Heat from the sun during the day, is reflected off the

earth as it cools.

Small quantities of certain gases in the atmosphere
absorb this heat & when they cool, they radiate heat
in all directions warming the atmosphere & giving
rise to global warming. Insufficient heat escapes.

This process is called the greenhouse effect and the
gases are called greenhouse gases.

The greenhouse gases include water vapour (H
2
O),
carbon dioxide (CO
2
), methane (CH
4
) and dinitrigen
oxide (N
2
O).
1
Although not a desert like some parts of the Sahara, certain
areas of SA receive less rain in some years than others and we
need to conserve our water resources throughout our country.
There is a fixed amount of water on earth but there is not an
even distribution of water across the countries of the world
since there is not an even distribution of rainfall everywhere.
This means that some countries have enough water for their
requirements, while others experience droughts and some
countries are mainly desert.
Water cycle
2
The earth has a limited amount of water. That water keeps
going around and around and around in what we call the:

"Water Cycle".

This cycle is made up of a few main parts:

evaporation (and transpiration)
condensation
precipitation
collection
3
Evaporation
Condensation
Precipitation
Collection
Water cycle
4
Evaporation occurs from the sea, rivers, dams & streams.
Condensation occurs in the clouds.
Precipitation occurs in the form of rain, snow, hail, dew, sleet, &
frost.
Collection occurs in the form of streams, rivers, dams, & lakes
all eventually going back to the sea.
The process repeats itself over & over again. In other words the
water you drink from a glass today could have been drunk by a
dinosaur many millions of years ago!

5
Here are some important terms that need to be known:
Lithosphere solid, outermost part of the earths crust rocks &
soil.
Atmosphere the gases N
2
, O
2
, CO
2
+ others above the earth.
Hydrosphere earths water vapour, liquid & solid in the form
of oceans, rivers, dams, ice, ground water etc.
Biosphere all living things on earth plants & animals.

Water moves through each of the spheres dissolving,
depositing, cooling and warming different substances &
components. It is important that the right amount of each of
these takes place.
The hydrosphere
6
The hydrosphere consists of:
Oceans
Atmosphere
Ground water
Biosphere
Lakes, rivers, streams, & dams
Glaciers, ice & snow
See if you can establish in what percentages these
occur on earth?
7
Weathering takes place in 2 basic processes:

Disintegration breaking pieces off rocks etc.
Decomposition chemical reactions with rocks to form new
substances.
Rivers & streams can weather even the hardest of rocks
provided they are exposed to the river for a long time.
Some water collects in the cracks of rocks and when expansion
occurs the rocks crack & break.
8
Water molecules have both + & - poles.
These poles attract each other & are responsible for the
relatively high M.P. & B.P. of water.
Water also has the unusual property that, as it freezes
between 4
0
C and 0
0
C, it actually expands and thus occupies
more space than at higher temperatures.
This is why ice is able to float on water it has a lower density
than the water from which it was formed.
If water seeps into cracks & then freezes, it will cause rocks to
crack & break up even more & so the process continues.
The 4 spheres
9
All living things need oxygen to survive.
There is a shortage of dissolved oxygen in the sea and
sometimes many sea creatures die from this lack of oxygen.
The dying of sea creatures is called a red tide and often
takes place on the West coast of South Africa.
See if you can find out how this process takes place.
10
This table gives the % composition of the gases in the
atmosphere:
Gas molecules % in atmosphere
Nitrogen N
2
78
Oxygen O
2
21
Argon Ar 1
Carbon dioxide CO
2
0,03
11
The following table gives the % composition of gases in the sea:
Gas molecules Concentration in sea in
mg/kg of water
Nitrogen N
2
12,5
Oxygen O
2
7
Argon Ar

0,4
Carbon dioxide CO
2
90
12
H
2
O
CO
2
N
2
N
2
N
2
N
2
O
2
O
2 O
2
O
2
CO
2
CO
2
CO
2
CO
2
H
2
O
H
2
O H
2
O
H
2
O
H
2
O
Air
Sea
O
2
H
2
O
CO
2
N
2
O
2
H
2
O
CO
2
N
2
H
2
O
Why is ocean salty?
13
The equilibrium condition occurs as a result of the fact that, as
fast as molecule are evaporating, so other identical molecules
are condensing back into the liquid. This is a reversible
reaction and can be represented as follows:
H2O
(l)
H
2
O
(g)
If conditions such as temperature, pressure and
concentration are changed, this affects the equilibrium and
will mean that either the forward or reverse reaction will
be favoured for a while.
However, equilibrium will be re-established again for the
new conditions.
14
Matter consists of minute particles that are in constant,
random motion. The particles all have kinetic energy and the
faster moving particles having higher kinetic energy are
able to break through the surface of the water and become
water vapour.
Similarly, the slower moving gas particles move into the
spaces between the water particles in the sea thus forming
a solution of gas particles in the sea.
As particles evaporate into the atmosphere, other particles
liquify (at the same rate) back into the sea.
15
Gases dissolve at different rates & rates are affected by the
different temperatures. Look at the following solubility rates for
O
2
and N
2
:
100 cm
3
of water dissolves 2,4 cm
3
of N
2
at 0
0
C
100 cm
3
of water dissolves 1,6 cm
3
of N
2
at 20
0
C
100 cm
3
of water dissolves 5 cm
3
of O
2
at 0
0
C
100 cm
3
of water dissolves 3 cm
3
of O
2
at 20
0
C

The solubility of oxygen is thus about twice that of nitrogen.
N
2
= 12/ 78 = 0,16 &
O
2
= 7/ 21 = 0,33
This helps to ensure enough O
2
in the sea to keep creatures alive.
16
Pure (distilled) water does not contained dissolved salts & thus
does not conduct electricity.
Table salt (NaCl), in the form of dry crystals, also does not
conduct electricity.
However, table salt is composed of + Na & - Cl ions, bonded
together in a strong lattice giving rise to high M.P.& B.P.
NaCl easily dissolves in water and the ions become
surrounded by polar water molecules. These ions, now free to
move about in the solution, can move towards + & -
electrodes in the solution & this constitutes an electric current
in the solution.
NaCl
(s)
Na
+
(aq)
+ Cl
-
(aq)
Conductivity of water
17
Polar water molecules surround the respective ions & exert a
strong enough attraction to break the bonds & take the ions
into solution as indicated in the above diagram.
Dissolving
NaCl
18
Substances that dissolve in water form solutions that conduct
electricity.
These solutions that conduct electricity are called
electrolytes.
Salts, acids and alkalis form electrolytes when in solution.
Salt: CaCl
2
Ca
+
+ 2Cl
-
Acid: HCl H
+
+ Cl
-
Alkali: NaOH Na
+
+ OH
-
Electrolytes
19
Substances that ionise are able to conduct electricity & form
electrolytes in solutions.
However, certain substances form many ions, while other
substances only ionise to a small extent.
Those substances that only ionise partially are weak
electrolytes & do not conduct electricity well.
Acetic acid & ammonium hydroxide only partially ionise into
separate ions & are thus weak electrolytes.
Strong acids such as HCl, H
2
SO
4
& HNO
3
ionise well and are
strong electrolytes.
20
Certain substances react with other substances to form new
compounds that are insoluble in water and sink to the bottom
of the container.
Substances/Compounds that do not dissolve are called
precipitates.
A silver nitrate solution (clear liquid), when added to a
sodium chloride solution (clear liquid) forms silver chloride
(insoluble in water) & sodium nitrate (soluble in water).
The silver chloride is a white precipitate and sinks to the
bottom of the container.
AgNO
3
+ NaCl AgCl + NaNO
3
21
The following table indicates some common precipitates:
Name Colour of precipitate
Barium sulphate White
Barium carbonate White
Lead iodide Yellow
Lead sulphide Black
Calcium carbonate White
Copper carbonate Green
Silver iodide Cream
Silver bromide Pale yellow
Making precipitates
22
This photo illustrates the beauty of the Cango caves in
Oudtshoorn, near Knysna.
Cango caves
23
The stalactites & stalagmites have been formed over
thousands of years. The following processes were probably
involved in order to form these stones:
Rain water + Carbon dioxide (from air) Carbonic acid
H
2
O + CO
2
H
2
CO
3
Limestone (in earth) + carbonic acid calcium hydrogen
carbonate
CaCO
3
+ H
2
CO
3
Ca(HCO
3
)
2
The Ca(HCO
3
)
2
dissolves in H
2
O that drips down inside the
caves. As drips land on the floor, water evaporates & gradually
the Ca(HCO
3
)
2
decomposes into calcium & carbonate ions.
These stick together to form calcium carbonate.
24
A little heat & time will ensure the decomposition to calcium
carbonate:
Ca(HCO
3
)
2
+ heat CaCO
3
+ H
2
O + CO
2
The white, insoluble CaCO3 is the material left behind
layer upon layer over thousands of years to form these
magnificent stones in the caves.
25
Building dams is really crucial & important in South Africa.

Although we receive fair average rainfall, there is not enough
water to feed all the people and animals as well as satisfy
requirements for industry etc all the year round.

It thus becomes necessary to continue to build more dams in
order to sustain growth and development.

50 years ago building a new dam was never questioned
assuming it would bring benefits to all.

Today we need to be more careful as to where we build new
dams studies need to be done & thus ensure that the right
places to build are selected without affecting human rights and
the ecology.
26
Here are a few advantages:
hydroelectric power
recreation
local jobs
water supply for local villages
irrigation - agriculture can take place below dam
stocking with fish food supply for locals

Hydroelectric power
27
Here are some fairly serious disadvantages:

People need to be moved
Source of income can be lost
Farmlands flooded
Burial grounds flooded
Wetlands downstream could be destroyed
Silt collects in the dam thus reducing the volume of
water that the dam can hold, over time.
28