Mr. Bouyer 6th Grade Science
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Lab | Vocabulary Test

vocabulary for the week
  • Solid
  • Liquid
  • Gas
  • Plasma
  • Thermal expansion
  • Phase change
  • Melting
  • Freezing
  • Sublimation
  • Snow
  • Vaporization
  • Evaporation
  • Condensation
  • Freexing point
  • Melting point
  • Boiling point
  • Crystal
  • Amorphous
  • Metastable
  • Fluid
  • Viscosity
  • STP
  • Gas Law

Phases of Matter

click to find the answer to today's question What is plasma?

Are ice and liquid water chemically different? You should know that the answer to this question is no. Chemically, water is H2O no matter what physical "state" it is in. The same can be said for any pure substance.

Then what is the difference between water and ice? You might use something like "definite shape" or "takes the shape of it's container" to describe the difference. While this distinction is certainly correct, it does not address the difference in the structure of the particles of matter.

To understand the "real" difference in the phases of matter, you must understand the difference in the energy of the phases. Energy is found inside matter. You can think of this energy as the motion of the particles making up the matter. As the energy increases inside matter, the particles move faster and faster. An increase in particle motion causes most matter to expand and a decrease in particle motion causes most matter to contract. This characteristic of matter is called thermal expansion.

Defining states of matter according to particle motion:

  • Solid particles have the least amount of energy. Their motion is so weak that the particle cannot push other particles out of the way. Because of this the particles of a solid are packed close together and the motion seems to be a vibration.
  • Liquid particles have enough energy to push other particles out of the way. When the particles of a liquid bump into each other, they push the particles farther apart and move past them. This causes the "flow" of a liquid.
  • Gas particles have a high amount of energy. The particles collide with enough force to push the particles so far apart that they escape the attraction of the surrounding particles. Gas particles have the most energy of any "regular" phase of matter. These particles will naturally move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration, diffusion.
  • Plasma particles have extremely large amounts of energy. The collisions in a plasma are so violent that electrons are knocked away from their atoms. Plasma can be thought of as a gas consisting of positive ions and electrons instead of atoms.

Phase change: The physical change of matter from one phase to another. A phase change takes place because the particles of a substance gain or lose energy, causing them to change their motion.


Day 2

click to find the answer to today's question What type of substance is glass?

Types of solids:
Additional information about solids from chemistry class.
link to a local webpage

  1. Crystalline - The particles are arranged in a regular, repeating pattern. Crystalline solids are true solids and tend to hold their shape. The shape of the crystal is determined by the bond angle between the particles. Many natural minerals have crystalline shapes. link to an Internet Website

    click for a career
    Crystallographer
      Basic crystal shapes:

      • cubiclink to a local picture - there are 3 axes, all of equal length.
      • hexagonallink to a local picture - there are 4 axes, 3 of equal length and 1 longer.
      • tetragonallink to a local picture - there are 3 axes, 2 of equal length and 1 longer.
      • orthorhombiclink to a local picture - there are 3 axes, all of unequal length.

  2. Amorphous - The particles have no regular pattern. These substances exhibit characteristics that are usually associated with solids, such as rigidity, hardness, and elasticity. However, amorphous substances have no crystalline form. Amorphous substances can be thought of as supercooled liquids. The application of an external force over a period of time causes these materials to flow and become permanently deformed.

    Substances that occur in a long-lasting amorphous form are said to be metastable. link to an Internet Website

Fluid - any substance that flows. Liquids and gases are fluids.

Viscosity - the resistance of a fluid to flow.

 

Activity:

  1. Follow these steps to construct a cubic crystal model. link to a local picture
    • Cut 4 straws into thirds.
    • Use thin wire to connect the 12 pieces into a cubic form.
  2. Follow these steps to construct a tetragonal crystal model. link to a local picture
    • Cut 4 straws in half.
    • Take four of the halves and cut each of them in half again.
    • Use thin wire to connect the 8 shorter pieces into the two square ends.
    • Wire the 4 long straws to the ends to complete the tetragonal form.
  3. Follow these steps to construct a orthorhombic crystal model. link to a local picture
    • Cut 4 straws in half.
    • Take 4 of the halves and cut off 1/3 of the length.
    • Use thin wire to connect two of the short pieces and two of the medium length pieces into a rectangle to make one end. Repeat this to make the other end.
    • Wire the 4 long straws to the ends to complete the orthorhombic crystal model.


Day 3

click to find the answer to today's question Why does the volume of a gas
increase when it is heated?

Bubbles in a solution indicate a gas is being formed. Gas volume is changed by temperature and pressure. The distance between the particles of a gas will change as the temperature and pressure change. Because of this, you must know the temperature and pressure at which a gas volume is measured.

Standard Temperature and Pressure - "STP"

Gas Laws: Used to describe the characteristics of a gas as conditions change.
Additional gas law information from chemistry class.
link to a local webpage

Boyle's Law - used when pressure changes.

Boyle's Law Practice Problems:
  1. A sample of gas has a volume of 2.5 liters at a pressure of 800 mm Hg. What is its volume when the pressure drops to 500 mm Hg?  

  2. The pressure on 100 cm3 increases from 200 kPa to 600 kPa. What is the new volume?  

 

Charles' Law - used when temperature changes.

Charles' Law Practice Problems:
  1. A sample of gas has a volume of 500 cm3 at standard temperature. What is its volume when the temperature increases to 100 oC?  

  2. The temperature on 10 liters of gas increases from 20 oC to 90 oC. What is the new volume?  
Homework Assignment 043:
This assignment must be turned in by the beginning of class tomorrow to receive credit.
Scoring criterialink to a local webpage

  1. Convert the following temperatures:
    1. 273 oC to K
    2. 1500 K to oC
    3. 100 oC to K
    4. 500 K to oC
  2. A sample of gas has a volume of 9 liters at 1 atmosphere of pressure. What is its volume when the pressure is increased to 3 atmospheres?
  3. Two liters of water vapor are collected from boiling water. If the temperature is increased to 127 oC, what will be the volume of this sample of water vapor?
  4. In the real world, both temperature and pressure usually change when working with a gas. How would you calculate a new volume if both temperature and pressure change?


Day 4

click to find the answer to today's question Is normal atmospheric pressure in Red Rock, Oklahoma more or less than "standard" atmospheric pressure?

The Combined Gas Law: a combination of Boyle's law and Charles' law.

Combined Gas Law Practice Problems:
  1. A gas occupies 750 ml at STP. What will be its volume at 500 mm Hg and 300 K?  

  2. The pressure on 100 cm3 of gas increases from 1 atm to 2 atm while the temperature drops from 20 oC to -10 oC. What is the new volume?  

In-class Assignment 044:
This assignment must be turned in by the end of class today to receive credit.
Scoring criteria
link to a local webpage

Use the combined gas law to work the following problems:

  1. A gas volume of 250 cm3 is measured at 760 mm Hg and 25 oC. What will be the new volume when conditions are changed to 800 mm Hg and 20 oC?
  2. The volume of a gas at STP is 1550 liters. What will be the new gas volume if the temperature is increased by 75 K and the pressure is decreased by 50 kPa?

Physical Science

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Plasma is a gas consisting of positive ions and electrons instead of atoms.
This phase of matter usually occurs at such high temperatures that the particle collisions are so violent they break electrons away from atoms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Glass is an amorphous substance.
Antique window glass has been shown to be thicker at the bottom than at the top, indicating that glass will flow downward over a long period of time. This fits with the idea of glass being a "supercooled" liquid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Heating a gas increases the speed of the molecules. This causes the collisions between the molecules to become more violent, pushing the farther apart - increasing the volume of the gas.
While most substances will expand when heated, the amount of increase is much larger in gases than in any other phase of matter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Normal atmospheric pressure at Red Rock, Oklahoma is less than the "standard".
Standard atmospheric pressure is measured at sea-level. Red Rock, Oklahoma is about 800 feet above sea-level, meaning that there is less air above us here than at sea-level.