C1.2 Limestone and Building Materials

Question 1

Which compound does limestone mainly consist of?

Answer 1

Calcium Carbonate

CaCO3.

Question 2

What are the word and symbol equations for the thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate?

Answer 2

Calcium Carbonate -> Calcium Oxide + Carbon Dioxide

CaCO3 -> CaO + CO2

Question 3

What are the products of the reaction between a metal carbonate and an acid?

Answer 3

A metal salt, carbon dioxide and water.

Question 4

When calcium carbonate reacts with sulfuric acid, which salt is produced?

Answer 4

Calcium Sulfate

CaSO4

Question 5

Which compound reacts with water to form calcium hydroxide?

Answer 5

Calcium Oxide

Question 6

Describe how calcium hydroxide can be used to test for carbon dioxide. Include the symbol equation for the reaction involved.

Answer 6

If you make a solution of calcium hydroxide in water (limewater) and bubble gas through it, the solution will turn cloudy if there’s carbon dioxide in the gas. This is because the carbon dioxide reacts with the calcium hydroxide in the solution to form a precipitate of calcium carbonate.
Ca(OH)2 + CO2 -> CaCO3 + H2O

Question 7

Write a word equation for the thermal decomposition of zinc carbonate.

Answer 7

Zinc Carbonate -> Zinc Oxide + Carbon Dioxide

Question 8

What salt is produced when magnesium carbonate reacts with hydrochloric acid? Write the symbol equation for this reaction

Answer 8

Magnesium Chloride

MgCO3 + 2HCl -> MgCl2 + CO2 + H2O

Question 9

What is thermal decomposition?

Answer 9

Breaking down a substance chemically with heat.

Question 10

Describe how you can make cement.

Answer 10

Heat powdered limestone in a kiln with clay.

Question 11

Describe how you can make mortar.

Answer 11

Add water and sand to cement.

Question 12

Describe how you can make concrete.

Answer 12

Add sand, water and aggregate to cement.

Question 13

What is a rotary lime kiln?

Answer 13

The furnace used to heat lots of calcium carbonate and turn it into calcium oxide.

Question 14

Limestone can be used as a building material. Give two other uses of limestone.

Answer 14

Limestone is used to make dyes, paints and medicines.

Limestone can be used in power station chimneys to neutralise sulfur dioxide

Question 15

Give five problems associated with quarrying limestone.

Answer 15

Noise pollution.
Dust from the site can cause health problems for the local people.
Destroy habitats of animals and birds.
Quarries cause increased traffic due to lorries and which causes more air pollution.
Quarrying makes big ugly holes in the landscape.

Question 16

Describe three ways in which a quarry can benefit the local area.

Answer 16

Increase jobs and bring more money into the local economy.
This can lead to local improvements in transport, roads, recreational facilities and health, which local people can benefit from.
The quarry can be filled in to make a lake, landfill site or shopping centre.

Question 17

Give two drawbacks of using concrete as a building material.

Answer 17

Concrete is unattractive as a building material. Concrete has low tensile strength and can crack.

Question 18

By what method is limestone extracted from the ground?

Answer 18

Quarrying.

Question 19

Give three benefits of using concrete cement and limestone as building materials.

Answer 19

They are cheap building materials. They don’t rot when wet. They are fire resistant, They are corrosion resistant

Question 20

Name the two reactants involved in the formation of calcium hydroxide. Write the symbol equation for this reaction.

Answer 20

Calcium oxide and water.

CaO + H2O -> Ca(OH)2

Question 21

Calcium hydroxide can be dissolved in water to form a solution. What is the common name for this solution?

Answer 21

Limewater.

Question 22

What is the common name for calcium hydroxide?

Answer 22

Slaked lime.

Question 23

A solution of calcium hydroxide can be used to test for the presence of carbon dioxide. If carbon dioxide was bubbled through the solution, what would you expect to see?

Answer 23

The solution of calcium hydroxide would go cloudy. This is due to a precipitate of calcium carbonate being formed.

Question 24

Why do building made from limestone suffer from damage by acid rain?

Answer 24

Because calcium carbonate will react with the acid to form calcium sulfate.