P5 M3 – Unit 27 - Applied Science
P5 – Illustrate how the uses of substances relate to their propertess
M3 – Explain the uses of substances in terms of their physical and chemical propertess
One of the substances which I have chosen to do is copper in the electrical wires. Copper is
one of the main substance which is used in wires due to being an excellent conductor. The
reason for that being is that the valence electrons present in the copper molecules tend to
cause a huge repulsion and therefore result with majority of the electrons repelling from
each other. This is a good because the moment the repulsion happens; an electrical current
is passed along those electrons. Also, due to the free electrons moving around freely, they
can all move around colliding and passing on the heat energy as well as the electricity to
different connecion points of the wires. It is also extremely useful to use copper in wires
because it doesn’t react with water in normal room temperature condiions.
This means that if water comes into contact with copper the wires wouldn’t dissolve. It is
however, dangerous because if water is applied to the wires with copper when the wires are
connected to something and an electrical current is passing through them, that could result
with the wires being set on fre. It can also be fatal to touch a wire which has been in
contact with water, so no direct contact with a wire which is exposed and has electrical
current passing through it should be made. In order to increase the level of security and
reduce the risk of the wires being a hazard, the copper wires are covered and secured with
rubber material which does not conduct electricity and therefore results with a much safer
and more user-friendly when it comes to using electricity in our everyday lives.
Having the rubber material around the copper wires also ensures that the surrounding
doesn’t get that electrical current and avoids water and any other liquid getng to the
intense electrochemical current that passes through the wires. Another property of copper
and why it is good for electrical wires is because copper is malleable and the material itself
is soft comparing to any other metal. This is an ideal property for making wires out of
copper because it makes it a lot easier for the bending and shaping of the material into a
desired shape for it to be a wire. There is however a problem when it comes to using copper
as the material for wires, this being that it is very expensive compared to some of the other
materials for wires which are available out there.
One of the materials which could be used instead of copper is aluminium. The reason for
using aluminium instead of copper is because it costs less. It is also much more ideal than
copper because it tends to weigh less, this means that it would be a lot easier to transport
around when it comes to industries and the producion of wires at factories.
This would ease the economic side to the industries as they would need to spend less
money on the transportaion of the aluminium compared to copper which would save
money. There is however a problem when it comes to aluminium, this being that it is much
harder to put wires with aluminium into different house, apartments and any buildings in
general. There is also an issue which is that if aluminium comes into contact with oxygen
when it is in a wire form, that would create damage to the wire and it would no longer work.
P5 – Illustrate how the uses of substances relate to their propertess
M3 – Explain the uses of substances in terms of their physical and chemical propertess
One of the substances which I have chosen to do is copper in the electrical wires. Copper is
one of the main substance which is used in wires due to being an excellent conductor. The
reason for that being is that the valence electrons present in the copper molecules tend to
cause a huge repulsion and therefore result with majority of the electrons repelling from
each other. This is a good because the moment the repulsion happens; an electrical current
is passed along those electrons. Also, due to the free electrons moving around freely, they
can all move around colliding and passing on the heat energy as well as the electricity to
different connecion points of the wires. It is also extremely useful to use copper in wires
because it doesn’t react with water in normal room temperature condiions.
This means that if water comes into contact with copper the wires wouldn’t dissolve. It is
however, dangerous because if water is applied to the wires with copper when the wires are
connected to something and an electrical current is passing through them, that could result
with the wires being set on fre. It can also be fatal to touch a wire which has been in
contact with water, so no direct contact with a wire which is exposed and has electrical
current passing through it should be made. In order to increase the level of security and
reduce the risk of the wires being a hazard, the copper wires are covered and secured with
rubber material which does not conduct electricity and therefore results with a much safer
and more user-friendly when it comes to using electricity in our everyday lives.
Having the rubber material around the copper wires also ensures that the surrounding
doesn’t get that electrical current and avoids water and any other liquid getng to the
intense electrochemical current that passes through the wires. Another property of copper
and why it is good for electrical wires is because copper is malleable and the material itself
is soft comparing to any other metal. This is an ideal property for making wires out of
copper because it makes it a lot easier for the bending and shaping of the material into a
desired shape for it to be a wire. There is however a problem when it comes to using copper
as the material for wires, this being that it is very expensive compared to some of the other
materials for wires which are available out there.
One of the materials which could be used instead of copper is aluminium. The reason for
using aluminium instead of copper is because it costs less. It is also much more ideal than
copper because it tends to weigh less, this means that it would be a lot easier to transport
around when it comes to industries and the producion of wires at factories.
This would ease the economic side to the industries as they would need to spend less
money on the transportaion of the aluminium compared to copper which would save
money. There is however a problem when it comes to aluminium, this being that it is much
harder to put wires with aluminium into different house, apartments and any buildings in
general. There is also an issue which is that if aluminium comes into contact with oxygen
when it is in a wire form, that would create damage to the wire and it would no longer work.
