The natural world is made up of chemicals which can be obtained from the earth’s crust, the sea and the atmosphere. The purpose of this topic is to provide opportunities for students to appreciate that we are living in a world of chemicals and that chemistry is a highly relevant and important area of learning. Another purpose of this topic is to enable students to recognise that the study of chemistry includes the investigation of possible methods to isolate useful materials in our environment and to analyse them. Students who have completed this topic are expected to have a better understanding of scientific investigation and chemistry concepts learned in the junior science curriculum.

Students should know the term s “element”, “compound” and “mixture”, “physical change” and “chemical change”, “physical property” and “chemical property”, “solvent”, “solute” and “saturated solution”. They should also be able to use word equations to represent chemical changes, to suggest appropriate methods for the separation of mixtures and to undertake tests for chemical species.