Survival Guide: Grade 10 Science

Intro: Quick Intro Message

Chemistry: Chemistry Masterlist

Biology: WIP

Physics - Optics: WIP

Yeah I’m getting lazy at  this point. Here’s a bunch of videos explaining everything. 

TED-Ed video

Second TED-Ed video

There are two major parts in the cell cycle, interphase and cell division. 95% of a cell’s life is spent in the interphase part of the cycle. There are two more parts of cell division, mitosis and cytokinesis. 

Mitosis is the process of dividing genetic information and has 4 more stages within it. I know what you’re thinking, more stages! Yay! /s /j

Prophase: Nuclear membrane begins to dissolve and the chromosomes shorten and thicken

Metaphase: Spindle fibres pull chromosomes in order to line up in the middle of the cell

Anahase: Centromere splits and sister chromatids separate. The daughter chromatids are pulled to the other side of the cell 

 Telophase: Daughter chromosomes stretch and become thinner as well as a new nuclear membrane forming around each set of chromosomes. 

Cytokinesis is when the cytoplasm divides two genetically identical cells called daughter cells. If it’s an animal cell,  the membrane will pinch off and the cell goes to interphase. If it’s a plant cell, it will form a cell wall before separating completely.  

There are three reasons that a cell would divide. 

Reproduction

Growth 

Repair injury

Reproduction: In order to multiply, cells reproduce asexually. Each cell has a complete copy of genetic information. 

Growth: This ties into reproduction in the sense that cell division makes the cells grow in number. But it also gets too big so it can’t get enough chemicals and water through the membrane. 

Healing: In order to continue surviving after an injury, the cell has to divide. When a part of an organism is damaged, the remaining healthy cells divide to repair the wound.

There are two general types of cells, eukaryotic and prokaryotic. 

Prokaryotic is very basic and really doesn't have much going on. It’s the oldest cell and thus the most simple form of life. 

Eukaryotic cells are evolved from prokaryotic cells and are much more complex. Almost everything is made from these cells. 

Within the eukaryotic cells category, there are two more types of cells, animal and plant cells. As I’m sure you can tell from the names, animal cells are the cells animals are made of and plant cells are what plants are made of. They, for the most part, have the same organelles but plant cells have two extra organelles. They are also structured very differently from each other so once you know what they both look like, you’ll be able to tell them apart.  

Website to help with visuals: https://www.cellsalive.com/cells/cell_model_js.htm

I’ll go through the organelles in alphabetical order to give myself more work. 

Cell membrane: a flexible, semi-permeable membrane that supports the cell, and allows some substances to enter while keeping others out.

Cell wall (only found in plant cells): Rigid structure made of cellulose which provides support and protection from physical harm. 

Centriole: A pair of cylindrical organelles that are vital to cell division for animal cells. They help form spindle fibres for separating chromosomes during mitosis. 

Chloroplasts: Converts light energy into glucose through photosynthesis and contains chlorophyll, the thing that makes leaves green. 

Cytoplasm: A jelly-like material that all the organelles exist within. Chemical reactions take place here and substances are stored. 

Cytosol: The stuff inside the Cytoplasm. The two are used interchangeably usually. 

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER): Fluid filled tubes that transport materials through the cell. There are two different types, rough and smooth. Rough has ribosomes stuck to it producing proteins and other such materials while the smooth ER deals more with lipids and such. 

Golgi: Collects and packages materials to be removed from the cell and secretes mucus

Lysosomes: Membrane bound sacs filled with enzymes used to break down proteins, carbs, lipids and any other macromolecules found within the cell into simpler compounds. 

Mitochondria: The powerhouse of the cell! Through the power of cellular respiration, the mitochondria provides energy throughout the cell. 

Nucleolus: it’s  a structure within the nucleus that makes ribosomes and transcribes the RNA for the ribosomes to read. 

Nucleus: Manages the functions of the cells and contains chromosomes. 

Ribosomes: creates proteins by linking amino acids together. They are either found floating in cytoplasm or on the ER. 

Lesson 1: Diagrams

Lesson 2: Subatomic Particles

Lesson 3: Periodic Table

Lesson 4: Atoms and Ions

Lesson 5: Ionic compounds

Lesson 6: Ionic Compounds using Polyatomics

Lesson 7: Acids and Bases

Lesson 8: Describing the Chemical Reactions and Equations

Lesson 9: Balancing Equations

Lesson 10: Neutralisation

A Molecule is a group of 2+ non-metal atoms joined together. A molecular compound is a pure substance which is made using atoms from 2+ chemical elements. 

Some everyday molecular compounds:

Water (H2O)

Table salt (C12H22O11)

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

A molecular bond  is when two atoms find each other’s electrons attractive but the nuclei aren’t strong enough to pull the other’s electrons so they get really close and stuff.

A covalent bond is pretty much the same thing as a molecular bond. 

In case you get confused about what the difference between a covalent bond and an ionic bond is, here’s a diagram to help you out. 

Diatomic molecules are molecules with ONLY two atoms. They could be atoms of the same element or different different elements but there can only be two.

Common molecular compounds:

Water: H2O

Ammonia: NH3 (clean, bleach, and deodorise)

Nitric oxide: NO (air pollutant from car exhaust)

Hydrogen sulphide: H2S (invisible gas with a “rotten egg” odour)

Methane: CH4 (“natural gas” used to heat homes)

Hydrogen peroxide: H2O2 (germicidal agent or natural sanitizer)

Ozone: O3 (Drinking water treatment, a powerful air disinfectant)

Before we get into neutralisation, I forgot to mention the pH scale so here’s a quick lesson.  The pH scale is a scale ranging from 0 to 14, 0 being the most acidic to 14 being the most basic. Here’s an example of some items and where they would be on the scale:

To Neutralize something would be to get it closer to 7, the middle of the scale. Though it doesn’t necessarily have to be close, it does have to be closer than either the base or the acid. When you neutralise something, it will produce salt and water. (acid + base → salt + water).

A chemical reaction is a process in which the molecular or ionic structure of a substance is changed.

Types: 

Synthesis (combustion)

Decomposition

Displacement 

Single 

Double

Look, if I try to explain this, it’s gonna go horribly wrong really quickly. Here’s a video that explains everything much better than I ever could.

Acids are compounds that produce hydrogen ions when dissolved

in water [H(aq)] as well as hydrogen gas when reacting to some metals. It reacts with bases to produce salt and water and reacts with carbonates to produce carbon dioxide. It's also a good conductor of electricity and has a sour taste. 

Acids are aqueous, meaning they release at least one aqueous ion and show their properties when dissolved in water. Because of this, the written formula will begin with an “H” and end in “(aq)”. 

Example: HF(aq) + F(aq)

There are two categories for acids. An acid can be binary, or oxyacid. Both types have different ways for naming and writing formulas. Binary acids have only 2 elements while oxyacid acids relate more to polyatomics. 

Binary acids:

Oxyacid acids:

Now finally we can talk about basses. Most bases are ionic compounds and contain either hydroxide (HO-) or carbonate ions (CO3-2). They taste bitter and are slippery. When dissolved in water, they produce hydroxide ions and are good conductors of electricity in solutions.

A polyatomic is an ion that contains multiple stable atoms in it acting as a single particle. The charge of a polyatomic is shared as a whole rather than each individual element having its own charge. Some things to note about polyatomics is that all of them are anions with the exception of ammonium, and all anions have an “ate” suffix except for nitrate and hydroxide. 

These are some common polyatomics that you’ll see:

Naming polyatomic compounds are really similar to ionic compounds, however, instead of using a single element’s name, you use the full polyatomic name in the spot for anions.

What is an ionic compound? Well, if we break it down into two sections, ionic and compound, it will be a lot easier to figure out. From the last post, we know what an ION is (if you didn’t read it, what are you doing here, go back and read it). A COMPOUND is a mixture of two or more elements. From this, we can then conclude that an ionic compound is a mixture of two or more ions.

These compounds are made with a minimum of 1 cation and 1 anion. Atoms like to be neutral so when cations and anions find each other, they get together to make up the difference. This is called an ionic bond.

Properties of Ionic compounds:

 Hard 

Brittle 

Solid at room temperature

High melting point

Some are soluble in water and form electrolytes

An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity. They are produced when an ionic compound dissolves in water.

Elements with multiple charges, the transition metals, are a bit more tricky and you’ll have to use a bit of algebra. 

I talked about atoms a lot up until now and you should have a solid idea about what they are from grade 9 but I haven’t really talked about ions. In order for you to understand what ions are and the difference between them and atoms, I’ll first explain atoms in terms of charges. 

An atom is an electrically neutral particle with even amounts of protons and electrons. 

An ion is a particle that has either a positive or negative charge. An atom can become an ion by gaining or losing electrons. If an atom loses an electron the ion is POSITIVELY charged and if it gains an electron, it becomes NEGATIVELY charged. This seems pretty backwards but that's because electrons are negatively charged so if you add more, it gets more negatives. 

So now that we know about atoms and ions, there are two ways we can further categorize ions. We know that ions can be either positively charged or negatively charged and both of those types are called cations and anions. 

Cations are positively charged, meaning they lose electrons. They are most likely to lose their valence electrons.

Anions are non-metals that gain electrons, meaning they’re negatively charged. The names of an anion changes by adding the “ide” suffix. 

What is an ionic compound? Well, if we break it down into two sections, ionic and compound, it will be a lot easier to figure out. From the last post, we know what an ION is (if you didn’t read it, what are you doing here, go back and read it). A COMPOUND is a mixture of two or more elements. From this, we can then conclude that an ionic compound is a mixture of two or more ions.

These compounds are made with a minimum of 1 cation and 1 anion. Atoms like to be neutral so when cations and anions find each other, they get together to make up the difference. This is called an ionic bond.

Properties of Ionic compounds:

 Hard 

Brittle 

Solid at room temperature

High melting point

Some are soluble in water and form electrolytes

An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity. They are produced when an ionic compound dissolves in water.

Elements with multiple charges, the transition metals, are a bit more tricky and you’ll have to use a bit of algebra.

I talked about atoms a lot up until now and you should have a solid idea about what they are from grade 9 but I haven’t really talked about ions. In order for you to understand what ions are and the difference between them and atoms, I’ll first explain atoms in terms of charges. 

An atom is an electrically neutral particle with even amounts of protons and electrons. 

An ion is a particle that has either a positive or negative charge. An atom can become an ion by gaining or losing electrons. If an atom loses an electron the ion is POSITIVELY charged and if it gains an electron, it becomes NEGATIVELY charged. This seems pretty backwards but that's because electrons are negatively charged so if you add more, it gets more negatives. 

So now that we know about atoms and ions, there are two ways we can further categorize ions. We know that ions can be either positively charged or negatively charged and both of those types are called cations and anions. 

Cations are positively charged, meaning they lose electrons. They are most likely to lose their valence electrons. 

Anions are non-metals that gain electrons, meaning they’re negatively charged. The names of an anion changes by adding the “ide” suffix.

We’ll start with a review of what was learned in grade 9 with some stuff learned in grade 10 sprinkled in there. But before you continue reading, there’s a link to the periodic table I use at the bottom of the post, though there is also an image at the top. You’re gonna need a periodic table otherwise none of this will make much sense.

Groups or families are elements in the same column (vertical). They have similar chemical properties and all have the same number of valence electrons. 

Alkali metals are shiny, silvery soft metals and are Extremely reactive.

Alkaline earth metals are shiny and silvery, but not as soft as alkali metals, and they’re quite reactive though not as much as alkali metals.

Halogens are the most reactive nonmetals.

Noble gasses are, as the name suggests, gasses at room temperature.They’re quite bland in my opinion as they tasteless, odorless, colourless, and extremely unreactive.

Periods are elements in the same row (horizontal). They have the same number of total shells, regardless of electrons. As you go farther down the table, the more shells an atom will have. 

Reactivity is how much an element will respond if it interacts with another element. The reactivity changes based on each element but there is a way to tell how reactive something will be using the periodic table.

Metals are more reactive the farther LEFT you move across periods and the farther DOWN you travel across groups. 

Non metals are more reactive the farther RIGHT you travel across periods and the farther UP you travel in groups