CHE 1V: Ch1- Intro and Chemical Composition

Chemistry's Vital Role

  • This course aims to provide the basics of chemistry and show its importance to local and global communities.
  • The course starts by exploring the chemistry behind portable electronic devices.

Chapter Goals

  • Identify the components of portable electronic devices.
  • Understand how the periodic table guides device design.
  • Learn about rocks and the isolation/purification of metals from them.
  • Describe how ordinary sand is converted into silicon for electronics.
  • Explain how sand is converted to glass and modified for crack resistance.
  • Discuss sustainability issues and climate change (specifically in chapter 4).

Cell Phones and Chemistry

  • Cell phones and portable electronics rely on chemistry for materials, purification, and chemical transformations.
  • Understanding atom arrangement and interaction is crucial.
  • Changing matter at the smallest scale leads to new materials and applications.
  • Reactions and energy transform raw materials into useful products.

Desirable Cell Phone Attributes

  • Lighter weight.
  • Mobile and easy to carry.
  • Slip-resistant.
  • Good battery life (long-lasting, less frequent recharging).
  • Touchscreen and keyboard.
  • Water resistance.
  • Fast response speeds.
  • Energy efficiency.
  • Faster processing time.
Chemistry and Battery Life
  • Battery advancements are linked to discoveries in chemistry.
  • New elements and materials have improved battery lifespan.
  • Consider the phone as a whole system for energy needs.
  • Processors, connections, and material conductivity are all related to chemistry.
  • Battery life and water resistance can be improved by improving structure and utilizing different chemicals.

Elements in Cell Phones

  • Examples: Lithium and aluminum, silicon and carbon, gold and copper, oxygen (in silicon dioxide, part of glass) and potassium.
  • Many elements and chemical processes are involved in portable devices.

How Touchscreens Work

  • Touchscreens require electronically conductive materials.
  • Conductivity is essential for touch recognition.
  • Skin chemicals help conduct current for functionality.

Cell Phone Lifespan and Sustainability

  • Typical lifespan/upgrade cycle: 3-4 years.
  • Frequent phone replacement is not sustainable.
  • Changing phones often can lead to increased waste due to the chemicals inside the phones.
  • System updates and new features drive phone upgrades.
  • Excessive phone consumption may deplete rare elements.
  • Sustainability: Being responsible about consumption (rare elements are finite).

Classification of Matter

  • Matter: Anything with mass that occupies volume.
  • States of Matter: Solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.
States of Matter simulations (PhET)
  • Plasma is common around the sun, special phase.
  • Everyday life focuses on solid, liquid, and gas.
  • Simulations can show how changing the heat affects the speed of atoms.
    • More heat, more kinetic energy.
    • Less heat, less kinetic energy, atoms get closer.
Properties of Matter Phases
  • Solid:
    • Does not take the shape of its container.
    • Does not completely fill its container.
    • Has a definite volume.
    • Has a definite shape.
  • Liquid:
    • Takes the shape of its container.
    • Does not completely fill its container.
    • Has a definite volume.
    • Does not have a definite shape.
  • Gas:
    • Takes the shape of its container.
    • Completely fills its container.
    • Does not have a definite volume.
    • Does not have a definite shape.
      Note: Plasma isn't clearly defined, and isn't part of everyday life.

Clarification on "Completely Fills Container": A solid (ice) will stay at the bottom of the container, a liquid (water) fill part of it, and a gas (water vapor) will spread to fill the entire container.

Composition of Matter

  • Two main categories:
    • Pure Substance: Constant composition, one type of atom or molecule.
    • Mixture: Varying composition, two or more types of atoms or molecules.
Pure Substances
  • Elements: Cannot be broken down chemically into simpler substances, made of one type of atom.
  • Compounds: Formed from two or more different atoms combined in a fixed proportion by mass, identical molecules.
Mixtures
  • Homogeneous Mixture: Same properties throughout (also called a solution, uniform mixing).
  • Heterogeneous Mixture: Two or more phases, each with its own properties (non-uniform mixing, visible layers).
    • Ex: Oil and water.

Examples: Element, Compound, or Mixture

  • Carbon Dioxide: Compound
  • Nickel: Element
  • Cocaine: Compound
  • Ice: Compound
  • Cell Phone: Mixture
  • Red Wine: Mixture
  • Scent: Mixture
  • Table Salt: Compound
  • Soil: Mixture
  • Sugar: Compound
  • Aluminum Foil: Element
  • Stainless Steel: Mixture (homogeneous mixture of iron, chromium, carbon).