Unit 4

Chemistry at Work

In this unit students investigate the industrial production of chemicals and the energy changes associated with chemical reactions.

Chemical reactions produce a diverse range of products we use and depend on every day. Access to large quantities of raw materials and reliable energy supplies for these reactions is necessary to maintain continuous production of high quality useful chemicals. Features that affect chemical reactions such as the rate and yield or equilibrium position are investigated. Students explore how an understanding of these features is used to obtain optimum conditions in the industrial production of a selected chemical.

Our society uses a range of energy sources, including coal to generate electricity and gas for heating, oil for transport, and solar and wind for small and large scale production of electricity. Students investigate how energy is produced from available resources and consider the efficiencies, advantages and disadvantages of each energy resource.

Galvanic cells and electrolytic cells operate by transforming chemical and electrical energy. Students investigate their operating principles, both in the laboratory and in important commercial and industrial applications including fuel cells. These cells are used in smaller appliances such as mobile phones, CD players, personal computers, and in larger scale systems such as cars and motor bikes, and in the production of chemicals.

Students will continue to investigate the application of principles of green chemistry to chemical processes and use the language and symbols of chemistry, and chemical formulas and equations to explain observations and data collected from experiments.