← Chemistry syllabus

SAChemistry

Topic 1: Monitoring the Environment

7 dot points across 7 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do we monitor and explain the chemistry of air pollution?

Identify the major atmospheric pollutants, their sources, and the chemistry of photochemical smog formation.
Sources and chemistry of CO, NOx, SO2, VOCs and particulates, plus how sunlight drives photochemical smog and ground-level ozone formation.
7 min answer →

How can the concentration of a metal ion be measured from the light it absorbs or emits?

Explain the principles of atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and atomic emission spectroscopy, and their use in determining trace metal concentrations.
How AAS and atomic emission spectroscopy use the absorption and emission of specific wavelengths by gaseous atoms to identify and quantify trace metals using a calibration curve.
8 min answer →

How does chromatography separate and identify the components of a mixture?

Explain the principles of chromatography, including gas chromatography (GC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and interpret chromatograms.
How GC and HPLC separate mixtures by differential partitioning between a mobile and stationary phase, and how retention time and peak area are used to identify and quantify components.
8 min answer →

How does molecular structure explain the greenhouse effect?

Explain the greenhouse effect in terms of the absorption of infrared radiation by greenhouse gas molecules.
How CO2, methane, water vapour and other greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation through molecular vibration, and how this enhances the greenhouse effect.
7 min answer →

How can redox titrations measure the concentration of oxidising or reducing species in a sample?

Use redox titrations, including permanganate titrations, to determine the concentration of an analyte from balanced half-equations and stoichiometry.
How redox titrations such as permanganate titrations determine analyte concentration using self-indicating endpoints, balanced half-equations and mole-ratio stoichiometry.
8 min answer →

How can we accurately measure the concentration of a solution?

Apply volumetric analysis using acid-base titrations to determine unknown concentrations.
Standard solutions, primary standards, titration technique and stoichiometric calculations to find an unknown concentration from acid-base titration data.
8 min answer →

How do chemists measure and judge the quality of water?

Describe the key indicators of water quality, including dissolved oxygen, BOD, pH, turbidity and ion concentrations.
Dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, pH, turbidity, salinity and nutrient ions as indicators of water quality, and what each reveals about a water body.
6 min answer →