PHYSICAL SCIENCE
GRADE 10
SUBJECT: PHYSICAL SCIENCES
TERM 1 AND 2
(Page 1 of 62)
,Electrostatics
(This section must be read in conjunction with the CAPS, p. 40–42.)
Atomic structure
(This section must be read in conjunction with the CAPS, p. 37.) EXAMINATION GUIDELINES
Models of the atom
• Describe the major contributions (Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, Bohr, Chadwick) to the
atomic model used today.
Structure of the atom: protons, neutrons, electrons
• Define the atomic number as the number of protons in an atom of an element.
• Given a periodic table or suitable data, determine for an atom/ion the:
o Atomic number
o Number of protons
o Number of electrons
o Number of neutrons
o Mass number
• Show that by removing electrons from an atom the neutrality of the atom is changed.
• Determine the charge on an ion after removing electrons from or adding electrons to
an atom.
Isotope
• Define isotopes as atoms of the same element having the same number of protons, but
different numbers of neutrons.
• Define relative atomic mass as the mass of a particle on a scale where an atom of
carbon-12 has a mass of 12.
• Calculate the relative atomic mass of naturally occurring elements from the percentage of
each isotope in a sample of the naturally occurring element and the relative atomic mass
of each of the isotopes.
• Represent atoms using the notation AZ E where E is the symbol of the element, Z is the
atomic number and A is the mass number.
Electron configuration
• Use Aufbau diagrams (orbital box diagrams) and the electron configuration notation
(sp notation) to give electronic arrangements of atoms up to Z = 20.
• Know that every orbital corresponds to a specific energy value that electrons have when
occupying it. Describe atomic orbitals as the most probable regions in space where
electrons that have the specific energy corresponding to the orbital are found.
• Describe the shape of s-orbitals as spherical and that of p-orbitals as pairs of dumb-bells
aligned along the x-, y- and z-axes at 90° to each other.
• State Hund's rule: No pairing in p orbitals before there is not at least one electron in each
of them.
• State Pauli's Exclusion Principle: Maximum of two electrons per orbital provided that they
spin in opposite directions.
Two kinds of charge
• State that:
o All materials contain positive charges (protons) and negative charges (electrons)
o An object that has an equal number of electrons and protons is neutral (no net
charge)
o Positively charged objects are electron deficient and negatively charged objects
have an excess of electrons
• Describe how objects (insulators) can be charged by contact (or rubbing) - tribo-electric
charging.
Tribo-electric charging: A type of contact electrification in which certain materials become
electrically charged after they come into contact with different materials and are then
separated (such as through rubbing). The polarity and strength of the charges produced
, differ according to the materials.
Charge conservation
• State that the SI unit for electric charge is the coulomb (C).
• State the principle of conservation of charge: The net charge of an isolated system
remains constant during any physical process e.g. two charges making contact and then
separating.
• Apply the principle of conservation of charge.
When two identical conducting objects having charges Q 1 and Q2 on insulating stands
touch, each object has the same final charge on separation.
Q + Q2
Final charge after separation: Q = 1
2
NOTE: This equation is only true for identically sized conductors on insulated stands.
Charge quantization
• State the principle of charge quantization: All charges in the universe consist of an
integer multiple of the charge on one electron, i.e. 1,6 x 10 -19 C.
• Apply the principle of charge quantization: Q = nq e, where qe= 1,6 x 10-19 C and n is an
integer.
Force exerted by charges on each other (descriptive)
• State that like charges repel and opposite charges attract.
• Explain how charged objects can attract uncharged insulators because of the polarisation
of molecules inside insulators.
Polarisation: The partial or complete polar separation of positive and negative electric
charge in a system.
Electric Circuits
(This section must be read in conjunction with the CAPS, p. 42–45.)
Terminal potential difference and emf
• Define potential difference across the ends of a conductor as the energy transferred per
W
unit electric charge flowing through it. In symbols: V =
Q
Potential difference is measured in volts (V).
• Define emf as the work done per unit charge by the source (battery). It is equal to the
potential difference measured across the terminals of a battery when no charges are
flowing in the circuit.
• Define terminal potential difference as the voltage measured across the terminals of a
battery when charges are flowing in the circuit.
W
• Do calculations using V = .
Q
Current
• Define current strength, I, as the rate of flow of charge. It is measured in ampere (A),
which is the same as coulomb per second.
Q
• Calculate current strength in a conductor using the equation I = .
t
Q is the symbol for electric charge measured in coulomb (C). One coulomb is defined as
the charge transferred in a conductor in one second if the current is one ampere.
• Indicate the direction of conventional current (from positive to negative) in circuit
diagrams using arrows.
Measurement of potential difference and current
• Draw a diagram to show how to correctly connect an ammeter to measure the current
, through a given circuit element. An ammeter is connected in series and has a very low
resistance.
• Draw a diagram to show how to correctly connect a voltmeter to measure the potential
difference across a given circuit element. A voltmeter is connected in parallel and has a
very high resistance.
Periodic Table
(This section must be read in conjunction with the CAPS, p. 37.)
The positions of the elements in the periodic table related to their electronic
arrangements
• Describe the periodic table as displaying the elements in order of increasing atomic
number and showing how periodicity of the physical and chemical properties of the
elements relates to atomic structure.
• Define the group number and the period number of an element in the periodic table.
Groups are the vertical columns in the periodic table. Some groups have names, e.g.
alkali metals (group I), earth-alkaline metals (group II), halogens (group 17 or VII) and
noble gases (group18 or VIII).
Periods are the horizontal rows in the periodic table.
• Relate the position of an element in the periodic table to its electronic structure and vice
versa.
• Describe periodicity from Li to Ar in terms of atomic radius, ionisation energy, electron-
affinity and electronegativity. Describe the changes in terms of change in charge of the
nucleus and distance between the nucleus and the electron. Periodicity is the repetition
of similar properties in chemical elements, as indicated by their positioning in the periodic
table.
• Define atomic radius, ionisation energy, electron-affinity and electronegativity.
Atomic radius: Radius of an atom, i.e. the mean distance from the nucleus to the border
of the outer orbital.
Ionisation energy: Energy needed per mole to remove an electron(s) from an atom in the
gaseous phase.
First ionisation energy: Energy needed per mole to remove the first electron from an atom
in the gaseous phase.
Electron affinity: The energy released when an electron is attached to an atom or
molecule to form a negative ion.
Electronegativity: A measure of the tendency of an atom in a molecule to attract bonding
electrons.
Similarities in chemical properties among elements in Groups 1, 2, 17 and 18
• Relate the electronic arrangements to the chemical properties of group 1, 2, 17 and 18
elements.
• Describe the trend in reactivity of elements in groups 1, 2 and 17.
Groups 1 and 2: Chemical reactivity increases from top to bottom.
Group 17: Chemical reactivity decreases from top to bottom.
• Predict chemical properties of unfamiliar elements in groups 1, 2, 17 and 18 of the
periodic table.
• Indicate that metals are found on the left-hand side of the periodic table.
• Indicate that non-metals are found on the right-hand side of the periodic table.
• Indicate where transition metals are to be found on the periodic table.
Chemical bonding
(This section must be read in conjunction with the CAPS, p. 25.)
Covalent bonding, ionic bonding and metallic bonding
• Define a chemical bond as a mutual attraction between two atoms resulting from the
simultaneous attraction between their nuclei and the outer electrons. (The energy of the
combined atoms is lower than that of the individual atoms resulting in higher stability.)
• Draw Lewis dot diagrams of elements.