Northgate High School GCSE Chemistry

Chemistry Criteria Sheet

Topic 4 – Chemical Changes

Revision guide page numbers:

Chemistry: p38-43

Top tips
Code Specification Content and
keywords
4.1 Reactivity of metals
4.1.1 Metal Oxides

Metals react with oxygen to produce metal oxides. The reactions are oxidation
reactions because the metals gain oxygen.

Students should be able to explain reduction and oxidation in terms of loss or gain
of oxygen.
4.1.2 The reactivity series

When metals react with other substances the metal atoms form positive ions. The
reactivity of a metal is related to its tendency to form positive ions.

Metals can be arranged in order of their reactivity in a reactivity series. The metals
potassium, sodium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron and copper can be put
in order of their reactivity from their reactions with water and dilute acids.

The non-metals hydrogen and carbon are often included in the reactivity series.

A more reactive metal can displace a less reactive metal from a compound.

Students should be able to:

• recall and describe the reactions, if any, of potassium, sodium, lithium,
calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron and copper with water or dilute acids and
where appropriate, to place these metals in order of reactivity

• explain how the reactivity of metals with water or dilute acids is related
to the tendency of the metal to form its positive ion

• deduce an order of reactivity of metals based on experimental results.

The reactions of metals with water and acids are limited to room temperature and
do not include reactions with steam.

4.1.3 Extraction of metals and reduction

 Northgate High School GCSE Chemistry

Unreactive metals such as gold are found in the Earth as the metal itself but
most metals are found as compounds that require chemical reactions to extract
the metal.

Metals less reactive than carbon can be extracted from their oxides by reduction
with carbon. Reduction involves the loss of oxygen.

Knowledge and understanding are limited to the reduction of oxides using

carbon.
Knowledge of the details of processes used in the extraction of metals is not
required.

Students should be able to:

• interpret or evaluate specific metal extraction processes when given
appropriate information

• identify the substances which are oxidised or reduced in terms of gain

or loss of oxygen.

4.1.4 Oxidation and reduction in terms of electrons (HT only)

Oxidation is the loss of electrons and reduction is the gain of electrons.

Student should be able to:

• write ionic equations for displacement reactions

• identify in a given reaction, symbol equation or half equation which

species are oxidised and which are reduced.

4.2 Reactions of Acids

4.2.1 Reactions of acids with metals
Acids react with some metals to produce salts and hydrogen.

(HT only) Students should be able to:

• explain in terms of gain or loss of electrons, that these are redox
reactions

• identify which species are oxidised and which are reduced in given
chemical equations.

Knowledge of reactions limited to those of magnesium, zinc and iron with

hydrochloric and sulfuric acids.

4.2.2 Neutralisation of acids and salt production

Acids are neutralised by alkalis (eg soluble metal hydroxides) and bases (eg
insoluble metal hydroxides and metal oxides) to produce salts and water, and by
metal carbonates to produce salts, water and carbon dioxide.

The particular salt produced in any reaction between an acid and a base or alkali
depends on:
• the acid used (hydrochloric acid produces chlorides, nitric acid produces
 Northgate High School GCSE Chemistry

nitrates, sulfuric acid produces sulfates)

• the positive ions in the base, alkali or carbonate.

Students should be able to:

• predict products from given reactants

• use the formulae of common ions to deduce the formulae of salts.

4.2.3 Soluble Salts

Soluble salts can be made from acids by reacting them with solid insoluble
substances, such as metals, metal oxides, hydroxides or carbonates. The solid is
added to the acid until no more reacts and the excess solid is filtered off to
produce a solution of the salt.

Salt solutions can be crystallised to produce solid salts.

Students should be able to describe how to make pure, dry samples of named
soluble salts from information provided.

Required practical 1: preparation of a pure, dry sample of a soluble salt from an

insoluble oxide or carbonate using a Bunsen burner to heat dilute acid and a
water bath or electric heater to evaporate the solution.

4.2.4 The pH scale and neutralisation

Acids produce hydrogen ions (H+) in aqueous solutions.

Aqueous solutions of alkalis contain hydroxide ions (OH–).

The pH scale, from 0 to 14, is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution,

and can be measured using universal indicator or a pH probe.

A solution with pH 7 is neutral. Aqueous solutions of acids have pH values of less

than 7 and aqueous solutions of alkalis have pH values greater than 7.

In neutralisation reactions between an acid and an alkali, hydrogen ions react with
hydroxide ions to produce water.

This reaction can be represented by the equation:

Students should be able to:

• describe the use of universal indicator or a wide range indicator to
measure the approximate pH of a solution
• use the pH scale to identify acidic or alkaline solutions.
 Northgate High School GCSE Chemistry

4.2.5 Titrations (chemistry only)

The volumes of acid and alkali solutions that react with each other can be
measured by titration using a suitable indicator.

Students should be able to:

• describe how to carry out titrations using strong acids and strong alkalis
only (sulfuric, hydrochloric and nitric acids only) to find the reacting
volumes accurately

• (HT Only) calculate the chemical quantities in titrations involving

concentrations in mol/dm3 and in g/dm3.

Required practical 2: (chemistry only) determination of the reacting volumes of

solutions of a strong acid and a strong alkali by titration.
(HT only) determination of the concentration of one of the solutions in mol/dm3
and g/dm3 from the reacting volumes and the known concentration of the other
solution.

4.2.6 Strong and weak acids (HT only)

A strong acid is completely ionised in aqueous solution. Examples of strong acids

are hydrochloric, nitric and sulfuric acids.

A weak acid is only partially ionised in aqueous solution. Examples of weak acids
are ethanoic, citric and carbonic acids.

For a given concentration of aqueous solutions, the stronger an acid, the lower
the pH.
As the pH decreases by one unit, the hydrogen ion concentration of the solution
increases by a factor of 10.

Students should be able to:

• use and explain the terms dilute and concentrated (in terms of amount
of substance), and weak and strong (in terms of the degree of ionisation)
in relation to acids

• describe neutrality and relative acidity in terms of the effect on

hydrogen ion concentration and the numerical value of pH (whole
numbers only).
Northgate High School GCSE Chemistry
Northgate High School GCSE Chemistry
Northgate High School GCSE Chemistry
 Northgate High School GCSE Chemistry

Top tips
Code Specification Content and
keywords
4.3 Electrolysis
4.3.1 The process of electrolysis

When an ionic compound is melted or dissolved in water, the ions are free to
move about within the liquid or solution. These liquids and solutions are able
to conduct electricity and are called electrolytes.

Passing an electric current through electrolytes causes the ions to move to

the electrodes.

Positively charged ions move to the negative electrode (the cathode), and
negatively charged ions move to the positive electrode (the anode).

Ions are discharged at the electrodes producing elements. This process is

called electrolysis.

(HT only) Throughout Section 4.3 Higher Tier students should be able to write
half equations for the reactions occurring at the electrodes during
electrolysis, and may be required to complete and balance supplied half
equations.
4.3.2 Electrolysis of molten ionic compounds

When a simple ionic compound (eg lead bromide) is electrolysed in the

molten state using inert electrodes, the metal (lead) is produced at the
cathode and the non-metal (bromine) is produced at the anode.

Students should be able to predict the products of the electrolysis of binary

ionic compounds in the molten state.

(A safer alternative for practical work is anhydrous zinc chloride)

4.3.3 Using electrolysis to extract metals
Metals can be extracted from molten compounds using electrolysis.

Electrolysis is used if the metal is too reactive to be extracted by reduction

with carbon or if the metal reacts with carbon.

Large amounts of energy are used in the extraction process to melt the
compounds and to produce the electrical current.

Aluminium is manufactured by the electrolysis of a molten mixture of

aluminium oxide and cryolite using carbon as the positive electrode (anode).

Students should be able to:

• explain why a mixture is used as the electrolyte
 explain why the positive electrode must be continually replaced.
4.3.4 Electrolysis of aqueous solutions

The ions discharged when an aqueous solution is electrolysed using inert

 Northgate High School GCSE Chemistry

electrodes depend on the relative reactivity of the elements involved.

At the negative electrode (cathode), hydrogen is produced if the metal is

more reactive than hydrogen.

At the positive electrode (anode), oxygen is produced unless the solution

contains halide ions when the halogen is produced.

This happens because in the aqueous solution water molecules break down
producing hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions that are discharged.

Students should be able to predict the products of the electrolysis of aqueous

solutions containing a single ionic compound.

Required practical 3: investigate what happens when aqueous solutions are

electrolysed using inert electrodes. This should be an investigation involving
developing a hypothesis.
4.3.5 Representation of reactions at electrodes as half equations (HT only)

During electrolysis, at the cathode (negative electrode), positively charged

ions gain electrons and so the reactions are reductions.

At the anode (positive electrode), negatively charged ions lose electrons and
so the reactions are oxidations.

Reactions at electrodes can be represented by half equations, for example:

2H+ + 2e- → H2

and 4OH- → O2 + 2H2O + 4e- or 4OH- – 4e- → O2 + 2H2O

Northgate High School GCSE Chemistry