A man went door to door posing as a goldsmith. He promised to bring back the glitter of old and dull gold ornaments. An unsuspecting lady gave a set of gold bangles to him which he dipped in a particular solution. The bangles sparkled like new but their weight was reduced drastically. The lady was upset but after a futile argument the man beat a hasty retreat. Can you play the detective to find out the nature of the solution he had used?
The gold metal is dipped in the solution of aqua regia i.e. 3:1 mixture of conc. HCl and conc. HNO3. Aqua regia is a fuming, highly corrosive liquid. It dissolves gold in it. When the gold ornaments are dipped into aqua regia, the outer layer of gold gets dissolved and the inner shiny layer appears. That is why the weight of gold ornaments drastically decreases.
Give an example of a metal which
(i) is a liquid at room temperature.
(ii) can be easily cut with a knife.
(iii) is the best conductor of heat.
(iv) is a poor conductor of heat.
Write equations for the reactions of
(i) iron with steam
(ii) calcium and potassium with water.
(i) Write the electron-dot structures for sodium, oxygen and magnesium.
(ii) Show the formation of Na2O and MgO by the transfer of electrons.
(iii) What are the ions present in these compounds?
Samples of four metals A, B, C and D were taken and added to the following solution one by one. The results obtained have been tabulated as follows.
Metal | Iron(II) sulphate | Cooper(II) sulphate | Zinc sulphate | Silver nitrate |
A | No reaction | Displacement | ||
B | Displacement | No reaction | Displacement | |
C | No reaction | No reaction | No reaction | No reaction |
You are given a hammer, a battery, a bulb, wires and a switch.
(a) How could you use them to distinguish between samples of metals and non-metals?
(b) Assess the usefulness of these tests in distinguishing between metals and non-metals.
Food cans are coated with tin and not with zinc because
(a) zinc is costlier than tin.
(b) zinc has a higher melting point than tin.
(c) zinc is more reactive than tin.
(d) zinc is less reactive than tin.
Metallic oxides of zinc, magnesium and copper were heated with the following metals.
Metal | Zinc | Magnesium | Copper |
---|---|---|---|
Zinc oxide | |||
Magnesium oxide | |||
Cooper oxide |
In which cases will you find displacement reactions taking place?
Why do ionic compounds have high melting points?
Why is sodium kept immersed in kerosene oil?
Give reasons
(a) Platinum, gold and silver are used to make jewellery.
(b) Sodium, potassium and lithium are stored under oil.
(c) Aluminium is a highly reactive metal, yet it is used to make utensils for cooking.
(d) Carbonate and sulphide ores are usually converted into oxides during the process of extraction.
Did Döbereiner’s triads also exist in the columns of Newlands’ Octaves? Compare and find out.
What is a good source of energy?
Why is diffusion insufficient to meet the oxygen requirements of multi-cellular organisms like humans?
What are trophic levels? Give an example of a food chain and state the different trophic levels in it.
What changes can you make in your habits to become more environment-friendly?
What is the difference between a reflex action and walking?
What is the importance of DNA copying in reproduction?
If a trait A exists in 10% of a population of an asexually reproducing species and a trait B exists in 60% of the same population, which trait is likely to have arisen earlier?
Why should a magnesium ribbon be cleared before burning in air?
Define the principal focus of a concave mirror.
A hot plate of an electric oven connected to a 220 V line has two resistance coils A and B, each of 24 Ω resistance, which may be used separately, in series, or in parallel. What are the currents in the three cases?
Why are some substances biodegradable and some non-biodegradable?
What factors could lead to the rise of a new species?
Will geographical isolation be a major factor in the speciation of an organism that reproduces asexually? Why or why not?
What is a good fuel?
How is the amount of urine produced regulated?
Redraw the circuit of Question 1, putting in an ammeter to measure the current through the resistors and a voltmeter to measure the potential difference across the 12 Ω resistor. What would be the readings in the ammeter and the voltmeter?
How can three resistors of resistances 2 Ω, 3 Ω, and 6 Ω be connected to give a total resistance of (a) 4 Ω, (b) 1 Ω?
What are the necessary conditions for autotrophic nutrition and what are its by-products?
Explain how sexual reproduction gives rise to more viable variations than asexual reproduction. How does this affect the evolution of those organisms that reproduce sexually?