chemicals of the natural environment Flashcards
what is the hydrosphere?
made up of water and dissolved compounds
what is the lithosphere?
rigid outer layer of Earth, made up of crust and part of mantle below it
consists of mixture of minerals + abundance of elements
what are example of elements?
nitrogen
oxygen
argon
what are examples of compounds?
carbon dioxide
water vapour
what do the chemicals that make up the atmosphere consist of?
non metal elements
molecular compounds made from non metal elements
what are the structures of molecules?
- gases have small mol with weak forces of attraction
- only small amounts of energy needed to break forces
what are covalent bonds?
atoms within molecules are connected by covalent bonds
what happens in a covalent bond?
- electrons shared between atoms
- electrostatic attraction created between positive nucleus and shared pair of negative electrons
what are the 3 most abundant elements?
- oxygen
- silicone
- aluminium
what are both diamond and graphite?
minerals formed from pure carbon found in lithosphere
explain the diamond structure?
each carbon atom is covalently bonded to 4 other carbon atoms so hard
explain the graphite structure?
each carbon is covalently bonded to 3 other carbon atoms, arranged in sheets that can slide easily so soft
can conduct electricity bc spare electrons move between layers of atoms
what happens in both graphite and diamond
covalent bonds strong so both have high melting points + insoluble in water
what properties does silicone dioxide have?
- hard
- high melting point
- electrical insulator
- insoluble in water
what is silicone dioxide?
silicone and oxygen in lithosphere as compound silicone dioxde
forms a giant covalent structure