Metals And Non-metals Archives

INTRODUCTION TO CHEMISTRY Chemistry is a branch of Science. Science is basically the study of living and non-living things. The branch of science that study living things is called Biology. The branch of science that study non-living things is called Physical Science. Physical Science is made up of: (i) Physics- the study of matter in relation to energy (ii) Chemistry- the study of composition of matter. Chemistry is thus defined as the branch of science that deals with the structure composition, properties and behavior of matter. Basic Chemistry involves studying: (a) States/phases of matter Matter is anything that has weight/mass and occupies space/volume. Naturally, there are basically three states of matter. (i) Solid-e.g. soil, sand, copper metal, bucket, ice. (ii) Liquid e.g. water, Petrol, ethanol/alcohol, Mercury (liquid metal). (iii) Gas- e.g. Oxygen, Nitrogen, Water vapour. A solid is made up of particles which are very closely packed. It thus has a definite/fixed shape and fixed/definite volume/occupies definite space. It has a very high density. A liquid is made up of particles which have some degree of freedom. It thus has no definite/fixed shape. It takes the shape of the container it is put. A liquid has fixed/definite volume/occupies definite space. A gas is made up of particles free from each other. It thus has no definite/fixed shape. It takes the shape of the container it is put. It has no fixed/definite volume/occupies every space in a container. (b) Separation of mixture A mixture is a combination of two or more substances that can be separated by physical means. Simple methods of separating mixtures at basic chemistry level include (i) Sorting/picking- this involve physically picking one pure substance from a mixture with another/other. e. g. sorting maize from maize beans mixture. (ii) Decantation- this involve pouring out a liquid from a solid that has settled/sinking solid in it. e. g. Decanting water form sand. (iii) Filtration- this involves sieving /passing particles of a mixture through a filter containing small holes that allow smaller particle to pass through but do not allow bigger particle to pass through. (iv) Skimming- this involve scooping floating particles. e.g. cream from milk (c) Metals and non-metals Metals are shiny, ductile(able to form wires), malleable (able to form sheet) and coil without breaking. E.g. Iron, gold, silver, copper. Mercury is the only liquid metal known. Non-metals are dull, not ductile (do not form wires), not malleable (do not form sheet) and break on coiling/brittle. E.g. Charcoal, Sulphur, plastics. (d) Conductors and non-conductors A conductor is a solid that allow electric current to pass through. A non-conductor is a solid that do not allow electric current to pass through. All metals conduct electricity. All non-metals do not conduct electricity except carbon graphite. (e) Drugs A drug is a natural or synthetic/man-made substance that when taken changes/alter the body functioning. A natural or synthetic/man-made substance that when taken changes/alter the abnormal body functioning to normal is called medicine. Medicines are thus drugs intended to correct abnormal body functions.. Medicines should therefore be taken on prescription and dosage. A prescription is a medical instruction to patient/sick on the correct type of medicine to take and period/time between one in take to the other. A dosage is the correct quantity of drug required to alter the abnormal body function back to normal. This is called treatment. It is the professional work of qualified doctors/pharmacists to administer correct prescription and dosage of drugs/medicine to the sick. Prescription and dosage of drugs/medicine to the sick use medical language. Example (i) 2 x 4; means “2” tablets for solid drugs/spoon full for liquid drugs taken “4” times for a duration of one day/24 hours and then repeated and continued until all the drug given is finished. (ii) 1 x 2; means “1” tablets for solid drugs/spoon full for liquid drugs taken “2” times for a duration of one day/24 hours and then repeated and continued until all the drug given is finished. Some drugs need minimal prescription and thus are available without pharmacist/ doctor’s prescription. They are called Over The Counter (OTC) drugs. OTC drugs used to treat mild headaches, stomach upsets, common cold include: (i) Painkillers (ii) Anti acids (iii) Cold/flu drugs. All medicines require correct intake dosage. When a prescription dosage is not followed, this is called drug misuse/abuse. Some drugs are used for other purposes other than that intended. This is called drug abuse. Drug abuse is when a drug is intentionally used to alter the normal functioning of the body. The intentional abnormal function of the drug is to make the victim have false feeling of well-being. The victim lack both mental and physical coordination. Some drugs that induce a false feeling of well-being are illegal. They include heroin, cocaine, bhang, mandrax and morphine. Some abused drugs which are not illegal include: miraa, alcohol, tobacco, sleeping pills. See also: WATER ON EARTH SIMPLE MACHINE AN ALKALI AIR AND COMBUSTION BASES AND INDICATORS