Chemistry Resources
This collection of lessons was designed to provide students with a refresher of key Secondary 4 science concepts that are essential to the Secondary 5 Chemistry program. These resources may be used as a whole package or on an individual basis.
PLEASE NOTE: No sign-in is required to view these lessons. Simply click the arrow on the lower left-hand side of the slide to play. Use the arrows on the lower right-hand side of the slide to advance the slides.
LEARN Design and Development Team: Author/Lead Teacher: Kerry Cule, BSc Eng, BEd; Editor: Tasha Ausman, PhD; and Instructional Designer: Kristine Thibeault, MEd.
Organization of Matter (Sec 4 SE and Sec 4 EST)
In this brief video, students review the concept of an atom and its constituent parts (proton, neutron, electron). As well, students are reminded of the difference between ions, isotopes, and atoms and are expected to recall these concepts from the past. A note about polyatomic ions is included and students should proceed into the Chemistry 11 curriculum with full knowledge of these topics.
Learning Goals:
- To define the atom as the basic unit of the molecule
- To define an element as a pure substance made of a single type of atom
- To be able to describe the position and electrical charge of the elementary particles in an atom (proton, electron, neutron)
- To define the concept of ion
Related Textbook Pages:
Quantum Chemistry, Third Year of Secondary Cycle Two, Chenelière Éducation, 2011, pp 4-7
Observatory: The Environment, Second Year of Secondary Cycle Two, ERPI, 2009, pp 6-16
Additional Resources:
ExploreLearning Gizmos: Element Builder
Periodic Classification (Sec 4 ST)
Here, periodic classification is re-introduced. In this video, students learn about the order in which electrons fill their shells, and the proper roman numeral classification of groups and periods.
Learning Goals:
- To describe the periodic table as a structured classification of elements
- To be able to determine the number of valence electrons in an element
Related Textbook Pages:
Quantum Chemistry, Third Year of Secondary Cycle Two, Chenelière Éducation, 2011, pp 8-10
Observatory: The Environment, Second Year of Secondary Cycle Two, ERPI, 2009, pp 17-25
Additional Resources:
Khan Academy: The periodic table - classification of elements
Finding Ionic Charges (Sec 4 SE and Sec 4 EST)
In this video, students are given an opportunity to review and practice why metals adopt positive charges and non-metals largely have negative charges based on their valence electron arrangements. Students are asked to identify key properties of ions in a final practice assignment, including their placement on the periodic table and ratio of protons to electrons.
Learning Goal:
- To determine the ionic charge for a given ion
Lewis Dot Diagrams (Sec 4 SE and Sec 4 ST)
Offered here is a key video explaining Lewis Notation. Explicating how a Lewis dot diagram indicates the valence number of electrons, the teacher explains how electrons are arranged and paired.
Learning Goals:
- To represent atoms using Lewis notation
- To make a schematic representation of a covalent bond
- To make a schematic representation of an ionic bond
In this second lesson, students review the concepts of ionic and covalent bonding using the Lewis notation model. In this review, the difference between ionic bonding where electrons are donated or received, and covalent bonding where they are shared, is explained through key examples.
Related Textbook Pages:
Quantum Chemistry, Third Year of Secondary Cycle Two, Chenelière Éducation, 2011, p 7, pp 28-29
Observatory: The Environment, Second Year of Secondary Cycle Two, ERPI, 2009, p 27, pp 45-47
Additional Resources:
Khan Academy: Counting valence electrons for main group elements
Enumeration of Matter (Sec 4 SE and Sec 4 EST)
This lesson begins by recounting the difficulty with counting the number of particles in chemistry. Following this, the rationale for using the mole is carefully explained along with the concept of molar mass (the mass of a single mole of any one substance).
The second part of the video refreshes students about the relationship between mass, molar mass, and moles, and empowers them to solve for unknown values when required. As well, students are reminded that the number of moles is equivalent to the number of particles divided by Avogadro’s number. We can then substitute the number of moles into the first formula if required, to find grams or to solve for molar mass experimentally.
Learning Goals:
- To define the mole as the unit of measure of the amount of a substance
- To express an amount of a substance in moles
Related Textbook Pages:
Quantum Chemistry, Third Year of Secondary Cycle Two, Chenelière Éducation, 2011, pp 13-14
Observatory: The Environment, Second Year of Secondary Cycle Two, ERPI, 2009, pp 30-31
Additional Resources:
Khan Academy: The mole and Avogadro's number
Balancing Equations (Sec 4 SE and Sec 4 ST)
In this lesson, we review the basic principles of balancing equations. Foremost, students must bear in mind the Law of Conservation of Matter, or in other words, that elements must be equal on the reactant and product sides of any chemical equation. Using coefficients (not subscripts!), students can balance elements to ensure the law is followed and the reaction balanced.
Learning Goal:
- To balance a chemical equation
Related Textbook Pages:
Quantum Chemistry, Third Year of Secondary Cycle Two, Chenelière Éducation, 2011, pp 22-23
Observatory: The Environment, Second Year of Secondary Cycle Two, ERPI, 2009, p 111
Additional Resources:
Stoichiometry (Sec 4 SE and Sec 4 EST)
Here, we begin to think about calculations as applied to chemical reactions. In all chemical reactions, there are reactants that break apart and rearrange bonds to make new products, in keeping with the Law of Conservation of Mass. Here, students are looking at calculating the number of moles of a reactant or product given another one. This unpacks the concept of mole ratios and emphasizes that moles are the only mode of conversion in chemistry between different substances.
Learning Goal:
- To determine the quantities of reactants or products using stoichiometric calculations (gram or mole)
Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions (Sec 4 SE and Sec 4 EST)
In this video, students review the concept of thermal energy as the product of mass, specific heat capacity, and the change in temperature. Thermal energy (Q), in Joules, is the measure of the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a substance a certain number of degrees. Or, conversely, the measure of how much energy is released to the environment, should an object cool down. The calculations remind us that we are always considering the transfer of energy within systems.
Students are also reminded about the nature of exothermic versus endothermic reactions. In the former, energy is released by the chemical reaction, and in the latter, it is absorbed. As such, the notation for energy in exothermic reactions is negative (Joules) and for endothermic reactions is positive.
Learning Goals:
- To describe qualitatively the relationship between the change in thermal energy (quantity of heat) of a substance, its mass, its specific heat capacity and the variations in temperature to which it is exposed
- To apply the mathematical relationship between thermal energy, mass, specific heat capacity and temperature variation (Q = mcΔT)
- To distinguish an endothermic reaction from an exothermic reaction according to perceptible signs
- To distinguish an endothermic reaction from an exothermic reaction according to the position of the energy term in the chemical equation
Related Textbook Pages:
Quantum Chemistry, Third Year of Secondary Cycle Two, Chenelière Éducation, 2011, p 26 & p 32
Observatory: The Environment, Second Year of Secondary Cycle Two, ERPI, 2009, pp 73-75, pp 114-116
Additional Resources:
Endothermic VS Exothermic Reactions
The Sci Guys (YouTube): Exothermic Reactions and Supercooled Solutions
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