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CHEMISTRY REVISION

WATER
WATER TREATMENT
In the UK all water that comes out of our taps mainly originates from rain (can also
be from rivers and underground water) but has to be treated to make it safe to drink.
It is collected in lakes or reservoirs and stored there but will contain a lot of particles
and bacteria.
Sedimentation: larger solid particles settle under gravity in reservoirs/ tanks
Filtration: smaller particles filtered through layers of sand and gravel
Chlorination: bacteria killed by chlorine to prevent disease and make it safe
(Fluoride may be added in some places to prevent tooth decay)
Storage: in water tank or tower

DESALINATION
Water can be obtained from the sea and desalinated. The usual process is reverse
osmosis: the sea water is filtered under pressure through membrane that doesnt let
through large salt molecules but lets through small water ones. The very salty water
left behind, however, is a pollutant that must be disposed of carefully. Distillation can
also be used by heating the water so it evaporates and condenses, leaving behind
the salt (can do this without heating by using vacuum distillation which is lowering
pressure below atmospheric levels).
These, however, need a lot of energy to maintain the high pressures or temperatures
so are expensive and produce a lot of greenhouse gases. They may not be a viable
option for countries with little rainfall but are far from the sea so would require water
to be piped long distances or are poor so cant afford expensive energy. Countries in
the Middle East though do use this method because they are rich, have coastlines
and produce oil so energy is cheap.

IMPORTANCE OF WATER
Water is a resource that is ever more in demand all over the world due to increasing
population (farming, drinking, cleaning) and industrialisation (used as a solvent and a
coolant). Climate change could also potentially cause water shortages, for example,
in parts of the UK. As demand outstrips supply, the cost of water will increase and
so measures to conserve water have economic benefits for domestic, commercial
and industrial consumers
.

DISTILLATION
You can separate a mixture of water and other miscible liquids by distillation (e.g.
ethanol and water) because pure liquids have different boiling points. The liquid with
the lower boiling point (ethanol) evaporates first and rises in the flask. It enters the
condenser which is surrounded by a jacket of cool water (it enters from the bottom
so that the condenser is completely filled) so the gas condenses and the distillate is
collected in a beaker at the end. A fractionating column is used if for more than two
liquid or they dont have clearly different boiling points.

PAPER CHROMATOGRAPHY
Pigments, such as inks, can be separated using paper chromatography due to their
differing solubilities. A drop of pigment is placed on chromatography paper which is
hung from a hook and the paper is dipped into the solvent, just below the spot. It is
then covered. The solvent soaks into the paper and moves upwards, dissolving any
soluble substances in the pigment and causing they travel upwards with it (with the
most soluble ones travelling furthest).

A solute can be identified by its Rf value which is how far it has travelled (taken from
the average of the maximum and minimum distance (centre) the spot has moved as
it is spread out) and dividing it by how far the solvent has travelled. Although some
solutes may have the same Rf value as another in one solvent they would not have
identical ones in several different ones as they have different solubilities in different
solvents (so sometimes more than one is used to conclusively identify a solvent).

GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
Gas chromatography is an analytical technique used to detect and measures very
small amounts of certain chemicals present in a mixture e.g. pollutants in water/ air,
banned substances in the blood of athletes. The mixture must be in the form of a gas
(can be made into one by heating it) and passes through a column with different
substances being absorbed onto the inert solid or liquid at different distances due to
their chemical and physical properties. Their position and the amount of them is then
detected electronically.

SOLUBILITY
For each solute, there is a limit to how much it can be dissolved into a solvent. When
no more can dissolve the solution is saturated, however, increasing the temperature
can increases the amount dissolved in a solution.

HARDNESS OF WATER
Hard water forms a scum and poor lather when acting with soap (this can be used
to determine the relative amount of hardness between samples). Hardness can be
temporary, permanent or a mixture of both. Hard water can have benefits for teeth,
bones and reduce heart disease because of the dissolved calcium compounds.
Temporary hard water contains calcium/ magnesium hydrogencarbonate and can be
removed by boiling (this is easy and cheap). This, however, is only practical for small
quantities and leaves behind calcium carbonate and can cause blockages in pipes or
deposits in electrical appliances leaving them less efficient.
Permanent hard water contains chlorides/ sulphates of calcium and magnesium but
cant be removed by heating. You can remove it by:
Adding sodium carbonate (washing soda): removes temporary and permanent
hardness by precipitating calcium carbonate but deposits are formed
Ion exchange: removes temporary and permanent hardness by exchanging
the sodium ions on the resin in the column for calcium and magnesium ions
but eventually the sodium ions are used up (but they can be regenerated by
passing concentrated sodium chloride solution through it), they are expensive
(but can treat large quantities) and the waste in the industrial-scale plants can
precipitate scale that can interfere with the sewage system

ATOMIC SPECTROSCOPY
Atomic spectroscopy can identify and find very small concentrations of atoms or ions
e.g. metal ions in water and biological tissues. It involves the intereaction between
electromagnetic radiation (such as X-rays, ultra-violet and visible light) with atoms
and detects this with a machine called a spectrometer (e.g. atomic absorption, X-ray
fluorescence or optical spectrometers).

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