Curriculum Expectations

Big IdeasProperties of solutions can be described qualitatively and quantitatively, and can be predicted.
Living things depend for their survival on the unique physical and chemical properties of water.
People have a responsibility to protect the integrity of Earth’s water resources
Overall Expectations E.1 analyse the origins and effects of water pollution, and a variety of economic, social, and environmental issues related to drinking water;
E.2 investigate qualitative and quantitative properties of solutions, and solve related problems;
E.3 demonstrate an understanding of qualitative and quantitative properties of solutions.

Specific Expectations

E1. Relating Science to Technology, Society, and the Environment

E1.1 analyse the origins and cumulative effects of pollutants that enter our water systems (e.g., landfill leachates, agricultural run-off, industrial effluents, chemical spills), and explain how these pollutants affect water quality
E1.2 analyse economic, social, and environmental issues related to the distribution, purification, or use of drinking water (e.g., the impact on the environment of the use of bottled water)

E2. Developing Skills of Investigation and Communication

E2.1 use appropriate terminology related to aqueous solutions and solubility, including, but not limited to: concentration, solubility, precipitate, ionization, dissociation, pH, dilute, solute, and solvent
E2.2 solve problems related to the concentration of solutions by performing calculations involving moles, and express the results in various units (e.g., moles per litre, grams per 100 mL, parts per million or parts per billion, mass, volume per cent)
E2.3 prepare solutions of a given concentration by dissolving a solid solute in a solvent or by diluting a concentrated solution
E2.4 conduct an investigation to analyse qualitative and quantitative properties of solutions (e.g., perform a qualitative analysis of ions in a solution)
E2.5 write balanced net ionic equations to represent precipitation and neutralization reactions
E2.6 use stoichiometry to solve problems involving solutions and solubility
E2.7 determine the concentration of an acid or a base in a solution (e.g., the concentration of acetic acid in vinegar), using the acid–base titration technique
E2.8 conduct an investigation to determine the concentrations of pollutants in their local treated drinking water, and compare the results to commonly used guidelines and standards (e.g., provincial and federal standards)

E3. Understanding Basic Concepts

E3.1 describe the properties of water (e.g., polarity, hydrogen bonding), and explain why these properties make water such a good solvent
E3.2 explain the process of formation for solutions that are produced by dissolving ionic and molecular compounds (e.g., salt, oxygen) in water, and for solutions that are produced by dissolving non-polar solutes in non-polar solvents (e.g., grease in vegetable oil)
E3.3 explain the effects of changes in temperature and pressure on the solubility of solids, liquids, and gases (e.g., explain how a change in temperature or atmospheric pressure affects the solubility of oxygen in lake water)
E3.4 identify, using a solubility table, the formation of precipitates in aqueous solutions (e.g., the use of iron or aluminum compounds to precipitate and remove phosphorus from wastewater)
E3.5 explain the Arrhenius theory of acids and bases
E3.6 explain the difference between strong and weak acids, and between strong and weak bases, in terms of degree of ionization