Unit 6

Chapter Overview

During this unit, students plan and safely implement an experimental investigation of the law of conservation of mass in a chemical reaction.  Students apply the laws of definite proportions and conservation of mass to properly write and balance chemical equations, indicating the phases of all reactants and products.  Additionally, they learn to identify five basic types of reactions (synthesis, decomposition, single replacement, double replacement, and combustion), and they learn to identify and differentiate among three additional types of reactions (acid-base, precipitation, and oxidation-reduction or redox) by safely implementing a comparative investigation.  Finally, students safely implement a comparative investigation on the activity of metals in oxidation-reduction (single replacement) reactions.

Note: The focus for this unit will be in differentiating among types of reactions by learning to recognize if the equation represents an acid-base reaction, a precipitation reaction, or an oxidation-reduction reaction.  In Unit 11, students will apply this information by comparing acid-base and oxidation-reduction reactions in greater depth.

Main Ideas

1. The law of conservation of matter (mass) governs chemical reactions and is applied in balancing chemical equations.

2. There are five basic types of chemical reactions.

3. Laws, theories, and hypotheses are the foundations of science.

Vocabulary

Law of Conservation of Matter/Mass – matter is not created or destroyed in a chemical reaction; the mass of the products equals the mass of the reactants

Balanced Chemical Equation – an equation that represents quantitatively the relationships between reactants and products in a chemical reaction

Acid – a substance that produces hydrogen ions when dissolved in water

Base – a substance that produces hydroxide ions when dissolved in water

Acid-Base Reaction – a type of double displacement reaction that occurs between an acid and a base to produce water and a salt; also called neutralization

Precipitation Reaction – a type of double replacement reaction occurring in solution that produces an insoluble product

Oxidation-Reduction Reaction – a reaction in which electrons are transferred between reacting atoms, that is atoms change oxidation numbers; includes synthesis,single replacement, decomposition, and combustion reactions

Reactants – a substance that takes part in and undergoes change during a reaction=

Products – a substance formed during a chemical reaction

Neutralization Reaction – a chemical reaction in which an acid and a base react with each other with no excess of hydrogen or hydroxide ions present in the solution

Notes

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