temperature at which the material changes from a solid to a liquid

d. Boiling point - the temperature at which a material changes from a liquid to a gas

e. Electrical conductivity - how easily the material lets electricity flow through it

f. Heat conductivity - how easily the material allows heat to move through it

STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY

1. Materials can have strength in different ways.

2. Concrete is a very strong material that does not change shape easily.

3. It is not easy to crush.

4. We say it has compressive strength.

5. Steel is strong in a different way.

6. It can resist being stretched.

7. We say steel has tensile strength.

8. Flexibility is a measure of how easy it is to bend a material.

9. Fabric for clothing is an example of a flexible material.

BOILING POINTS AND MELTING POINTS

1. Water can be a solid (ice), a liquid or a gas (water vapour).

2. Melting occurs when a solid substance changes into a liquid state.

3. The melting point is the temperature at which the solid becomes a liquid.

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4. Different substances have different melting points, e.g.: Iron melts at 1538°C and ice melts at
around 0°C.

5. If you heat a liquid it will eventually boil.

6. We call this the boiling point.

7. Different substances boil at different temperatures e.g.: Iron boils at 2862°C and water at around
100°C.

8. Boiling points and melting points can vary slightly depending on air pressure or impuri-ties in the
liquid.

9. An example is that water boils at about 96°C in Johannesburg because of the lower air pressure.

ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY

1. Electricity moves as an electrical current.

2. Some materials allow electricity to flow through them easily.

3. Materials that allow electricity to move through them are called electrical conductors.

4. Examples of conductors are copper and stainless steel.

5. Some materials do not allow electricity to pass through them.

6. These are called electrical insulators.

7. An example of an insulator is plastic.

8. The property of carrying electricity is called electrical conductivity.

9. We use the electrical conductivity of copper to make electrical wiring.

10. The wire is covered in an insulator like plastic to protect us from electrical shock.

HEAT CONDUCTIVITY

1. Some materials allow heat to flow through them easily.

2. The ability of a material to allow heat to travel through it is called heat or thermal conductivity.

3. Examples of materials that have good thermal conductivity are aluminum and stainless steel.

4. Materials with low thermal conductivity are known as thermal insulators

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING MATERIALS

1. All materials used to make things come from the Earth’s natural resources.

2. We can use these materials in their natural state, for example we use wood to make furniture.

3. We can also process these materials.

4. When we process natural resources, we change them. An example is turning trees into paper.

5. When we use materials to make things, we also need to think about cost, colour and texture.

COST

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1. The cost of something is how cheap or expensive it is.

2. When making a product, the cost of the materials needs to be thought about.

3. Cold drink bottles used to be made from glass. They are now made from plastic.

4. One of the reasons for this is that plastic is cheaper to make and transport.

5. Things that affect the cost of materials are how much they cost to mine or make.

6. Another factor is whether the materials come from South Africa or another country.

COLOUR

1. Materials have different colours.

2. Sometimes the original colour of the material will be changed to make it better suited to

its purpose.

3. Plastic can be clear or coloured.

4. Traffic lights need three different colours of plastic: red, yellow and green.

TEXTURE

1. The texture of something describes how it feels when you touch it.

2. The texture of something should be suitable for its use.

3. Blankets are soft while concrete floors are smooth and easy to clean.

SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS: A FAIR TEST

1. A fair test is a scientific investigation that is carefully controlled.

2. The investigation answers a specific scientific question.

3. In a fair test, two or more things are compared.

4. During the test, various things can affect the result.

5. We call these things ‘variables’.

6. To do a fair test, we keep everything the same, changing only one thing at a time.

7. The things we don’t change are called the ’constants’.

8. The thing we change is called the ’variable’.

9. Changing only one variable at a time will give an accurate result.

10. The one that we change will show differences between the things we are comparing and allow us
to make conclusions

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

1. The materials used to make the objects we use every day come from mining or manufacturing.

2. Mining and manufacturing can cause damage to the planet.

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3. Both mining and manufacturing processes need a lot of energy.

4. This energy often consists of burning fuels such as coal or oil.

5. When burning these fuels, harmful gases are released into the environment.

6. These gases can trap heat in the atmosphere and are thought to be causing the planet to get
hotter.

7. They are known as greenhouse gases.

MINING

1. Mining is a process of taking precious metals from the Earth.

2. During this process, chemicals are often used which are harmful to the environment.

3. These chemicals end up in our water supplies.

4. These chemicals are harmful to humans, animals and plants.

5. Dust that blows off mine dumps is harmful to the health of people who live nearby.

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SEPARATING MIXTURES

MIXTURES

1. All things that take up space and have mass, are made up of matter.

2. Matter is made up of particles.

3. Particles are so small that we cannot see them.

4. Substances can be made up of one kind of particle or a mixture of particles.

5. A pure substance is made up of only one type of particle.

6. An example is pure water.

7. All the particles in a glass of pure water are exactly the same.

8. A mixture is made up of two or more substances.

9. This means that a mixture is an impure substance.

10. Most things around us are a mixture of particles.

11. The air we breathe is a mixture of different gases.

SOME WORDS TO KNOW:

1. Solution: The mixture made of a solid mixed into a liquid

2. Solute: The substance that dissolves when making a solution is called the solute.

3. Solvent: The liquid in which a solute dissolves, is the solvent.

PHYSICAL SEPARATION OF MIXTURES

HAND-SORTING

1. Hand sorting can be used to separate mixtures when a mixture is made of solids that are easy to
handle.

2. These solids can have different shapes, colours or sizes.

3. Hand-sorting is easy and does not need any special equipment but takes a long time.

4. An example of hand-sorting could be sorting fruit by size and quality before it is packed.

SIEVING

1. Sieving is a method used to separate mixtures where the combined solids have different sizes.

2. Sieving involves passing a mixture through a sieve.

3. A sieve is made of a net of metal of plastic.

4. The holes in this net allow the smaller solids to fall through, keeping the bigger solids behind.

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5. Sand and stones can be separated this way.

USING MAGNETS

1. A magnet can attract metals such as iron, steel and nickel.

2. In a mixture where one of the substances is magnetic, a magnet can be used to separate the
mixture.

3. An example is using magnets to remove magnetic objects from waste dumps.

FILTRATION

1. Mixtures sometimes contain solids that do not dissolve into the liquid or solvent.

2. These solids are said to be insoluble, which means they do not dissolve.

3. Filtration is a good method to separate an insoluble solid from a liquid.

4. To filter something, we pour the mixture through a filter which should catch the solids that did not
dissolve.

5. The material that is used to catch or trap the solids is called a filter.

6. A filter is different from a sieve in that the spaces in a filter are only big enough to allow a liquid to
pass through them.

EVAPORATION

1. Evaporation is a method to separate a solution.

2. During evaporation, the solvent (or liquid) is turned into a gas.

3. Once the gas has evaporated, the solute (or solids) are left behind.

4. Heating speeds up the rate at which evaporation happens.

DISTILLATION

1. In evaporation, you are able to separate the solvent (liquid) and the solute (solid) but only the
solute is left behind.

2. The solvent has evaporated and can no longer be used.

3. It is possible to separate a solution where both the solute and the solvent, once separated, can be
used again.

4. Distillation involves evaporation of the solvent, followed by condensation and collection of the
condensed liquid.

5. A special piece of equipment called a Liebig condenser is used to extract pure (distilled) water
from a saltwater solution.

6. The saltwater solution is brought to the boil. The escaping water vapour is then trapped in a long
tube and cooled.

7. The cooled water vapour condenses and is then collected at the other end.

8. The salt will be left on one side and the distilled or pure water at the other end.

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CHROMATOGRAPHY

1. Pigments are substances that give colour to living tissue and materials like ink.

2. Pigment makes blood red, or your pen blue.

3. Chromatography is used to separate mixtures of different pigments.

4. A solvent is added to a mixture of pigments, and these pigments are then allowed to move
through something, like paper.

5. The solvent could be water or alcohol.

6. Some pigments travel faster and further. In this way they are separated.

METHODS OF PHYSICAL SEPARATION

1. Hand sorting is used to separate mixtures when a mixture is made of solid particles that have
different sizes, colours, textures or shapes and are easy to handle.

2. Sieving is used to separate mixtures where the particles are of different sizes.

3. Filtration is used to separate a solid from a liquid.

4. Magnets are used to separate metals from non-metals.

5. Evaporation is used to remove a solute from a solvent.

6. Distillation is used to separate two liquids with different boiling points.

7. Chromatography is used to separate mixtures of different pigments.

SORTING AND RECYCLING MATERIALS

1. It is every person’s responsibility to get rid of waste in a proper manner so that it does not affect
our environment.

2. You can reduce the amount of waste you produce by re-using or recycling some materials.

3. Materials like glass, paper, plastic and metal can be re-used or recycled.

4. Organic waste can be made into compost.

5. Materials that cannot be re-used or recycled must be dumped.

6. Landfills are places where you dump materials that cannot be re-used or recycled.

7. It costs money to maintain a landfill because:

a. a landfill must be properly prepared

b. the waste must be collected from houses and businesses and transported to the landfill

c. machines that are used to move the waste must be maintained.

8. Poor waste management has negative consequences.

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ACIDS,BASES, AND NEUTRALS

1. The human tongue is an organ that allows us to taste.

2. On the tongue there are taste buds.

3. The four different tastes are: salty, sweet, sour and bitter.

4. There are survival advantages to being able to identify these tastes:

a. You can taste when an apple is sweet which means it is ripe. If it is sour, it is not ripe.

b. You can identify rotten food, as it would be bitter, and you would avoid eating it.

5. Not all substances are safe to taste.

PROPERTIES OF ACIDS

1. Acids taste sour.

2. Acids feel rough on the skin.

3. Many acids are strong and corrosive, and are dangerous to taste or feel.

4. Acids can be weak or strong.

5. Strong acids are more dangerous.

6. Dangerous acids are marked with symbols to warn people of the danger.

PROPERTIES OF A BASE

1. Bases taste bitter.

2. Bases feel slippery on the skin.

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3. Many bases are caustic and are dangerous to taste or feel.

4. Bases are the opposite of acids.

5. A base is known as an alkali, if the base is soluble in water.

6. Not all bases are alkalis but all alkalis are bases.

NEUTRAL SUBSTANCES

1. Neutral substances are neither bases nor acids.

2. They are not dangerous.

3. Everyday substances that we use, like pure water, cooking oil, sugar solutions and salt

solutions, are examples of neutrals.

4. You can make a neutral substance by reacting an acid with a base.

5. The pH scale is used to measure the strength of an acid (pH0 to just below pH7) or a

base (just above pH7 to pH14).

6. A neutral is in the middle and has a pH of 7.

ACID-BASE INDICATORS

1. It is not safe to taste a substance to see if it is an acid, a base or a neutral.

2. To test a substance, you use an indicator, which is a chemical that changes colour when it comes
into contact with an acid, a base or a neutral.

3. Litmus paper is used as an acid-base indicator.

4. Litmus paper comes in red and blue.

5. Red litmus paper:

a. Turns blue in a base

b. Remains red in an acid

c. Remains red in a neutral solution.

6. Blue litmus paper:

a. Turns red in an acid

b. Remains blue in a base

c. Remains blue in a neutral solution.

7. The substance you test must be in liquid form.

8. We always use both red and blue litmus papers to test a substance.

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