Chemistry Water notes

Importance of water:

In the Atmosphere, water is present as water vapour, and as tiny

liquid droplets in the clouds.
In percentage terms, water makes up between 1% and 5% of the air,
varying with time, place and weather.
In the Lithosphere, water makes up about 10% of the solid Earth.
water is well incorporated into the crystal lattice structure of many
minerals
The Hydrosphere is, nearly all water. Oceans contain about 3%
dissolved salt, but the ice caps, rivers and lakes are virtually 100%
water
In Biosphere, water makes up about 75% of every life- form

Solute,solvent,solution:

Solute: Usually the solid in the mixture

Solvent: usually the Liquid in a mixture
Solution: The mixture, usually of a solid (the solute) and the liquid
(the solvent)

The Many Roles of Water on Earth:

a solvent for all the chemicals in a living cell,

a reactant or product in many biological reactions, such as
photosynthesis and cellular respiration
a transport medium for carrying substances, such as when food,
oxygen, etc. are carried in the blood.

a shock-absorber and support structure. Many plants and simple

animals (e.g. worms) rely on water pressure in their tissues to hold
their body in shape

a habitat (place to live) for many species

Water is a major factor in global climate, weather and the shaping

of landforms

The water-cycle produces all rain, hail and snowfall

Water is the main agent of erosion, carving out the valleys and
wearing down the mountains
Water can absorb, transport and release vast amounts of heat energy

For humans and their civilization, water is a major resource

for drinking/ cooking, washing

for crop irrigation and farming.

in industry as a solvent,
cleaning agent and cooling agent.
for transport by boat and ship.
for generating hydro-electricity.

Basic Properties of Water - Density of Liquid & Solid Water

Density is the ratio between the mass of a substance and volume it

occupies
All pure substances have a fixed and characteristic density
Density = Mass/Volume
A simple method is to weigh an empty, dry measuring cylinder, then
fill with water. Read the volume of water accurately then re- weigh
to get the mass of water.
For ice, you need to weigh it quickly before it melts. If the ice
cubes really are cubes or rectangular prisms, you might measure
length, width and height, then calculate the volume.

Typical Results:
D=M/ V
Liquid water:
Mass = 245 g Volume = 250mL
D= m/v = 245/250 = 0.98g/mL
Ice:
Mass = 33 g Volume = 36mL
3
D= m/v =33/36 = 0.92g/cm

Density changes with

temperature. Water
achieves its highest
density at 4 C.
This value is 1.00 g/mL

Water Density Anomaly

For almost every pure substance the solid is denser than the liquid
liquid water has a higher density than ice
In solid water (ice) the molecules form a molecular lattice, each
molecule is held rigidly in place.

When ice melts to form liquid water, the molecules have enough
energy to move around freely
they are still very close together, and in fact they wriggle in even
closer to each other than when rigidly arranged in the solid lattice

there is the same mass of particles crammed into less space... higher
density
solid ice has a lower density, it floats in liquid
water

Melting & Boiling Points:

o
o
Pure water melts at 0 C, and boils at 100 C, under normal 1
atmosphere of pressure.
Under different pressures, or if impure, the m.p. and b.p. will change
(e.g. it can be difficult to get a good, hot cup of tea on a high
mountain, because at the lower air pressure the water boils at a much
lower temperature)
A common experiment is to boil water with/without, an additive such
as salt and measure the boiling temperature. It will usually be found
that the boiling temperature rises by several degrees with solute
dissolved in it

STRUCTURE, BONDING & PROPERTIES OF WATER

The Strange Properties of Water

Abnormally high m.p. and b.p.

Abnormally high viscosity and surface tension
Abnormally high Heat Capacity
Unusual Density anomaly (already described) its all a matter of
bonding

Bonding inMolecular Compounds of Hydrogen

To understand water, we need to compare it to other, similar sized,

covalent molecules containing hydrogen

the pairs of electrons in each covalent

bond always try to get as far away from
each other as possible
and in 3-dimensions this results in a
tetrahedron shape (a regular, triangular
pyramid with 4 points as far apart as

In the methane molecule, each

covalent bond (and therefore each
hydrogen atom) is as far away from
the other 3 as it can get.

Ammonia NH3

the 4 pairs of electrons

surrounding the nitrogen
atom are also at the points
of a tetrahedron.

one pair is not involved in a covalent bond... it is an /unbonded pair,

but still occupies a point of the tetrahedron
The result is that the ammonia molecule is a triangular pyramid shape

Water H2O

In the water molecule there are

two unbonded pairs occupying 2 of
the points of the tetrahedron

Hydrogen sulfide H2S

Has exactly the same bonding geometry as water

Comparing theProperties of These Compounds

The 4 compounds CH4, NH3, H2O and H2S are of comparable size
and bonding
compare their melting and boiling points, and how these are related to
their relative molecular weights

the m.p. & b.p. of comparable substances show a steady increase as the atomic
or molecular weight increases
This graph shows that both water and ammonia have unusually high
melting and boiling points. Water especially has values way above those
of comparable molecules

Covalent molecules are held together internally by strong covalent

bonds (intra-molecular bonds). These however, are not the bonds
that must be overcome to melt or boil the substance.
Its the forces between the molecules (inter-molecular bonds) that
must be overcome to melt or boil a molecular substance
In water, it seems these forces are unusually strong!

Polar Covalent Bonding

pure covalent bond, where electrons are shared evenly

ionic bond, where electrons are shared unequally
Polar covalent bond, sharing is not even. (electrons are attracted
more to one atom than the other)
This causes the bond (and perhaps the entire molecule) to become
electrically polarized
Electric charge is not evenly distributed (one end has more electrons
and has a slight negative charge while the other end becomes more
positive)
Greek letter delta is used to denote small amount of something, in this
case electric charge (the molecule is called a dipole meaning it has 2
poles)

Polar Bonds Create Inter-Molecular Forces

The charges on each end of a molecular dipole are only a fraction of

the size of the charges on an ion, but they do cause electrical forces to
occur between nearby
molecules
these forces which are the inter-molecular
forces that hold the molecules together in
the solid state
These are the forces which determine the
m.p. and b.p. of a molecular substance.
The strength of the dipole-dipole force
varies on how evenly or unevenly the

strongest dipole-dipole forces are about 1/3 as strong as a full-scale

ionic bond

(These occur whenever hydrogen atoms are bonded to Oxygen, Nitrogen or

Fluorine, they are called hydrogen bonds)

Hydrogen Bonds

Oxygen, Nitrogen and Fluorine are all small, strongly electronegative

atom
Hydrogen is even smaller, and once the electrons are sucked away
from it

The result is strong set of partial

charges, a powerful dipole, and strong
inter-molecular force, which attracts
nearby molecules
These especially strong dipole-dipole
attractions are called hydrogen

Hydrogen Bonding in Water

In water molecules the covalent bonds are very polar, the atoms
develop especially large partial charges
Each molecule is a dipole, and strong inter-molecular Hydrogen Bonds
attracts each molecule to its neighbours.

Network of hydrogen bonds that

holds the molecules in a rigid
lattice in the solid state
The Hydrogen Bonding is the
reason that ice has such a
high melting point, compared
to other molecules. (Ammonia

Once melted to a liquid, the
molecules can move around, but cling to each other because of the

hydrogen bonds
To boil water to a gas, the molecules must be able to totally break free
from the hydrogen bonds
It is the HYDROGEN BONDING between water molecules which
explains all of waters unusual properties

More of Waters Unusual Properties

water has other properties which, compared to other similar size

molecules, are quite extraordinary

Surface Tension - phenomenon where a liquid acts as if it has a skin at the

surface

water has a relatively strong surface tension

the metal is NOT floating (hydrogen bonding)

Water molecules have a network of forces
attracting them to each other
At the surface, this network of force resists
penetration and can support objects
Surface tension is also the reason that water
forms droplets
The surface tension network of forces tries to pull
the droplet into a spherical shape.

Viscosity

Viscosity is a measure of how thick a liquid is

It is how easy or difficult it is for things to move through the liquid
We dropped marbles into various liquids and compared the rates
which they fell
Liquids like oil are very viscous
When the viscosity of water is compared to liquids with similar size
molecules, waters viscosity is high
This is the result of hydrogen bonding, causing water molecules to
cling to each other making it difficult for moving objects to move
through liquids

THE CHEMISTRY OF AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

Water as a Solvent
Ionic Compounds - (generally) soluble in water, and all because

water molecules are polar

composed of a strong ionic crystal lattice

requires a high temperature to melt this lattice, but water

molecules can dissolve the crystal by surrounding each ion and

detaching it from the lattice.

the the (+ve) ions are surrounded

by water molecules which are
presenting the (theta symbol
minus) end of their dipole to the
ion
The (-ve) ions are surrounded by
molecules presenting the (theta
symbol plus) end of the dipole.
With each ion surrounded by
dozens of water molecules, the
attraction between the ions is
blanketed and the individual ions
can no longer get close enough to
each other for their charges to
bond them together
An ionic compound in solution is made up of free moving, separate,
hydrated ions

Covalent Molecular Substances

May, or may not dissolve, in water depending on polar nature, and

how large the molecules are
If solute molecules are polar, they will generally dissolve, because the
water molecules will surround each molecule, attracted by dipoledipole forces.
In the case of ethanol, water molecules form hydrogen bonds with
the ethanol molecules which contain the highly polar -OH chemical
group.

There are many covalent

molecules like this, with -NH or
-OH groups on the molecule,
including all the alcohols and
the sugars(sucrose)
Small, non-polar covalent
molecules such as iodine (I2),
oxygen (O2) and nitrogen (N2)
will dissolve in water, but only in

small amounts (sparingly soluble)

These molecules do not have any dipole charges to attract a water
molecule and become hydrated
They have such small dispersion forces holding them to each other,
that they can simply spread out, in small numbers, among the water

molecules
Dispersion Forces

Extremely weak attractive forces that exist within all substances

Among all non-polar molecules, they are the only inter-molecular
forces acting to hold the molecules together
This is why such substances have very low m.p. & b.p.
Larger non-polar molecules will NOT dissolve in H2O, too large to
disperse among H2O molecules, there are no dipoles for the H2O
molecules to link with or form hydrogen bond
These substances include petrol, oils and waxes, and are often
described as hydrophobic because they will not mix with water

Hydrogen Chloride

In the pure state, hydrogen chloride is composed of small polar

molecules
the m.p. & b.p. are quite low, so pure HCl is a gas at room
temperature
They do much more than just
dissolve... they interact so strongly
with water that the molecules ionize
+
and become
separate
H and Cl
Hydrogen
chloride
dissolved in water is,
hydrochloric acid
This is more than just
dissolving in water
because the molecule has
ionized... what was a polar
covalent bond has become
ionic, due
the thethe
the
This equation
describes

dissolving of HCl gas to form

hydrochloric acid

Covalent Network Substances

like the elements Silicon and Carbon, silicon dioxide SiO 2 (the
mineral silica), are crystal lattices of atoms bonded together
covalently.

bonds are non-polar, or only slightly polar, water molecules

are not attracted, and the substance will NOT dissolve.

Compounds with Very Large

Molecules

Living cells produce molecules

containing tens of thousands of atoms
Some, like cellulose (in plant cell
walls) contain many polar groups, and water molecules will be
attracted and form hydrogen bonds
Cellulose molecules are linked together by their own hydrogen
bonding, and covalent cross-linking, it is impossible for the huge
molecules to be taken into solution
Cellulose is therefore insoluble, but is described as being hydrophilic
because water will cling to it, wet it and soak into it very well
Some protein molecules will dissolve if they have a folded, globular
shape that allows water molecules to surround them, (enzyme
proteins, which are dissolved in the water inside a cell, or in the
blood)
proteins, like keratin (in hair and skin) are in long chains that crosslink to others. Dont dissolve, but are hydrophilic
Plastics, such as polyethylene, composed of huge molecules. Most
are non-polar, and may be cross-linked with each other. Tend to be
insoluble in water and are generally hydrophobic.

Ionic Solutions

When an ionic
compound dissolves
in water, the crystal
lattice disintegrates
and the (+ve) and (ve) ions become separately hydrated to form the solution
The positive (+ve) ions are collectively called cations]. Negative (-ve)
ions are known as anions]

Th

e
equation must balance
terms of the ratio of the
There are 2 nitrate ions
magnesium ion. the
(+ve) charges is the
the total of (-ve) charges

Dilute, Concentrated, Saturated

in
ions.
for each
total of
same as

If you dissolved a pinch of salt in a bucket of water this is a dilute

solution, meaning that it contains very little solute compared to the
amount of solvent.
If you dissolved a heaped spoonful of salt in a glass of water the
solution is concentrated it has quite a lot of solute compared to the
amount of solvent.
There is a limit to how much solute can be dissolved in a given amount
of solvent. When this limit is reached, and the solution contains as
much solute as it can hold, it is said to be saturated].
Different compounds have different solubilities, and this can change
o
with temperature, but as an example, at 25 C a salt-water solution is
saturated when about 36g of salt have dissolved in each 100mL of
water. We say the solubility of salt is 36 g/100mL, or simply 36 % m/v.
(% m/v] means percentage mass to volume] and refers to the
measurement of grams (mass) in 100mL (volume).
This is not the only way we can measure the concentration of a
solution

Dynamic Equilibrium in a Saturated Solution

If you keep adding and stirring salt into water until the solution is
saturated, you reach a dynamic equilibrium] between the ions still in
an undissolved, solid, crystal lattice, and those in the solution as
separate, hydrated ions
For simplicity in this diagram, the water molecules have been left out

Since dissolving and precipitating

occur at the same rate, the
concentration of the solution does not
change,
the amount of undissolved solid
remains the same. At the macroscopic
level, it seems that nothing is
happening, but down at the atomic
level things are moving... ions
constantly dissolving into solution and
precipitating back out of it again.

Precipitation Reactions

Not all ionic compounds are as

soluble as salt

Some reach saturation at such a low concentration that you can

consider them as being insoluble
If you mix these 2 solutions
together, you are really mixing
water containing 4 separate
+
+
ions... Na , Cl , Ag & NO3 .
(AgCl) has an extremely low
solubility, so the mixture of ions
+
may contain Ag ions and Cl
ions at concentrations way above the saturation concentration of
AgCl.
The ions will immediately form an ionic crystal lattice and solid AgCl
will precipitate from the solution, until the correct dynamic
equilibrium of solid and solution is re-established
This is an ionic equation
describing exactly what
happened
On the left is the mixture of
ions that were brought
together in the 2 solutions.
+
The Ag and Cl ions have combined to form solid AgCl, while the
other 2 ions have stayed in solution, unchanged... they are spectators.

We can leave out the spectators to see the essential change that occurred:

This is a net ionic equation.

It is simply the reverse of the
equation for the dissolving of silver chloride.
Ionic equations can be tricky to balance. If insoluble PbCl2 is formed
by precipitation of ions, the net ionic equation is:
2 Cl ions are needed. If these were

delivered in a sodium chloride solution, then to balance everything, 2 Na

ions must be present in the full ionic equation

We did experimental work as suggested by

this photo, to discover any patterns
regarding which ions are often involved in
precipitation reactions, and which mostly
stay in solution.
Results of such experiments are often
summarized by a list of Solubility Rules.
If you learn these rules you can predict what

will happen when 2 ionic solutions are

mixed:
Example 1:Mix solutions of barium
hydroxide & potassium iodide. Prediction:
No reaction. There is no combination of
any of these ions which will form an
insoluble precipitate.
Example 2:Mix solutions of potassium
carbonate with copper(II) sulfate.
Prediction: A precipitate of copper(II)
carbonate will form.

Measuring Concentrations with the Mole

the idea of measuring the concentration of a solution was
introduced.
One way to do this is to measure the mass of solute in each
100mL of solution (%m/v).
although this is fairly common, it is not the standard way to
express or measure concentrations.
The Mole is Back!

The standard method for measuring concentrations of

-1

solutions is in moles per litre (molL ).

Why are thereDifferent

Concentration Measurements?

Its a matter of convenience, for the

particular task being done.
In an industrial situation it might be
required to mix up a salt solution for
pickling olives (for example). To make it
easy and efficient, the instructions might be
U1 kg of salt to every 10 litres of water

or some such.In this case the units of

concentration would be kilograms
-1

per litre (kgL ).

In another situation, it might be convenient
to use %m/v.
In Chemistry, it is usually best to measure
-1

in molL (\molarity]) because this allows

easy conversions of mass, volumes of gases
and volumes of solutions, when chemical
reactions are involved.

Technique For Making Solutions

One important laboratory technique is that

of making up a solution to a required
concentration.
The first step is to calculate the mass of
solute required to make the desired