Web Links

Unit 5 - Organic Chemistry

• Chapter 9 Hydrocarbons from Petroleum
• Chapter 10 Hydrocarbon Derivations, Organic Reactions, and Petrochemicals

Unit 6 - Chemical Energy

• Chapter 11 Enthalpy Change
• Chapter 12 Explaining Chemical Changes

Unit 7 Electrochemistry

• Chapter 13 Redox Reactions
• Chapter 14 Electrochemical Cells

Unit 8 Chemical Equilibrium Focusing on Acid-Base Systems

• Chapter 15 Equilibrium Systems
• Chapter 16 Equilibrium in Acid-Base Systems

Chapter 12 Enthalpy Change

Section 12.1 Activation Energy

WEB Activity: Collisions and Reactions (page 54)

Orientation of Molecules
View the animations to observe the modelling of both effective and ineffective collisions. Draw models of the orientation of the atoms for the effective and the ineffective collision.

Biology Connection: "Cold-Blooded" Animals? (page 54)

You may discover that cold-blooded animals aren't always quite as cold as we think. Your Biology textbook has more information on cold-blooded animals.

Web Activity: Collision - Reaction Theory (page 57)

View a simulation to review some key points of the collision-reaction theory including activation energy and enthalpy changes.

Collision Theory
Scroll down to the list of Animations, etc., and click on 14.4-14.6 Collision Theory. View Sections 1 to 7 of the animated tutorial.

Review some key points of the collision-reaction theory including activation energy and enthalpy changes.

Section 12.1 Questions (page 59)

Question 8

Aboriginal peoples used fire for many purposes. What technologies did they use to start a fire?

Bow and Drill Fire
This animated page describes how to make and use a special technology designed to turn a stick very quickly in order to create sufficient friction (and heat) to start a fire.

Primitive Ways
Some of the skills involved in starting a fire are far from primitive, but several technologies are discussed on this organization's Web site.

Question 9

What are the ignition temperatures of various combustible materials? List the ignition temperature of a few that interest you. Write a brief theoretical explanation for the different ignition temperatures.

Ignition Temperatures
Encarta's data table includes both piloted ignition temperature and spontaneous ignition temperature.

Question 10

For thousands of years, peoples living in cold climates have taken advantage of the low temperatures to help them preserve food.

(a) Apply the concepts learned in this section to create a hypothesis to explain why food lasts longer at low temperatures.

The Purpose of Refrigeration
How Stuff Works describes, in simple language, how lowering the temperature of food lengthens its shelf life.

Freezing Food for Preservation
Wikipedia supplies a more scientific explanation, with links to definitions of many terms.

Cryopreservation
What's colder than a deepfreeze? Wikipedia explains how temperatures of

-80 °C to -196 °C are used to preserve biological cells and tissues so that they can be thawed and "revived."

(b) Research a technology that was developed to capitalize on the benefits of cold storage. Consider the risks and benefits of this technology.

How Thermoses (Vacuum Flasks) Work
The How Stuff Works Web site explains the mystery of how a vacuum flask "knows" how to keep hot things hot, or cold things cold.

Vacuum Flask
Wikipedia outlines the history of the development of the vacuum flask, also known as the Dewar flask , after its inventor.

(c) Create an illustrated article entitled "Cold Storage: Theory and Application" suitable for publication in a popular science magazine or e-zine.

Use the sites above as starting points for your research.

Section 12.2 Bond Energy and Reactions

Web Activity: Canadian Achievers-John Polanyi (page 62)

Question 1

A laser is a technology that allowed new science to be done. Find some examples of chemistry that were allowed due to the invention of the laser.

Better Chemistry Through Femtosecond Lasers
Berkley Lab's online magazine (2004) describes the lab's research: " In the quest to determine the chemical composition of solids with greater and greater accuracy, Berkeley Lab scientists are using extremely short laser bursts that span one-quadrillionth of a second."

Timing is Everything: Chemist Shoots Chemistry "In the Act" This article describes the work of a physical chemist at Washington University in St. Louis. He is combining powerful lasers with clever timing schemes to explore chemical reactions. He hopes to get new insights from understanding the mechanisms of a chemical reaction at the most fundamental level.

Question 3

What else is Polanyi well known for, besides his chemistry research?

John Polanyi
The many sections of Dr. Polanyi's personal Web site give an indication of his wide-ranging interests.

John C. Polanyi - Biography
The Nobel Prize's official site provides biographies of every one of the Nobel laureates, including Polanyi. This official story is from Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1986 , editor Wilhelm Odelberg, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm , 1987. It has been somewhat updated, but covers Polanyi's accomplishments only up to 1992.

Science.ca - John Charles Polanyi
This source manages to personalize scientists by giving a glimpse of real life in the science lab.   

Section 12.3 Catalysis and Reaction Rate

Web Activity: A Biochemical Pathway (page 65)

Many biological processes such as metabolism and photosynthesis are very complex reactions. How do enzymes help these reactions occur that otherwise would not be energetically possible?

Click on the link below and see how the final product may depend on a series of catalyzed reactions.

A Biochemical Pathway

Web Activity: Simulation of a Catalyzed Reaction (page 67)

Hydrogenation is an important industrial process. Scientific studies of hydrogenation typically start with simple reactions in order to understand the molecular process (mechanism). In this simulation you will investigate the hydrogenation of ethene using a platinum catalyst.

Did You Know? Catalytic Converters (page 68)

Modern catalytic converters are called three-way converters because they use catalysts to convert three pollutants - NOx, CO, and hydrocarbon - into less harmful substances.

Catalytic Converters
How Stuff Works explains the structure and workings of catalytic converters.

Section 12.3 Questions (page 70)

Question 8

Find at least two examples of enzymes and industrial catalysts. Summarize your research to these questions.

(a) For each of the enzymes or catalysts, record

. the reaction that is catalyzed

. how the catalyst was discovered

. where and how the catalyst or enzyme acts

. for an enzyme, physiological implications of its presence or deficiency, whether such a condition exists, and, if so, how it is currently treated

. economic implications of the industrial catalysts' use

(b) Which of the industrial catalysts has the greatest effect on your own life? Explain.

Enzymes

Enzyme
Wikipedia describes how enzymes work, in general, and links to some specific examples.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase
Wikipedia describes the enzyme and describes its action in humans and other organisms.

Industrial Catalysts

Haber Process
Wikipedia describes the Haber process and discusses the role of catalysts in the reaction of nitrogen and hydrogen to form ammonia.

ChemGuide Catalysis
Produced by Chemguide, this menu leads to pages on several different applications of catalysis.

Applied Catalysis
The site map for this Web site outlines some of the many different industrial reactions that involve the use of catalysts. Click on any of them for more information.

Unit Review (pages 73-77)

Question 23

Cracking (especially to produce gasoline and ethene) is the most common industrial chemical reaction in Alberta . For catalytic cracking of crude oil fractions into gasoline hydrocarbons, synthetic zeolites (aluminosilicates-Al x Si y O z) are the preferred catalysts.

(c) View a representation of natural and synthetic zeolite.

(i) What cation is primarily used to enrich the synthetic zeolite to make an even more effective catalyst than the natural crystal?

(ii) What other cations may be present in the synthetic zeolite catalyst?

The Catalyst - Zeolite
This is a brief illustrated introduction to what zeolite actually is. Click in the pink-coloured box to find out more about synthetic zeolite.

Question 24

(b) Research recent greenhouse gas emissions in Environment Canada's Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Graph the per capita emissions over the last fifteen years or so. Comment on the trends you observe.

Canada's Greenhouse Gas Inventory, 1999-2003 - Executive Summary
Table #1: Canada's GHG Emissions and Accompanying Variables, 1990-2003, gives a vast range of statistics for this time period. Search for the section on GHG per capita.

Alternatively, the Statistics Canada document Human Activity and the Environment, Annual Statistics 2004 ( Catalogue no. 16-201-XIE) - or a later version - contains all the information you will need. Your teacher or school library may have access to an electronic version of this document.

(c) What is the Canadian GHG emission target in tonnes per capita? If every one of us meets this target, what will be the percentage reduction in GHG emissions? Relate this to the graph you plotted in (b).

Canada's Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 1990-1999
Environment Canada's 2001 News Release includes descriptions, graphs, and a table all on the subject of our GHG emissions. Check the axis labels of the graphs carefully, as the trends can easily be misinterpreted.

Climate Summit Montreal 2005
Greenpeace's article in response to Canada's GHG emissions is not encouraging.

Kyoto Protocol
This page, on the Web site of the David Suzuki Foundation, outlines what Canada officially committed to in February 2005.

Question 26

Use the One-Tonne Challenge calculator to see how your energy emissions compare with the national average, and what you can do to reduce your emissions.

Kyoto Protocol
This page, on the Web site of the David Suzuki Foundation, outlines what Canada officially committed to in February 2005.

One-Tonne Challenge
The Government of Canada challenges every Canadian to reduce their GHG emissions. This site provides many suggestions.

Question 30

Statistics Canada lists the percent hydroelectric power generation by province and territory (Table 2) .

(a) Analyze this data (or more recent data from the Statistics Canada Web site) to find any trends and insights concerning the percentage of hydroelectric power generation in Canada.

(b) Generate a bar graph to illustrate the percentage generation of hydroelectric power by province.

(c) Explain the difference between hydro use in AB and hydro use in one other province or territory.

(d) From an environmental perspective list pros and cons for hydroelectric power stations.

(e) If a goal of technology is to provide solutions to practical problems, evaluate the solution of replacing fossil fuel power plants by hydroelectric power. Provide at least one pro and one con from at least three perspectives.

The Statistics Canada document Human Activity and the Environment, Annual Statistics 2004 ( Catalogue no. 16-201-XIE) - or a later version - contains all the information you will need. Your teacher or school library may have access to an electronic version of this document. Search for tables showing hydroelectric power generation.

Question 34

When investigating reactions to produce ammonia, Haber and Bosch tested some 20 000 candidate catalysts in a trial-and-error process before discovering an iron ore from Sweden that worked well for fertilizer production. (The ore happened to contain traces of alumina and alkali metal compounds.) In the catalyzed reaction of nitrogen and hydrogen, the gases are adsorbed (labelled as "ads" in parentheses) onto the solid iron ore catalyst.

(a) Compare the activation energy for the uncatalyzed reaction (red pathway) with the largest activation energy for the catalyzed reaction (green pathway).

(b) Why is the catalyzed reaction much faster?

(c) How do the enthalpy changes for the catalyzed and uncatalyzed reactions compare? Comment on the magnitude and sign.

Discovery and Development of a Catalyst
The University of York Science Education Group (UK) provides some excellent pages on specific applications of catalysis - and their discovery. This page starts the story of Haber's development of a process to manufacture ammonia early in the 20th century.