GAC013 Student Manual V7.0 June 2013 PDF

GLOBAL ASSESSMENT CERTIFICATE
STUDENT MANUAL
Level II
Module 13: GAC013
Science II: Scientific Principles
Version: 7.0
Date of Issue: June 2013
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... I
MODULE OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................... I
LEARNING OUTCOMES ............................................................................................................ I
BEFORE YOU BEGIN ................................................................................................................ I
SUGGESTED DELIVERY SCHEDULE ........................................................................................ II
ASSESSMENT EVENTS ........................................................................................................... III
ICONS ..................................................................................................................................... V
UNIT 1: THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE ......................................................................... 1
PART A UNIT INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
PART B WHY STUDY SCIENCE? ........................................................................................ 2
PART C SCIENCE IN EVERYDAY LIFE ................................................................................ 4
PART D HISTORY OF SCIENCE ........................................................................................... 6
PART E SCIENCE AT WORK - CHARLES DARWIN ............................................................ 12
PART F WHAT DO YOU KNOW? ..................................................................................... 14
UNIT 2: THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD ........................................................................ 17
PART A UNIT INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 17
PART B WHAT IS THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD? .................................................................. 18
PART C SKILLS NEEDED BY MODERN SCIENTISTS ......................................................... 22
PART D WHAT DO YOU KNOW? ...................................................................................... 28
PART E UNIT REVIEW ..................................................................................................... 29
UNIT 3: THE LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE ......................................................................... 31
PART A UNIT INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 31
PART B SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION ............................................................................ 32
PART C SCIENTIFIC UNITS............................................................................................... 36
PART D SCIENTIFIC NOTATION ....................................................................................... 40
PART E WHAT DO YOU KNOW? ..................................................................................... 45
UNIT 4: PRINCIPLES OF SCIENCE ................................................................................. 47
PART A INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 47
PART B BIOLOGY ............................................................................................................. 48
PART C CHEMISTRY ......................................................................................................... 63
PART D PHYSICS .............................................................................................................. 88
PART E EARTH SCIENCE ................................................................................................. 98
PART F WHAT DO YOU KNOW? ................................................................................... 104
UNIT 5: SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT ............................................................ 107
PART A UNIT INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 107
PART B ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ............................................................................... 108
PART C GREENHOUSE GASES ........................................................................................ 112
PART D WATER POLLUTION .......................................................................................... 115
PART E WHAT DO YOU KNOW? ................................................................................... 118
GLOSSARY .......................................................................................................................... 119
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 125
Science II: Scientific Principles Student Manual
Introduction
Introduction
Module Overview
Welcome to Science II: Scientific Principles.
In this module you will be introduced to the world of science. We live in a world which is
shaped by science and, increasingly, by technology. There are very few things in our lives that
are not influenced in some way by science. The world of science is vast, and in a module like
this we can only introduce you to a small part of that world. However, by the end of the
module you should have developed a coherent knowledge and understanding of some of the
basic laws, theories and principles of contemporary science.
Several examples of scientific practice from around the world have been included in this
module, but the main focus is from a Western scientific point of view. This does not mean
that science from other cultures is not important, but the nature of the course, which is
designed for future studies in Western-based institutions, means knowledge of Western-based
science is required. Many of the examples used are chosen from the general area of
environmental science. This is because they are often topical and well documented, as well as
being interesting because of the impact they have on everyday life.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical development of scientific

ideas, and apply that knowledge to differentiate between the different areas of science
2. Apply the scientific method to plan and conduct scientific investigations
3. Create an investigation report following scientific and academic conventions
4. Discuss the contribution of scientific advances
5. Demonstrate knowledge of scientific concepts and terminology from the different
areas of science
6. Demonstrate familiarity with and ability to use scientific language, units and notation
correctly
Before You Begin
Before you begin you should make sure you have all the materials required for this unit:
• Student Manual
• Notebook
• Access to information sources, especially the internet
• Scientific calculator with exponents
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June 2013 Version 7.0
Student Manual Science II: Scientific Principles
Introduction
Suggested Delivery Schedule
General Introduction. Overview of the Unit.

Week 1
Unit 1 A, B, C & D
Unit 1 E, F & G: Introduce Assessment Event 1

Week 2
Unit 2 A, B & C
Week 3 Unit 2 D, E & F
Week 4 Unit 3 A & B
Unit 3 C, D & E
Week 5
Assessment Event 1: Scientific Investigation and Report
Unit 4 A & B Parts 1-4

Week 6
Introduce Assessment Event 2
Unit 4 B Part 5 & Review

Week 7
Unit 4 C Parts 1 & 2
Week 8 Unit 4 C Parts 3, 4 & Review
Week 9 Unit 4 D & Review
Unit 4 E & F
Week 10
Assessment Event 2: Case Study Investigation
Week 11 Unit 5 A & B
Unit 5 C, D, E & Review

Assessment Event 3: In-class Test: Multiple Choice Questions
Week 12 Test
Assessment Event 4: Assignments
Assessment Event 5: Course Work
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Version 7.0 June 2013
Introduction
Assessment Events
Assessment Assessment Event Weighting

Number
1 Scientific Investigation and Report 30 %

Week 5/at the end of Unit 4B
Write a report of at least 750 words on ONE topic.
Submit in soft and hard copy.
2 Case Study Investigation 30 %

Week 10/at the end of Unit 4G
Write a report of at least 750 words comparing and
contrasting TWO scientific advances.
Submit in soft and hard copy.
3 In-class Test: Multiple Choice Questions Test 20%

Week 12/at the end of Unit 5
Answer 30 multiple choice questions.
4 Assignments 10%
On-going
Submit THREE assignments for marking.
5 Course Work 10%

On-going
a) Participation: at least 90% attendance, contribution
to class discussions and group activities, and
evidence of preparation for class.
b) Completion of designated Independent Study
Tasks.
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Introduction
Note: Assessment Event 4: There are 5 assigned tasks. You must submit 3 for marking.
Assignment Task Topic Marks
4(1) 1.1 Science in Everyday Life 20
4(2) 4.4 Team Work: Adaptations 20
4(3) 4.9 A Self-Test on the Periodic Table 20
4(4) 4.17 Volcanoes 20
4(5) 5.2 Water Conservation 20
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Introduction
Icons
The following icons will be used as a visual aid throughout the Student Manual:
Icon Meaning
Information
Task
Hints and Cautions
Demonstration
Review
Independent Study
Language Focus
Assessment Event
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Unit 1: The History of Science
Part A Unit Introduction

Part B Why Study Science?
Part C Science in Everyday Life
Part D History of Science
Part E Science at Work – Charles Darwin
Part F What Do You Know?
Overview This unit looks at how science is important because of the impacts it
has on everything we have and do. You will consider why we study
science by drawing on some examples of everyday life. You will also
look at notable scientific discoveries and methods from history and
finish with an examination of the work of Charles Darwin.
In this unit you will learn to:

• document the historical development of scientific principles,
concepts and ideas
• apply that knowledge to differentiate between the various
areas of science
For this module you will be provided with all the information you
require in this manual. However, you should also look at whatever
books or other materials you have available for further examples of
science. You will need to find an example of a scientific discovery as
part of the Case Study Investigation assessment event (Assessment
Event 1).
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Part B Why Study Science?
Introduction Brainstorm: Why do you think science is important? Discuss

this with a partner. Be prepared to share your ideas with the
class.
Every day we are affected by science in many ways. The technology

that we use to make our lives easier is all the result of many years of
careful scientific work. Televisions, mobile phones, computers, and
microwave ovens, are all possible because of ideas that needed
science to make them work. If you read any newspaper you will find
articles that describe new medical treatments, natural disasters such
as floods or earthquakes, or a new world record in a favourite sport.
All of these are topics of interest to scientists around the world, and
could affect your life in some way.
Discussion: Choose one of the technologies or topics

above. What scientific ideas do you know that are applied
in this topic?
Science is the application of logic and deduction to what we observe

in the world around us. It is about finding out why things happen as
they do, and using that understanding to improve our lives. Knowing
why things happen helps us to understand the everyday events that
all of us experience. We can use scientific reasoning to make
intelligent decisions about our lives.
The modern world is complex and requires an understanding of

technology, economics, and behaviour far beyond that needed only a
few decades ago. Experiences such as cooking a meal, driving a
motor vehicle and using a computer, can all be made simpler with an
understanding of the scientific principles that make them easy and
safe to do. Science is not just for scientists, it is useful to everyone.
Science is also increasingly important in our understanding of world

and current events. This is the era of the Internet, with its overload
of information (some of it true, much of it not true), social media,
and the relatively free expression of opinion. It is more important
than ever that our opinions are properly informed by the correct use
of the information we are given every day. Scientific thinking gives
us the skills to separate good information from bad information, and
reach logical conclusions about the opinions we hear, and in the
opinions we express.
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Question: Can you think of two other examples of science in

current events?
Science also builds on itself. It takes accepted facts and theories

found by other scientists, and uses them to find new facts and
theories that help our understanding of how things work. Scientists
depend on each other to check their work. Scientific ideas are not
accepted until they have been thoroughly tested for correctness by
other expert scientists. This is called peer review, and is an essential
part of good academic work. Sources of information that have been
peer reviewed are considered to be good and trustworthy sources. A
source which has not been peer reviewed should not be relied upon
in producing good scientific work.
Activity: Find one example of a peer reviewed scientific

work. How do you know that it has been peer reviewed?
Good scientists ask questions, particularly questions that other people

would not think to ask. Many scientific problems are solved by
making observations in nature that do not agree with accepted
theories. This results in questions being asked of the theory that was
previously accepted. A new theory which provides a better
explanation is often the result. This is how science and knowledge
advances. Science does not just teach us what we need to know, but
also how to improve our knowledge using our own observations and
reasoning.
Even if you do not plan on working as a scientist, an understanding

of science benefits you and the society you live in. For these reasons
everyone should study science.
How does Why does it

that do that?
happen?
What type of question

could you add here?
What if we
did something
different?

Part C Science in Everyday Life

Science is an important part of everyday life. The following list of
Task 1.1
activities will give you an appreciation of how much science is
involved in life today.
Each of the following activities can be done simply and without

expensive equipment, but they are all scientific activities. At home
or outside the class you need to do at least 5 of them. Make notes and
diagrams in your notebook of what you saw and what happened.
1. Watch a spider spin its web. What technique does it use to

achieve the final shape?
2. Watch the sky at sunset. Which colours do you see? Which
are closest to the earth and which are highest in the sky?
How long does it take the sun to disappear below the
horizon?
3. Hard boil an egg and describe the differences between it
and a raw egg. Spin both types of egg on a table top and
describe what happens.
4. Keep a weather diary for ten days. Record morning and
evening temperatures at the same time each day and record
general weather conditions over the period of the day.
5. Rub a balloon on your hair in the dark to watch static
electricity. Can you make the balloon stick to anything after
it has been rubbed?
6. Ride a bike and describe how you make it work. Look at
the gears and figure out how some make pedalling easier.
7. Observe changes in the moon’s shape over a two week
period. Can you see any features on the surface of the
moon? Try looking through a zoom camera or some
binoculars.
8. Plant some seeds and observe their growth for two weeks.
9. Leave some old bread out till it has mould growing on it
and describe what you see happening.
10. Examine the parts of a flower. Describe their position,
colour and size.
11. Play a musical instrument. How does that instrument create
sound? How can you change the sound it makes?
12. Create heat in three different ways. Describe each process
and indicate which produces the most heat with the least
effort.
13. Bounce a beam of laser light from two or more mirrors.
Describe how the light behaves.


Assessment Task 1.1: This is first of five tasks that comprise Assessment
Event 4(1) Event 4: Assignments.
5 activities × 4 marks each = 20 marks
Task 1.2 All the activities listed in Task 1.1 can be classified into different
areas of science. Using the headings in the chart below, draw one or
more check marks for each activity in the correct column or
columns.
Earth
Act. No. Biology Physics Chemistry
Science
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Leg power can move very heavy loads on a tricycle.

Photo by David C. Banks used with permission

Part D History of Science
Introduction
Question: What do you know of the history of science in your
country?
The origins of science can be traced back to the earliest of man’s

writings. Clay tablets from Mesopotamia and Babylon dating to
2000 BCE clearly record observations of stars and planets, with
attempts to explain what was observed. The ancient Egyptians made
many advances in medicine and mathematics. They used geometry
to map scarce farmland and build the great stone structures that their
culture made famous; the pyramids.
But it was the ancient Greeks who made science, or “natural
philosophy”, as it was known, a priority for the development of their
civilisation. They were the first to use deductive reasoning to test
the theories they proposed. This is an essential part of the scientific
method that we will examine later. Philosophers such as Thales,
Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle laid the foundation for later thinking
in several fields of science.
Many scientific ideas familiar to us today were first suggested by the
Greeks. Aristarchus proposed that the Sun, not the Earth, was at the
centre of the solar system.
Eratosthenes concluded that the
Earth was spherical instead of flat. c
He also accurately calculated its a
circumference. Pythagoras derived
his famous theorem for right angle b
triangles: ! ! + ! ! = ! ! .
It is only with later technological advances that many of these ideas
could be proven to be scientific fact. For example, it was only when
good quality telescopes were constructued in the 16th century that
Galileo was able to prove that the sun was at the centre of the solar
system. This was a period when natural philosophy was making
rapid advances in knowledge. Scientists such as Galileo, Liebniz,
Newton and Vesalius, were leading a scientific revolution that
changed the way people thought about the world around them.
Activity: Can you match the scientist with the correct

scientific field?

Galileo Liebniz Newton Vesalius

Physics Anatomy Astronomy Mathematics

As an example of the changes in ideas of this time, we will examine

the behaviour of a simple pendulum. Until the 16th century,
Aristotle’s theory of pendulums held that the period (the length of
time for one swing back and forth), depended on the amplitude (the
distance the pendulum swung). We shall now test this idea, just as
Galileo did.
Definition A pendulum is a weight hanging from a fixed point by a string or

wire which, when pulled back and released, is free to swing in and
down due to gravity and then out and up because of its momentum,
following a perfect arc.
Fixed Point
Wire or String
Weight or Bob
Task 1.3 Scientific Experiment

Carry out the following experiments with a partner to see if you
agree with Galileo’s experimental results. In his experiments he
compared:
a) The period (the time taken for one complete vibration) of a short
pendulum with that of a longer pendulum.
b) The period of a light pendulum with that of a heavier pendulum.
c) The period of a pendulum with small amplitude with that of a
large amplitude.
Equipment In order to perform these experiments you will need:

• Some string
• Weights
• A tape measure
• A place to hang your weights, and
• A reliable watch, preferably with a stopwatch function.
Lead weights such as fishing sinkers can be used but it may be
easier, cheaper and more convenient to use paper cups filled or
partially filled with water or sand. The experiments described here
use this technique. See the photo on the next page:

The cup may be partially filled with water or sand using any
measuring device such as a small yoghurt container. One container
full will have half the mass of two containers of the same material.
The actual weights used don’t matter.
Experiment 1 Attach a weighted cup to the end of a piece of string and attach the
string to a bar or object so the pendulum can swing freely. The
string and cup should have a total length of 80 cm from the fixed
point.
In the picture below, which student has done this right, and which
has done it wrong? Circle your answer. Explain your reasons.
Right / Wrong
Right / Wrong
Photos by David C. Banks used with permission

Pull the cup back at a certain angle, such as 25 degrees, and then
release it. Measure the time it takes for the pendulum to complete
10 full swings. Record the time you measured, then repeat the
experiment for another 10 full swings.
Now, shorten the length of the pendulum to 40 cm from the fixed
point to the bottom of the cup. Repeat the experiment twice more,
pulling the pendulum back to the same angle as before and record
your measured times. Do not change the amount of material in the
cup between experiments.
Time for 10 swings Time for 10 swings

of 80 cm pendulum of 40 cm pendulum
Trial 1
Trial 2
Discuss these results with your partner. What can you conclude
from these results? Is the period of the shorter pendulum the same,
shorter, or longer?
Conclusion of Experiment 1:

Experiment 2 For this experiment, and for experiment 3, you should work with
another student, because you will need two pendulums. In this
experiment both pendulums should be the same length, but one
should contain twice the mass of water or sand compared to the other.
Pull both pendulums back the same distance from the resting point
and then release them at the same time. One person should count the
swings of the heavy pendulum, and the other person count the lighter
pendulum. After the heavy pendulum has swung 10 times, and
returned to the starting point, write down the number of swings taken
by the lighter pendulum.
Repeat this five times. Now calculate the average number of swings
of the lighter pendulum
Heavy pendulum Light pendulum (average

(average of 5 trials) of 5 trials)
Number of
10
swings
Experiment 3 For this experiment, you should work in pairs, and set up two
pendulums. This time, the pendulums should have the same length,
and contain the same mass of water or sand.
Pull one pendulum back about 10 degrees, and the other about twice
as much. Then release them at the same time. One person should
count the swings of the large amplitude pendulum, and the other
student should count those for the small amplitude pendulum. After
the large amplitude pendulum has swung 10 times and returned to
its starting point, write down the number of swings taken by the
small amplitude pendulum.
Repeat this five times. Now calculate the average number of
swings of the small amplitude pendulum.
Large amplitude Small amplitude

pendulum pendulum.
Number of swings 10

Experimental Conclusions
Write your conclusions in the table below:
What were you

What did you find out?
testing?
Experiment
1
Experiment
2
Experiment
3
Galileo found that the period was shorter for shorter pendulums, but
did not change with the mass or amplitude. Do your results agree?
Note that in each experiment above, only one thing has been
changed in each experiment comparing the two pendulums. This is
a common idea in science. In other words we ensure everything
stays the same between two situations, except for the one thing we
want to study.

Part E Science at Work - Charles Darwin
Discussion: What do you already know about Charles Darwin

and his ideas? Discuss this with a partner, and share your ideas
with the class.
Introduction British biologist Charles Darwin was born in 1809, and in 1859
published one of the most scientifically important books ever written,
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Darwin,
along with scientists such as Newton and Einstein, was one of the
world’s greatest scientists. His work gave rise to the Theory of
Evolution (although he originally used the term ‘natural selection’).
Natural Darwin travelled for five years on
Selection the Beagle, a British navy ship.
Its task was to map coastlines
around the world for navigational
charts. Although he had been
engaged as a geologist, Darwin
also made many observations of
wildlife during this journey. In
particular, his most important
observations centred on the
animals of the Galapagos Islands,
Location of the Galapagos Islands, off
off the coast of Ecuador. There the coast of South America. Source:
Darwin found 13 new species of R. Slater (2011) Available from:
http://www.sangay.com/ecuadorguide/
finch, a type of small bird. Each galapagos-islands/facts-about-
species had a distinct size, and ecuador-south-america-2011/
beak shape, specifically adapted [Accessed 13 June 2013]
to the food the birds ate. Some ate seeds, others insects, and this
reflected the food available on the individual islands the birds lived
on. Darwin speculated (a guess based on the knowledge he had) that
somehow the birds had changed to adapt to the environment they had
found themselves in. This meant that slightly different environments
had led to slightly different birds. From these and many other
observations, he formulated his theory as a way to explain the great
diversity of plants and animals we see in nature.
Natural selection is the process whereby the random mutations that
naturally occur when a species reproduces lead to some individuals
that are better at surviving in the environment than others. These
individuals make better use of food resources, or are more likely to
survive hazards such as predators. This means they would be much
more likely than others to survive and breed, and to pass their
advantages on to their children. After many generations of such
selective breeding, the species will have changed, or evolved, into a
new species more capable of surviving in its environment.

Darwin's finches, each adapted to the food available in its island environment,
all from a common ancestral species. (Available from:
http://www.briangwolff.com/Env%20Bio%20Class/Instructor_notes_4.html
[Accessed 30 May 2013]
This process is similar to the selective breeding that horse breeders

apply in attempting to breed good racehorses. They select the fastest
horses, and allow them to breed. They hope that these fast horses
will pass their strength and speed on to their children. Darwin
simply realised that this can happen naturally to species in the wild,
without artificial involvement.
Darwin also realised that if several different survival opportunities,
such as different food sources, were available in the environment,
different mutations would lead to the species splitting into groups of
individuals who would specialise at taking advantage of each food
source. After a long period of such specialisation, this one species
will have evolved into several different species, each one uniquely
adapted to surviving in their own particular ecological niche. In this
way, Evolution is the engine driving the great diversity of life we
find on Earth. Each species of plant and animal specialised to
survival in the environment it is a part of.
Darwin’s diverse finches, each with their own particular set of
adaptations to the individual islands of the Galapagos, are an ideal
example of this process at work. One species, the ground finch, has
a bill adapted for crushing the seeds it finds on the ground. Another
species, the cactus finch, has a long probing bill for feeding on the
insects in cactus plants. And yet another species, the tree finch, lives
in the trees and feeds on the insects found there.
In the 1840s Darwin wrote an article on his findings but did not
publish it until 1858, when his paper and another paper, by Alfred R.
Wallace on a similar idea, were first presented to the scientific
community. Darwin’s book, The Origin of Species, was published in
1859.
Darwin’s theory has since been greatly expanded, especially with the

work of modern genetics and DNA research making his work one of
the most important contributions to science, not just for what it
explains, but also for the stimulation of much more research into this
fascinating area of science.
Activity: The flow chart shows the process for how natural
selection works. Complete it with the numbered entries from
the text box.
Ancestral
species
Random
mutations
Change in Different
Environment food sources
1. Mutation has more success

with breeding.
2. Mutation is better able to

exploit a new food source.
3. Mutation becomes dominant

in the population.
4. Mutation is better able to

survive in the environment.
New
species

Independent In this unit we have looked at some of the history of science and
Study also the way that science influences daily life. You have been
introduced to two famous scientists from the past, Galileo and
Darwin, but there are many more famous scientists. Perhaps you
know a famous scientist who comes from your country?
Activity:
Choose a famous scientist. This could be an historical figure or a
more recent Nobel Prize winner. Using books or the Internet, read
about that scientist and then write a 150 to 200 word summary
outlining his/her major achievements.
(Note: Generally a ‘word’ is considered to be 4 to 5 letters long
with 10 words fitting on an average line. Therefore a 150 ‘word’
assignment should be 15 type-written lines long. It may be longer
but usually not shorter than the stated limit.)
Extension Presentations
activity
Work in small groups of 4-5 students and each give a two minute
presentation on your independent study topic to your group.
Assessment Scientific Investigation and Report

Event 1
Your teacher will provide you with the details of this assessment
event.

Unit 2: The Scientific Method

Part B What Is The Scientific Method?
Part C Skills Needed by Modern Scientists
Part D What Do You Know?
Part E Unit Review
Overview Science gives us ways of asking and answering questions about our
universe. Good science involves asking why and how things happen. It
is not a set of facts. Choosing what to wear on a given day involves
making scientific choices. Is the weather going to be warm or cold? Is it
going to rain? How long will I be outside? Based on your answers to
these and other questions, you decide which clothes to wear. This is
similar to what we call the scientific method.

• conduct a basic scientific activity, demonstrating knowledge
and application of the scientific method.
• design and carry out a simple scientific investigation.

Part B What is the Scientific Method?
Introduction The Scientific Method is a process modern scientists follow in order

to solve a problem or answer a question. It involves a series of steps
that are followed in order to ensure that the solution to the problem or
the answer to the question is a valid one, based on evidence and logic
instead of personal feelings or values.
Around the year 350 BCE, Aristotle (384 to 322 BCE), one of the
greatest and most respected Greek philosophers, attempted to explain
the existence of matter by proposing that everything was a
combination of four essential elements: air, fire, earth and water. The
qualities of the elements were hot, cold, wet, and dry. Fire was seen
as ideal mixture of hotness and dryness.
Aristotle's Elements
Aristotle 2009, Available from:

http://www.oocities.org/capecanaveral/7997/aristot.htm [Accessed 4 April
2013]
Today, we know that this theory is silly, but Aristotle was no fool, so
how did he reach such an incorrect conclusion?
Activity: How do you think Aristotle came up with this

theory? Work with a partner and brainstorm ideas on why he
thought this theory would work.
His problem was that he didn’t test his ideas with experiments. He
simply conceived (came up with) an idea, thought it through, and told
everyone else what he thought. Because he was so highly respected,
everybody believed him. This meant that his ‘theory’ on the nature of
matter was accepted for hundreds of years.
Good science is not just based on sound theories and ideas, but the
testing of those theories and ideas to prove their validity. When

Albert Einstein came up with his theories of Relativity in the early

20th century, it was only by the careful comparison of his theory with
observation, along with experimental testing, that it became one of
the most important ideas in modern Physics.
Today, when someone makes a statement or a claim, it is quite
common to hear a response such as “Oh yeah, prove it!” Finding
proof is what the Scientific Method is all about.

Elements of the Scientific Method
The Question:
Every scientific investigation starts with a question to be answered,

or an observation to be explained. Often scientists are interested in
why or how something happens. They want to understand the cause
of what is observed, rather than just the effect that they see. The
cause is often much more complex and interesting than the question
might suggest. A scientist might look up at the sky and ask “Why is
the sky blue?”. A complete answer to this question requires
remarkably deep understanding of the physics of light.
The Theory:
All scientists suggest theories that could answer the question and help
explain the observation. The theory should agree with what is
already known about the subject. It should include other theories that
have already been tested and accepted by the scientific community.
Note that to be accepted as scientific, a theory must be falsifiable. In

other words, it should be possible for the theory to be proven wrong
in some way through experiment.
Experiment and Observation:
Any theory or hypothesis that aims to answer the question must be

tested to see if it does so correctly. This is done either by an
experiment that is carefully designed to examine only the
phenomenon in question (eliminating all other outside influence), or
by repeated observations of the phenomenon.
Analysis and Reporting:
The experimenter must carefully analyse the results of the

experiment, and discuss their relevance to the hypothesis being
tested. Are the results consistent with the theory? Or do the results
disprove the theory? A scientific report should then be written,
detailing everything about the experiment; from:
• how it was done (the method), through
• what was observed (the results), to
• its implications for the theory (the discussion).
There are two important reasons for this:
1. Repeatability: Another scientist should be able to read the

report, follow all the instructions for performing the same
experiment, and get the same results. This is the main reason
scientific reports require details of the experimental method.
Experimental results should be the same regardless of who does
the experiment, and it is often important to check that this is
true.

2. Peer review: As a scientist, there is no teacher around to

mark your work and say whether or not it is correct! Instead,
scientists rely on each other to check and verify their work.
This is called Peer Review, and it is a vital part of the scientific
process. Work that has not been peer-reviewed should not be
accepted as a valid contribution to science. When you are
looking for sources of information for your studies, you should
always seek out peer-reviewed sources, if they are available –
you will be able to trust that the information they contain is
valid.
Steps in the Scientific Method
Observations of a Phenomenon,
Behaviour or Event.
Activity 1: Complete the flow chart
by placing these steps in the correct
box:
Accept the theory as scientific fact

(although later experiments may prove
it to be incomplete in explaining other
observations).
Create a Theory or Hypothesis
that could answer the question. Design and perform an experiment that
tests the Theory.
Analyse the experimental results: Do

they agree with the theory?
Identify a question to be answered.
No
Activity 2: Look again at the

description of Charles Darwin’s
work on evolution in Unit 1, Part E.
Yes
Can you identify the steps in the
scientific process that Darwin used
in his work?

Part C Skills Needed by Modern Scientists
Activity: What do you think are some of the characteristics of a good scientist? Discuss
this with a partner and write down your ideas. Be prepared to explain why your choices
are important for a scientist.
keeps accurate is curious

records
A Good Scientist…
is well educated
and trained
Observing One of the most important skills required in science is that of

observing. In other words, watching what is happening. It is often in
the act of observing, especially in observing
the small details that others have
overlooked, that scientific insight is made.
It was only after carefully noting the subtle
differences between the various species of
finch he had discovered in the Galapagos
Islands that Charles Darwin was able to
fully describe his ideas on natural selection.
Observation is the ability to see and describe what is actually there,
without making judgements or reaching conclusions. When a doctor
has a patient complaining of a sore stomach, she doesn’t pull out a
scalpel and cut the patient open to see what the problem is. She asks a
series of questions, such as: “How long has the pain been there? Is it
very intense and unbearable? Where exactly is the pain located? Has
the patient recently eaten anything? Has the patient recently been
struck by anything?”. It is only after careful and complete observation
of everything that has happened to her patient that she can start to
develop ideas for a solution.

Making Once we have a question to be examined

Hypotheses scientifically, the next step is to form a
hypothesis that could answer it. Let’s
continue the example of the doctor above.
After finding out as much information from
the patient as she can, she can now use her
education and experience to formulate a list of
hypotheses (the plural form of the word
hypothesis) or potential solutions to the
patient’s problem. She then selects what she feels is the most likely
cause of the problem and performs a simple experiment to test this
hypothesis. Pushing on the location of the pain and quickly releasing
the pressure may cause the patient extreme discomfort. If that is the
case, the patient may have appendicitis and surgery may be necessary.
If the patient doesn’t react to the pressure, then this hypothesis has
failed, and the doctor will try another. Perhaps she will perform
another simple test. Or she may seek further information and order
blood tests or an ultrasound.
The ability to form a series of hypotheses is important because the
first one is not always the correct one, and the obvious answer is not
always the best one to test first. If the doctor decides that the patient
has a bleeding ulcer and she orders surgery, that may be very
expensive as well as dangerous for the patient. Also, if the doctor is
wrong, she may face an expensive malpractice lawsuit as well as
disciplinary action from her medical association. What should she
do?
Experiments An important part of science is the testing of hypotheses. Theories are

only valid if they can correctly predict the outcome of real life
experiments.
A theory will often suggest what is causing the effect seen in
observations. For example: that gravity causes objects to fall, or
sunlight causes plants to grow. To clearly test such a hypothesis, the
experimenter must carefully control the conditions of the experiment,
so that only the cause under consideration is allowed to influence the
effect. No other factor can interfere and possibly confuse the
conclusions of the experiment.
For example, a man may wish to discover the best conditions for
growing bean plants in his garden. What factors should he consider?
Brainstorm: What could influence the growth of bean plants in a

garden? Write down as many ideas as you can:

Perhaps soil type, soil temperature, moisture content, type of bean

seeds and location (amount of sun or shade) are the most important.
How will he determine which set of conditions is the best? Did you
brainstorm some of these ideas?
He needs to design a series of experiments to test each factor
separately. He can’t test two at a time because then he won’t know
which one is causing the observed changes, or perhaps one factor will
cancel out the other and no change will occur.
In a properly designed experiment, he will have two sets of seeds

growing at the same time. He will use the same number of seeds, the
same type of seeds, planted at the same time in the same kind of soil,
keep them at the same temperature and give them the same amount
of water but he might keep one set in the shade and the other in a
sunny location. The location is called the ‘variable’ factor while the
number and type of seeds, planting time, type of soil, temperature,
and amount of water are called ‘controlled’ factors. If, after a
certain period of time, one set of bean plants shows a significant
difference in the amount of growth they experience, then it is safe to
conclude that the location is a significant factor. To be doubly sure,
the experiment should be repeated before any final conclusions are
reached.
Controlled Match the term with the definition: Controlled factors are those
and Variable which are kept the same throughout the course of an experiment.
Factors Variable factors are allowed to change, one at a time, to see what
impact they have on the experimental results.
Discussion: In pairs, discuss the following questions:

• How would you design an experiment to test the effect of
temperature on the bean plants? Water amount?
• Are there any factors not mentioned above that could
influence the growth of the bean plants? How could these
affect the conclusions drawn from the experiments?

Organising Let’s go back to the bean experiment. How would the gardener
and know which plants were growing better? What would you measure
Analysing that would show which plants were growing ‘better’?
Data
Brainstorm: How could you measure plant growth?
•
•
No matter which of these is chosen, the gardener will also have to

record measurements of all the factors, both controlled and variable,
that could influence the growth of the beans. What other
measurements would you make?
Brainstorm: What other factors would you measure in this

experiment?
•
•
All of this data then needs to be analysed. How should the gardener
compare the growth of his beans between different values of the
variable factor? A graph is a good choice because it shows the
necessary information in a way that is easy to understand. An ability
to make good graphs or charts is an important skill in scientific
analysis.
Discussion: Discuss with a partner the following questions:
1. What kind of graphs of charts would be most useful in the

analysis of this experiment?
2. Why should you take measurements of the controlled variables

in a scientific experiment?
Making Finally, we should think about the conclusions we can make from
Conclusions the experimental results. What does the data tell us about the theory
or hypothesis we started with? Scientists tend to be very cautious in
making conclusions, because it is often very difficult to prove with
certainty that a theory is correct. Theories often contain very
general statements, making it hard for experimentalists to measure
every individual case.

Imagine if our hypothesis was the statement “All sheep in Australia

are white”, and our experiment was to travel to Australia to look at
many sheep. Unfortunately, finding that the sheep we observed
were all white would not conclusively prove the theory. Our
experimental result would be consistent (agree) with the theory, but
it would still be possible that there was a black sheep somewhere in
Australia that we had not found…
Note! It is relatively easy to disprove our hypothesis; all we need to

do is find one black sheep in Australia. A single counterexample is
enough to show that a theory or hypothesis is incorrect, or needs to
be changed in some way.
A single counterexample is enough to disprove a general theory. Available

from: http://borderlessnewsandviews.com/2012/11/black-sheep/ [Accessed 31
May 2013].
Forming a What is a theory? Scientists go to great efforts to understand how

Theory nature works, and the rules that govern how nature works.
A scientific theory is a consistent set of principles and ideas that
together can successfully predict observations made in nature, and
the results of experiments.
Good theories are derived from simple principles, explain a wide
variety of phenomena, and have been continually tested by
experiments to show their validity. Where a theory has been shown
to be unable to correctly explain the outcome of an experiment, it is
often then replaced by a better theory that explains the discrepancy,
and is more widely applicable. In this way scientists continually
advance knowledge. They refine and improve the theories we have
to explain how the universe works.

For example, Sir Isaac Newton

formulated the ‘Theory of Universal
Gravitation’ after completing his
studies of the natural tendency of
bodies of matter to attract each other.
In particular, Newton’s theory
provided a consistent explanation for
the movement of the planets in the
solar system.
Sir Isaac Newton
1642 – 1727. (Struik D. J. Much later, Albert Einstein built his
(1948) A Concise History of theory of General Relativity as a more
Mathematics, Dover)
sophisticated theory of gravity, able to
predict the behaviour of exotic astronomical objects such as black
holes, which Newton’s classical theory
could not. Although it is
mathematically complicated to use,
Einstein’s theory can be derived from a
single physical principle – that the
speed of light in a vacuum is constant
regardless of the velocity of the
observer. Since Einstein published this
theory in 1916, General Relativity has
been continually tested for its ability to
predict gravitational behaviour, and Albert Einstein
has been shown to be correct every 1879 – 1955. (Hoppe E. O.
(1921) Available from:
time. After nearly a century, it remains http://images.google.com/ho
the accepted theory of universal sted/life/9cb610d782729713.
gravitation in physics. html [Accessed 13 June
2013])
Extension activity: See if you can perform the experiments

and then form a theory for the gardener who wants to grow the
best beans. Your theory should include the factors:
• soil temperature
• soil type
• moisture content
• sunlight amount.

Other gardeners could use this theory to grow high yield bean
crops of their own without having to repeat all of your
experiments.

Part D What Do You Know?

Task 2.2 A Controlled Experiment
A student noticed that her mother always used to empty the teapot into
her vegetable garden. She asked her mother why she did this. Her
mother told her that it made her vegetables grow taller. The student
was not sure if this could be right so she set up an experiment to
investigate.
She set up two identical clay pots of the same size and filled them with
the same type of potting mix (soil). She planted ten seedlings in each
pot. Each pot received the same amount of sunlight each day. Each pot
was given 20 ml of water every day. To the second pot, the
experimental group, she added a teaspoon of used tea leaves every
day. After two weeks the plants in the pot with the tea leaves seemed
much healthier and taller than the plants in the pot with no tea leaves.
In pairs, answer the following questions:
1. What was the hypothesis being tested?
2. List the controlled factors in the experiment.
3. What was observed in this experiment?
4. Did the experiment support the hypothesis?
5. What conclusions could you draw from this experiment?

Part E Unit Review
Independent In this unit you have examined the scientific method. The following
Study task provides you with an opportunity to carry out a simple
experiment.
1. Find two identical jars or cans.
2. Wrap the curved surface of one container in a sheet of dull black
paper and tape it together at the ends. Wrap the other container
in a sheet of aluminium foil (shiniest side outwards) and tape it
together at the ends.
3. Fill the containers with equal amounts of cold water.
4. Place a thermometer in each container and record the initial
temperatures. If you have only one thermometer, be sure to give
it time to adjust before taking a reading.
5. Place both containers side by side, but not touching, an equal
distance from a lamp (50 cm) or a radiant heater (1 m) and leave
for 30 minutes.
6. Now record the temperature of each container.
Questions:
1. What were the controlled and variable factors in this
experiment?
2. What was observed (measured) in this experiment?
3. What hypothesis were you testing?
4. What was the outcome of the experiment?
5. Did this support the hypothesis?
6. How could you improve this experiment?
7. What predictions can you make as a result of this

experiment?

Unit 3: The Language of Science

Part B Scientific Communication
Part C Scientific Units
Part D Scientific Notation
Part E What do You Know?
Overview This unit introduces scientific communication. It considers how

scientists communicate, lists some scientific organisations, and finally
provides a list of common units often used in science. It builds on the
information provided in the previous unit.

• understand and correctly use scientific language, units and
scientific notation.
• write a report based on the results of a scientific investigation.
• use the glossary in the Appendix of this manual or the Internet
sites provided at the beginning of Unit 4.

Part B Scientific Communication
Before You
Begin Activity: Go outside and find a tree. It doesn’t have to be a
special tree, just one that is handy for observation. Think about
how you would describe this tree to a distant friend, so he/she
could visualise it from your description, and be able to
distinguish it from any other trees. Write notes on your
description here:
A simple description might be that it has rough brown bark, lots of

branches, and large green leaves. This description doesn’t help
distinguish it from many other trees. There are many different
species of tree around the world that would fit this description. You
might add some adjectives such as sharp-edged, rough, dark brown
bark, or large oval-shaped, green leaves with strong veins showing
on them. Your friend might now have a better idea of what the tree
looked like, but there is even more information you could supply.
There are many things about the tree that you could measure. You
could state that the tree was approximately 12 m tall, that the
diameter of the trunk at ground level was 289 cm, that the first
branches started at 2.4 m and that generally the branches were
angled at 32° to the trunk. Further detail could be provided from
measurements of the leaves; for example, their size, number and
area. You could further improve your description by including
photos of the tree and leaf structure. You could go to a microscopic
level and examine the cells and molecules of the tree. You could
even go further and conduct a DNA analysis of it.
Activity: Now make as many measurements of the tree as you

can, and describe it using your measurements:

There are still other ways of describing the tree. For example, if you
wanted to describe it for its use as a source of timber you could
estimate how many metres of timber were in the tree, and even
consider the economic value of the tree.
Discussion question: What other ways can you think of for

describing your tree? Discuss this with a partner.
This is an example of the difficulties scientists face when describing

their world; there are different audiences, different purposes, and
different terms. Things must be described precisely, or
misunderstandings can happen. This makes the language of science
quite difficult. Scientific communication poses problems because
natural systems are complex; not only in design, but also in how
they work. These difficulties, combined with the need for accuracy
and precision, are part of the problem of good scientific
communication.
Language Remember that complex

Focus vocabulary is part of the learning
necessary to do science. Doctors
have to be able to describe
thousands of different bones,
nerves, muscles, and other parts
of the human anatomy.
Geologists must learn hundreds
of rock, mineral and fossil types.
Knowing scientific language
enables better communication.
Scientific Reports
One of the most frequent types of scientific writing you will find
and use is the scientific report. Scientific reports are designed to
guide the reader through the scientific process the writers went
through in their study, so it should mirror the scientific process we
described in Unit 2. It is important to remember the principle of
repeatability in writing a scientific report. The reader should be
able to find all the information needed to repeat your work and get
the same results. In GAC, you should follow the guidelines set out
below:

Sections of a Scientific Report
1. Abstract
The abstract is a brief summary of the report, enabling the reader
to judge its content without having to read it in full. So as well as
introducing the study, the abstract should note the methods,
results, and major conclusions of the work.
2. Introduction
The report should begin with an explanation of why this work
was undertaken. The introduction should state the question that
the study wants to answer (this is known as a thesis statement),
and include relevant background information, such as previous
scientific studies on the subject. A review of the literature on the
subject is often included in this section.
3. Methods
In order for readers to check this work by repeating it, it is
necessary for them to know exactly how it was done. This
section should explain precisely the procedures followed, and the
equipment and materials used. This includes the methods used to
analyse the data that resulted. Where a technique is a common
one, there is no need for long explanations. A curious reader
could easily find it in a textbook or other source.
4. Results
Here you present a synthesis of your data and other information.
This section should be factual and so avoid generalisations and
discussion. It should be limited to answers to the questions posed
in the objectives of the work. Generally, the results should be
summarised in a tabular form, but depending on the exercise, all
sorts of things may be included - data, observations, tables, lists,
diagrams, maps, photos, etc. The text of this section should
contain a brief description of results pointing out the main trends,
irregularities, and other details not immediately obvious from the
tables, etc. The text should not explain or interpret the results as
that takes place in the next section. Don’t present massive lists of
raw or processed data. If it is really necessary to include this, put
it in an appendix.

5. Discussion (Interpretation)
Here you discuss and interpret the results as they relate to the
objectives. What do the results tell you about the question you
sought to answer? Implications and personal views may be
included. Your results may be compared with previous work.
Graphs are usually included in the discussion section because
they should show changes or differences, and can help interpret
the results. Interpretation of the results is crucial here. It is at this
point that you should attempt to explain why you got these
results. It is also important to make an assessment of the
reliability and potential usefulness of your work (if any).
In some publications the results and discussion are often included
in the one section, especially if the discussion is brief and
straight-forward.
6. Conclusions
You should make a concluding comment for a report indicating
what you have learned as a result of doing the assigned work.
7. References
All material referred to in the rest of the report must be
mentioned here using the GAC style found in the GAC
Referencing Guide. It is important to acknowledge the work of
others that has helped you complete this work.
8. Appendices
Include details of methods that may be unfamiliar to the reader,
relevant data and analyses of data which are too detailed for the
rest of the report.
Adapted from Cullen (2002a)
You should refer to your Academic Writing Manual when writing a

scientific report. This has lots of useful ideas to help you.
Activity: Can a scientific work be repeatable if the report leaves out

any of these sections? Use your Academic Writing Manual to look
at what each of these sections does in a scientific report. Why is it
important to include it?
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions

Part C Scientific Units
Measures All scientific study requires us to measure something. Measuring

things tells us when they change as the result of some variable factor.
This can help us find out how and why that change happens.
Activity: Pick up a book close to you, and think about all the
different ways you could measure that book that would
distinguish it from other books. Write down as many as you can.
Compare your list with a partner.
Notice that different measures will answer different questions, and

will affect how we analyse the data from our research. Some of your
measures will be numbers, and some may not.
Qualitative The study of science involves making and recording observations, all
and of which are items of information or data. This information can be
Quantitative qualitative, which is descriptive in nature, or quantitative, which
data
always consists of a number and a unit of measurement.
Qualitative observations involve a description of the characteristics
of matter or the changes it undergoes. For example, observing a gas
being given off from an experiment or a colour change in an
experiment from pink to colourless are qualitative observations.
Quantitative observations involve the numerical measurement of an
item or property, and may require specialised equipment. In the gas
example, if you were able to collect all the gas given off and calculate
the volume of gas generated, you would have quantitative
information.
Question: Which of the measures of your book you wrote down

above are qualitative, and which are quantitative?
Quantitative information always consists of a numerical value

followed by a unit. For example, if 5.4 litres of oxygen gas has been
generated, then the number is 5.4, and the unit is litres (L). It is
important to include the unit. A water sample of 5 litres is quite
different from a water sample of 5 millilitres!
Adapted from Cullen (2002b).

System SI
The current International System of Units used in science is known
as SI for short. This consists of seven base units, from which all other
units can be derived.
Base Units Physical Quantity Base Unit Symbol
length metre m
time second s
mass kilogram kg
electric current ampere A
temperature kelvin K
luminous intensity candela cd
amount of substance mole mol
You are probably aware of the first three of these; length, time and
mass. Others may be less familiar to you, as they are not commonly
used except by scientists. In the case of temperature, more common
units are often used, even though they are not part of the SI unit
system. For example, most people measure temperature in degrees
Celsius, while in some parts of the world such as the United States
the old measure of Fahrenheit is still used.
Kelvin The Kelvin measure represents an absolute measure of temperature.

Temperature Zero on the Kelvin scale is the temperature at which all thermal
motion of the atoms and molecules in a substance stops. In other
words it contains no heat at all. For this reason 0 K is known as
absolute zero. It is not
possible to achieve a
temperature colder than this.
This is an incredibly cold
temperature. Zero Kelvin is
equivalent to -273.15 °C, which
is why this scale is not in
everyday usage. The Kelvin A small container of liquid Helium,
measure is very useful in which condenses at only a few degrees
above absolute zero. Leitner A. (1963)
science however, particularly in Liquid Helium, Superfluid.
the study of Chemical
thermodynamics and Physics where heat energy is part of the system
being studied.

Temperature To convert between degrees Celsius, Fahrenheit and Kelvin you can
Conversions use the following:
9
!! = ×! + 32
5 !
5
!! = × !! − 32
9
!! = !! + 273.15
TF = temperature in degrees Fahrenheit

TC = temperature in degrees Celsius
TK = temperature in Kelvin
The standard for body temperature is 98.6°F. What is this

temperature in Fahrenheit? What is it in Kelvin?
Discussion question: Why don’t we use Kelvin temperatures

for weather reporting, body temperatures and cooking recipes?
Compound Compound SI units are combinations of the Base units shown

Units above. We could have said that a speed of 50 m/s is 50 ‘zips’ but no
one ever made up a new name for this quantity so we simply refer to
the units which were used to calculate them. The common ones are
listed below.
Physical Quantity Unit Name Symbol
area square metre m2

volume cubic metre m3
speed, velocity metre per second m/s
acceleration metre per second squared m/s2
density kilogram per cubic metre kg/m3
work newton metre Nm
electric field strength volt per metre V/m
specific heat capacity joule per kilogram kelvin J/kg K

Derived Many compound units in common use have been renamed, often to
Units honour a famous scientist who studied the quantity the unit measures.
These are called derived units. For example, frequency is a measure
of the number of cycles per second in a periodic system. One cycle
per second is called 1 Hertz. Other common derived units are listed
below.
Physical Quantity Unit Name Compound Symbol

Unit
frequency hertz s-1 Hz

force, weight newton kg m2 s-1 N
work, energy, joule Nm J
-2
pressure, stress pascal Nm Pa
power watt kg m2 s-3 W
electric charge coulomb As C
electrical potential volt J A-1 s-1 V
electrical resistance, ohm J s-1 A-2 Ω
Research Question: What can you find out about the scientists
whose names have been used in these units?

Part D Scientific Notation
Before You During this unit you will find it useful to have a scientific calculator.
Begin
Scientific Many of the measurements used in sciences can be very large or very
Notation small. For instance, in 1.00 g of hydrogen there are (approximately):
602 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 hydrogen atoms
Note: In SI, spaces are used to separate groups of three numbers, not
commas.
So each hydrogen atom has a mass of:
0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 66 g
These numbers are cumbersome to write, and it is very easy to make
mistakes when reading them or using them in mathematical
calculations. To make them easier to deal with we use the system of
scientific notation (sometimes known as exponential notation). This
makes use of the idea that each decimal place represents a factor of
10 in a number. In this system, all numbers can be expressed in the
form:
N × 10n
Where N is a number between 1 and 9.999… and n is an integer
exponent.
Because 1000 = 10 × 10 × 10 = 103, we can write:
4200 = 4.2 × 1000 = 4.2 × 103

All numbers can be represented this way, but generally only numbers
larger than 9999 or smaller than 0.001 are written in scientific
notation.
Some examples are:
205 000 = 2.05 × 104 and 4 798 000 = 4.798 × 106

These are numbers in which the exponent is positive. We can also
represent numbers smaller than 1 using the same convention. In this
case the exponent will be negative. For example, to convert 0.00042
to scientific notation we have to move the decimal point four places
to the right to get 4.2 (a number between 1 and 9.999). Moving the
decimal place to the right requires an exponent of -4 (meaning the
decimal point must be moved back four places to the left in order to
return it to its original location).
Therefore 0.00042 in scientific notation becomes 4.2 × 10-4

Using this idea, we can now write very large or very small numbers
in a much simpler form.
In 1.00 gram of hydrogen there are
602 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 atoms = 6.02 × 1023 atoms
The mass of a hydrogen atom
0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 66 g = 1.66 × 10-27 g
Note: In each case, N is between 1 and 9.999. It is incorrect
scientific notation to write 0.166 × 10-26 or 16.6 × 10-28
Another important thing to notice is that all the zeros that were acting
as place keepers for the decimal point are no longer needed, making
the number much easier to read.
Summary To convert to scientific notation, move the decimal place to the left
for numbers > 9999 or to the right for numbers < 0.00100 to produce
a number somewhere between 1.00 and 9.999 then add a power of ten
which indicates how many positions you must move the decimal
point to return it to its original position.
Example 1 Convert 10,500 to scientific notation.
Answer: 10,500 = 1.05 × 104
Example 2 Convert 0.0000347 to scientific notation.
Answer: 0.0000347 = 3.47 × 10-5
To convert from scientific notation back to decimal notation a

reversal of these procedures is required.
A positive exponent means 'move the decimal point to the right',
making the value of N larger. Note that a positive exponent does not
require a positive sign. It is understood to be there.
A negative exponent means 'move the decimal point to the left',

making the value of N smaller.
For 9.43 × 105 the exponent is positive so we move the decimal point
to the right five places. Note that we must also add zeros to show
where the decimal point is actually located.
Therefore 9.43 × 105 is actually 9.43 × 100 000 or 943 000.

Numbers written in scientific notation with negative exponents must

to have the decimal point moved to the left when converting back to
decimal notation, so
9.43 × 10–5 = 0.000 094 3

Again, zeros must be added to keep track of the decimal point. Also,
all decimal fractions must be written with one zero to the left of the
decimal point as a clear signal to the reader that a fraction follows.
Note that it is incorrect to write .000 094 3
Prefixes As a shortcut for using scientific notation with units, scientists often
use prefixes with the unit to represent certain powers of 10. This
makes it easier to read some measurements, particularly when many
of them use the same power. For example, 106 is denoted by the
prefix mega, so 2.4×106 Hz would be 2.4 MHz (megahertz). A table
of the commonly used prefixes is below:
English Power of 10 Unit Prefix

Prefix
tera- 1012 T
giga- 109 G
6
mega- 10 M
kilo- 103 k
deci- 10-1 d
-2
centi 10 c
milli- 10-3 m
-6
micro- 10 µ
-9
nano- 10 n
-12
pico- 10 p
A common use of these prefixes is in describing the memory in

electronic devices such as computers. A Byte is a basic unit of
computer information, so a gigabyte (GB) is 109 bytes.
Research question: In computer memory there is a small

difference between GB and GiB as a measure of storage
capacity (100 GB = 93 GiB). What is this difference, and why?

Exponents Rules for the use of Exponents in Multiplication and Division.

and Math
Operations
a) Multiplication
Generally 10x × 10y = 10x + y
Example 1
3.500 × 109 × 2.239 × 10-4 = 7.837 × 109+(-4)
= 7.837 × 105
Example 2
9.98 × 10-9 × 8.53 × 105 = 85.1 × 10-9+5
= 85.1 × 10-4
= 8.51 × 10-3
b) Division
!"!
Generally = 10x - y
!"!
!.!"×!"! 3.15
Example 1 = × 108-4
!.!"×!"! 2.19
= 1.438 × 104
= 1.44 × 104
!.!"×!"!
Example 2 = 0.2246 × 103-8
!.!!"×!"!
= 0.2246 × 10-5
= 2.25 × 10-6

Task 3.1 Practice
1. Convert each of the following to scientific notation:
a) 0.00007994 c) 190,000
b) 44,560,000 d) 0.00000055
2. Convert each of the following back to standard form.
a) 3.966 × 107
b) 8.73 × 1011
c) 5.286 × 10-6
d) 2.9 × 10-8
3. Each of the following is written incorrectly. Rewrite them the

way they should be written.
a) 0.845 × 106
b) .9867 × 10-7
c) 1.7 × 101
d) 28.556 × 10-5
4. Perform each of the following multiplication operations,

reporting your answer in scientific notation.
a) 7.994 × 10-8 × 4.479 × 105 =
b) 9.30 × 10-12 × 4.893 × 10-8 =
c) 6.58 × 10-15 × 7.56 × 109 =
5. Perform each of the following division operations, reporting your

answer in scientific notation.
!.!!"×!"!!
a) =
!.!"#×!"!
!.!×!"!!"
b) =
!.!"#×!"!!

Part E What Do You Know?
Task 3.2 1. There is a mistake in each of the following sentences. The

mistakes include wrong units, incorrect words, and mistakes in
calculations. Find the five errors and correct them.
a) Oil consumption in the United States will increase to a very
large 4.0 × 10–9 barrels per year by the year 2020.
b) The density of diamond is 3.51kg/m2.
c) The average length of a football field is 100 cm.
d) Geologists will frequently measure the DNA of living animals
as a means of classifying them.
e) When writing 333 000 in scientific notation we write 33.3 ×

104.
2. In the United States the temperature on a summer day might be

88°F. What would this temperature be:
a) In Celsius?
b) In Kelvin?
3. Give three examples of scientific fields that require specialised

vocabulary.
4. Identify two units of measurement you might find in a grocery

store or supermarket and indicate what type of food would be
sold using these quantities.
5. Write the following numbers in scientific notation:

a) 16 000 d) 43 070
b) 9876.4 e) 0.005 49
c) 0.000 001 0 f) 0.00075

Unit 4: Principles of Science

Part B Biology
Part C Chemistry
Part D Physics
Part E Earth Sciences
Part A Introduction
Overview This unit introduces the various branches of science.

Because science involves such a vast amount of knowledge it will help
if you have an understanding of some of the most common subject
areas within science. It is also important to remember that many of
these different branches of science overlap.
• understand and apply a broad range of basic scientific concepts
and terminology
• understand and apply scientific concepts and terminology in
biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science and earth
sciences.
Before In this unit you will be introduced to new scientific terminology. If you
You are unsure of any new scientific word, then you could look at a good
Begin learner’s dictionary. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary is a good
reference (http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com). Also, there are
numerous Internet sites that provide definitions of scientific terms. For
example, http://science.yourdictionary.com/ is a site that allows you to
type in scientific words and it provides definitions and explanations of
these words.

Part B Biology
Introduction
Brainstorm: What topics do you think would be covered in a
complete Biology course? Work with a partner and write down
as many as you can.
Biology is the science of life and of living organisms, including their

structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution. It
includes botany (the study of plants) and zoology (the study of
animals) and all their subdivisions.
Biology recognises a hierarchy in the structures that govern living
systems, from the very small to the very large. The cell forms the
smallest building block of living matter. Different cells can perform
different functions in a living organism. However there are some
characteristics common to all living cells. Within the cell nucleus is
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) which is the chemical structure
containing all the information essential to building and maintaining
the organism. It is responsible for passing on all genetically-
determined characteristics in an organism, from parents to their
offspring. Groups of cells form tissues and organs, and an
independently functioning collection of cells, tissues, and organs, is
an organism. Groups of organisms with the same general
characteristics that can breed and produce offspring are a species. A
local group of individuals of the same species is a population. And a
collection of local populations of different species makes up a
community. At the top of the hierarchy is the ecosystem, which
includes all organisms in a given area (biotic factors) plus the non-
living (abiotic factors) such as soil, rocks and air that interact with
the living organisms.

Can you match the field of biology on the left with the definition on
Task 4.1
the right?
Cellular Zoology is the branch of biology which studies the animal kingdom,
1. Biology including animal structure and function. In this section we will be
looking at endangered species.
Evolution is the result of genetic changes in a species or population
2. Genetics
over a period of time that give a species a survival advantage. In this
section we will be looking at the process of adaptation.
Cellular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the structure
3. Botany
and function of the cell. In this section we will be looking at the
basic structure of the cell.
Genetics is the study of the inheritance of characteristics and usually

4. Zoology refers to cellular reproduction and the molecular biology of the gene.
It includes the study of DNA, the cell information that organisms
inherit from their parents.
Botany includes plant structure, reproduction and development, plant
Evolution nutrition and plant control systems. In this section we will be looking
5.
at photosynthesis.

1. Cellular Biology
Cell The cell is the basic structural unit of living matter. It is a living
structure entity, as the description below makes clear:
‘Cells are the smallest units of life and are considered living
because they take in nutrients, secrete wastes, grow, are
responsive to the environment, and reproduce themselves.’
(Aubusson et al 1996, p.2)
A cell contains a nucleus, which is the control centre of the cell. It
houses the DNA which encodes all the information needed for the
cell to operate. This is separated by a membrane from the rest of the
cell, whose components float in the cytoplasm. Within the
cytoplasm are mitochondria (singular: mitochondrion), the oblong-
shaped power houses which produce energy for the cell, and
lysosomes, which are sac-like compartments inside a cell containing
enzymes that break down cellular waste materials.
Task 4.2 Label the following diagram of an animal cell showing the parts
mentioned below.
1. nucleus 5. lysosome
2. nuclear membrane 6. vacuole
3. cell membrane 7. mitochondrion
4. cytoplasm
Available from: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/animals/cell/

[Accessed 31 May 2013]
Check your answers with a partner.

Cell division is the process by which a cell reproduces. The cell

duplicates (copies) its genetic material, and then splits to form two
functioning cells. This is the fundamental (basic) process for the
growth of all complex organisms (that have more than one cell).
A microscopic picture of a cell dividing.

The dark strands are the chromosomes
separating into new cell nuclei. Available
from:
http://biology.about.com/library/blmitosis.h
tm [Accessed 3 June 2013]
Enzymes are proteins created within the cell that catalyse essential
biochemical reactions. Catalysis means that the enzyme enables the
reaction to happen without itself being consumed in the process.
There are many thousands of enzymes, each designed for a very
specific biological purpose. The digestion of food, the reproduction
of DNA, and the generation of energy to move muscles are all
examples of functions performed by enzymes.
Discussion question: Why do you think it could be important to

catalyse a biochemical reaction?

2. Genetics
DNA DNA is contained in the cell nucleus and contains all the information
required by the organism to maintain and reproduce itself. It acts as
the blueprint for making proteins and enzymes that have many
different functions in the body.
In human beings, DNA determines all the factors that make us unique
individuals, such as hair and eye colour. Defects in our DNA give us
genetic disorders such as haemophilia, where the person lacks the
DNA blueprint for a protein that helps blood to clot when bleeding
occurs. Without this protein, a simple cut cannot heal easily, and the
person risks bleeding to death.
Chromo- Chromosomes are long strands of DNA in the nucleus of the cell that
somes contain the organism’s genetic information. Human cells have 23
pairs of chromosomes. Each chromosome in any pair originally
comes from one of the biological parents. When a cell undergoes cell
division, the chromosomes duplicate themselves (forming 46 pairs of
chromosomes) and then split apart as the cell splits into two new
cells, each with 23 pairs of chromosomes.
A microscopic picture of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes. A picture

such as this of an organism’s genetic material is called a karyotype.
Available from:
http://www.intropsych.com/ch10_development/genetic_influences.html
[Accessed 3 June 2013]

Each chromosome contains many genes. A gene is the particular

piece of DNA responsible for a specific inherited characteristic or
function. For example, one gene may be responsible for hair colour,
another gene for eye colour and another gene for blood-clotting.
Research question: Find the number of chromosomes for at

least 3 more organisms. Compare your results with a partner.
X and Y In humans, the gender (sex) of an individual is determined by the sex

Chromo- chromosomes, just one pair of the 23 in the entire genome. These are
somes known as the X and Y chromosomes. Females have two X
chromosomes, which are long and similar in shape to other
chromosomes. Males have one X chromosome (from their mother)
and one Y chromosome (from their father), with the Y chromosome
being much smaller than the X chromosome.
Father Mother
Y X X X
Y X X X Y X X X
Possible lines of inheritance for XY sex chromosomes. The shaded X

chromosomes come from the mother.
This does not mean that a couple having four children will be
guaranteed two boys and two girls. It means that each time a child is
conceived, there is a 2 in 4 (or 1 in 2) chance it will be a boy and a 1
in 2 chance it will be a girl. Actually for every 100 girls born there
are approximately 106 boys born, producing a global ratio of 48.6%
girls to 51.4% boys at birth (Grech, Savona-Ventura and Vassallo-
Agius 2002). However this ratio can vary with country and culture.

Sex-Linked Sex-linked characteristics are carried on the X or Y chromosomes.

Disorders Some genetically-transmitted disorders such as haemophilia are sex-
linked. Haemophiliacs lack a factor in their blood essential for
clotting the blood when bleeding happens. This is the first stage in
healing a wound. Without the ability to clot, bleeding from a simple
cut can cause major blood loss, even death. The gene involved in
blood-clotting is found on the X chromosome. As females have two
X chromosomes, one from their mother and one from their father,
usually only one of these might contain the haemophiliac gene. The
other gene (on their other X chromosome) is normal and can
compensate for the haemophiliac gene, so although they have the
faulty gene, and can pass it on to their children, they do not
themselves get the disorder. These females are called carriers.
Males, however, only have one X chromosome, and if the X
chromosome they inherit from their mother contains the
haemophiliac gene, they have no protection against it and so they will
suffer from haemophilia.
Out of these 4 possible combinations in their children, one will be a
female carrier and one will be an affected male.
Father Mother
(carrier)
Y X X X
Y X X X Y X X X
affected carrier
unaffected
The genetic inheritance of haemophilia. Here the affected gene is shaded grey.
A famous example of inherited haemophilia in a family is the

descendants of Queen Victoria of England (1819 – 1901). Two of
her daughters were carriers of haemophilia, and through their
marriages into other European royal families the gene was passed on
and spread throughout European royalty in the late 19th century. It
proved to be a factor in the Russian revolution of 1917, as Alexei, the
only son of the Tsar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra (a

granddaughter of Victoria), inherited haemophilia from his mother,
and his illness contributed to the political instabilities that led to the
revolution.
Partner
discussion Activity: Work with a partner and discuss the questions below:
• Would an affected male pass on the sex-linked genetic
disease haemophilia to his sons and daughters?
• How might it be possible for a female to not only be a
carrier, but have the haemophilia disorder as well?
Drawing an inheritance diagram may help.
Task 4.2 Using the library or the Internet, find another example of a
genetically transmitted disease. It need not be sex-linked. Write a
short summary of the disease (approx 200 words), including:
• the name of the disease
• the symptoms of the disease
• the effects of the disease on the human body or mind
• how the disease is transmitted genetically (e.g. is the relevant
gene on one of the sex-chromosomes?)
• whether the disease affects males or females or both
• whether anyone famous has ever suffered from this disease – or
you may even know someone personally who has it

3. Botany (Plant Biology)

Photo- All organisms need energy to survive. Energy is needed to maintain
synthesis biological systems, to grow and to reproduce. In the case of plants,
that energy comes almost exclusively from a process called
photosynthesis, which uses light energy from the sun, water, and
carbon dioxide, to make food (glucose) and oxygen as a by-product.
The glucose can then be used as fuel for the plant’s biology, or it can
be built into long chains of cellulose that help grow the plant’s
structure.
Animals need oxygen to survive. Their energy comes from oxidising
simple sugars like glucose to produce, carbon dioxide, water, and
energy. So while plants absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen,
animal respiration does the reverse. Ensuring a balance between
these two processes is vital to the world’s environmental health. This
is why trees are so important to our ecology and why the large
rainforests of South America are called the lungs of the world. Those
trees are producing the vast quantities of oxygen that we need in
order to live.
Green-coloured plants contain chlorophyll, a substance that absorbs
light and so enables photosynthesis to happen. Chlorophyll is
contained in chloroplasts in the cells of plant leaves. In the
chloroplasts, carbon dioxide and water are combined to form glucose
and oxygen, with sunlight providing the energy for this reaction to
happen.
Photosynthesis is simply a chemical reaction and can be written as an
equation:
chlorophyll
water + carbon dioxide glucose + oxygen
light
The glucose produced is a high-energy food needed by all living

things. In plants, glucose is rapidly changed into starch by linking
many glucose molecules together like several people forming a chain
by holding hands.
Assessment The Scientific Investigation and Report is due now.

Event 1

4. Zoology (Animal Biology)

Zoology, Zoology is the scientific study of the animal kingdom, concerning
Ecology itself with the classification, structure, and evolution, of all animals.
and This includes extinct species of animal, as zoologists seek to trace the
Biodiversity
complete history of animals on earth.
The history of zoology can be traced to work by Aristotle in ancient

Greece. He observed the structures that animals had in common and
attempted to classify them according to the relationships he saw in
their physical characteristics and behaviour. Similar approaches to
the subject were attempted through the middle ages and renaissance.
Without knowledge of the details of how animal anatomy worked,
these classification systems had to rely on the form and habitat of
animals. It is only with the advent of modern methods of anatomy
and the theory of evolution that Zoology has found a solid theoretical
basis.
The classification of living species remains an important subject, as it

measures the biodiversity of animals on earth. Biodiversity is
increasingly recognised as important to the stability of the natural
environment, as well as providing resources essential to humanity.
Zoologists are discovering new species all the time. Ironically, at the
same time, many species are becoming extinct due to mankind’s
impact on the environment, some before they have even been
discovered!
Discussion Question: Work with a partner, to make a list of

the resources important to your country that are produced
from rare animals and plants. What do you think will happen
to these resources if the species becomes extinct?
An important example of this biodiversity is in the Amazon rainforest

in South America. This delicate ecosystem is known as the lungs of
the world, as the dense plant life generates so much of the world’s
oxygen. However, this powerful system is also incredibly complex,
with a massive network of relationships among the plants and
animals that make use of every ecological niche possible. The
Amazon basin is thought to be home to approximately 10% of the
world’s known species. It is the largest collection of plant and
animal species in the world.
Discussion Question: In recent years deforestation of the

Amazon has become a major concern. Large parts of the
rainforest have been cleared for farming and other activities.
What do you think will be the consequences of this forest
clearance?

5. Evolution
Adaptation Adaptations are features or behaviours that enable an organism to suit
or fit its environment to increase its chances of survival. We have
already seen examples of this in Darwin’s finches from Unit 1 Part
E, who adapted to the different food sources available to them.
Examples:
a) In the Arctic, musk oxen have a thick, hairy coat for warmth and
a herding defensive behaviour against predators such as the wolf.
b) In the desert, the camel is capable of going without water for up

to two weeks and has large, round padded feet to allow it to walk
on sand.
c) Sharks are one of the only creatures able to remove large pieces
of tissue (up to 10 kg or more) from their prey with a single bite.
The teeth are arranged in rows, (up to five rows in some species)
which are continuously replaced as those in use are damaged or
lost. This process of tooth replacement continues throughout the
lifespan, allowing the teeth to get bigger as the shark gets bigger.
The bite-force of a shark is enormous, with a large individual able
to exert around 18 tons per square inch!
d) The desert tortoise gets water from the plants it eats but instead of
excreting liquid waste, it is stored so it can be reabsorbed through
the bladder wall during dry periods.
Photo by David C. Banks used with permission
Task 4.3 How has the African lion adapted to its environment? Work in groups
of three or four and make a list of things you know about the lion
(males and females) that gives it a survival advantage in its natural
environment. After 5 minutes, present your findings to the rest of the
class.

Brainstorm: Can you think of organisms in your region that

have adapted to fit the local environment? What are the
adaptations, and why do they work?
The Process of Adaptation

If an organism becomes too specialised, it is very vulnerable if
sudden change occurs. Each species must be able to adapt to a
changing environment or it will become extinct. If an individual
possesses a characteristic that gives it an advantage in the
environment, any offspring that inherit this characteristic may have a
better chance of surviving than those who do not have it.
Adaptations are either learned or are a result of accidental changes in

the genetic material an organism receives from the previous
generation. Changes in behaviour can be learned but no organism can
just decide to change its physical structure and then make it happen.
Most often, the physical changes that occur are negative and result in
the death of an individual before it is able to reproduce. For example,
many serious physical deformities are negative mutations which work
strongly against the survival of an individual organism.
Some changes are neutral and neither help nor hinder the individual.
For example, hair colour in humans is not a serious enough mutation
to determine the life or death of an individual so variations in hair
colour are passed along from generation to generation attached to
genes which carry more important survival characteristics.
Those changes that are positive make an individual better able to
survive and reproduce, thereby passing on the change to future
generations. However, it will take several generations for a positive
change to become widespread in a population but, when it does, it is
known as an adaptation.
Types of 1. Physiological Adaptation is a change in the body's chemistry

Adaptation that occurs in extreme conditions.
Examples:
a) Humans undergo darkening of the skin to protect against
increased exposure to sunlight.
b) At high altitudes, humans develop an increase in the
concentration of red blood cells which increases their ability
to carry oxygen.

2. Structural Adaptation is an inherited physical feature that

increases an organism's chance of survival.
Examples:
a) Hawks have curved talons and a curved beak which enable
them to hold and tear their prey better.
b) Weasels grow a thick coat of white fur in the winter which
enables them to survive the cold and hide in the snow from
predators.
3. Behavioural Adaptations are inherited or learned behaviours

that increase an organism's chances of survival.
i) Hibernation is a state, similar to deep sleep, in which an

animal can remain without food or water for weeks or months.
In preparation for hibernation, animals must find suitable
shelter from severe weather and accumulate extra reserves of
body fat. During hibernation animals have lower breathing and
heart rates and a slower body metabolism.
ii) Migration is the seasonal movement of animals along a
predictable route. Animals migrate in order to find better
climatic conditions or different types of food.
iii) Social Structure: Many animals, such as wolves, ants and
bees, improve their chances of survival by living in pairs or
groups, rather than alone. This improves the animal's ability to
mate, find food and avoid or deal with danger.
iv) Learning: Education leads to behavioural changes, most often
observed in humans. As new technology is developed, we are
able to learn how it works, how it affects our lives and how to
use it to our advantage.
Examples:
a) Young deer stay motionless in the grass to avoid detection by
predators.
b) Canada geese migrate to warmer climates in the winter.
c) Otters have learned to use stones as tools to break open
abalone shells.
Brainstorm: Working with a partner, can you think of 3

more examples of each type of adaptation?

Task 4.4 Team Work: Adaptations
Ecologists have been studying the environment of two small islands,

in an effort to compare the ecosystems found on them. The two
islands have the following properties:
Island A Island B
• Warm, tropical climate • Cool, temperate climate
• Average rainfall overall, • High rainfall,
with well-defined wet continuous through the
and dry seasons whole year
• Flat, low-lying land • Rocky and
• Good quality soil for mountainous, with very
plant growth. little flat land
• Poor quality soil for
plant growth.
(a) Working in a team, you are going to list specific adaptations that
plants and animals might need to survive on these two different
islands. You will need to list at least one adaptation for each of
the following on each island:
• A plant species
• An insect species
• A bird species
• A reptile species
Your team will need to categorize each adaptation (Physiological,
Structural, or Behavioural) and justify your choice of category.
(8×1 mark per species adaptation = 8 marks)
(b) Your teacher will now tell you about a sudden change that has
happened to the environment of both islands.
(i) Which of the adaptations you found in (a) will continue to
work? Which will not? (8×1 mark per species adaptation = 8
marks)
(ii) How will this change affect the ecology of the two islands?
(4 marks)
Total 20 marks
Assessment This is the second of the five tasks that comprise Assessment Event
Event 4(2) 4: Assignments.
Independent The media (radio, television, newspapers and magazines) often

Study report stories that are connected to biology. Over the next week,
make notes of any stories you hear or read that have a biological
theme and briefly describe the biological component of each story.
Try to classify which branches of biology the stories discuss.

Review Biology Terminology

Make sure you are familiar with the following vocabulary items.
Find a definition for the terms listed below. Search the Internet if
necessary. To help you remember these terms, provide examples of
their use and quote your sources.
Terminology Definition
1. organism
2. zoology
3. evolution
4. cell
5. nucleus
6. cytoplasm
7. mitochondria
8. DNA
9. chromosome
10. gene
11. sex-linked
12. photosynthesis
13. chlorophyll
14. adaptation
15. hibernation
16. migration
Assessment Your teacher will provide you with the details of this assessment
Event 2 event. It is due at the beginning of Week 10.

Part C Chemistry
Introduction Chemistry is the study of the science of matter. What matter is made
of, how it is structured, and how it behaves, are all questions
addressed by chemists. It is often referred to as the ‘central science’
because it provides a bridge between the principles of physics and the
practice of biology. It is also central because so much of our life is
based on chemistry. Chemistry is used in health care, the production
of food and clothing, building materials and the development of
pesticides and fertilisers. A question often asked is ‘What is
Chemistry?’ We can respond to that question by asking ‘What isn’t
Chemistry?’
As with biology, there are many different areas of chemistry. The
main ones are outlined below.
Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry of living organisms and

in a sense it is a specialised area of organic chemistry. There are
many complex biological organic molecules, such as proteins,
Physical
1. vitamins, carbohydrates and nucleic acids, all based on carbon
Chemistry
structures. This area of chemistry looks at how these work in living
systems and how they interact at a molecular level, exploring the
chemistry of the processes of life.
Inorganic Chemistry is the area of chemistry that studies minerals,

Organic
2. metals and all the elements and compounds apart from those
Chemistry
containing carbon.
Physical Chemistry focuses on the properties of matter. Molecular

Inorganic structure and the nature of chemical bonding are of interest here, as
3. Chemistry well as the study of chemical reactions: what influences the rate of a
chemical reaction, and how much energy does it create or require?
Organic Chemistry is the branch of chemistry that studies

compounds based on carbon, such as the many different chemical
compounds that can be extracted from crude oil, ranging from
4. Biochemistry pharmaceutical drugs to plastics. It is sometimes referred to as
Carbon Chemistry. This is a vast area of chemistry as there are over
16 million carbon compounds that are known, and 90% of new
compounds developed contain carbon, including many plastics.

1. What is Matter?
Atoms Matter consists of very small particles called atoms. The name
atom was derived by the Greek philosopher Democritus who, in
the 5th Century BCE, first suggested that matter was composed of
small particles. He named these small particles atomos (meaning
small and invisible). The idea remained unproven until many years
later. In 1808, the English scientist John Dalton formulated a
precise definition of matter. The main points of Dalton's theory
are:
• Elements are composed of small particles called atoms.

• All atoms of a given element are identical with the same size,
mass and chemical properties.
• Atoms of one element are different from atoms of another
element.
• Compounds are composed of atoms of more than one
element. A given compound has the same relative numbers
and types of atoms.
• A chemical reaction involves only the separation,
combination, or rearrangement of atoms; it does not result in
their creation or destruction.
This last point is Dalton's way of stating the Law of Conservation

of Mass, which states that matter can neither be created or
destroyed, although it can be converted from one form to another.
Atomic On the basis of Dalton's theory we can define an atom as the basic
Struture unit of an element that can enter into a chemical reaction. Dalton
imagined the atom to be extremely small and indivisible. Later
work showed that atoms are made up of even smaller subatomic
particles. Research led to the discovery of three such particles:
electrons, protons and neutrons. Current research indicates that
there are even smaller particles such as leptons, quarks, photons
etc. but the study of these is well beyond the scope of this unit.
An atom has two distinct regions. In the centre is the nucleus. The
nucleus is very small (on average the diameter is 10-13 cm) and
extremely dense. It contains the protonsand neutrons. The
protons have a positive charge and the neutrons, as their name
suggests, are neutral; they have no charge. The electrons, which
have a negative charge, are found in shells (often called orbitals)
surrounding the nucleus, usually about 10-8 cm away from it.
Every atom has lots of empty space. In fact, if the nucleus was the
size of a grape, the electrons would be found about 2 km away
from it and there would be absolutely nothing in between!

Electrons carry a negative charge and have very little mass (only
about 1/1836th the mass of a proton). In other works, it would take
1836 electrons to equal the mass of one proton. For this reason, we
usually ignore the mass of electrons when determining atomic
mass.
Table 4.1 summarises the main features of atomic structure. The

mass of the atom is due to the combined mass of all the subatomic
particles. The proton has been arbitrarily assigned a mass of 1 unit
for comparison.
Table 4.1: Properties of Sub-Atomic Particles
Particle Relative mass Charge Location

electron 1/1836 1- shells
proton 1 1+ in nucleus
neutron 1 none in nucleus
In all atoms the number of protons is equal to the number of

electrons. All atoms are neutral so in any atom the number of
positive charges (protons) must be equal to the number of negative
charges (electrons). For example, each nitrogen atom contains 7
proton and 7 electrons. This means that each nitrogen atom
contains 7 positive charges and 7 negative charges which cancel
each other out leaving the atom with a net charge of zero.
Elements Each kind of atom has different numbers of protons and electrons.
The chemistry of an atom is determined by the number and
arrangement of the electrons, so each kind of atom has different
chemical properties. The way elements react with other elements is
determined by the number and arrangements of the electrons. This
is quite complicated so it is not a part of this unit. However, a basic
way of describing electron structures can be shown in a simplified
diagram.
Here we have a hydrogen atom with 1 proton and 1 electron.
1 electron shell
1 proton nucleus

Here we show a helium atom with 2 protons and 2 neutrons in the

nucleus, and 2 electrons orbiting outside the nucleus.
Note
Most atoms have several ‘shells’ in which the electrons are
distributed according to a well known set of rules.
Atomic Number Because every element has different numbers of protons, this can
be used to give each element an atomic number
The atomic number (symbol Z) of an element is the number of

protons in the nucleus of an atom of that element. The atomic
number is extremely important because it determines the identity of
the atom.
Hydrogen (H) has one proton and its atomic number is 1. Oxygen
(O) has 8 protons, its atomic number is 8. What is the atomic
number of copper (Cu)?
Mass Number As well as the atomic number, chemists also use the mass number
(symbol A). An atom’s mass number is simply the number of
protons plus the number of neutrons in the nucleus. Hydrogen as 1
proton and no neutrons so its mass number is 1 (the same as its
atomic number). Helium (atomic number 2) has 2 protons and 2
neutrons so its mass number is 4. Carbon, with 6 protons and 6
neutrons has an atomic number of 6 and a mass number of 12. What
is the mass number of Aluminium (Al)?
Isotope The atomic and mass numbers for an element can be combined
Symbol with the symbol of an element to produce the isotope symbol. The
mass number is always written to the upper left of the element
symbol and the atomic number is always written to the lower left.
A
X
Z
For the element silver (Ag) with a mass number of 108 and an
atomic number of 47, the isotope symbol would be:
108
Ag
47

From the isotope symbol we can determine the number of protons

and electrons in the atom (same as the atomic number) and the
number of neutrons (mass number minus the atomic number).
Therefore, an atom of silver has 47 protons, 47 electrons and 108-

47 = 61 neutrons.
Activity: Write down the isotope symbol for the following

atoms:
Atom Isotope Symbol
An atom of Fluorine with

10 neutrons
An atom of Berylium with

mass number 10
An atom with 14 protons

and 16 neutrons
A neutral atom with 26

electrons and a mass
number of 56
An atom with mass

number 39 and 20 neutrons
A neutral atom with an

equal number of neutrons
and protons, and 8
electrons.

2. Symbols and the Periodic Table

Symbols There are approximately 115 elements, but the number changes as
new elements are synthesised in the laboratory. There are 88
naturally occurring elements. All elements and compounds have
unique names. For example, oxygen and sulphur are elements. Water
and sugar are compounds. Some compounds can have quite long
names, such as sodium diethyldithiocarbamate. Chemists use
symbols to represent each of the elements, just as mathematicians
use symbols such as 1 for one, or √ for the square root of a number.
What are some of the symbols for elements already mentioned?
It is essential that you learn the names and symbols for the common
elements. It is easier to learn the names and symbols if you first
break them up into smaller groups or categories, then try learning the
names and symbols of one category at a time. The following groups
are suggested: those symbols with a single letter, those with the first
two letters of the element name, and then those symbols based on
original names.
Elements Elements are the basic building blocks of matter, and each element
has been given a symbol. All the elements have been organised in a
tabular form known as the Periodic Table. We will examine the
Periodic Table in more detail later in this unit. Your teacher will give
you a copy of the Periodic Table later in this unit. Take the time to
look at it and to see the different symbols for the different elements.
Set out below are three tables which show some elements and their
symbols.
Table 4.2: Element Symbols with One Letter
Element Symbol Element Symbol

boron B carbon C
fluorine F iodine I
nitrogen N oxygen O
phosphorus P potassium K
hydrogen H fluorine F
sulphur (sulfur) S uranium U
You will notice that for the elements in Table 4.2, the symbol is the
first letter of the element, given in capital letters. Note: potassium is
the exception. Potassium (K) used to be known as kalium.

Table 4.3: Element Symbols with Two Letters

aluminium Al argon Ar
barium Ba calcium Ca
cobalt Co helium He
lithium Li nickel Ni
silicon Si titanium Ti
In Table 4.3, the symbols all consist of the first and second letter of
each element, but only the first letter is capitalised.
Table 4.4: Other Element Symbols with Two Letters

antimony Sb arsenic As
cadmium Cd chlorine Cl
copper Cu gold Au
iron Fe lead Pb
magnesium Mg silver Ag
sodium Na mercury Hg
tin Sn
The elements and symbols shown in Table 4.4 can be a little

confusing. In some cases the symbols are from the original names,
for example antimony used to be called stibium, hence the Sb.
Copper was cuprum so Cu, sodium was natrium so Na. Chlorine
(Cl) is a little different as it is one of 11 elements with a name
beginning with the letter 'C'. It is not given the symbol Ch because
another element is chromium. To avoid confusion the third letter is
used - Cl for chlorine and Cr for chromium. Calcium is Ca, so
cadmium uses the third letter - Cd.
Learning One way to help you learn element names and symbols is to make
Hints some small flash cards with the symbols on one side and the names
on the other. Go through them from time to time until you are
familiar with them.
Spelling Some elements are spelled differently in various parts of the world.
For example, the element ‘aluminium’ (al-you-min-e-um) in Great
Britain and Australia is spelled ‘aluminum’ (al-oom-in-um) in
North America. Some elements have tricky spellings that you must
be careful to learn properly. For example, fluorine (flew-or-een) is
often mis-spelled florine (floor-ine). Nickel (nick-elle) is mis-
spelled ‘nickle’. Remember ‘nickel’ is the element. Sulphur may
also be spelled sulfur but never sulfer.

The Each of the more than 110 different elements has its own individual
Periodic atomic number, because each has different numbers of protons. Each
Table has its own individual mass, and so each has its own mass number. On
this basis you can see that we can classify elements by their atomic
number or by their mass number, but the atomic number is the
simplest to use. However, if we simply arrange the elements in order
of increasing atomic number, we would have a narrow strip of symbols
110 elements long.
Each element behaves in its own way in chemical reactions, as

represented by its chemical properties. However it was noticed that
chemical behaviour was repeated by certain elements as the atomic
number increased producing groups of elements with different atomic
numbers (of course) but with similar chemical properties. For
example, helium, neon, argon, krypton and xenon formed such a group
because none of them would join with other elements in chemical
reactions. They are inert.
This made it possible to arrange elements into a classification system

based on their atomic number and their chemical properties. This
arrangement is known as the Periodic Table of the Elements.
The elements are numbered in order as their atoms get heavier.

Hydrogen (H) is the lightest atom, helium (He) is the next heaviest:
atomic number 2. Gold is the 79th heaviest: atomic number 79.
On most Periodic Tables, you will notice that some elements have a
bracket around the mass number, for example, Francium (Fr) - atomic
number 87, mass number (223). These are the radioactive elements
which do not have a stable atomic mass.
Periods The elements are arranged in rows (horizontal) and columns (vertical)
as shown on the next page. The horizontal rows are called periods.
Period 1 only contains hydrogen and helium. Period 2 starts with
lithium (Li) and goes across to Neon (Ne). Period 3 goes from sodium
(Na) to argon (A) etc. Period 6 starts with caesium (Cs), barium (Ba)
and lanthanum (La) then jumps down to include the group of elements
known as the lanthanide series. Similarly, period 7 starts with
francium (Fr) but after actinium (Ac) includes the actinide series. The
lanthanide and actinide series actually fit in, but for convenience of
drawing they are usually shown below the rest of the table. If drawn in
their proper place the Periodic Table would be too wide to fit on
normal pages!

Alkali metals Noble gases

Alkaline earth me tals Halogens
1 8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2
Transition Metals
3
4
5
6
7
Lanthanides
Ac tinides
Periodic Table Groups and Periods
Groups or The vertical columns in the Periodic Table are called groups. The
Families elements within each group have similar chemical properties. Each
group is given a number. The groups should be numbered according to
the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) from
1 to 18. However, many books use the older numbering system which
was based on either Roman numeral (I to VIII) - or 1A to 8A. The
older numbering system has been retained in many cases because it
makes certain aspects of the Periodic Table more meaningful.
The right hand group (8) are the inert or noble gases. These elements
do not react with other chemicals. The group 1 elements, lithium (Li),
sodium (Na) etc. (but not Hydrogen) are referred to by a family name
as the alkali metals because these are all very reactive metals. The
group 2 elements, beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg) etc. belong to the
alkaline earth metal family. Another important group are the group 7
elements known as halogens, which, in Greek, means I make salt,
fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl) etc. There is a further family, the transition
metals, which make up the central group of elements without group
numerals. This includes scandium (Sc), iron (Fe), gold (Au), silver
(Ag), copper (Cu) etc.
Another important feature of the Periodic Table is that the metals

occupy the left hand side and the nonmetals are on the right (See the
Figure on the next page). On most Periodic Tables there is a jagged
line running down from boron (B) to astatine (At) which separates the
metals, on the left, from the nonmetals, on the right. Those elements
close to the line are sometimes called metalloids because they have
properties of metals and nonmetals. All elements touching the jagged
line are metalloids except for aluminium and astatine. Therefore there
are seven metalloids: B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te and Po.

Nonmetals
Metals
Metals, non-metals and metalloids (all elements touching the

jagged line except for Al and At).
Average It is possible for atoms of the same element to have different numbers
Atomic of neutrons and therefore different mass numbers producing what are
Mass known as isotopes. In order to account for this natural state of affairs,
the average atomic mass of each element has been calculated. This
number takes into account the number of isotopes and their percent
abundance by mass in any natural sample of an element. The average
atomic mass of each element is listed on the Periodic Table, rounded
off to one decimal place. For our work in this program, simply round
off the average atomic mass to the nearest whole number and that will
give you the mass number of the most common isotope of that
element.
For example, iron is 55.8 so we use 56 and zinc is 65.4 so we use 65.
Examples For each of the following elements use a Periodic Table and/or list of
elements to give the symbol, atomic number, mass number and
average atomic mass. Specify if the element is a metal or a nonmetal
and give the group and period number as well as the family name (if
any) to which it belongs.
a) bromine b) manganese c) potassium
Answers:
a) bromine
Bromine (symbol Br) is the element with atomic number 35
mass number 79.9 and average atomic mass of 80. It is a
nonmetal and belongs to Group 7 and Period 4 as well as being
in the family of halogens.
b) manganese (Do not confuse manganese with magnesium)

Manganese (Mn) has atomic number 25, mass number 54.9.
and average atomic mass of 55. It is in Period 4 and is a
transition metal.
c) potassium
Potassium (K) has atomic number 19, mass number 39.1 and
average atomic mass of 39. It is in Group 1 and Period 4. It is
a metal and belongs to the family of alkali metals.

Task 4.5 1. For the following elements, give the symbol, atomic number, mass
number, average atomic mass and write the isotope symbol for the
most common isotope. Indicate whether the element is a metal or
non-metal and what family (if any) it belongs to.
a) sodium
b) molybdenum
c) rubidium
d) xenon
2. Match the group name on the left with an element found in that
group:
halogen Ca
transition metal Ne
alkali metal Fe
alkaline earth metal K
noble gas F
3. Write the element symbol for each of the elements listed below in
their families. The atomic numbers are shown. The first has been
done for you
a) halogens. b) alkaline earth metals

9 F (fluorine) 12
17 20
35 38
53 56
c) noble gases d) alkali metals

2 3
10 11
18 19
36 37
54
4. Complete the following table by filling in the gaps. You should

consult the Periodic Table to help you.
Element Atomic Number Number Mass

number of protons of neutrons Number
bromine (Br) 35 35 ________ ________
argon (Ar) 18 ________ 22 ________
aluminium (Al) ________ 13 ________ 27
zinc (Zn) ________ 30 35 ________
gold (Au) 79 ________ 118 ________

3. Ions
Introduction The nucleus of an atom cannot be easily changed, except for the
radioactive elements. Radioactive elements spontaneously break
up. However there are only about 20 radioactive elements, usually
at the end of the Periodic Table, for example, uranium (U) and
plutonium (Pu). Most elements are not radioactive, and it is
extremely difficult to break up the nucleus of a normal atom.
However, it is relatively easy to change the number of electrons in
an atom.
Ions Ions are atoms that have either lost or gained electrons. The
electrons are only lost or gained from the outer shell. The formation
of ions is a bit like an orange. Imagine an orange with the seeds in
the centre representing the nucleus, and the skin representing the
electrons. It is easy to remove the skin, the electrons, without doing
too much damage. However, it is impossible to get to the seeds
(nucleus) without destroying the orange.
Earlier we learned that in atoms the number of positive charges

(protons) equalled the number of negative charges (electrons). The
atom was neutral, or had no overall charge. In ions, the number of
positive and negative charges are not equal. The ion has an overall
charge, either positive or negative depending on whether electrons
have been lost or gained.
Atoms either gain or lose electrons in order to have a full outer

shell which makes them more stable, and that’s a good thing for all
atoms. For example, an atom which has 6 electrons in its outer shell
might attempt to gain 2 more electrons so that the outer shell
becomes full. An atom which has 1 electron in its outer shell might
lose that electron so that the full inner shell now becomes the full
outer shell.
Negative Ions Some atoms can gain electrons, and they usually do this in order to
fill their outer shell. For example, chlorine (Cl) has atomic number
17. This means that a neutral chlorine (Cl) atom contains 17
protons and 17 electrons. Chlorine atoms will try to steal an
electron from another atom to fill its outer shell. This turns it into
the chloride ion. The chloride ion has 17 protons and 18 electrons
leaving it with a net electrical charge of –1. The symbol for the
chloride ion is Cl–.The negative sign indicates that it has an extra
electron so it has an extra negative charge, so it is a negative ion. It
is not necessary to write the 1 since – means –1.
Oxygen (O), atomic number 16, has to steal 2 electrons to fill its
outer shell. A neutral oxygen atom has 16 protons and 16 electrons.
When it gains two electrons it become the oxide ion and the
symbol becomes O2–. The 2– indicates that it has two extra

electrons and hence two extra negative charges compared to the

number of protons in its nucleus.
Rule: A negative ion is produced when an atom gains one or
more electrons.
Positive Ions In the Periodic Table, sodium (Na) has an atomic number of 11. A
neutral or uncharged sodium atom will thus have 11 positively
charged protons and 11 negatively charged electrons. Sodium has 1
electron in its outer shell so that if it loses that outer electron this
means it now has 11 protons (+) and 10 electrons (–). Because it
has lost a negative charge it now has an extra unmatched positive
charge. The sodium sodium ion is shown as Na+. The single plus
sign means the sodium atom has lost 1 negatively charged electron
and now has a net positive charge of 1+.
A magnesium (Mg) atom has atomic number 12, which means it

has 12 protons and 12 electrons. Magnesium (Mg) can lose 2
electrons from its outer shell, so it loses 2 negative charges. A
magnesium ion has 12 protons (+) and 10 electrons (–), so it has an
extra 2 positive charges. The magnesium ion is shown as Mg2+.
The 2+ indicates that it has lost 2 electrons and so has 2 unmatched,
or extra, positively charged protons.
Rule: A positive ion is produced when an atom loses one or more

electrons.
You will notice that the name of the negative ion is different from
that of the atom. A little later in this unit we will discuss the
naming of ions and other compounds.
There are special names given to positively and negatively charged

ions. A positive ion is called a cation, and a negative ion is called
an anion.
Hint! Which is positive and which is negative? Cation has a positive sign
built right in. Think of it as ca+ion. Also, anion has an ‘n’ for
negative. Think of it as aNion.
Ionic Not only can atoms form ions, but the end result is the formation of
Compounds ionic compounds. Chemicals such as ordinary salt, sodium
chloride, are made up of sodium (Na+) ions and chloride (Cl–) ions.
Solid sodium chloride will not conduct electricity, but if you melt it
or dissolve it in water then it does conduct electricity. This is
because as a solid, sodium chloride has a very rigid structure, but
when it becomes molten or dissolves in water the ions are free to
move around. The ions carry the electric current and so an aqueous
solution of sodium chloride will conduct electricity. An aqueous
solution is one in which something (sodium chloride in this case) is

dissolved in water.
But why do ionic compounds form at all? Atoms with a few

electrons in their outer shell can’t just throw them away, and atoms
missing a few electrons in their outer shell can’t just find more
floating around in space. The answer lies in an atomic struggle for
power.
Stability As mentioned earlier, atoms tend to reach a state of greatest

stability and atoms with a full outer shell are more stable than
atoms with partially filled or almost filled shells. Therefore many
atoms are neutral but not stable.
Ion Formation Ions form for a reason. Those atoms with outer shells that are
almost full (non-metals) have a very strong tendency to complete
that outer shell by stealing electrons from weaker atoms (metals).
This theft produces two distinct results. The thief gains one or more
electrons and becomes a stable negative ion which is no longer
neutral and the ‘victim’ loses one or more electrons until its outer
shell is empty thus becoming a stable positive ion.
Of course this happens billions and billions of times over when

even a small a sample of a metal and a non-metal are put together
in a container producing billions and billions of positive and
negative ions.
Opposites However, this is still not the end of the story. We now have two
Attract types of oppositely charged particles. The rules of electrostatics
dictate that opposites attract, so the positively charged metal ions
are attracted to the negatively charged non-metal ions. When this
occurs a growing crystal of a chemical is produced. This is
generally refered to as a salt. The key difference is that no electrons
are returned to their original owners. The ions are permanently
charged so they are only neutralized by being near ions of the
opposite charge.
Crystals The crystal that is formed will contain positive and negative ions in
the exact ratio needed to re-neutralize the total number of ions
forming the crystal.
For example, if sodium reacts with chlorine, one chlorine atom

+
steals an electron from one sodium atom producing one Na ion
and one Cl– ion. These will attract each other in a 1:1 ratio forming
a crystal of (NaCl)n in which ‘n’ can be any very large number
(NaCl crystals can grow to large sizes).
However, if a sample of magnesium reacts with phosphorus, each

magnesium atom will have its 2 outer electrons stolen (no more and

no less). At the same time each phosphorus atom requires 3

electrons (no more and no less) to complete its outer shell. In order
to balance the number of electrons lost by magnesium atoms with
the number gained by phosphorus atoms, it will take three Mg
(each losing 2 electrons) to balance with two P (each gaining 3
2+
electrons). So these ions will always form in the ratio of 3 Mg for
2 P3–. Finally the 6+ charges on the Mg ions will be attracted to the
6- charges on the P ions to form a salt crystal having the ratio of
(Mg 3P 2) n .
Rather than write all salt formulas in brackets with a ‘n’ on the
outside, we simply write the chemical formulas as NaCl and Mg3P2.
In the following section you will learn how to write formulas and
names of several thousand ionic compounds.
Task 4.6 In order to determine how many electrons an atom has in its outer
shell, you will have to examine your Periodic Table. The position of
an atom on the table will indicate how many electrons it has to
‘play’ with. For several elements, this number is more difficult to
determine so it has been provided in the box for that element
directly above the symbol.
Explain what would happen to each type of atom and

determine the formula of the final product if:
a) a sample of calcium reacted with a sample of fluorine
b) a sample of rubidium reacted with a sample of sulphur
c) a sample of strontium reacted with a sample of nitrogen

4. Chemical Names & Formulas

Introduction So far in this unit you have been exposed to some names which have
not been fully explained, for example the chloride ion and the nitride
ion. You will eventually have to become familiar with the names of a
lot of compounds.
When new compounds were discovered by chemists they often gave

them whatever names they wanted. This means we now have several
names for the same thing. For example, sodium hydroxide is also
known as caustic soda, and sodium hydrogen carbonate is also
known as baking soda and sometime as soda. Sodium chloride is
known as table salt, common salt and just as plain salt. An important
nutrient for plants is known as potash, or more correctly as potassium
carbonate. Names such as potash, salt, caustic soda etc are ‘common’
names. In chemistry you will be expected to use proper chemical
names such as potassium carbonate, sodium chloride and sodium
hydroxide.
Naming Naming Compounds that Contain a Metal and a Non-metal

Binary
Compounds Identifying the Periodic Table group of the metal is one key to
naming these compounds. The metals in groups IA, IIA and
aluminium, galium and indium in group IIIA only form one type of
cation. Metals in other groups can form more than one kind of cation
(for reasons we can’t get into in this module). The naming procedure
is different for the two types of metals. Again, for reasons of time,
we will only concentrate on naming binary compounds, those that
contain only two elements, a positive metal ion and a negative non-
metal ion. Compounds contining three or more elements such as
sodium hydroxide (NaOH) may be mentioned but we will not
practice their naming.
Naming Type I Univalent Binary Ionic Compounds
Type I Univalent Binary Ionic compounds are those that contain one
type of cation and one type of anion. Type I refers to a metal which
1+ 3+
forms only one type of cation such as Na or Al .
Always name the cation (metal) first and the anion last. Cation
names are easy. They are always the same as the name of the metal
itself. Sodium forms the sodium ion, magnesium forms the
magnesium ion.
Anion names are formed by taking the first part of the element name,
and adding ide. Chlorine becomes the chloride ion. Oxygen becomes
the oxide ion. It is not always obvious which part of an element
name to keep and discard.

Table 4.5 lists the names of many common ions. Those on the left
hand side are cations, those on the right are anions.
Table 4.5: Common Ions

Ion formula Ion name Ion formula Ion name
H+ hydrogen C4– carbide
Li+ lithium N3– nitride
Na+ sodium P3– phosphide
K+ potassium O2– oxide
Mg2+ magnesium S2– sulphide
Ca2+ calcium F– fluoride
Ba2+ barium Cl– chloride
Al3+ aluminium Br– bromide
Zn2+ zinc I– iodide
Ag+ silver H– hydride
Note that hydrogen forms two types of ions: the H+ cation and the
H– hydride anion.
Examples If we name the following Type I Binary ionic compounds:
1. NaCl. The ions present are Na+ and Cl–, so the name is sodium
(the metal cation first) chloride.
2. KI. The ions present are K+ and I–, so the name is potassium
iodide
3. MgCl2 . The ions present are Mg2+and 2Cl–1, so the name is

magnesium chloride. In this example we need 2 chlorides for
each magnesium ion in order for a net charge of zero, but the
name remains the same - magnesium chloride.
Binary Producing the correct formula for any pair of metal and non-metal
Compound ions can be done by finding the charges for those ions on the
Formulas Periodic Table. Next you simply:
1. Write the correct symbol (in proper order – cations always go

first) for each element in the name.
For example, for barium and sulphur we get Ba2+ and S2-
2. Criss-cross the valences (leaving the signs behind).

Ba2+ S2– Ba2S2
4. Reduce any common factors to get the final formula. BaS

Task 4.7 Writing the Name & Formula of Type 1 Binary Compounds
1. Predict the formula of the compound that will be produced, when each of the following
pairs of elements combine, by writing the formula of the ions involved and using the
criss-cross rule. Remember, the element that loses electrons is always written first.
2. Write the name of the compound produced. This is done by writing the name of the
positive element as you would find it on the Periodic Table. The name of the negative
element is altered to end in 'ide' to indicate that the substance is a 'binary' compound.
Formula Name
1. silicon & iodine
2. aluminium & oxygen
3. boron & bromine
4. zinc & nitrogen
5. magnesium & carbon
6. silicon & sulphur
7. calcium & oxygen
8. silver & carbon
9. barium & chlorine
10. cadmium & carbon
11. strontium & bromine
12. hydrogen & phosphorus
13. boron & carbon
14. silicon & arsenic
15. aluminium & hydrogen
16. potassium & nitrogen
17. lithium & arsenic
18. beryllium & oxygen
19. aluminium & chlorine
20. magnesium & fluorine

Type II Bivalent Binary Ionic Compounds
Type II Bivalent Binary Ionic Compounds are those in which a

cation and an anion are present, but the metals present may form 2 or
more cations with different charges. An example of this is iron. It can
2+
lose either two or three electrons forming an Fe ion as well as an
3+
Fe ion. This can happen at the same time during the same chemical
reaction forming two different products.
Since several elements have two positive charges (valences), various

naming systems have been devised to indicate when one or the other
of these valences has been used. The most commonly used system is
the Stock System which was adopted by IUPAC as the standard
naming system so it has also become known as the IUPAC System.
There are two possible compounds formed by the reaction of iron

with oxygen.
2+ 2–
Fe + O Fe2O2 FeO
3+ 2–
and Fe + O Fe2O3
These are two different chemical compounds with distinctly different

physical and chemical properties. Obviously calling both iron oxide
is not the proper or safe thing to do. Therefore each must have a
distinct name to avoid confusion.
a) Writing the Name of a Compound if you have the Formula
1. When an element is bivalent (i.e. it has two positive valences),

you must indicate which valence is being used by writing it in
Roman Numerals surrounded by brackets between the first
and second part of the name of the compound.
2. The correct valence of the positive ion in the compound may be

determined from the formula by using the reverse criss-cross
rule. Since no element ever has more than one negative valence,
checking the valence of the negative ion will let you know if
both have been reduced due to the presence of a common factor.
2+
Example: for SnO2 reverse criss-crossing produces Sn and O–.
However, oxygen must be –2 so we have to double the charge
on the tin ion to +4.
If you do not do this, the resulting name will not be correct.

4+ 2–
The compound formed by reacting Sn with O would be
called tin (IV) oxide.
NOTE: This system must never be used when the first element is
univalent.

Examples Name the following Type II Binary ionic compounds:
1. Fe2O3. There are two Fe ions present which can be either Fe2+ or
Fe3+ and 3 oxide ions O2–. The oxide ion always has a charge of
2–, and because there are 3 of them the total negative charge must
be 6–. This means we must have 6+ charges in order to have a net
charge of zero. Because we have 2 iron ions we must have the
Fe3+ ion. An easier way to reach the same conclusion is to reverse
criss-cross the numbers in the formula. As long as the anion
charge is correct, the cation charge will automatically be correct.
Either way, the name of this compound is iron (III) oxide.
2. PbCl4. The ions present are Pb, which can be either Pb2+ or Pb4+,
and 4Cl– ions. The chloride ion has a charge of 1– so because we
have a total negative charge of 4– we must have a positive charge
of 4+ for a net charge of zero. This means we must have Pb4+.
Reverse criss-crossing gives us the same answer so the name must
be lead (IV) chloride.
b) Writing the Formula if you have the IUPAC Name
1) Write the correct symbols (in proper order) for each element in
the name.
Example: lead (IV) sulphide contains lead (Pb) and sulphur (S)
ions
2) Write the valence of the positive ion by examining the Roman

Numeral surrounded by brackets. Write the valence of the
negative ion by finding it in the upper right hand area of a
Periodic Table.
4+
lead (IV) sulphide contains the Pb and S2– ions
3) Criss-cross the valences (leaving the signs behind). Pb2S4
4) Reduce any common factors. PbS2
An important lesson to learn from these examples is that with Type

II compounds you can use the information from the anions to tell
you what form the cation takes.

Task 4.8 a) Name the following Type II Binary Compounds using the
IUPAC System
1. MnS 11. CuH2
2. MnCl3 12. FeN
3. FeP 13. PbI4
4. Co3P2 14. As4C5
5. NiF3 15. SnC
6. CoS 16. Ni3N2
7. As2O3 17. FeCl3
8. HgI 18. Co4C3
9. PBr5 19. PbF2
10. Hg3As2 20. SnBr4
b) Write the formula for each of the following Type II Binary Compounds:
1. iron (II) carbide 11. nickel (III) nitride
2. manganese (III) arsenide 12. copper (II) bromide
3. cobalt (III) oxide 13. lead (II) nitride
4. lead (IV) sulphide 14. iron (III) iodide
5. cobalt (III) hydride 15. tin (IV) hydride
6. tin (IV) phosphide 16. cobalt (II) phosphide
7. copper (I) nitride 17. arsenic (V) sulphide
8. nickel (II) chloride 18. chromium (II) fluoride
9. mercury (I) sulphide 19. mercury (I) carbide
10. chromium (III) fluoride 20. lead (IV) fluoride

Task 4.9 A Self Test on the Periodic Table
GROUP I II III IV V VI VII VIII
ROW 1
ROW 2
ROW 3
Transition
ROW 4 Metals
In the Periodic Table above, only the Alkali Metals and the Alkaline Earths and the six families on
the right side of the Periodic Table are represented. The Transition Metals have been omitted.
Also, only the top four rows of the Periodic Table are used in this task.
The code letters A to Z have been assigned to the actual elements which occupy each of the 26
boxes. Since each letter represents a real element, it will have all the physical and chemical
properties of that element. Your job will be to place each of these 'elements' in the proper place on
the Periodic Table using the given clues.
The following elements belong together in Families and therefore each group fits into one specific
column of the Periodic Table shown above. Some clues will allow you to find the correct column
for each Family and other clues will allow you to determine in which specific box each letter
belongs.
ZRD, PIFS, EBJX, LHT, QKA, WOV, YMC, GUN.
1. Element S is an alkali metal with 4 neutrons in its nucleus.

2. Element D has three electrons in its outer energy level.
3. Element O is a halogen.
4. Element C has five electrons in its outer energy level.
5. Elements L, H and T all have metallic properties.
6. Element U has a total of six electrons.
7. Atoms of element B contain ten protons.
8. Element D has three electrons in its second energy level.
9. Element A is a diatomic gas.
10. The atomic mass of element T is greater than that of element H but less than element L.
11. The atomic mass of element V is less than elements O and W.
12. Element M has an atomic number one less than that of element A.
13. The electrons of element N are distributed over three energy levels.
14. Element F is a diatomic gas at room temperature.
15. Element R had the largest atomic mass of its group.
16. Element P was once known as kalium.
17. The most common isotope of element J has a mass number of 84 and contains 48 neutrons.
18. Element Q has an atomic mass less than that of element K.
19. Element X has an atomic number one higher than element F.
20. Element C is a metalloid.
21. Element W is a diatomic liquid at room temperature
(2.5 marks for each correct family. 8 × 2.5 = 20 Total marks)

Assessment Task 4.9 is the third of the five tasks that comprise Assessment Event
Review In this section we have looked at some of the basic concepts of

chemistry. There has been a great deal of information presented and
you might have difficulty understanding it all at first. Like biology,
chemistry is a large subject area, and in a course such as this you can
only be expected to have a basic understanding of some of the key
concepts.
Review Answer the following questions. They cover all the subject matter
Questions presented in this unit. Some of the questions are similar to those that
will be asked in Assessment Event 4. You can consult the Periodic
Table for help.
1. What are the symbols for sulphur, molybdenum, tungsten,

chromium, and mercury?
2. Name the following elements: Ti, Zn, Sn, He, Xe, Li.
3. What are the possible states of matter?
4. When salt is added to water it dissolves. Is this a chemical or a
physical change? Why?
5. An element cannot:
a) be part of a heterogeneous mixture
b) be part of a homogeneous mixture
c) be separated into other substance by chemical means
d) interact with other elements to form compounds
e) be a pure substance
6. The nucleus of an atom contains:

a) protons, neutrons and electrons
b) protons and neutrons
c) protons and electrons
d) neutrons and electrons
7. Name the following Type II binary compounds:

a) CuBr2 d) SnH2
b) PbCl2 e) Fe2S3
c) Co3N2 f) Mn4C3
8. Name the following Type I binary compounds:

a) KF e) HCl
b) CaS f) Al2O3
c) NaI g) AgH
d) Li3N h) MgF2

9. Each of the compounds below has an incorrect name. Name each

one correctly:
a) KBr potassium (I) bromide
b) Cu2O copper oxide
c) PbS2 lead (IV) sulphide(II)
d) Na3P sodium (III) phosphide
10. How many electrons are there in a bromine atom with a mass
number of 80?
a) 35
b) 87
c) 122
d) 80
e) 45
11. Which of the following is an inert gas?

a) N2
b) Ar
c) H2
d) O2
e) CO2
12. Which particle has the smallest mass?

a) an electron
b) a proton
c) a neutron
d) a helium nucleus
e) a hydrogen ion
13. The symbol Ag can be used to represent

a) aluminium.
b) argon.
c) a silver ion.
d) a silver atom.
e) gold.
14. Which of the following is the formula for potassium

bromide:
a) KBr
b) PBr
c) PoBr
d) KBr2
e) K2Br3

Review Chemistry Terminology

necessary. To help you remember these terms, provide examples of
their use and quote your sources.
1. atom
2. molecule
3. element
4. compound
5. solid
6. liquid
7. gas
8. melting point
9. boiling point
10. freezing point
11. protein
12. sugar
13. carbohydrate
14. fat (lipid)
15. nucleic acid
16. enzyme
To help you learn and review, cover the left-hand column and read
Tip
the definitions. See if you can remember the terminology. Then
cover the right-hand column, read the vocabulary items and see if
you can remember the definitions.

Part D Physics
Introduction Physics provides us with an understanding of energy, matter, and

motion. It focuses on investigating natural phenomena and then
applying patterns, models (including mathematical ones), principles,
theories and laws to explain the physical behaviour of the universe.
There are several close links between Physics and Chemistry,
especially when trying to explain the behaviour atoms and molecules,
and the role of energy in chemical processes.
The study of physics relies on the understanding and application of a
small number of basic laws and principles that govern the
microscopic (very small objects) and macroscopic (large objects)
worlds. The study of physics provides the basis for an understanding
of most modern technology.
The study of physics includes optics (the study of light), mechanics
(the study of motion), waves, energy, magnetism and electricity as
well as atomic structure.
In this section we will study Newton’s Laws of Motion.
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Introduction Sir Isaac Newton was a famous English scientist who lived from
1642-1727 and contributed greatly to our understanding of physics.
He is probably best-remembered today for his discovery of the Law
of Universal Gravitation, but he also discovered a series of laws
relating to mass, velocity and acceleration that are known as
Newton’s Laws of Motion.
Newton’s Newton’s First Law states

1st Law
‘An object remains at rest or travels with a constant speed
in a straight line unless acted upon by an external
unbalanced force.’
This means that once an object is moving, it will keep moving unless
an external force acts on it. An example of this would be a ball
rolling along a flat road; it would keep moving forever but it
eventually stops because of the friction between it and the road,
which causes the ball to lose energy.
Task 4.10 With a partner, discuss the questions below:

• Which would come to rest sooner, a ball rolling along a level
road or the same ball rolling along a level stretch of ice?
• Can you explain your answer?

Distance & In everyday terms, when we talk about movement we talk about the
Speed distance a moving object travels, while speed is the rate it covers that
distance in a certain period of time.
Displace- In physics however, we are interested not only in the distance and
ment & speed but also in the direction the object is traveling. We therefore
Velocity talk about the displacement and velocity of a moving object. The
displacement is how far the object has moved from its starting point
in a specific direction. The diagram below illustrates this idea.
A B C
West East
A car is at point B. It drives west to point A then it turns around and

drives east to point C.
The distance covered by the car is BA + AC but this does not take
direction into account.
The displacement, however, is how far the car has moved from its
original position in a specific direction. In traveling from A to C it
had to return to B, its starting point, so the displacement is only BC.
From the point of view of B, the direction BA (west) would be seen
as a positive direction, and then the direction AC (east) would be
seen as the opposite or a negative direction.
If BA is 2 km and AC is – 6 km, the overall displacement would be
BA + AC = +2 +(– 6) = – 4 km
= 4 km East
• What would be the total distance traveled?
Formulas Speed is measured as distance traveled per unit of time (e.g. 80 km/h)
for Speed which is expressed mathematically by the formula:
and
speed = distance / time or v = d/t
Velocity
where v = speed, d = distance and t = time
However velocity = displacement / time or ! = ! !

where ! = velocity, ! = displacement and t = time
Velocity and displacement are called vector quantities because they

contain information about direction.

Task 4.11 Distance – Time Graphs

Look at the following table:
Distance (m) 20 40 60 80 100
Time (s) 1 2 3 4 5
Now plot these points on the distance-time graph below.
100
80
60
Distance (m)
splacement
40
20
1 2 3 4 5
Time (s)
Figure 1: Distance – Time graph
Now join the points.

• What does this line-graph represent?
• What is the speed of this object?
Pair Work When you have finished, check your answers with a partner.

Velocity- Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with time. If we plot

Time velocity against time, the slope of the resulting graph will show
Graphs
acceleration. So just as ! = ! ! we also have ! = ! !. The line-
graph below shows constant acceleration in a positive direction. A
downward sloping straight line would show a constant acceleration in
a negative direction, which could be a deceleration if the object starts
with a positive velocity.
Discussion Question: What are the correct units for

acceleration?
Task 4.12 Describe the velocity and acceleration of an object with the following
graphs. Discuss your answers with a partner.
(a)
(b)
(c)

Task 4.13 Now look at this graph showing the velocity of a moving car.
Working on your own, answer the following questions:

• At what times is this object stationary?
• At what times is the car moving with constant velocity?
• During what periods is the car a) accelerating?
b) decelerating?
• Calculate the acceleration of the car at:

o t = 1

o t = 12
Pair work Check your answers with a partner.

Newton’s Newton’s Second Law explains how force affects an object. It states:
2nd Law ‘When an unbalanced force is applied, the velocity of
the body is changed. In other words, an unbalanced
force causes an acceleration.’(Moyle et al 1986, p142)
In other words, when a force is applied to an object, its speed
increases by a fixed amount each second the force is applied. An
example of this would be a car where the driver has his foot on the
accelerator. The car engine is providing the force and the car will
continue accelerating so long as the driver’s foot is on the accelerator
pedal. A force pushing against the car would cause it to decelerate.
Partner
Discussion Discuss the following situation with a partner. Imagine that you
are applying a force to two objects, one is a large object (like a
big rock), the other is very small (like a ball). If you apply the
same force to each, what would you expect their rates of
acceleration to be?
• the same?
• the larger object will accelerate faster?
• the larger object will accelerate more slowly?
Explain why.
Formula Newton’s Second Law can be expressed mathematically as F = ma

where F = the force applied, m = the mass, and a = the acceleration.
We can see from the above equation that for a constant mass, the
acceleration is directly proportional to the force applied.
Can you now explain the example above (the rock and the ball)
mathematically?

Gravity Another example of Newton’s Second Law is the acceleration due to

gravity. Gravity is the force attracting two objects with mass. The
Earth, being an object with a large mass, holds objects on its surface
(rocks, balls, us, etc) to it by a considerable force of gravity. If we
drop a ball from an upstairs window, it will not fall towards the earth
with a constant speed, it will accelerate. This acceleration changes
with altitude (the distance between the ball and the centre of the
earth). At sea level the acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/s2 and is
often termed g in physics formulae.
Mass and Mass is the amount of matter that constitutes an object. Unless an
Weight object is travelling at a speed approaching the speed of light, mass is
constant.
Weight is the force due to gravity that is directly proportional to the
mass of the object. On the Earth, a person with a mass of 80 kg has a
very different weight than he/she would have on the moon where the
force of gravity is only 1/6th that of the Earth. And, of course, in
space where the force of gravity is zero, the corresponding weight
will be zero even though the person still has a mass of 80 kg.
The force due to gravity is F = mg, where g = 9.8 m/s2
Therefore if w (weight) is substituted for F we get w = mg
On Earth, an 80 kg mass would weigh 80 kg x 9.8 m/s2 = 784 kg m/s2
= 784 Newtons
Task 4.14 Work on your own to determine the weight of an 80 kg mass in the
following instances:
1. On the Moon, where gravity is approximately one-sixth of that of
the Earth, the weight of an 80 kg mass would be:
2. On Jupiter, where gravity is approximately two and a half times

that of the Earth, the weight of an 80 kg mass would be:
Pair work Check your answers with a partner.

Newton’s Newton’s Third Law is about actions and reactions. It states:

3rd Law
‘Whenever an object exerts a force on another object
(action force), there is an equal force in the opposite
direction from the second object onto the first (reaction
force) for the same length of time.’ (Moyle et al 1986,
p150)
In other words, for every action there is an equal and opposite

reaction:
A simple example of Newton's
Third Law. What will happen to
the skateboard? (Available from:
http://quest.nasa.gov/space/teacher
s/rockets/principles.html [Accessed
9 May 2013])
Task 4.15 Carry out the following experiment to test Newton’s Third Law.
You will need a smooth floor, a chair or something that you can sit
on which has wheels, and six heavy objects; for example, bricks or
large books.
Sit on the chair with your feet off the ground and the heavy objects in
your lap. As hard as you can, throw three of the objects away at the
same time. What happens?
Try this again, but this time once you have thrown the three objects,
throw the other three in the same direction you are moving. What
happens now?
If you stood with your back towards the edge of a cliff, what would
happen if you threw a brick as hard as you could in front of you?
How can you use this experiment to explain Newton’s Third Law of
motion?

Review Look at these velocity-time graphs. Describe what is happening to the

Task acceleration of the object in each.
(b)
(a)
(c) (d)
(e)
(f)
(h)
(g)
Which graph represents:

1. A car accelerating uniformly to a constant speed?
2. A ball thrown into the air?
3. A bouncing ball?
4. A rock dropped from 50 cm into deep water?
Adapted from Moyle et al (1986, p80)

Review Physics Terminology

Make sure you are familiar with the following vocabulary items. Find
a definition for the terms listed below. Search the Internet if necessary.
To help you remember these terms, provide examples of their use and
quote your sources.
1. physics
2. optics
3. mechanics
4. Newton’s First Law
5. Newton’s Second Law
6. distance
7. speed
8. velocity
9. displacement
10. vector quantity
11. mass
12. weight
13. Newton’s Third Law
14. acceleration
15. deceleration
16. directly proportional
Tip To help you learn and review, cover the left-hand column and read the
definitions. See if you can remember the terminology. Then cover the
right-hand column, read the vocabulary items and see if you can
remember the definitions.

Part E Earth Science
Introduction Earth Science is the study of the Earth and its processes. It explores
changes that have occurred during the Earth’s history, including
changes in the lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere, and the
evolution of organisms since the origin of life on Earth.
The lithosphere is the rocky portion of the Earth’s surface between
100 and 200 km thick.
The atmosphere is the gaseous envelope surrounding the planet.
The hydrosphere is the part of the Earth composed of water
including clouds, atmospheric water vapour, oceans, ice caps,
glaciers, lakes and rivers.
Geology Geology is a science that deals with the history of the earth as
recorded in rocks. Using the rate of radioactive decay of different
types of atoms such as uranium and carbon in rock and fossil
samples, we can get a fairly accurate estimate of how long ago
various geological and historical events occurred. Using these dates
we have been able to develop a theory about the formation and
structure of the Earth. This is also associated with paleontology,
which is the study of life in past geological periods based on plant
and animal fossils.
Structure of The Earth is approximately 4 billion years old, and was formed by
the Earth the build-up of dust and particles from the cloud of material
surrounding the sun after it formed. The Earth has very distinct
layers or zones:
1. The inner core is at the centre, and is the hottest part of the
Earth. It is solid and made up of iron and nickel with
temperatures of up to 5,500°C. With its immense heat
energy, the inner core is like the engine room of the Earth.
2. The outer core is the layer surrounding the inner core. It is
a liquid layer, also made up of iron and nickel. It is still
extremely hot, with temperatures similar to the inner core.
3. The mantle is the thickest layer. It has a thickness of
approximately 2,900 km. The mantle is made up of semi-
molten rock called magma. In the upper parts of the mantle
the rock is hard, but lower down the rock is soft and
beginning to melt.
4. The crust is the outer layer of the earth. It is a thin layer
only up to 60 km thick. The crust is the solid rock layer
upon which we live.

Discussion Questions:
4
a. Why do you think the
centre of the earth is so hot?
b. If they have the same 3

temperature, why is the inner
core solid while the outer 2
core is liquid?
1
Plate The Earth's crust is broken up into pieces called plates. Heat rising
Tectonics and falling inside the mantle creates convection currents. The
convection currents move the plates. Where convection currents
diverge near the Earth's crust, plates move apart. Where convection
currents converge, plates move towards each other. The movement of
the plates, and the activity inside the Earth, is called plate tectonics.
The point where two plates meet is called a plate boundary.
Earthquakes and volcanoes are most likely to occur either on or near
plate boundaries. Why do you think this is true?
The Earth's main tectonic plates (Available from:

http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/structureofearth.html#st
ruct [Accessed 3 May 2013]
Activity: On the map of plate boundaries above, plot the

locations of volcanoes and large earthquakes that you know of.
Can you find a volcano that is not on a plate boundary? How

could this happen?

Mineralogy Mineralogy is the study of the science of minerals. Minerals are

elements or chemical compounds that are normally crystalline and
that have been formed as a result of geological processes. There are a
great variety of minerals but they are mostly identified on the basis
of their physical properties and their crystal structure. The major
groups of minerals are the silicates, containing mostly silicon and
oxygen, such as quartz; the carbonates, containing carbon and
oxygen, such as calcium carbonate or limestone; the oxides,
containing oxygen, with iron oxide being one of the most important
minerals; and the minerals containing sulphur, including sulphides
and sulphates. An example of a common sulphide mineral is iron
pyrites or fool’s gold because it has so often been mistaken for real
gold by inexperienced rock hunters.
Quartz Crystal. Source: U.S. Iron Pyrite (Fool's Gold). Source: Steele
Geological Survey (2005). R. B. Chemexplore
http://www.chemexplore.net/antifluorite
s.htm [Accessed 6 June 2013]
Task 4.16 Use the information in the previous paragraph to complete the table
below.
Common names Mineral group Main elements
quartz silicates silicon and oxygen
Discussion Question: How would some of these minerals have

formed? With a partner, brainstorm the different geological
processes you think could have made some of them.
The three main types of rocks are sedimentary, igneous and

metamorphic.

Activity:
1. Find out what the difference is between the three rock types.
2. Classify the minerals you found in Task 4.16 into their rock
type.
Volcanology Volcanology (or Vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes and their

eruptions.
If a volcano is still likely to erupt today, it is classified as active. If it
has not erupted for considerable length of time but it can still become
active, it is classified as dormant. If it has not erupted during any
period in recorded history, it is classified as extinct.
Task 4.17 1. Use your library or the Internet to find a diagram of a conical
volcano showing the parts mentioned below. Draw a diagram of
the volcano and correctly label the following:
a) conduit e) ash cloud

b) magma chamber f) vent
c) lava g) earth’s crust
d) older layers h) side vent
(8 marks for labels plus 2 for the diagram)
2. Name two volcanoes whose eruptions you have heard about in the
news or read about as an historical event. If you get stuck, look up
‘famous volcanic eruptions’ on the Internet. Make a table listing
the name of the volcano, the location, the date of eruption, the
damage/number of deaths it caused and whether it is currently
classified as active, dormant or extinct. (10 points/2 = 5 marks)
3. a) What is the ring of fire? (3 marks)
b) What is the main theory about the cause of volcanic activity
and earthquakes in this region? (2 marks)
Total 20 Marks
Assessment This is the fourth of the five tasks that comprise Assessment Event

Task 4.18 Geologists often use other aspects of science to help explain
features and processes that take place on and in the Earth. What
other branches of science do you think geologists have used to help
them answer the following questions?
1. How old is a piece of rock?

2. How is heat transferred from the Earth’s interior to the surface?
3. Why do you think the Earth’s core is mostly iron?

Review Earth Science Terminology

Find a definition for the terms listed on the next page. To help you
remember these terms, provide examples of their use and quote
your sources.
1. sedimentology
2. lithosphere
3. atmosphere
4. hydrosphere
5. mineralogy
6. volcanology
7. volcano
8. active
9. dormant
10. extinct
11. crater
12. magma chamber
13. lava
14. volatile gases
15. vent
16. earth’s crust
17. ring of fire
18. paleontology
19. radioactivity
20. geology
21. natural resources
22. topography
To help you learn and review, cover the left-hand column and read
Tip

Task 4.19 Match the Terms

Set out below are two sets of associated terms in two columns.
Match the term in the first column with its corresponding term in the
second column by writing the correct letter in the answer column.
The first one has been done for you.
Term Answer Definition
1. Palaeontology c) a) Study of DNA

2. Silicates b) Study of the science of minerals
3. Evolution c) Study of fossil plants and animals
4. Uranium d) Study of living things
5. Biochemistry e) Velocity change over time
6. Volcanology f) Pollution chemistry
7. Inorganic Chemistry g) Genetic change over time
8. Biology h) Alternative energy source
9. Genetics i) Study of volcanoes
10. Sedimentology j) Minerals with carbon and oxygen
11. Environmental Degradation k) Chemistry of living species
12. Ecology l) Chemistry of non-carbon substances
13. Environmental Chemistry m) Organisms and their environment
14. Mineralogy n) Minerals with silicon and oxygen
15. Carbonates o) Prevented by pollution control
16. Acceleration p) Study of environments formed by
weathering
Assessment Case Study Investigation

Event 2
This assessment event is due to be handed in now.

Mt St. Helens in southwest Washington prior to the May 18, 1980 eruption.
This active volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range rose 2903 m above sea level.
In an instant 393 m of mountain top was gone. It now rises only 2510 m above
sea level.
Photos courtesy United States Geological Survey (USGS)

Unit 5: Science and the Environment

Part B Environmental Science
Part C Greenhouse Gases
Part D Water Pollution
Part E What Do You Know
Overview This section introduces some key scientific issues concerning the
Environment. These provide examples of the application of science to
some of the problems facing humanity, and ask that you consider how
the material you have studied fits into the realms of science.

• document and discuss the contribution of scientific advances,
particularly their impact on the environment.

Part B Environmental Science
Introduction Environmental Science is a relatively new field of study. With

growing public awareness of environmental issues in the 1960’s and
70’s, scientists realized that they needed to bring together ideas from
several different scientific fields to help solve environmental
problems. Environmental science is an interdisciplinary science,
which means it uses ideas from all the sciences we looked at in Unit 4.
It also includes many ideas from the social sciences, as most
environmental problems are the result of humanity interacting with the
natural world. So managing people and their behavior can be an
important part of solving these problems.
Fields that we have not looked at yet, but are important in
environmental science include meteorology (the study of the
atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena) and demography (the study
of the distribution, density, and vital statistics of populations).
Activity:
1. With a partner, write down as many environmental problems
as you can. Try to focus on problems that are important to your
local community.
2. Swap your list of environmental problems with another pair.
For each problem on the list you now have, list the scientific
fields and ideas you thing could be useful for solving them. You
may use ideas from Unit 4, or others that you may know. Share
your ideas with the class.
The study of environmental science can be broken into four main

areas: environmental chemistry, ecology, resource depletion and
environmental degradation.
Environmental Environmental Chemistry is the specialised study of the role of

Chemistry chemicals in the environment. It looks at the effect and fate of
chemicals in the atmosphere, the soils, the sediments and water. This
is sometimes referred to as pollution chemistry, especially in the case
of those chemicals that cause problems in the environment.
Discussion Question: Working with a partner, name at least 5

pollutants that are a serious environmental problem. Can you
suggest a solution to the problems each pollutant causes?

Ecology Ecology is the study of the interactions of organisms with their

environment and includes the recognition of different ecosystems
(usually biotic, aquatic, terrestrial and marine ecosystems), population
dynamics, behavioural adaptations and conservation.
As mentioned in Unit 4 Part B of this manual, an ecosystem can be
defined as a natural community of plant and animal populations in a
given area, including the interactions with their physical surroundings.
Examples of common ecosystems are forests, deserts, reefs and lakes.
Discussion Question: What environmental problems affect the

ecology of your country?
Resource Resource management principles include the different types of

Depletion resources, problems of past resource management, the need for
conservation and resource economics. Specific subject matter includes
the question of energy, fossil fuels (energy sources formed in the
ground from the remains of dead plants and animals), hydroelectric
power (electricity produced by flowing water such as rapids or
waterfalls), nuclear power (electric energy generated using heat
produced by an atomic reaction) and alternative energy sources
(energy derived from sources that do not use up natural resources or
harm the environment). Examples include solar, wind, tidal,
geothermal, nuclear fusion, and synthetic fuels.
Alternative energy sources are also called renewable energy sources,
because unlike other forms of energy resources (especially fossil
fuels), they will never run out.
Discussion Question: Apart from energy, what other resources

are we running out of? Write out a list. Compare your list with
a partner.
Environmental In order to study environmental degradation (the reduction of the

Degradation capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological objectives,
and needs) we must consider principles of pollution control, as well as
the specific impacts of water pollution, air pollution and solid and
hazardous (toxic) waste management. Solid waste includes garbage,
construction debris, commercial refuse, sludge from water supply or
waste treatment plants, or air pollution control facilities, and other
discarded materials. Hazardous (toxic) waste is waste that can
produce injury if inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin.

Task 5.1 Use your library, the media or the Internet to find the answers to the
questions below.
1. What are some examples of hazardous or toxic waste?
2. Why is toxic waste dangerous?
3. How is it disposed of in your country?
4. What are other countries doing to dispose of hazardous waste
in an environmentally friendly and responsible manner?
Social Because environmental problems are usually considered as problems

Problems of society we must study the social aspects of environmental science.
This includes environmental economics, ethics, social and legal
aspects of environmental management. Surprisingly many social
problems have environmental issues as their cause.
Discussion Question: What social issues can you name that are
the result of an environmental problem?
Task 5.2 One of the most important environmental resources we have is water.
During the course of a day we use large amounts of water for different
things; washing, cooking, drinking, disposing of human waste etc.
1. Use the Internet or have one student in your class call your
municipal government to determine how much water is used in
your town, community or city in a year. (2 marks)
2. Find out the population of your town, community or city, and
calculate the average annual water consumption per person. (3
marks)
3. What activities within your own home could be changed so that
less water is used or wasted? Estimate the amount of water that
could be saved by each change. (5 marks)
4. How could you plan a community campaign to use less water?
(5 marks)
5. What social problems could such a campaign cause? (5 marks)
Total 20 Marks
Assessment This is the fifth of the five tasks that comprise Assessment Event 4:
Event 4(5) Assignments.

Review Environmental Science Terminology

necessary. To help you remember these terms, provide examples
of their use and quote your sources.
1. environmental
science
2. meteorology
3. demography
4. environmental
chemistry
5. ecology
6. ecosystem
7. fossil fuels
8. hydroelectric power
9. nuclear power
10. alternative energy

sources
11. environmental
degradation
12. solid waste
13. hazardous (toxic)

waste
Tip To help you learn and review, cover the left-hand column and read

Part C Greenhouse Gases
A Delicate The Earth maintains its average temperature as a result of a balance

Balance between radiation received from the sun and the heat radiated back into
space. The incoming radiation is visible and ultraviolet light. The
outgoing radiation is infrared light. The so-called Greenhouse gases
(carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs, and methane) in the
atmosphere strongly absorb infrared radiation, which is converted into
heat energy. The relative proportions of these gases and their
contribution to global warming is roughly 50% for carbon dioxide, and
25% each for the other two. If there were an increase in the
concentration of these gases, more infrared radiation would be
absorbed, causing a gradual increase in temperature, or a greenhouse
effect.
Some infrared
light escapes
Sun into space
UV & visible light

from the sun heats
the Earth. Atmosphere, including
greenhouse gases.
Earth radiates Greenhouse gases

heat as infrared absorb infrared light,
light. and the energy is
retained as heat.
Earth
The major global sources of methane (in gigatonnes* per year) are
shown below:
Methane Sources GT /y
enteric fermentation** 80–180
rice paddies & wetlands 40–350
biomass burning 20–110
landfills 30–70
gas and coal fields 30–90
tundra 70–130
*One gigatonne is one billion (10 ) metric tons or 1012 kilograms.
9
**Enteric fermentation is the production of gas in the intestines which

is consequently emitted involuntarily through the rectum accompanied
by loud noises and bad smells. Cattle are the biggest culprits (cause of
the problem).

Since the 1890s the Earth’s temperature has risen by around 0.6°C.
Recent evidence suggests the atmosphere is warming at about 0.3°C per
decade (10 years). Unless action is taken it is predicted that the rate will
increase by up to 0.8°C per decade within 50 to 60 years.
The major causes of the greenhouse effect are
• the burning of fossil fuels releasing carbon dioxide,
• deforestation, and
• other air pollutants such as methane and chlorofluorocarbons.
Land-use changes, especially forest clearing, result in an increase in
carbon dioxide levels from the burning of non-used timber. Also, dead
trees don’t photosynthesise food by consuming carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere so the killing and burning of a tree is a double
environmental disaster. This can in part be counteracted by
reforestation, but it takes many years for new trees to mature to the
efficiency of their predecessors.
The production and consumption of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) is
having a significant effect on global warming. These chemicals are up
to 10000 times more efficient at absorbing infrared radiation than CO2,
and one prediction is that by early next century they will have more
impact on the warming effect than carbon dioxide emissions.
Fortunately the use of CFCs has been curtailed and even banned in
many products, according to the Montreal Protocol, signed by over 100
countries.
Brainstorm: What problems can you think of that could be

caused by an excess of Greenhouse gases? Work with a partner
and write down as many as you can.
Research Question: Find out the chemical formula and

structure of the chlorofluorocarbons banned by the Montreal
Protocol. What are the chemical properties that make them
useful to man?

The major known consequences of the greenhouse effect are:

1. Rising sea levels
Problems would include coastal erosion, decreased availability of
usable land for primary production, flooding of low-lying areas, loss
of wetlands, damage to facilities and utilities such as roads, ports etc.
A doubling of carbon dioxide levels would result in a 2–3°C increase
at the equator with a 7–10°C increase at the poles. Sea levels could
rise up to 70 m, which is equivalent to the height of a 23 storey
building, leaving cities like Shanghai, New York and the entire state
of Florida under water.
2. Potential ecological problems
The impact of increasing temperatures on natural ecosystems could
be overwhelming. Climatic boundaries for vegetation zones will
move faster than the plants themselves can migrate. For example, we
should be planting tropical plants in subtropical areas. In arid areas,
temperature increases of 0.5 to 4°C accompanying more storms and
rainfall will cause considerable change. Increased carbon dioxide
levels can increase acidity in oceans, with disastrous effects on fish
life.
3. Increased environmental problems
Rising gas levels in the atmosphere could interact with and compound
other environmental problems. For example, increased concentrations
of ozone (at low altitudes) could increase pollution problems. Forest
degradation could be accelerated. Coastal waters and rivers could
face greater pollution from degraded forest catchments.
Discussion Question: The atmosphere contains much more carbon

dioxide than it does methane or CFCs. So why are these chemicals
of much greater concern than carbon dioxide as causes of the
greenhouse effect?

Part D Water Pollution
Why Water has a number of unique properties, without which life could not
Water is exist. Water is an excellent solvent, which means it can transport
important nutrients and waste products. This in turn means that many biological
processes such as the uptake of nutrients by plants are possible when
water is present. Water dissolves gases from the air, and minerals and
salts from the rocks and soil. Water in mountain streams has low
concentrations of dissolved salts at first and high gas content as a
result of rapids, waterfalls and so on, which result in aeration of the
surface. As water moves downstream, dissolved salt content increases
but gas concentrations remain the same or decrease. The ocean acts as
the final receiver, where the ions of dissolved salts slowly but
constantly increase in concentration.
Discussion Question: What are the chemical properties of water

that make it a good solvent?
An example of this natural process is the Dead Sea on the border

between Jordan and Israel. It is the lowest point on the surface of the
Earth at 400 m below sea level. Water flowing into this basin has no
way out except for evaporation which leaves all the dissolved salts
behind. As a result, the salt concentration in the water is ten times
higher than in other salt water bodies at 34% compared to 3.5% in the
Mediterranean Sea. The water is so dense that humans float like a
cork, making drowning virtually impossible.
Water is transparent to visible and ultraviolet light. This means that
pure water is colourless and allows light to penetrate, allowing
photosynthesis to take place at considerable depths, which means
plants can live at those depths.
Water has a high heat capacity, which means a relatively large amount
of heat is required to change the temperature of the mass of water
appreciably. This has a stabilising effect, protecting aquatic organisms
from sudden large changes in temperature. In winter, large bodies of
fresh water won’t freeze until months after the air temperature drops
below zero. This has an impact on the climate of nearby cities which
benefit from the heat released from the water body as the surrounding
area cools. Cities like Toronto on the shore of Lake Ontario have much
warmer winters than inland cities further from the shores of the Great
Lakes. The trend reverses in the summer as the cold water takes much
longer to warm up than the air. Now the lake cools the surrounding
land, protecting it from extremely hot weather.
Throughout history, water has been one the major factors in spreading
disease. Faecal contamination of drinking water has caused many
deaths. Despite modern technology, we still have examples of

infectious diseases spreading through improperly or inadequately

treated water. After natural disasters, it is common that water and
sewage pipes are smashed causing bacterial contamination of the
drinking water supply. This can lead to outbreaks of diarrhea, typhoid
fever and cholera. Often, people who travel from one country to another
become ill when exposed to a new source of drinking water. North
Americans visiting Mexico suffer from attacks of ‘Montezuma’s
Revenge’ which is fairly severe diarrhea caused by drinking local water
or eating uncooked food washed in water because that water contains
micro-organisms that are different from the ones their bodies are used
to.
Although there are many different sources of water pollution, only one
type has been included in this manual, namely the problem of residues.
The term ‘residues’ refers to solid material either suspended or
dissolved in water. Residues can be defined as non-filterable (the
portion retained by a filter) and filterable (the portion that passes
through a filter). The total residue is the combination of both. There is
some variation in terminology. ‘Suspended solids’ refers to non-
filterable and ‘dissolved solids’ as filterable residues.
Natural residues usually consist of mud, clay, soil, occasionally algae
and bacteria, and minerals such as silica, calcium carbonate, and iron
oxides. The yellow colour of flood waters is often due to suspended
mud, clay and iron minerals. Residues can be easily seen in water
since they reflect and scatter light. That is what makes water look
murky. The scattering of light is responsible for turbidity (or
cloudiness) in water. It can be measured by determining the amount of
light which passes through a sample.
Residues are the major pollutants in terms of quantity and are
widespread throughout the world.
Residues usually come from erosion, industrial discharges, sewage
effluent, construction sites, dredging, extractive industries, forestry
and overgrazing. They can also be caused by animal action, such as
buffalo wallowing, or by fish such as carp, which disturb the bottom
and banks of rivers when feeding.
The environmental effects of residues include increased turbidity,
limiting depths that sunlight can penetrate. Since plants need sunlight
for photosynthesis, decreased sunlight leads to decreased aquatic plant
life, which causes decreased aquatic animal life. This leads to the
elimination of food organisms from the food chain. Fine sediments
can cause injury to gills of some fish types and shellfish such as
oysters. The reduced visibility causes reduction in numbers of fish and
other organisms that use visual methods to seek prey. The benthic
(bottom dwelling) flora and fauna can also be smothered by residues
settling out.

Review Greenhouse Gases and Water Pollution

necessary. To help you remember these terms, provide examples
of their use and quote your sources.
1. ultraviolet light
2. infrared light
3. chlorofluorocarbons
4. enteric fermentation
5. fossil fuel
6. ozone
7. solvent
8. aeration
9. heat capacity
10. residue
11. filterable
12. turbidity
13. benthic
Tip To help you learn and review, cover the left-hand column and read

Part E What Do You Know?
You know you’re finished GAC013, that’s what! Hopefully you

have enjoyed this introduction to ‘Scientific Principles’ but even
more important is that you have improved your English language
skills and vocabulary. GAC023 Science III: General Science
continues with your science education in English and some of it
draws upon what you have learned here so keep your notes and
Student Manual handy. You may want to refer to them as you study
GAC023.
Assessment In-class Test: Multiple choice Questions Test

Event 3
Assessment Event 3 consists of a multiple choice questions test of
30 questions covering all material studied in this module. This
assessment event is worth 20% of the marks for this module. Your
teacher will administer this assessment soon.

Glossary
Glossary
Definition
Abiotic Factors are all the non-living components in a certain area including
temperature, energy, gases, water, rocks, soils, nutrients and other chemicals.
Acceleration is an increase in speed over a certain period of time.
Active Volcanoes are still likely to erupt today.
Adaptations are features or behaviours that enable an organism to suit or fit its
environment to increase its chances of survival.
Alcohols are a family of organic compounds containing the OH group.
Alkanes are a family of hydrocarbon compounds containing only single carbon to

carbon bonds.
Alternative Energy Sources do not use up natural resources or harm the

environment.
Atmosphere is the gaseous envelope surrounding the planet.
Atom is the smallest unit of a chemical element that can exist.
Behavioural Adaptations are inherited or learned behaviours that increase an

organism's chances of survival.
Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry of living organisms and in a sense it is

a specialised area of organic chemistry.
Biology is the science of life and of living organisms, including their structure,
function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution.
Biotic Factors are all the living things in a certain area.
Boiling Point is the temperature at which a pure liquid becomes a gas.
Botany includes plant structure, reproduction and development, plant nutrition

and plant control systems.
Carbohydrates are organic compounds consisting of carbon, hydrogen and

oxygen atoms.
Cell is the basic structural unit of living matter.
Cellular Biology is the branch of biology that deals with the structure and
function of the cell.

Glossary
Chemical Compound is a new substance formed from two or more elements in a

fixed ratio by mass.
Chemistry is the study of the composition, structure and properties of matter and
their changes.
Chlorophyll is a green coloured substance that absorbs light and so enables

photosynthesis to happen.
Chloroplasts are the units in the cells of plant leaves that contain chlorophyll.
Chromosomes are long strands in the nucleus of the cell that contain genetic
information.
Community consists of all the various organisms living in a particular area.
Compound is formed when two or more elements are chemically combined.
Compound Units are those for which no one ever made up a new name so we
simply refer to the units which were used to calculate them.
Controlled Factors are those which are kept the same throughout the course of
an experiment.
Deceleration is a decrease in speed over a certain period of time.
Demography is the study of the distribution, density, and vital statistics of

populations.
Derived Units are those which have been given new names for a combination of
familiar units.
Displacement is the distance an object travels in a certain direction.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the molecule responsible for passing on all

genetically-determined characteristics in an organism from parents to their
offspring.
Dormant Volcanoes have not erupted for a considerable amount of time but they
can still become active.
Earth Science is the study of the earth and its processes.
Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions of organisms with their

environment.
Ecosystem includes the plants and animals that live in a given area along with the
interactions with their physical surroundings.
Elements cannot be broken down into smaller units by chemical means.
Entomologist is a person who specialises in the study of insects.

Glossary
Environmental Chemistry is a specialised study of the role of chemicals in the

environment.
Environmental Degradation is the reduction of the capacity of the environment

to meet social and ecological objectives, and needs.
Environmental Science is the application of many fields of natural science to

solve environmental problems.
Enzymes are biochemical catalysts - substances which speed up a reaction but

remain unchanged afterwards.
Evolution is the result of genetic changes in a species or population over a period

of time that give a species a survival advantage.
Extinct Volcanoes have not erupted during any period of recorded history.
Fats (also known as lipids) are a higher or more concentrated energy source, as it
takes longer for the body to burn fats.
Filterable Residue is the portion that passes through a filter.
First Law of Thermodynamics: In a closed system, the total amount of energy,

including heat energy, is conserved.
Fossil Fuels are energy sources formed in the ground from the remains of dead
plants and animals.
Freezing Point is the temperature at which a pure liquid will become a solid.
Gas is a state of matter having no fixed shape or volume.
Gene is the unit responsible for a specific inherited characteristic or function.
Genetics is the study of the inheritance of characteristics and usually refers to

cellular reproduction and the molecular biology of the gene.
Geology is a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks.
Half-life is the time it takes for a substance to lose half of its original amount of
radiation.
Hazardous (Toxic) Waste is waste that can produce injury if inhaled, swallowed,
or absorbed through the skin.
Hibernation is a state, similar to deep sleep, in which an animal can remain

without food or water for weeks or months.
High-level Nuclear Waste comes from the core of the nuclear reactor or from the
manufacture of nuclear weapons.
Hydroelectric Power is electricity produced by flowing water such as rapids or

waterfalls.

Glossary
Hydrosphere is the part of the earth composed of water including clouds,

atmospheric water vapour, oceans, ice caps, glaciers, lakes and rivers.
Hypothesis (Hypotheses) is one of many possible and reasonable solutions to a

problem.
Inorganic Chemistry is the area of chemistry that studies minerals, metals and all
the elements and compounds apart from those containing carbon.
Laws of Nature arise from constant testing, repetition, observation and

experiment. They can be changed, but they represent our best understanding of
nature at the current time.
Liquid is a state of matter which has a definite volume but takes the shape of its
container.
Lithosphere is the rocky portion of the earth’s surface between 100 and 200 km
thick.
Low-level Nuclear Waste includes material used to handle the highly radioactive
parts of nuclear reactors and waste from medical procedures involving radioactive
treatments or X-rays.
Lysosomes are sac-like compartments inside a cell that have enzymes that can
break down cellular components that need to be destroyed.
Mass is the amount of matter that constitutes an object.
Mechanics is the study of motion.
Melting Point is the temperature at which a pure solid will become a liquid.
Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena.
Mineralogy is the study of the science of minerals which are the building blocks
for rocks.
Minerals are elements or chemical compounds that are normally crystalline and
that have been formed as a result of geological processes.
Mitochondria (singular: mitochondrion) are the oblong-shaped power houses

which produce energy.
Molecule is the smallest particle of a chemical compound that can exist alone and
still retain the chemical properties of that compound.
Natural Selection is the process whereby a different species is developed.
Newton’s First Law states that an object remains at rest or travels with a constant
speed in a straight line unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force.
Newton’s Second Law states that when an unbalanced force is applied to an

object, the object undergoes acceleration.

Glossary
Newton’s Third Law states that whenever an object exerts a force on another
object (action force), there is an equal force in the opposite direction from the
second object onto the first (reaction force) for the same length of time.
Non-Filterable Residue is the portion retained by a filter.
Nuclear Chemistry is the study of radioactive substances.
Nuclear Power is electric energy generated using heat produced by an atomic

reaction.
Nucleic acids transmit genetic information in the form of coded sequences of

amino-acids which is used for manufacturing proteins.
Nucleus is the control centre of the cell and where the genes are located.
Optics is the study of light,
Organic Chemistry is the branch of chemistry that studies compounds based on

carbon.
Organism is a collection of cells, tissues and organ systems.
Paleontology is the study of life in past geological periods based on plant and
animal fossils.
Pendulum is a weight hanging from a fixed point by a string or wire.
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use light energy and chlorophyll to
transform carbon dioxide gas and water into food, in the form of glucose, and
oxygen which is released into the air as a by-product.
Physical Chemistry focuses on the physical properties of matter, studying for

example the heat produced in chemical reactions and what can affect the rate of a
reaction
Physics is the study of energy, matter and their interrelationships.
Physiological Adaptation is a change in the body's chemistry that occurs in

extreme conditions.
Population involves a group of individuals of the same species.
Proteins form most of the structure of a cell and are very complex molecules
consisting of long chains of amino-acids bonded together.
Qualitative Observations involve a description of the characteristics of matter or

the changes it undergoes.
Quantitative Observations involve the measurement of an item or property and

may require specialised equipment.
Residues are solid materials either suspended or dissolved in water.

Glossary
Scientific Method is a process modern scientists follow in order to solve a

problem or answer a question.
Sedimentology is the study of environments formed by weathering, erosion and

transportation of materials on the Earth’s surface.
Sex-linked Characteristics are carried on the X or Y chromosomes.
Social Structure is the means by which many animals improve their chances of
survival by living in pairs or groups, rather than alone.
Solid is a state of matter having a definite shape and volume.
Solid Waste includes garbage, construction debris, commercial refuse, sludge

from water supply or waste treatment plants, or air pollution control facilities, and
other discarded materials.
Species are members of the same group which have very similar physical
characteristics and are capable of breeding with each other to produce fertile
offspring.
Speed is a measure of the distance traveled per unit of time.
Structural Adaptation is an inherited physical feature that increases an

organism's chance of survival.
Sugars are very simple molecules that provide an instant energy source for the
body.
Theory is a set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or

phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted
and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena.
Topography is a detailed description of the surface features of a certain region.
Variable Factors are allowed to change, one at a time, to see what impact they
have on the experimental results.
Vector Quantities contain numerical information along with corresponding units

and directional information.
Velocity is the speed at which an object travels in a certain direction.
Volcanology is the study of volcanoes and their eruptions.
Weight is a force due to gravity that is directly proportional to the mass of an

object.
Zoology is the branch of biology which studies the animal kingdom, including
animal structure and function.

References
References
The following references were used in compiling this module.
Academic Press, Dictionary of Science and Technology, http://www.harcourt.com/dictionary/

Campbell, N.A., Mitchell, L.G. & Reece, J.B. (2000), Biology: Concepts and Connections,
Benjamin/Cummings, San Francisco
Carr, J.L. (1992), The Art of Science: A practical Guide to Experiments, Observations, and
Handling Data, High Text Publications, San Diego
Crowe, M.J. (1995), History of Science, http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/rhatch/pages/02-
TeachingResources/crowe/crowe.html
Cullen, M. (2002a), Assignment Writing Guide for First Year Students, Southern Cross
University, Lismore, NSW
Cullen, M. (2002b), Self Paced Guide to Chemistry, Southern Cross University, Lismore
Gilpin, A. (1980), Dictionary of Environmental Terms, University of Queensland Press, St
Lucia, Qld
Gould, E. http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/EZRA/ Ezra Gould
Grech, V, Savona-Ventura, C. & Vassallo-Agius, P. (2002). Unexplained differences in sex
ratios at birth in Europe and North America. BMJ (Clinical research ed.) (BMJ,
NCBI/National Institutes of Health) 324 (7344): 1010–1.
Hazen, R.M. & Trefil, J. (1996), The Physical Sciences: An Integrated Approach, John Wiley
& Sons, New York
McKinney, M.L. & Schoch (1996), Environmental Science: Systems and Solutions, Jones &
Bartlett, Sudbury, Massachusetts
Miller, G.T. (1994), Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions, 8th
ed, International Thomson Publishing, Belmont, California
Moyle, D.G., Allan, P.T., Millar, G.L., & Molde, T.A. (1986), Senior Physics, Macmillan,
Melbourne
Sagan, C. (1997), The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Ballantine
Publishing, New York
Smith, R. (1994), Conquering Chemistry, 2nd ed, McGraw-Hill, Sydney

Terraquest (1996), http://www.terraquest.com/galapagos/wildlife/island/finch.html
Trefil, J. & Hazen, R.M. (1995), The Sciences: An Integrated Approach, John Wiley & Sons,
New York
Watson, C. (2000), Heinemann Interactive Science 3, Heinemann, Sydney

References
Watson, C. & Aylmer, W. (2000), Heinemann Interactive Science 2, Heinemann, Sydney

Wright, M., Perry, L., Tibbertsma, T., & Russell, D. (1992), Science in Society, The
Jacaranda Press, Milton
Zitzewitz, P.W. (1990), Physics - Principles and Problems, Merrill Publishing, Columbus
Ohio
A dictionary of scientific terms is available on the Internet at
http://science.yourdictionary.com/
Scientific American Journal is available in hard copy or on the Internet at

http://www.sciam.com/
The following Internet site provides daily updates of scientific information, especially
scientific research: http://www.sciencedaily.com/index.htm


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GLOBAL ASSESSMENT CERTIFICATE

©ACT Education Solutions, Limited

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical development of scientific

Before You Begin

©ACT Education Solutions, Limited Page I

Suggested Delivery Schedule

General Introduction. Overview of the Unit.

Unit 1 E, F & G: Introduce Assessment Event 1

Week 3 Unit 2 D, E & F

Week 4 Unit 3 A & B

Unit 4 A & B Parts 1-4

Unit 4 B Part 5 & Review

Week 8 Unit 4 C Parts 3, 4 & Review

Week 9 Unit 4 D & Review

Week 11 Unit 5 A & B

Unit 5 C, D, E & Review

Page II ©ACT Education Solutions, Limited

Assessment Assessment Event Weighting

1 Scientific Investigation and Report 30 %

2 Case Study Investigation 30 %

3 In-class Test: Multiple Choice Questions Test 20%

5 Course Work 10%

©ACT Education Solutions, Limited Page III

Assignment Task Topic Marks

4(1) 1.1 Science in Everyday Life 20

4(2) 4.4 Team Work: Adaptations 20

4(3) 4.9 A Self-Test on the Periodic Table 20

4(4) 4.17 Volcanoes 20

4(5) 5.2 Water Conservation 20

Page IV ©ACT Education Solutions, Limited

Hints and Cautions

©ACT Education Solutions, Limited Page V

Unit 1: The History of Science

Part A Unit Introduction

Part A Unit Introduction

In this unit you will learn to:

©ACT Education Solutions, Limited Page 1

Part B Why Study Science?

Introduction Brainstorm: Why do you think science is important? Discuss

Every day we are affected by science in many ways. The technology

Discussion: Choose one of the technologies or topics

Science is the application of logic and deduction to what we observe

The modern world is complex and requires an understanding of

Science is also increasingly important in our understanding of world

Page 2 ©ACT Education Solutions, Limited

Question: Can you think of two other examples of science in

Science also builds on itself. It takes accepted facts and theories

Activity: Find one example of a peer reviewed scientific

Good scientists ask questions, particularly questions that other people

Even if you do not plan on working as a scientist, an understanding

How does Why does it

What type of question

©ACT Education Solutions, Limited Page 3

Part C Science in Everyday Life

Each of the following activities can be done simply and without

1. Watch a spider spin its web. What technique does it use to

Page 4 ©ACT Education Solutions, Limited

Leg power can move very heavy loads on a tricycle.

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Part D History of Science

The origins of science can be traced back to the earliest of man’s

Activity: Can you match the scientist with the correct

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