Science Grade 7A English Learners

Natural Sciences
Grade 7-A (CAPS)
Natural Sciences Grade 7-A

Are you curious about the world around you?
Let’s discover the possibilities in Natural Sciences!
Workbook 7-A covers: Life and Living (Term 1)

EXPLORE
EXPLORE
& Matter and Materials (Term 2).
AAWorld
WorldWithout
WithoutBoundaries
Boundaries
Learner’s Workbook
1 18
1 2
.
H Periodic Table of the Elements He
2 13 14 15 16 17
3 4 No 5 6 7 8 9 10
Li Be Element B C N O F Ne
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
55 56 57-71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
Cs Ba La-Lu Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
87 88 89-103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118
Fr Ra Ac-Lr Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Uut Uuq Uup Uuh Uus Uuo
Transition Metal 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71
Metal
Metalloid La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
Non-metal
Noble Gas
Lanthanide 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103
Actinide
Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
.
Natural Sciences
Grade 7-A
CAPS
developed by
funded by
Developed and funded as an ongoing project by the Sasol Inzalo

Foundation in partnership with Siyavula and volunteers.
Distributed by the Department of Basic Education

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AUTHORS' LIST
. This book was written by Siyavula with the help, insight and collaboration of volunteer
educators, academics, students and a diverse group of contributors. Siyavula believes
in the power of community and collaboration by working with volunteers and
networking across the country, enabled through our use of technology and online tools.
The vision is to create and use open educational resources to transform the way we
teach and learn, especially in South Africa.
Siyavula Coordinator and Editor

Megan Beckett
Siyavula Team
Ewald Zietsman, Bridget Nash, Melanie Hay, Delita Otto, Marthélize Tredoux, Luke
Kannemeyer, Dr Mark Horner, Neels van der Westhuizen
Contributors
Dr Karen Wallace, Dr Nicola Loaring, Isabel Tarling, Sarah Niss, René Toerien, Rose
Thomas, Novosti Buta, Dr Bernard Heyns, Dr Colleen Henning, Dr Sarah Blyth, Dr
Thalassa Matthews, Brandt Botes, Daniël du Plessis, Johann Myburgh, Brice Reignier,
Marvin Reimer, Corene Myburgh, Dr Maritha le Roux, Dr Francois Toerien, Martli
Greyvenstein, Elsabe Kruger, Elizabeth Barnard, Irma van der Vyver, Nonna Weideman,
Annatjie Linnenkamp, Hendrine Krieg, Liz Smit, Evelyn Visage, Laetitia Bedeker, Wetsie
Visser, Rhoda van Schalkwyk, Suzanne Grové, Peter Moodie, Dr Sahal Yacoob, Siyalo
Qanya, Sam Faso, Miriam Makhene, Kabelo Maletsoa, Lesego Matshane, Nokuthula
Mpanza, Brenda Samuel, MTV Selogiloe, Boitumelo Sihlangu, Mbuzeli Tyawana, Dr Sello
Rapule, Andrea Motto, Dr Rufus Wesi
Volunteers
Iesrafeel Abbas, Shireen Amien, Bianca Amos Brown, Dr Eric Banda, Dr Christopher
Barnett, Prof Ilsa Basson, Mariaan Bester, Jennifer de Beyer, Mark Carolissen, Tarisai
Chanetsa, Ashley Chetty, Lizzy Chivaka, Mari Clark, Dr Marna S Costanzo, Dr Andrew
Craig, Dawn Crawford, Rosemary Dally, Ann Donald, Dr Philip Fourie, Shamin Garib,
Sanette Gildenhuys, Natelie Gower-Winter, Isabel Grinwis, Kirsten Hay, Pierre van
Heerden, Dr Fritha Hennessy, Dr Colleen Henning, Grant Hillebrand, Beryl Hook,
Cameron Hutchison, Mike Kendrick, Paul Kennedy, Dr Setshaba David Khanye, Melissa
Kistner, James Klatzow, Andrea Koch, Grove Koch, Paul van Koersveld, Dr Kevin
Lobb, Dr Erica Makings, Adriana Marais, Dowelani Mashuvhamele, Modisaemang Molusi,
Glen Morris, Talitha Mostert, Christopher Muller, Norman Muvoti, Vernusha Naidoo,
Dr Hlumani Ndlovu, Godwell Nhema, Edison Nyamayaro, Nkululeko Nyangiwe, Tony
Nzundu, Alison Page, Firoza Patel, Koebraa Peters, Seth Phatoli, Swasthi Pillay, Siyalo
Qanya, Tshimangadzo Rakhuhu, Bharati Ratanjee, Robert Reddick, Adam Reynolds,
Matthew Ridgway, William Robinson, Dr Marian Ross, Lelani Roux, Nicola Scriven, Dr
Ryman Shoko, Natalie Smith, Antonette Tonkie, Alida Venter, Christie Viljoen, Daan
Visage, Evelyn Visage, Dr Sahal Yacoob
A special thanks goes to St John's College in Johannesburg for hosting the first planning
workshop for these workbooks and to Pinelands High School in Cape Town for the use
of their school grounds for photography.
To learn more about the project and the Sasol Inzalo Foundation, visit the website at:
www.sasolinzalofoundation.org.za
.
.
Table of Contents
Life and living 2
1 The Biosphere 4
1.1 What is the biosphere? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Requirements for sustaining life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2 Biodiversity 28
2.1 Classification of living things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.2 Diversity of animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.3 Diversity of plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3 Sexual reproduction 78
3.1 Reproduction in angiosperms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.2 Human reproduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
4 Variation 124
4.1 Variation within a species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
4.2 Inheritance in humans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Matter and Materials 146
1 Properties of materials 148

1.1 Physical properties of materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
1.2 Impact on the environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
2 Separating mixtures 176

2.1 Mixtures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
2.2 Methods of physical separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
2.3 Sorting and recycling materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
3 Acids, bases and neutral substances 206

3.1 Tastes of substances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
3.2 Properties of acids, bases and neutral substances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
3.3 Acid-base indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
4 The Periodic Table of Elements 232

4.1 Arrangement of elements on the Periodic Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
4.2 Properties of metals, semi-metals and non-metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Image Attribution 260

SB 103_Siyavula NEW Gr7-9 divider L&L DBE A4.indd 1 2013/12/11 4:03 PM
SB 103_Siyavula NEW Gr7-9 divider L&L DBE A4.indd 2 2013/12/11 4:03 PM
1 The Biosphere
..
.KEY
. ... QUESTIONS:
• What is the biosphere?
• What are the coldest or hottest places where life can exist?
• How deep can you go in the sea before you do not find anything living
anymore?
• Are there living organisms on top of the world's highest mountains?
• How can you tell if something is alive or if it was never alive?
• What do organisms need to stay alive?
• How come some organisms can live in certain places while others
cannot?
.
NEW WORDS
Let's start exploring the world around us and how it works! Remember that this
• atmosphere
• biosphere is your book! You must use it to explore and ask questions about the world
• depend around you, and also to learn about yourself and who you are. Do not be afraid
• environment
• habitat to take notes in the margins of this book - make your own scribbles and notes
• microorganism to yourself about points to remember or questions you would like to ask. Be
• organism
curious! Explore and imagine the possibilities of what you can do with science!
. biosphere?
1.1 What is the
Have you heard the word 'sphere' before? Do you know what it means? A
sphere is normally used when talking about a round shape (like a ball). Now,
what do we mean when we talk about the biosphere? The prefix 'bio-' indicates
something to do with life. For example, 'biology' is the study of living
organisms. So, can you put these two meanings together to work out what
'biosphere' means?
The biosphere is the place where life exists on planet Earth. When we talk about
the biosphere, we are talking about a huge system (the whole world!) and how
all the different parts work together to support life. We will look at these
different parts in more detail a bit later.
.
TAKE NOTE
All the 'New words'
listed in the boxes in the
margin are defined in
the glossary at the end
of this strand.
The biosphere is where life exists on our planet, including the soil and rocks, water and air.
4
We can also use the term biosphere in different ways. When we speak of all life .
on Earth as it interacts with the non-living rocks and soil, water and air VISIT
(atmosphere), we call this the biosphere. Learn more about
Biosphere 2, a fascinating
ongoing project to
maintain a man-made
biosphere
bit.ly/18cwCth
Biosphere 2 is a man-made research centre in America,

in the Arizona desert, where scientists have built a
large enclosed artificial biosphere.
We can also call a specific part or region on Earth that supports life, a
biosphere, especially when we refer to the living organisms and the
environments in which they live.
ACTIVITY: Where do you think life exists on Earth?

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. The following table contains some photos of different places on Earth.

Describe what each photo is showing.
2. Then decide if you think life exists there or not. If you do think so, list some
of the organisms which you think live in this place.
Do you think there

What is this image is life there? If so,
A place on Earth .
showing? what?
. .
Chapter 1. The Biosphere 5

.
TAKE NOTE
The 'Visit' boxes in the
margins contain links to
interesting websites
and videos. Simply type
the link exactly as it is
into the address bar in
your browser.
After doing this activity, did you see that life exists everywhere on Earth? From
. the highest mountains to the deepest oceans, from the hottest deserts to the
NEW WORDS thickest jungles, there is life. Did you also notice that when describing the
• adapt places on Earth where life exists, you used words such as soil, rocks, water, air?
• aquatic
• component These are all part of the biosphere and have special names.
• hydrosphere
• lithosphere
• marine
Components of the biosphere
• matter
• organic In the previous activity we saw that life can be found in water, soil and rocks or
• photosynthesis
• respire the air around us. These components form part of the biosphere and have
special names:
• Lithosphere which includes the soil and rocks.

• Hydrosphere which includes all the water.
• Atmosphere which includes all the gases.
The biosphere includes the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. The

biosphere includes all living organisms, and also dead organic matter.
...
6 Life and living

.
ACTIVITY: Describe the components of the

biosphere
.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the following photo that shows the components of the biosphere.
2. Identify and describe the elements of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and
atmosphere that you can see in the photo.
.
VISIT
A fun infographic about
the atmosphere
bit.ly/132W0U0
The lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere on Earth.

.
1. Lithosphere:
2. Hydrosphere: .
DID YOU KNOW?
The Earth's atmosphere
has changed over time.
Our oxygen rich
atmosphere was
formed by algae
millions of years ago.
3. Atmosphere:
. .

4. Even though you cannot see living organisms in this photo, there are many
living and dead plants and animals that could live on a beach such as this
one. Make about 10 plausible (believable) guesses of the types of
organisms which would live in this environment. (Hint: think about what
might be living in the sea, sand or air.)
.
.
VISIT
Our atmosphere is
escaping! (video)
bit.ly/1beNzVB
Different organisms can exists in different places in the biosphere. Let's have a
look at the different components of the biosphere and which types of
organisms exist there.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is the layer of gases that surrounds the Earth. The three most
important gases in the atmosphere are nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide.
The atmosphere is made up of several layers.
ACTIVITY: The atmosphere

.
QUESTIONS:
1. Discuss with your partner whether you think organisms could live on Earth
without the atmosphere. Explain why
. you think so.
Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere consists of all water on Earth in all its forms.
...
8 Life and living

.
ACTIVITY: The water cycle

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the following diagram describing the water cycle on Earth.

2. Answer the questions that follow.
.
TAKE NOTE
The word 'aquatic' is
used to describe
something to do with
QUESTIONS: water. Therefore
.
aquatic animals are
1. Do you remember learning about the different states of matter? The
animals that live in or
hydrosphere includes all water in all the states of matter. Look at the
near water. The word
diagram of the water cycle and identify water in the different states of
'marine' describes
matter.
organisms that live in
saltwater or the sea. So
someone studying the
organisms in the sea is
called a marine
biologist.
2. The water cycle shows different sources of freshwater and saltwater. Many
plants, animals and microorganisms have adapted to live in an aquatic
habitat. A very small percentage of the world's water sources are
freshwater and the rest is saltwater. Write down as many different types of
aquatic habitats that you can think of where different organisms exist.
. .

Lithosphere
As we have said, the lithosphere includes the rocks, soil and sand on Earth.
Organisms depend on the lithosphere in many different ways. We find out how
in the next activity.
ACTIVITY: How do organisms depend on the

lithosphere?
.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Below are several photos depicting different ways that organisms depend
on and interact with the lithosphere.
2. Use these images to write a paragraph about how different organisms
depend on the lithosphere in different ways.
Bird nests A rock pool
A termite mound A tree growing in the ground
...
10 Life and living

An earthworm in soil . A mud hut
.
.
NEW WORDS
.
• abiotic
• cellular
respiration
We have now looked at the different parts of the biosphere and seen that there
are many different types of organisms that exist. Each of the organisms that we
have seen so far needs to be able to stay alive in those specific conditions. We
say they need to adapt to live in their particular habitat. What does it mean to
stay alive though?
Characteristics of living plants and animals

There are seven processes that all living organisms perform that determine
whether they are alive or not. Let's have a look at the seven life processes:
1. All living things need to be able to move. Moving does not have to consist .
of big movements. Even plants move, for example as the flowers and VISIT
leaves turn to face the sun during the course of the day. Video about the seven life
processes
bit.ly/1cxrrZT
2. All living things need energy to perform the life processes. Organisms
release energy from their food by a process called cellular respiration.
3. All living things need to be sensitive to their environment. Think of an

example of why animals need to sense their environment and write it down
below.
4. All living things need to be able to grow.
5. All living things need to be able to reproduce so that they do not die out.
. .

. 6. All living things need to be able to excrete waste.
NEW WORDS
• favourable 7. All living things need nutrition, as they need to break down nutrients
• requirement
• sustain during cellular respiration to release energy.
Now that we can determine whether something is living or not, we can take a
look at what living things need to survive. In other words, what are the
requirements for life?
1.2 Requirements . for sustaining life

After studying the seven life processes, we now know what animals, plants and
other living organisms need to do in order to be classified as living. In order to
stay alive these living organisms require (need) certain things or specific
conditions. In this section we are going to study the requirements necessary to
sustain life.
ACTIVITY: Identify the requirements for sustaining

life
.
Imagine that you are the design team for the first International Moon Space
Station, similar to the International Space Station already orbiting Earth, but
situated on the Moon!
. The international space station that orbits Earth,

VISIT seen from above.
Find out more about life
on the International Space
Station as astronauts INSTRUCTIONS:
perform their everyday
tasks. 1. Work in groups of four.
bit.ly/178CXVe or
2. What do you think the astronauts and plants living on the new Moon
bit.ly/1cfDcF7
Station will need in order to live? Discuss the five most important
requirements that you need to provide in order for the astronauts and
plants to remain alive on your Moon Space Station.
3. Explain why your group chose these five requirements as the most
important to sustain life. Write down your notes from your group
discussion on the lines provided. Decide which member of your group is
going to report back your findings to the rest of the class.
4. Have a class discussion after you have finished discussing this in your
group.
...
12 Life and living

.
. .
VISIT
.
Learn more about the
seven life processes
bit.ly/16Cj2jz
Living organisms require certain conditions or things to be able to stay alive.

We say that these things or conditions sustain life.
You would have discussed some of these requirements in the last activity. Did
you come up with the same or similar requirements? Living organisms require
the following to survive:
• energy
• gases
• water
• soil
• favourable temperatures
Next, we look at these in a bit more detail. .

TAKE NOTE
'Sustain' means to keep
Energy: All living organisms need energy to stay alive and perform the life
things alive or in
processes. Plants need energy from sunlight in order to photosynthesise. Other
existence. We also use
organisms get their energy from the food that they eat.
the word sustainable
when we want to say
that something can
continue or be
continued for a long
time.
All living things need a source of energy. All living things need oxygen to respire,
The grass and trees get their energy from such as this dog which is breathing air in
the Sun to photosynthesise. The cow gets through its nose.
its energy by eating the grass.
. .

. Gases: All living things require oxygen for cellular respiration. Oxygen is used to
DID YOU KNOW? release energy from nutrients and carbon dioxide and water is produced as a
When astronomers
waste product of respiration. Green plants also need carbon dioxide to
search for life outside of
photosynthesise.
our solar system, they
Water is vital to life. Every organism on our planet needs water to live.
search for planets that
might contain liquid
water, believing that
where there is water
there may be life.
Water is vital for life on Earth. Most plants need soil to grow in.
Soil sustains life on Earth. Most plants depend on soil for support, minerals and
water. Without the soil, plants would not be able to produce the food that
animals and other organisms depend on.
Favourable temperatures: All organisms are adapted to live in a particular

temperature. In general, our planet has favourable temperatures to support life.
Earth is at an optimal distance from the sun so that it is not too hot, like on
Mercury, and not too cold, like on Neptune.
Let's find out what the requirements are to grow seedlings. We will learn how to
conduct a scientific investigation to do this.
INVESTIGATION: What are the requirements to

sustain life in plants?
.
In this investigation, we are going to germinate bean seeds (or any other seeds
that your teacher provides you with). Each group in the class is going to be
testing a different requirement for germination and growth of the seedling.
AIM:
.
A scientific investigation always has an aim or question that needs to be
answered. What is the aim of this investigation? Write down what you aim to
find out.
...
14 Life and living

HYPOTHESIS:
A hypothesis is where you propose (suggest) what the outcome of the

investigation will be. It is a prediction of what the results will be. Write a .
hypothesis for this investigation. NEW WORDS
• dependent
variable
• hypothesis
• independent
variable
• scientific
method
• variables
VARIABLES:
Scientists often use investigations to search for cause and effect relationships.
This means that they design experiments to investigate how changes to one
part will cause an effect on another. These changing quantities are called
variables. There are usually three kinds of variables:
1. Independent variables: This is the thing that you are changing in the
investigation. You are in control of the independent variable. For example,
if you wanted to investigate if eating a lot of sugar makes you gain weight,
then the amount of sugar you eat is the independent variable. You control
how much sugar you eat. We want to achieve something called a FAIR
TEST which means that only ONE independent variable is changed at one
time. Once the independent variable has been changed the scientist then
observes what the effect will be. In the example of investigating if sugar
makes you gain weight, you cannot at the same time investigate whether
exercise makes you lose weight. This would not be a fair test.
2. Dependent variables: The dependent variable is the thing that you
observe in an investigation. You do not change it. The dependent variable .
.
will change depending on the independent variable. For example, in the TAKE NOTE
investigation to see if eating a lot of sugar makes you gain weight, then the A hypothesis is an
dependent variable will be how many kilograms you gain (or lose) as a educated guess about
result of eating sugar. How much weight you gain depends on how much what the outcome of
sugar you ate. Dependent variables should be measured in an objective the investigation will
way using numbers as far as possible. be. The hypothesis is
stated before starting
3. Controlled variables: These are the quantities that a scientist wants to
the investigation and
remain the same or unchanged throughout the experiment. The controlled
must be written as a
variable needs to be carefully monitored to make sure that it stays the
statement and must be
same. In the example to see if sugar makes you gain weight, you could
in the future tense.
have one person eat a lot of sugar and the other person eat no sugar and
then see the changes in weight. There are some things that need to stay
the same for both of these people so that it is a fair test. For example, both
people must do the same amount of exercise so that this does not
influence their weight. This is a controlled variable.
You can also do a control test. For example, in this investigation about the
growth of plants, you will be taking away one of the requirements for growth.
You need to do a control test where another plant is given all the requirements,
including the one you took away in the other plant. You can then compare your
plant where you took one requirement away to the control plant which has that
requirement to see if there is a difference.
Identify the variables for this investigation.
1. Independent variable. What will you change?
..
. .

2. Dependent variable. What will you measure to see the effect of the
independent variable on the germination and growth of the plant?
. 3. Controlled variables and control group. What will your control test be and
TAKE NOTE
what will you keep the same between the control plant and the tested
Remember your control plant?
group is a special kind
of comparison group.
METHOD:
In your group, plan how you are going to do the investigation. Think about
which requirement you are testing and how you will take this requirement away.
For example, if you are looking at light, where could you place the seeds so that
they do not receive light? Remember, if you are looking at light, then you need
to make sure the control and test seeds both receive the same amount of water.
Once you have planned the investigation on rough paper and discussed it with
your teacher, write up the method below (in numbered steps) explaining what
you will do.
.
TAKE NOTE
In Natural Sciences,
when we use the word
'favourable' we mean
something that is
advantageous, helpful,
or optimal. For
example, we can talk
about favourable
conditions for life.
MATERIALS AND APPARATUS:
Write a list of all the materials and apparatus that you will be using in this
investigation.
...
16 Life and living

RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS:
Use this space to record the results for your investigation. If you are seeing
.
whether plants germinate or not, then you need to draw a table to show this. If
DID YOU KNOW?
you are measuring how much the plants grow, then you will also need a table
for this. Every solar system has a
'Goldilocks' zone which
is a region that is not
too hot (close to the
sun), and not too cold
(far from the sun) to be
able to sustain life.
Earth is in the middle of
our solar system's
Goldilocks zone!
ANALYSIS: .
.
Once we have collected our results in a scientific investigation, we need to VISIT
analyse them. This often involves drawing a graph. If you measured the growth Read more about the
'Goldilocks Zone'
of the seedlings over time, then you can draw a line graph to show this. If you bit.ly/13ITCQU and
have counted the number of seeds that germinated you can express this using a bit.ly/11OIY9R
bar chart (provided you used the same number of seeds in each group), or you
can express the percentage of seeds that germinated as a pie chart. Your
teacher will help you do this.
..
. .

.
CONCLUSION:
.
DID YOU KNOW?
After collecting all your results and drawing a graph using these results, you will
Not all plants need to need to use this to draw a conclusion about the requirements to sustain life in
grow in soil. Epiphytes, plants. The following questions will guide you in drawing your conclusion.
such as mosses and
orchids, are a group of 1. I found out...
plants which grow on .
other plants or rocks.
They get their moisture
and minerals from the
air and rain.
2. I know this because...
3. The investigation was fair because...
4. I can trust the results because...
5. While I conducted (did) this investigation I also discovered that...
6. If I did this investigation again I could improve it by...

...
18 Life and living

What did you learn from doing this scientific investigation? .
VISIT
Write 3 to 5 sentences explaining what you learnt from doing this scientific Watch a timelapse of bean
plants growing.
.
investigation following the scientific method. bit.ly/1467MIj
.
.
Each organism is able to survive and continue to survive in their environment

because they have acquired the characteristics that allow them to do things in a
special way in their particular environment. We say they have adapted to life in
their particular type of environment.
Adapted for life

Do you think you could put a polar bear in the Kalahari desert or a gemsbok in
Antarctica and they would survive? Why, or why not?
These animals are specifically adapted to live in their specific environments. All
organisms are adapted to their specific environments. In the next activity we
examine some more examples of how organisms are adapted to their
environments.
ACTIVITY: Adaptations in organisms

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the photos below showing different organisms in different

environments.
2. Answer the questions. .
3. You might need to do some extra research in books and on the Internet to
complete your answers.
QUESTIONS:
Look at the photos of a penguin in the water and an eagle flying in the air. Both
of these are birds, but they live in very different environments that make the
penguin adapted for the water and the eagle adapted for flight.
. .

A penguin in the water. A flying fish eagle about to catch some
food.
1. How do you think the penguin is adapted to swim in water? Hint: What are
its wings used for? Does it have small or large feathers? How do you think
this helps?
2. How do you think the eagle is adapted to fly and catch its prey? Hint: Look
at its feathers and wings.
South Africa is home to two very skilled predators, the great white shark and
the lion. Both of these animals are very skilled at catching their prey, but in very
different environments.
A great white shark in Gansbaai, Western A lioness attacking a buffalo in Kruger

Cape. National Park.
3. What characteristics does the shark have that makes it adapted to living
and feeding in the sea? Hint: Look at its streamlined body shape and sharp
teeth.
...
20 Life and living

4. What characteristics does a lion have that makes it adapted to living and
hunting in the savanna? Hint: Look at the colour of its fur and the colour of
the grass and its strong limbs.
.
.
.
We have now looked at how a few of the animals on Earth are adapted to their
environments. There are many, many more organisms with very unique and
interesting adaptations. In the next chapter we will learn more about the
diversity of plants and animals on Earth.
. .

Have you noticed the VISIT boxes in the margins which contain links? You
simply need to type this whole link into the address bar in your Internet
browser, either on your PC, tablet or mobile phone, and press enter, like this:
It will direct you to our website where you can watch the video or visit the
webpage online. Be curious and discover more online on our website!
..
SUMMARY:
.
Key Concepts
• Life on planet Earth exists in the biosphere.
• The biosphere consists of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere,
as well as the many living organisms and dead, organic matter.
• Many different kinds of living organisms exist in the biosphere.
• Things can be classified as living if they perform the seven life processes:
– Movement
– Reproduction
– Sensing the environment
– Growth
– Respiration
. – Excretion
DID YOU KNOW? – Nutrition
• Living things need energy, gases, water, soil and a favourable
The first person to use
temperature to survive.
the term 'biosphere'
• Living things are suited or adapted to the environment in which they
was the geologist
live.
Eduard Suess in 1875
when he wrote a . Map
Concept
definition for the
biosphere as 'the place Do you know what a concept map is? This year in Natural Sciences, we are
on Earth's surface going to learn more about how to make our own concept maps.
where life dwells'.
Above you have the 'Key concepts' for this chapter. This is a written summary
and the information from this chapter is summarised using words. We can
also create a concept map of this chapter, which is a map of how all the
concepts (ideas and topics) in this chapter fit together and are linked to each
other. A concept map gives us a more visual way of summarising information.
Different people like to learn and study in different ways: some people like to
make written summaries, whilst others like to draw their own concept maps
when studying and learning. These are useful skills to have, especially for
later in high school and after school!
Have a look at the concept map for 'The Biosphere' on the next page.
Complete the concept map by filling in the 7 life processes in the blank
spaces.
...
22 Life and living

.
.
REVISION:
.
1. Explain what the biosphere is. [2 marks]
2. Give an example of something that is found in each of the following:

[3 marks]
a) Lithosphere:
b) Hydrosphere:
c) Atmosphere:
.
3. Discuss why the atmosphere is important for life on Earth. [2 marks]
4. Imagine an alien creature arrives on Earth attached to a meteorite (fallen

space rock). You were tasked with deciding whether it lives in the
conventional way that we understand organisms to live. Draw up seven
questions to determine how this organism lives and whether it can be
classified as alive. [7 marks]
...
24 Life and living

5. What are the requirements for sustaining life on Earth? [5 marks]
6. Look at the following photos of different organisms in their environments.

Answer the questions about how they are adapted.
a) Giraffe
How are giraffe adapted to eat their food? Hint: They eat the leaves of
.
trees. [1 mark]
b) A cactus
This cactus is adapted to live in hot environments? How do you think

it stores water for long periods? Hint: Look at its leaves. [1 mark]
How do you think the cactus has adapted to prevent other animals
from eating it? Hint: What is on the leaves? [1 mark]
..
c) A stick insect.
. .

Can you see the stick insect in this photo? How do you think it is
adapted, especially to hide away from predators? [1 mark]
7. Think back to the scientific investigation you did in this section. Evaluate
how well you think you followed the scientific method to make your
experiment fair or not fair. [2 marks]
Total [25 marks]
...
26 Life and living

Here is your chance to discover the possibilities. What can this apple become?
. .

2 Biodiversity
..
.KEY
. ... QUESTIONS:
• How do we group or classify all the living organisms in the world?
• Why do we need to group or classify living things?
• How can we classify all the animals on Earth?
• What is the difference between reptiles and amphibians?
• Are insects and arachnids (spiders) different?
• Is there a way to classify plants?
• What is the diversity of plants and animals in South Africa?
Over millions of years each species living today has changed and adapted to
live in a specific type of environment in order to ensure the survival of that
species. Biodiversityis a term used to describe the great variety of living
organisms on Earth and their varied habitats.
There are just so many types of organisms. How can we make sense of all the
organisms on Earth? We need some way to group them. This is called
classifying. Let's find out how we do this!
2.1 Classification. of living things

Grouping has been a common activity in humans for thousands of years as we
make sense of the world around us.
ACTIVITY: Group some everyday objects

.
MATERIALS:
• objects from home

• shoe boxes/ ice-cream tubs
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Work in groups of four. .

2. Each member of the group should bring five items from home. Choose
items that are easy to carry around and that will fit into a standard shoe
box.
3. Carefully observe each of the items that everyone in your group brought.
4. Use the shoe boxes to group the items according to your observations.
5. Place all objects brought by the whole class on a display table in the front
of the class.
6. Discuss the different grouping methods that each group has used as a
class. Work towards a standard grouping or classifying method that you
could use to classify ALL the items that you all brought to school.
28
QUESTIONS:
1. Draw a table in the space below and record all the items in your class in the
groups you assigned them to.
2. How did your small group classify your items to begin with? What features
.
did you use to classify the items? TAKE NOTE
When you observe you
use your senses to tell
you more about
something. How does it
feel or look? Does it
have a special smell or
taste? Is there a specific
sound coming from it?
3. Write three or four sentences about the standard classification method
that you decided to use in your class. What characteristics of the items did
you use to classify and group them? Were these different to what you
used in your small group?
.
.
. .
Chapter 2. Biodiversity 29
. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher
NEW WORDS and thinker who lived about 2400
• characteristic years ago. Aristotle came up with
• class
• classify the following grouping system that
• kingdom was used for almost 2000 years
• order
• phyla after his death!
• He divided all organisms into

either animals or plants.
• Then he divided animals into
those 'with blood' and those
'without blood'.
• Lastly animals are divided into
three groups based on their
method of movement: Plato and Aristotle in a famous painting
walkers, flyers or swimmers. by Raphael called "School of Athens".
ACTIVITY: Aristotle's classification system

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Look at the following photos of different kinds of animals.

2. Use Aristotle's method of classification to group the animals based on the
way that they move.
3. Draw a table of your groupings in the space provided after the photos.
Give your table a heading.
A penguin A butterfly A cat
An elephant A crocodile An eagle
...
30 Life and living

A human Dolphins Bats
QUESTIONS:
1. Were there any animals which you battled to classify into one group?
Which ones were these?
2. Do you think Aristotle's classification system has any problems? Explain

any problems that you might find when using it.
.
.
As more and more animals, plants and microorganisms were discovered,

scientists started questioning Aristotle's classification system. It was not
working as well as everyone had believed it would. Why do you think it is
important to evaluate how we classify things?
. .
.
DID YOU KNOW?
Scientists estimate that In the 1700s Carl Linnaeus developed
there are up to 30 the classification system that classified
million species of organisms according to their
organisms on Earth! If similarities, functions and relationships
they use systems to with other organisms.
classify these organisms
they can see patterns in Today with the use of modern
nature and can see how microscopes and genetics we can
organisms relate to classify living organisms very
each other. accurately. In this way we are able to
classify living organisms according to
their shared characteristics.
Carl Linnaeus
Our classification system

All living organisms can be divided into five kingdoms:
1. Animals
2. Plants
. 3. Fungi
TAKE NOTE
4. Protists
The kingdom Bacteria is 5. Bacteria
often also referred to as
Monera.
What are humans? Which kingdom do we belong to?
...
32 Life and living

Think back to the example of how we classify learners at school. First, school is .
divided into pre-primary school, primary school and high school. If we compare TAKE NOTE
school to the way we classify organisms, we can say that the school system has
Be careful to use these
three kingdoms. But, we need to divide learners up further. So primary school is
words correctly: one
divided into seven grades (Gr. 1-7) and high school is divided into five grades
phylum, many phyla.
(Gr. 8-12). The classification system for organisms also needs to divide
Similarly, one genus,
organisms up further as each kingdom contains thousands of different types of
many genera.
organisms.
Each kingdom is divided into smaller groups or divisions called phyla.

Organisms with similar traits (characteristics) will occupy a similar phylum. In
each phylum, smaller divisions called classes are found and each class is further
divided into orders, families, genera and then species.
Think of your school again. Your primary school contains many learners. When
you divide your entire school into grades, there are fewer learners in each
grade. Your grade might be divided into different classes, and each class has
fewer learners in it. When we classify organisms, the same thing happens. A
kingdom is a very big group, whereas a species is a much smaller group.
Study this diagram to help you remember the order:
.
TAKE NOTE
A mnemonic takes the
first letters of a group of
terms to make a funny
rhyme.
King Phil Cuts Open Five Green Snakes
We need to be able to distinguish between organisms too. So how do we name

organisms?
Carl Linnaeus designed a special naming system called the binomial

nomenclature to name all organisms. All organisms are therefore given two (bi-
means two) words in their name.
• The first part of the name refers to the genus that the organism belongs to.
This is always written with a capital letter.
• The second part of the name refers to the species within the genus
• If you are typing you will put both these names in italics but if you are
doing a handwritten piece you underline it. This shows that you are
identifying the organism by its scientific name.
. .
For example, the scientific name for the African elephant is Loxodonta africana.
Humans belong to the genus Homo and to the species sapiens so we are Homo
sapiens.
Now that we have seen how to classify organisms, let's take a closer look at the
differences between the kingdoms.
Plants and animals
ACTIVITY: Comparing plants and animals

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the diagram that shows the five kingdoms that we commonly use to
classify organisms. Pay close attention to the plants and animals.
2. Answer the following questions.
QUESTIONS:
1. Study the organisms in the animal kingdom. What are some common
features that you can see in all the animals?
.
TAKE NOTE
When we compare
plants and animals we
can often compare
2. Study the organisms in the plant kingdom. What are some features that
them based on the way
are common to all plants?
that they move, what
and how they get food
or nourishment, and
.
how they reproduce.
3. Draw a table in the space below and compare the characteristics of plants
that make them different to animals. Discuss your plant and animal
comparisons with your group and then with the class.
...
34 Life and living

.
Fungi VISIT
Learn more about the
Most people will not eat bread covered in bread mould but will eat a plate of kingdom Animalia
fried mushrooms, truffles and morels. These are all examples of fungi, including bit.ly/18djDrj
yeast.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
Morel A truffle
Morels are a type of
edible mushroom. They
are distinctive for the
appearance of their
caps, which are have
pits and ridges that
resemble a honeycomb.
Bread mould Yeast cells
.
VISIT
The phylogame (a card
game which could be
played in class)
bit.ly/14o3yPp
A very poisonous mushroom Button mushrooms (like we buy in the

shops)
Fungi play a very important role in our biosphere since they break down dead
organic material and return nutrients to the soil for plants to use. Some fungi
cause diseases while others, such as penicillin (an antibiotic) are very useful to
us. Yeast is used in many of our products, such as making bread rise and
fermenting wine and beer.
. .
. Protists and Bacteria
TAKE NOTE
We will look at Protists and Bacteria in more detail later on in Gr. 9. For now,
You can find out lots lets look at some of the basic features of these kingdoms.
more online by visiting
the links provided in the Organisms in these two kingdoms are microscopic which means you cannot see
Visit boxes. Be curious them with your naked eye. However we can see them if we look at them under a
and discover the microscope.
possibilities!
Different bacteria:
Escherichia coli bacteria, commonly found Staphylococcus aureus (yellow cells) often
in the intestines of animals causes skin infections and pneumonia
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is found in soil Actinomyces bacteria which cause diseases

and water and cause infections in animals in the mouth
Different Protists:
Phytoplankton from the Antarctic sea Asterionella formosa
...
36 Life and living

Nitzschia kerguelensis Different coloured amoebas
Now we will look at the amazing diversity of animals and plants on Earth, and
especially in South Africa.
. of animals
2.2 Diversity .
NEW WORDS
• diversity
Classifying animals • invertebrate
• vertebrate
All the animals in the world form part of the animal kingdom.There are two
distinct divisions or groups of animals within the animal kingdom: the
vertebrates and the invertebrates. Can you remember what is used to classify
an animal as a vertebrate or invertebrate? Look at these x-rays of animals for a
clue.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
Almost 98% of all the
animals that have been
discovered on Earth are
invertebrates!
Animals that have a backbone with a hollow tube inside to hold the nerves are
vertebrates. As we can see in the x-ray images of the dolphin, dog and goose,
we can see the skeletons of these vertebrates. They are made of bone. We say
that vertebrates have an endoskeleton.
What about the grasshopper and the crab? Why can we not see their bones?
This is because invertebratesdo not have a skeleton made of bones. The
grasshopper and crab have a hard shell covering on the outside of their bodies.
This supports their soft bodies inside. We say they have an exoskeleton. But not
all invertebrates have an exoskeleton.
. .
What about a jellyfish? It does not have a backbone, so it is not a vertebrate, so
it must be an invertebrate. Does it have a hard, outer covering called an
exoskeleton? Discuss this with your class. Make sure to take note of the third
type of skeleton in your discussion.
ACTIVITY: Classifying vertebrates and

invertebrates
.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In the table identify the type of skeleton that each animal has and write it
down beneath each picture.
2. Write down whether the animal is an invertebrate or a vertebrate.
Animal
A grasshopper A bluebottle
.
Type of skeleton
Vertebrate or
invertebrate
Animal
Cape sparrow Butterfly
Type of skeleton
...
38 Life and living

Vertebrate or
invertebrate
Animal
Tortoise Frog
Type of skeleton
Vertebrate or
.
invertebrate
Animal
Crab Earthworm
Type of skeleton
Vertebrate or
invertebrate
.
.
. .
.
VISIT The invertebrates are divided into five phyla. The invertebrate phyla are:
A useful chart showing the
classification system 1. Sea sponges
bit.ly/178IzyU 2. Jellyfish
3. Roundworms
4. Molluscs
5. Arthropods
Vertebrates belong to the phylum Chordata. Vertebrates are subdivided into

five classes.
Have a look at the following diagram which shows the different classes of
vertebrates and phyla of invertebrates. Remember, all vertebrates belong to the
phylum Chordata.
.
TAKE NOTE
'Phylum' is the singular
and 'phyla' is the plural
use of the word.
...
40 Life and living

.
ACTIVITY: Identify the five classes of vertebrates

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the previous chart showing vertebrates and invertebrates and

identify the names of the five classes of vertebrates. Write these on the
lines below.
2. Use the pictures that you previously collected from magazines to find at
least 5 examples of each of these classes of animals.
QUESTIONS:
.
1. Identify at least one distinguishing characteristic that each class shares or
has in common (that makes that class different from other classes.) Write
this on the line next to the classes that you identified above.
Vertebrates .
NEW WORDS
The five classes of vertebrates are: • amphibian
• cartilage
• ectothermic
1. Fish • endothermic
2. Amphibians • gill
• larva / larvae
3. Reptiles • mammary gland
4. Birds
5. Mammals
Fish
Fish come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours. There is huge diversity
amongst fish. Have a look at some of the following drawings of different types
of fish.
. .
.
DID YOU KNOW?
Only about 2% of all the
animals on Earth have a
backbone.
Scorpion fish Swordfish
.
VISIT
Unusual and weird deep Sole Fish Hammerhead shark
sea fish (video)
bit.ly/1460jZG
Puffer fish Goldfish
ACTIVITY: Identify defining features of fish

.
QUESTIONS:
.
1. Carefully study the drawings of the fish shown previously. Although they
are different shapes, sizes and colours, you should be able to identify
common features to all fish. List as many of the defining features of fish as
you can.
...
42 Life and living

.
2. Some of the features that you listed might apply to other animals that are
not fish. Look at your list again. Make a tick next to any of the features you
listed that only apply to fish, or perhaps a combination of characteristics
that only apply to fish. .
.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
The coelacanth was
When classifying fish we look closely at the material that makes up the skeleton
thought to be extinct
of the fish. This leads us to divide fish into two main groups:
for 65 million years, but
• Cartilaginous fish have skeletons made of cartilage. was discovered in a
• Bony fish that have skeletons made of bone. catch of fish in 1938.
Since then, more have
Sharks, skates and rays are part of a group of cartilaginous fish because their been found along the
skeletons are made of cartilage. These fish breathe using five to seven pairs of coast of Southern
gills. Africa.
.
Manta ray Spotted eagle ray
DID YOU KNOW?
A whale shark is a shark
and not a whale. It is
the world's largest fish
and it eats only
plankton.
A whale shark surrounded by other fish A great white shark
The largest group of all vertebrates are bony fish. Bony fish have a hard, bony
skeleton.
. .
. Challenge question: Is a seahorse a fish? Search books and the internet to find
DID YOU KNOW? out and explain why we can or cannot consider it to be a fish.
The male seahorse
actually becomes
pregnant! The female
squirts her eggs into the
male's pouch and he
then fertilizes them and
incubates them until
they are ready to hatch.
.
VISIT
Watch this video of a male
seahorse giving birth
bit.ly/15eTuEw
A sea horse.
Amphibians
Did you know that the word amphibia comes from two Greek words, amphi
meaning both and bios meaning life? So an amphibian is an animal that has
'both lives'. What does this mean?
Amphibians are animals that include salamanders, newts, caecilians, frogs and
toads. Let's find out what is meant by amphibians having 'both lives'.
ACTIVITY: Describing amphibians

.
.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the photos of different amphibians in the following table.

2. Answer the questions which follow.
...
44 Life and living

Amphibian Larva (young) Adult
Frog
Toad
Salamander
.
Newt
..
. .
QUESTIONS:
.
DID YOU KNOW?
1. What do you notice about the habitat of the young amphibians compared
Salamanders can to the adult amphibians?
regenerate (regrow)
their limbs and tail
within a few weeks if
they were lost due to
predator attacks.
2. What do you think the larvae need to breathe underwater? What do the
adult amphibians need to breathe when they are on land?
3. Can you now explain why amphibians have a name which comes from two
Greek words and means 'double life' or 'both life'? Write your explanation
below.
4. Amphibians are ectothermic. Explain how an amphibian keeps its body

warm.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
A group of birds is .
called a flock, a group
of cattle is called a herd,
a group of lions is called 5. Most amphibians have a slimy, moist skin. Discuss possible reasons why
a pride, but a group of they need to have this specific type of skin.
frogs is called an army.
6. Look at the following image of a caecilian. There is a debate going on in a

Gr. 6 class. Some learners think this animal is a worm, making it an
invertebrate. Others think it is a snake, making it a vertebrate. What do
you think?
A caecilian.
...
46 Life and living

The caecilian is actually an amphibian! What characteristics would you test
or make sure this animal displayed to explain to the Gr. 6 learners that it is .
not a worm. Secondly, what would you need to find out and explain to the VISIT
learners to explain that it is not a reptile (a snake) but an amphibian? Metamorphosis:
Amphibians (full
documentary)
bit.ly/14rZABn
7. Amphibians lay their eggs in water,. like this frog. Why do you think they
need to do this? Give two reasons.
A frog that has just laid its eggs
.
.
Reptiles
Reptiles have survived on Earth for millions of years. The first reptiles on earth
lived 310 to 320 million years ago and included the dinosaurs.
Most reptiles live on land although some, like crocodiles, terrapins and turtles, .
and some snakes and lizards spend large portions of their lives in water. DID YOU KNOW?
Reptiles are ectothermic. They cannot regulate their body heat but depend on You can tell the
their environment for heat. difference between frog
eggs and toad eggs
because frogs lay their
eggs in clumps and
toads lay their eggs in
strings. Have you ever
seen frog or toad eggs?
A lizard lying in the sun to warm up
Reptiles are covered in dry scales. Reptiles reproduce by laying their eggs on
dry land. The eggs are covered by a leathery or hard shell.
. .
.
ACTIVITY: Reflect on reptiles

.
QUESTIONS:
1. Complete these sentences.

a) Since reptiles all have a backbone they are one of the classes of
.
b) Reptiles are ectothermic which means that .
2. Make a biological drawing with labels and a heading of the lizard lying in
the sun in the previous photo.
.
VISIT
Learn more about the boa .
constrictor which keeps its
eggs inside its body until
they are ready to hatch
bit.ly/1331Bd1
...
48 Life and living

3. We can divide reptiles into four main groups. Each of the photos in the
table below shows an example of a reptile from each of these groups. Try
to identify the four groups based on the animal in the photo.
.
.
Birds
.
DID YOU KNOW?
Turtles are only found in
the sea, terrapins are
found in freshwater, and
tortoises do not swim
around, but walk on
land.
The blue crane is South Africa's national bird.
. .
.
ACTIVITY: Identify characteristics of birds

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Work in groups of three.

2. List the identifying characteristics of birds following these steps:
3. Do you remember learning about birds in previous years? Work with a
different group and brainstorm identifying characteristics of birds. Study
the photo of the blue crane above for some clues.
4. Use one specific colour to list the characteristics that your group can think
of.
5. As you learn more about characteristics of birds add these in a different
colour to help you remember the new characteristics.
QUESTIONS:
1. Birds are one of the five classes of vertebrates. Write a sentence to explain
what all vertebrates have in common.
2. Just like mammals, birds are also endothermic. What does this tell us
about their bodies?
3. What type of body covering do all birds have in common?
...
50 Life and living

4. Is it accurate to say that birds have wings and can therefore fly? Explain
your answer. What would be a better way to write this statement?
5. Study the pictures of these flightless birds and compare them with the
flying birds in the next column. Use the pictures to write a paragraph
explaining the observable differences between flightless and flying birds
and why you think these characteristics help some to fly and others not.
Flightless Birds Flying Birds
Ostriches . An albatross
.
Penguins A hummingbird VISIT
An application for a smart
phone which helps you to
identify all birds in South
Africa.
bit.ly/178KinL
.
.
. .
Mammals
Lions are mammals. A warthog is a mammal.
ACTIVITY: Identify characteristics of mammals

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Work in groups of three to four.

2. You might have learnt about mammals in previous years. Work with your
group to brainstorm as many identifying characteristics of mammals that
you can think of. Study the diagram of the lion above for some clues.
3. List the characteristics that you can identify in the space below using one
specific colour.
. 4. As you learn more about mammals, add what you have learnt to this list in
DID YOU KNOW? a different colour. This will then provide a summary on mammals when you
While the larger cats have completed the section.
(lion and leopard)
prefer to hunt at night .
to avoid overheating,
cheetah hunt in the
middle of the day. There
is then less chance of
them losing their catch
to the larger cats.
...
52 Life and living

Mammals are vertebrates meaning they have a backbone. Almost all mammals .
are endothermic. This means they are also able to maintain (keep) their body DID YOU KNOW?
temperature at a constant level. The Naked Mole Rat has
lost the ability to
Mammals give birth to live young which are fed milk. The milk is produced by
regulate its body
the mother's mammary glands (in the teats or breasts). Mammals also have hair
temperature while
on their bodies. This varies greatly between mammals. Mammals also have
other mole rats have
teeth that look different in different parts of the mouth.
weakened abilities to do
this since they live
underground in areas
where the temperatures
are generally very
stable.
Kittens drinking milk from the mother cat. A seal pup suckling from its mother.
All mammals breathe using lungs. Many mammals therefore live on land. Those
mammals that do live in water, like whales and dolphins, have to come to the .
surface of the water to breathe. TAKE NOTE
'Thermic' means to do
with temperature and
'endo' means inside, so
mammals are
endothermic as they
can regulate their body
temperature from the
inside.
Dolphins surfacing to breathe air
Now that we have studied the five main classes of vertebrates it is easy to
compare them!
. .
.
ACTIVITY: Comparing vertebrates

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Use the table below to compare the vertebrates shown in the photos
based on the features in the first column.
Guinea Goldfish
Tortoise Chimpanzee Frog fowl
Class
.
Skin covering
.
VISIT How babies
Why are there no giant
mammals? (video)
are born
bit.ly/13gvab1
Habitat
Ectothermic
or
Endothermic
Distinguishing
features
Now that we have looked at all the classes of vertebrates, let's have a look at
the invertebrates.
...
54 Life and living

Invertebrates .
NEW WORDS
What should you look out for when you have to decide if an animal is an • antennae
• arthropod
invertebrate? • exoskeleton
• jointed
• All invertebrates lack a backbone. They either have a hard outer shell or a (segmented)
limbs
fluid-filled structure that acts as a skeleton (for example jellyfish and slugs).
• All invertebrates are ectothermic.
Did you know that 97% of the animals on Earth are invertebrates? Due to the
huge diversity in the invertebrates, it can sometimes make classifying them a bit
tricky. The invertebrates are divided into several phyla. Some of the
invertebrate phyla are:
1. Molluscs (for example snails and octopuses)

2. Arthropods (for example insects, spiders and crabs)
3. Echinoderms (for example sea urchins and starfish)
4. Cnidaria (for example jellyfish)
5. Porifera (sponges)
6. Annelids (segmented worms)
7. Platyhelminthes (flatworms)
There are some other phyla too. As you can see, the invertebrates are a very .
large and diverse group of animals. We are mostly going to focus on the two VISIT
phyla Arthropods and Molluscs. Find out more about the
other phyla of
invertebrates
The word arthropod comes from two greek words arthron meaning 'joint' and
bit.ly/178L1FG
podos meaning 'leg', so together it means 'jointed legs'. Arthropods have an
exoskeleton and they have jointed (segmented) limbs.
Let's now find out more about Arthropods!
Arthropods
The invertebrates that fall into the phylum arthropoda, all have a hard outer
covering called an exoskeleton. The exoskeleton protects the animal and
provides a place for its muscles to attach and function.
. .
.
ACTIVITY: Classifying arthropods

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the photos of different arthropods below.

2. Answer the question that follow.
A spider A prawn
A butterfly A scorpion
A millipede A dung beetle
...
56 Life and living

.
TAKE NOTE
Centipedes are
venomous and have a
very painful sting!
A crab A grasshopper
A crayfish A centipede
.
QUESTIONS:
.
1. Study the bodies of each of these animals. DID YOU KNOW?
a) Describe how the bodies of the different arthropods look and if you The mosquito is
could touch it, what do you think it would feel like? responsible for more
human deaths each
year than any other
animal on earth!
Malaria is carried by
mosquitoes and passed
b) Do you think their bodies would be warm or cold? to humans when an

infected female bites.
2. Study the legs of the different arthropods.

a) Describe how the legs of the different arthropods look in general.
b) How are the legs able to bend?
..
. .
c) One way to classify an arthropod is to count its legs and to group
these animals according to this. Count the legs on each of these
arthropods and write their names in the appropriate column below to
see to which group they belong.
Diplopoda and
Crustaceans = 10
Insects = 6 legs Arachnids = 8 legs Chilopoda = many
legs
legs
.
DID YOU KNOW?
The coconut crab
(Birgus Latro) is the
largest land-living
arthropod on Earth and 3. As you probably noticed, an arthropod's body is covered by a hard
.
weighs up to 4 kg! It exoskeleton. Explain how you think an arthropod can grow and get bigger
can crack whole since the hard exoskeleton cannot grow with it.
coconuts with its
pincers.
4. What habitat would you say most crustaceans live in? How does this differ
from the habitat of the other classes of arthropods?
5. Which class of arthropods has wings? Do all of the animals in the class
have wings?
Molluscs
Molluscs are a very diverse phylum of invertebrates. They have a huge range in
body shapes and sizes. Molluscs are often given a general description which is
that they have internal or external shells and a single muscular 'foot'. However,
there are lots of molluscs which do not strictly fit this description, such as slugs.
The group of molluscs include snails, squid, octopuses, periwinkles, abalone,

mussels, oysters and other soft-bodied animals.
...
58 Life and living

.
TAKE NOTE
Mollusc is Latin for
"soft" which refers to
the soft bodies of
molluscs.
A reef squid An octopus
.
VISIT
Video on nudibranch sea
slugs
bit.ly/1euVRIX
A sea slug (nudibranch) The Blue Dragon nudibranch
.
VISIT
Video on Cuttlefish: The
A cuttlefish Limpets in a rock pool chameleons of the sea
bit.ly/178LRlG
An abalone A garden snail
. .
.
ACTIVITY: Observing molluscs

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Carefully study the above photos of different animals that form part of the
phylum mollusca.
2. Answer the following questions.
QUESTIONS:
1. Identify some characteristics that molluscs have in common.
2. Most of the molluscs shown in the photographs live in the sea. What do
you think would happen if these molluscs were exposed to the air for a
long time?
3. Walk through the school garden and see if you can find any garden snails.
If you do, or perhaps you have seen. them elsewhere before, think about
their habitat. Describe the areas where you found snails.
4. If possible, collect a few snails to study in class. If you have a glass

terrarium or an old aquarium, keep the snails in there, or else keep a few in
large clean glass jars.
5. Carefully study their bodies and especially their long, slimy foot.
a) What do you think the slime is used for?
b) Describe how the snail moves.
c) How many tentacles (antennae) does the snail have? What do you
think these are used for?
...
60 Life and living

d) What markings are on the shell? Why do you think the shell is marked
in this particular way?
e) Try and see if you can find male and female snails. What conclusion
can you draw from this.
6. Make a drawing of a snail. Include the following labels: hard shell, foot,
head, mouth, tentacle, eyespot.
.
.
. .
. .
2.3 Diversity of plants
NEW WORDS
• bulb
• rhizome In this section we will take a closer look at the organisms in the plant kingdom.
• root So how do we classify plants?
• seeds
• shoot
• spore Classifying plants
• stem
• symbiotic
We can easily compare plants based on their characteristics. For example, their
leaf size and shape, whether there are flowers or not and how the petals look,
the length and depth of the roots and the type of root system, and many others.
One particularly useful way is grouping plants according to how they reproduce
sexually. If we group plants based on the way that they sexually reproduce we
can quickly see two distinct groups:
• Plants with seeds

• Seedless plants
.
VISIT
If you would like to join
and become a research
scientist yourself, visit the
iSpot website
bit.ly/1beUSg3
A common fern in South Africa The structures that produce and release
spores on the underside of a fern leaf
Plants that do not produce seeds include ferns, mosses and algae. These plants
produce spores. The spores often develop in structures found on the underside
of the leaves or fronds. The spores grow into new plants.
The photo on the left shows a close-up of the underside of a fern leaf. Can you
see the clusters of capsule-shaped structures that form the tiny spores?
The close-up photo on the right shows a moss sporophyte. This contains the
spores of the moss plant.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
Ferns have been around
for about 400 million
years. That is even older
than dinosaurs, and
they are still living on
Earth today.
Moss growing on the forest floor Close-up of a spore-producing moss plant
...
62 Life and living

Do you know what lichen is? You often see it growing on rocks and tree trunks.
Do you think lichen is a plant? Look at the photos of lichen below.
.
TAKE NOTE
Alga is singular and
algae is plural!
Lichen growing on a tree Lichen growing on an old tin drum
Lichen actually consist of two different organisms growing together! A fungus

and a green alga grow together in a symbiotic relationship. The fungus absorbs
water from the environment and provides the algae with an environment to
grow in. The green algae photosynthesizes, providing food for the itself and the
fungus. Why can the fungus not make its own food? Is the fungus a plant? Can
you come up with a definition for a symbiotic relationship? Discuss this with
your class and take some notes.
The other group of plants produces seeds. These plants can either produce .
TAKE NOTE
seeds in flowers or they can produce seeds in cones. Most plants that you see
Plants can also
around you, produce seeds. Plants that produce seeds in flowers are called
reproduce asexually by
angiosperms and plants that produce seeds in cones are called gymnosperms.
making a clone or copy
of themselves. In this
way new plants can
grow from cuttings and
tubers (like potatoes),
from bulbs and
rhizomes, or from
shoots and side
branches.
This is a gymnosperm plant as it produces This is an angiosperm plant as it produces

seeds in cones. seeds in flowers.
. .
We can therefore classify plants as follows:
.
NEW WORDS
• cotyledon
• dicotyledon
• herbaceous
• leaf vein Come back to complete this diagram once we have learned more about
• monocotyledon angiosperms.
• tap root
Seed-bearing plants
Gymnosperms
Have you ever seen a living prehistoric plant? If you thought about it, you
probably have without even realising it!
In South Africa we have plants called cycads that are often referred to as 'living
fossils'. Cycads grew in great numbers during the Jurassic period. They have
not been around for as long as ferns and algae, but they have been on Earth for
longer than all flowering plants. Flowering plants (angiosperms) evolved after
gymnosperms.
.
VISIT
More information on
cycads:
bit.ly/16CqjQu
A cycad with cones. Cycads at Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape

Town.
...
64 Life and living

Can you see the large cones in the photo of the cycad above? They are in the
centre of the plant. The cones are made up of many individual seeds. Look at
the following close up images of cones.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
South Africa is
considered a diversity
hotspot for cycads.
Along with Australia,
Mexico, China and
Vietnam, we account for
70% of Earth's cycad
species.
A cycad cone. A cone from a pine tree.
The word gymnosperm means

'naked seed'. Gymnosperms are
considered to have naked
seeds as the seeds are not
covered in a fruit, like we will
see in angiosperm plants.
Another gymnosperm which is

native to South Africa, and
grown a lot in the Cape is the
Mountain Cypress, as shown in
the photo. They grow especially
well at high altitudes, such as in
the Cederberg Mountains.
There are several species of

gymnosperms which are not
indigenous to South Africa.
What does this mean? Let's
find out.
A Mountain Cypress.
. .
.
ACTIVITY: Invasive plants in South Africa

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the following photograph of an invasive gymnosperm plant in South

Africa.
3. You will need to do some research in books and on the internet.
Pine trees in Tokai Forest, Cape Town.
QUESTIONS :
1. Find out what it means if a plant is indigenous to South Africa. Some

examples of indigenous plants in South Africa are aloes, acacia thorn trees,
strelitzia flowers, rooibos and the the king protea. Write a definition below.
2. What is an alien species? Why do we call it invasive? An example is the

Jacaranda trees with the purple flowers which are very common in Pretoria.
...
66 Life and living

3. How do gymnosperm plants reproduce?
4. In many parts of South Africa, plantations of pine trees are regulated so

that they do not impact on the biodiversity of the indigenous plants. But,
there are some forests of pine trees which are not used for timber
anymore. The Tokai Forest in Cape Town is one of these. Many mountain
bikers and runners enjoy doing their activities in this forest. The city of .
Cape Town started to clear these trees in 2011 so that they could get VISIT
Pretoria's Jacaranda trees
natural, indigenous fynbos to grow again. There was an outcry from some are an 'alien' problem.
. spot had been ruined. What are your
people as they said their shady riding (video)
thoughts on this? Do you think Cape Town should be cutting down these bit.ly/16HN2ss
trees or not? Give reasons for your answer.
.
.
Let's now take a look at the other group of seed-producing plants, angiosperms.
Angiosperms
Angiosperms are flowering plants. They produce flowers which develop into
seeds that can grow into new flowering plants. We will learn more about
reproduction in angiosperms in the next chapter. Most of the plants that you
probably see around you in the gardens are flowering plants.
We can group flowering plants into two major groups:
• monocotyledons
• dicotyledons
All the angiosperm plants that we are studying have the following
characteristics in common:
• roots
• stems
• leaves
• flowers
• fruits
• seeds
A huge thorn tree does not look anything like a maize plant, yet they are both
flowering plants. They both have roots, stems, leaves and their flowers produce
seeds. So why can we group the one as a dicotyledon and the other as a
monocotyledon? Let's find out!
. .
.
ACTIVITY: Discovering the differences between

monocotyledons and dicotyledons
.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the photos of South African monocotyledons and then dicotyledons.

2. Answer the questions which follow about each group.
Monocotyledons:
Maize. Sugar cane.

.
Agapanthas. Bull rushes.
QUESTIONS:
1. Describe the leaves of the monocotyledons in the photos. How would you
describe the veins in the leaves? Make a drawing to accompany your
description.
...
68 Life and living

.
2. Describe the stems. Are they woody stems or green (herbaceous) stems?
3. Look at the following photos of typical monocotyledonous flowers. Count

how many petals are on each flower. What can you generalize about the
number of petals (and other flower parts) in monocotyledonous flowers?
A disa. Agapanthus flowers.
..
. .
4. Many of the crops that we grow are monocotyledons, such as maize and
sugar cane. Name two others.
Dicotyledons:
Plumbago bush. A geranium.
.
VISIT .
Find out which of South
Africa's plants are most
threatened and closest to
extinction
bit.ly/16x8r7H
Fig tree. Protea bush.
QUESTIONS:
1. Describe the leaves of the dicotyledons in the photos. How would you
describe the veins in the leaves. Make a drawing to accompany your
description.
...
70 Life and living

.
2. Describe the stems. Are they woody stems or green (herbaceous) stems? .
DID YOU KNOW?
Hydrangea flowers can
tell us about the soil
3. Look at the following photos of typical dicotyledonous flowers. Count how acidity! An acidic soil
many petals are on each flower. What can you generalize about the (pH below 7) will
number of petals (and other flower. parts) in dicotyledonous flowers? normally produce blue
flowers, whereas an
alkaline soil (pH above
7) will produce more
pink flowers.
Geranium flowers. Plumbago flowers.
Hibiscus flower. Hydrangea flowers.

..
. .
4. Look at the following image which shows the difference between
monocotyledonous seeds and dicotyledonous seeds. Monocotyledons
have one cotyledon and dicotyledons have two cotyledons.
5. Using the information you have discovered in this activity, complete the
following table to summarize the differences between monocotyledons
and dicotyledons.
Monocotyledons Dicotyledons
.
Cotyledons
Stems
Flowers
...
72 Life and living

..
SUMMARY:
.
Key Concepts
• All the plants, animals and microorganisms and their habitats make up
the total biodiversity of planet Earth.
• Living organisms are sorted and classified according to their shared
characteristics.
• We use a classification system that groups living organisms into five
main groups or kingdoms: Bacteria, Protists, Fungi, Plants and Animals
• All living organisms have to perform the seven life processes and the
way in which they perform these help us to classify them into different
groups, putting plants into one group and animals into another for
instance.
• We can divide a kingdom into smaller and smaller groups, in this order:
phyla, classes, orders, families, genera and species.
• In the kingdom of animals, we can get two main groups of animals -
this with a backbone called vertebrates, and those without a backbone
called invertebrates.
• The vertebrates are divided into five groups: Mammals, Birds, Reptiles,
Fish and Amphibians.
• The invertebrates make up the largest group of animals and there are
many thousands of species. We also divide the invertebrates into
different groups or phyla like the arthropods, molluscs, sponges and
jellyfish, and many others.
• Arthropods all have a hard exoskeleton and jointed legs, such as insects,
arachnids (spiders) and crustaceans (crabs).
• Molluscs have a soft body with or without a shell, such as snails and
octopuses.
• In the kingdom of plants we also get two main groups: plants that
produce seeds and plants that do not produce seeds but spores.
• Seedless plants produce spores - like ferns and some mosses.
• Seed producing plants can be further divided into angiosperms (seeds
in fruit) and gymnosperms (seeds in cones).
• Angiosperms can be divided into monocotyledons and dicotyledons.
• Monocotyledons have seeds that only have one part or cotyledon. Their
stems are herbaceous. The leaves are simple, long and narrow and their
flower parts are arranged in multiples of three.
• Dicotyledons have seeds with two parts or cotyledons from which
their tap root grows deep into the soil. Their stems can be woody or
herbaceous. The leaves are varied in shape and size and have a network
of leaf veins. Flower parts are usually arranged in multiples of four or
five.
. Map
Concept
This concept map shows how the concepts in this chapter on Biodiversity
link together. Complete the concept map by filling in the five Kingdoms
that living things are classified into, and also giving the two major groups
of angiosperm plants. Can you see how the arrows show the direction in
which you must 'read' the concept map?
. .
.
.
REVISION:
.
1. Use the following diagram to fill in how we classify organisms. The first 3
have been filled in as we did not discuss domains in this chapter. You will
learn more about domains in later grades. [6 marks]
2. Which two levels of classification do we use to name an organism. What is

the correct way to write the scientific name of an organism? [3 marks]
3. Why was Aristotle's method of classifying animals as walkers, swimmers or

flyers not very effective? [2 marks]
4. Use the space on the following page to draw a classification diagram of the
animal kingdom. It has been started for you. You only need to include the
phyla and classes that we studied in detail. [11 marks]
. .
5. Give one word for the following or complete the sentence required:
a) The existence of a large number of different kinds of plant and animal
species which make a balanced environment. [1 mark]
b) The animal kingdom can be divided into two main groups. [2 marks]
.
c) The five classes of vertebrates are: [5 marks]
d) The phylum of animals that have a hard exoskeleton. [1 mark]
e) The phylum of animals that have a soft body often protected by a

shell. [1 mark]
6. Write true or false next to each of the following sentences. If the sentence
is false, rewrite it so that it is true. [10 marks]
a) A small percentage of the living organisms on Earth are invertebrates.
b) Invertebrate animals do not have a backbone.
c) Spiders are examples of arthropods.
...
76 Life and living

d) All molluscs have exoskeletons in the form of shells.
e) Birds only have feathers as their body covering.
f) Endothermic animals need to keep very still when it is cold.
7. Look at the following sentences and underline the one that best describes
mammals. [1 mark]
a) Mammals are animals that breathe, move, eat, reproduce and excrete.
b) Mammals are animals that can regulate their body temperatures.
c) Mammals are warm blooded animals that feed their young, have
special organs for breathing and a backbone.
d) Mammals are warm blooded animals with mammary glands, a hairy
body, lungs and a backbone.
e) Mammals give birth to live young, can be found living on land and in
water, and can sense their environment with well defined smell and
touch senses.
8. Describe how the seeds of angiosperms differ from those produced by the
cycads. [2 marks]
.
9. Use the following space to draw a classification diagram of plants. [10

marks]
Total [55 marks]

.
.
. .
3 Sexual reproduction
..
.KEY
. ... QUESTIONS:
In angiosperms
• How do plants make seeds?

• What is the role of flowers in reproduction?
• Flowers come in so many different colours, shapes and sizes. So, are
there some structures that are common to all flowers?
• What is a 'pollinator'? Why are pollinators also important to humans?
Is the flower on a rose the same as the flower on a sweet pea or on a
daisy bush?
• Why are seeds in different shapes and sizes, or contained in fruits? Does
it have something to do with the way seeds are spread to new areas?
. • Does fertilisation mean the same things in plants as it does in animals?
VISIT
A video on asexual
In humans
reproduction
bit.ly/18dp5dE
• Why is your body starting to change?
• What is puberty and what does it mean when we "reach puberty"?
• How is it possible that we all go through puberty at different times and
rates?
• What changes take place inside our bodies during puberty?
• What do our reproductive organs look like when they are mature?
• How does reproduction occur?
• What is menstruation and why does it occur once a month?
• How does a baby grow inside a woman's uterus?
• There is a lot of awareness now of HIV/AIDS and STDs, but what exactly
can we learn in Natural Sciences to help us lead a safe and healthy
lifestyle for the rest of our lives?
. All living organisms on Earth need to be able to reproduce so that their species
DID YOU KNOW? does not become extinct. There are two basic ways in which reproduction can
Some species are able take place:
to switch between
• asexual reproduction
asexual and sexual
• sexual reproduction
reproduction,
depending on certain
conditions, such as Asexual reproduction occurs when one parent organism makes offspring which
whether there is a mate are identical to the parent. The parent organism therefore does not need to
available for sexual mate to produce new organisms. Archaea, Bacteria, Fungi and Protists
reproduction. Aphids reproduce asexually. Many plants and algae reproduce asexually and also some
are able to do this. This animals, such as some species of insects, reptiles, sharks, snails and crustaceans.
is called heterogamy.
78
.
NEW WORDS
• angiosperm
• asexual
reproduction
• cell
• fertilisation
• fuse
• genetic
information
(DNA)
• mate
• pollen
• pollination
• pollinator(s)
• sexual
reproduction
These yeast cells are undergoing budding, a A mother aphid with offspring which were
type of asexual reproduction. Can you see produced asexually or sexually, depending
the smaller offspring 'budding' off the on the conditions.
parent?
In this chapter we are going to learn about sexual reproduction where two
parent organisms mate and their genetic information (DNA) combines to make
offspring which look similar, but they are not identical. Sexual reproduction
takes place in most plants and animals. We will look at flowering plants
(angiosperms) as an example of sexual reproduction in plants and at human
reproduction as an example of reproduction in animals.
3.1 Reproduction. in angiosperms

How do plants make new plants? In this chapter we will learn about how
angiosperm plants reproduce. Sexual reproduction in angiosperms results in
the formation of seeds. Under the right conditions, these seeds will germinate
and grow into a new plant.
ACTIVITY: Growing a bean plant

.
MATERIALS:
•
bean seed
•
paper towel, toilet paper or tissue
•
glass jar (or transparent plastic tub/ jar)
•
water
•
measuring tape or ruler
.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Place some kitchen roll, toilet paper or tissue in your transparent jar.
2. Insert the bean into the paper and place it against the side of the jar so that
you can observe the changes that occur.
3. Add a little bit of water so that the paper towel is damp.
4. Place in an area which gets sunlight.
5. Add a little sprinkling of water every day to keep the paper towel damp.
6. Each day, starting on the day that you plant your seed, measure the length
of the bean or height of the bean plant and record it in the following table.
. .
Chapter 3. Sexual reproduction 79

Day Height of plant (cm) Comment/ notes
7
.
10
11
12
13
14
...
80 Life and living

7. Take notes of your observations from day to day. For example, on what
day did your bean start to grow roots? On what day did the stem sprout?
When did you see the first leaf (or leaves)? How many were there and
what did they look like?
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the term for when a seed starts to grow?
2. What are the requirements for a seed to grow?
3. Use your table of measurement to draw a graph of plant growth (height)

over the 14 days of your investigation.
.
VISIT
Watch a bean plant
germinate and grow.
bit.ly/14GGtYn
.
.
Now let's learn how plants make seeds. In sexual reproduction, half of the
male's and half of the female's genetic material (DNA) fuses (combines) to
create a new individual with the combined genetic materials of the parent
plants or animals. In most animals we can usually easily identify two sexes of
animals: a male or a female animal, which each have male and female parts. In
angiosperms, the flowers are the sexual organs of the plant. The flowers
produce male and female structures that can either be on the same plant or can
be on two separate plants. Let us have a closer look at the structures of flowers.
. .

.
Flower structures
NEW WORDS
• anther
Flowers are the sexual organs of angiosperms. Many plants have both the male
• embryo sac and female reproductive organs in the same flower although some may have
• filament
• ovary
male and female structures on different plants all together.
• ovule
• peduncle
• petal(s) Flowers come in many different shapes, sizes and colours, as in the photographs
• pistil (carpel) in the next activity illustrate, but there are components which can usually be
• pollen
• receptacle identified in all flowers. These are:
• sepal(s)
• stamen • peduncle
• stigma
• style • receptacle
• petals
• sepals
• the male structures
• the female structures
Flowers are typically set on a stem which may be long and rigid like a rose or
agapanthas stem, or short and flexible like those on a petunia. The stalk or stem
of a flower is called the peduncle.
The receptacle is the top part of the flower stalk where the different flower
parts attach.
. While the flower bud is forming, small green leaves protect and enclose the
TAKE NOTE young bud. These are the sepals. The sepals are often green and look like small
Plants can be broadly leaves, and since they are green they can also photosynthesise. Sometimes the
divided into sepals may be the same colour as the petals, like in lilies or tulips.
gymnosperms and
angiosperms. Flower petals are usually the brightly coloured parts of the flower. They attract
Remember that pollinators, such as insects and birds and also bats and mice. We will look more
angiosperms produce at pollination a bit later. In some plants the petals are very small and may even
flowers, and their seeds be absent. This is often because these flowers depend on the wind to carry the
are within a fruit, pollen away and therefore do not need petals to attract animals, such as
whereas gymnosperms grasses.
produce seeds in cones.
Grass flowers.
...
82 Life and living

.
ACTIVITY: Identify the outer structures of flowers

.
Rose. Water lilies.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
Sunflowers are in fact
Petunias. composite flowers,
made up of hundreds of
individual flowers
QUESTIONS: working together. The
'petals' are in fact
1. What do we call the part of the stalk where the flower petals and sepals
individual flowers called
attach to the flower stalk?
ray florets and the
centre is made of many
disc florets. Each of
these has a pistil and
2. Explain why the petals on some flowers are brightly coloured while on stamens.
other plants we can hardly see the petals, and sometimes they are absent
altogether.
3. Study the photos of the different flowers above. Describe the outer
structures of each of these flowers based on their peduncles (stalks) and
receptacles, and their sepals and petals.
. .

Rose
Lily
.
Petunias
The structures of the flower that we have discussed here are on the outside.
The reproductive structures of the flower are in the middle of the flower.
Flowers can contain either male structures or female structures, or both.
Male reproductive structures
In this section, we will be talking about sex cells. These are either male or female
sex cells and only carry half the genetic material (DNA) of a typical cell. When
these sex cells fuse the two halves from the male and the female organism make
a new organism with the combined genetic material (DNA) from both.
The stamen is the male part of the flower. There are two parts to the stamen:
. the anthers and the filaments on which the anthers rest.
TAKE NOTE
Anthers produce the pollen that contain the male reproductive sex cells. The
What are cells? Cells
male cells in the pollen is carried to the female sex cells and when they fuse they
are the smallest
will create a seed which can grow into a new plant.
building blocks of
organisms. There are Filaments are stalk-like structures that support the anthers. In some flowers the
many different kinds of filaments may be long and in others relatively short.
cells, for example, cheek
cells, muscle cells and
nerve cells in some
animals; or leaf cells,
root cells or petal cells
in plants.
The male structures are clearly seen in this close up photo of a flower with the anthers
covered in pollen and supported by the stalk-like filaments.
...
84 Life and living

Female reproductive structures .
TAKE NOTE
Each carpel consists of a
The pistil is the female organ of the plant and is usually at the centre of the stigma, style and ovary.
flower. It consists of a stigma, style and ovary. All the parts of the pistil work Some flowers have one
specifically to help the plant receive pollen, transport it and have it fertilise the carpel, and some have
ovules (that contain female sex cells). Ovules become seeds after fertilisation. many. Therefore in
some flowers, the
The stigma is the structure that receives the pollen during pollination. It is on carpel and the pistil are
top of a long narrow style and when it is ready to receive pollen it becomes the same thing, but in
sticky providing a place for the pollen to stick to. others, many carpels
make up one pistil!
The style is a long tube that connects the stigma with the ovary and the ovules.
The style supports the stigma and holds it in the best possible position to
receive the most pollen grains. After the pollen has landed on the stigma, the
pollen grows long tubes called pollen tubes down through the style from the
stigma to the ovules in the ovary.
The ovary is the enlarged structure at the base of the pistil. It may be divided
into different parts (or locules) and produces the ovules that contain the female
reproductive sex cells. Within the ovule is the embryo sac. The embryo or tiny
seed will develop in here.
The female flowers parts making up the pistil.
. .

.
ACTIVITY: Flower dissection

.
MATERIALS:
• dissecting needle
• dissecting knife
• petunia or hibiscus flowers
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the following diagram of a flower. Use your understanding of the

outer structures of a flower to add the following labels: petal, sepal,
receptacle and peduncle. Once we have done the dissection, we will come
back to label the inner structures.
.
VISIT
Watch a flower dissection.
bit.ly/15yql7o
2. Go out into your garden or explore the school grounds and surroundings
and select a flower of your own to dissect. If your teacher has petunias or
hibiscus flowers, dissect one of those.
a) First remove the outer sepals.

b) Then remove the petals. You have now exposed the ovary.
c) Identify the male and female structures. Label these on the diagram
above.
d) Using your dissecting knife or scalpel, cut the ovary in half.
e) Use the dissecting needle to carefully open up the ovary. See if you
can identify the ovules.
f) Label the ovary and ovule on the above diagram.
Now that we have learnt about the structures of flowers, let us take a look at
how flowers are pollinated.
...
86 Life and living

Pollination
In order for a flowering plant to reproduce sexually, the male sex cells need to .
fuse (join) with the egg inside the ovules. The stamen produces pollen that VISIT
contain the male sex cells. The pollen grains are usually very small - about the Watch some fascinating
size of a speck of dust. videos about pollination
bit.ly/18dpxZf or
bit.ly/148pQjS
This person's hand is covered in millions of A photograph of a variety of pollen grains

tiny grains of pollen. from different plants taken under a very
strong microscope.
Pollen from the stamen needs to be transferred to the stigma of the flower,
either on the same plant or another plant of the same species. This process is
called pollination. If pollination does not occur, there will be no fertilisation and
the plant will not be able to produce seeds or fruit.
Generally plants produce a large amount of pollen to maximise the chances of

the pollen being transferred to as many different stigmas on as many different
flowers (of the same species) as possible.
.
TAKE NOTE
An adaptation refers to
the way a behaviour or
particular structure of
the plant has changed
(evolved) over time to
best perform its
function.
Can you identify the stamens covered in pollen and the stigma in this hibiscus flower?
Pollination involves the pollen moving from the stamens to the stigma of the
same or another flower. There are different ways that pollination of flowers can
take place. For example, flowers can be pollinated with the help of the wind,
water or animals. Angiosperm flowers have special adaptations which help a
specific type of pollination. Let us look at some of these methods for pollination
and how flowers are adapted to promote pollination.
. .

Pollination by animals
Animals that pollinate flowers are called pollinators. These animals come to
flowers to feed on the nectar produced by the flowers. As they are feeding,
pollen sticks to their bodies. When they move on to the next flower to feed,
some of the pollen rubs off onto the new flower parts. We call this process
pollination.
Can you see this bee has been covered in pollen as it is feeding on the nectar?
Since pollinators feed on specific plants, they usually travel from flower to
flower of the same species, therefore pollinating them effectively.
ACTIVITY: Identifying pollinators

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. There are many different types of pollinators, some of which are shown
below. Identify the pollinator in each photo in the table and write the name
on the line below. Answer the questions that follow.
...
88 Life and living

.
QUESTIONS:
1. What do you notice about most of these pollinators? (Which type of

animal is most common?)
2. What do you think these pollinators are getting from the flowers that they
visit?
3. What do you think attracts insects to flowers? In other words, how do you
think flowers are adapted to attract pollinators to them? See if you can
think of three adaptations and list them below.
..
. .

4. Flowers are also adapted so that
when the pollinators visit them,
they make sure the pollen rubs
off onto the pollinator to be
transferred to another flower.
Look at the following image of a
bird visiting a flower to drink
nectar. How do you think this
flower is adapted to make sure
that it is pollinated by the bird?
A bird drinking nectar from a flower.
. 5. The following flower is called a

DID YOU KNOW? Voodoo Lily. Unlike the flowers
we have looked at so far which
There is a direct
give off a sweet scent to attract
relationship between
pollinators, this flower gives off a .
the length of the
really bad smell, like rotting meat
tongue or beak of the
or cow dung. The colour of the
main pollinator and the
petals are also dark, like meat.
length of the nectar
This shows that different flowers
pouch in the flower!
have adapted to different
This is a very good
pollinators. A Voodoo Lily.
example of natural
selection at play. You
will learn more about What types of pollinators do you think will pollinate this flower? Hint: Think
that in the last chapter of which insects you normally find when there is rotting food around.
of this term's work.
6. Work in pairs for the next 4 questions. Take a walk around your school
and identify plants that you think are pollinated by pollinators. Make a
drawing of at least 3 of these.
...
90 Life and living

.
7. Identify the common names of these plants and try to find the correct .
scientific name. DID YOU KNOW?
Some animals can only
. see certain colour
ranges. Although
butterflies, birds (and
humans) can see red,
bees cannot see red
colours but they can see
8. Explain how each of these plants' flowers have been adapted to be
ultraviolet (UV) rays.
pollinated by pollinators.
Some flowers especially
adapt their petal colours
for this to attract
different insects.
9. How could you easily distinguish which plants used pollinators to pollinate
them?
.
.
. .

Pollination by wind and water
Many flowers are pollinated by animals, as we discussed in the last section, but
wind and water can also help pollination. Do you think plants that are pollinated
by the wind or water need colourful, sweet-smelling flowers with nectar? Why
do you think this?
There are some challenges that plants face if they rely on the wind or water for
pollination. These plants have adapted to overcome these challenges so that
they can be pollinated by the wind or water.
ACTIVITY: Studying the flowers of wind and water

pollinated plants
.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the following photos of the flowers of different types of grasses that
are pollinated with the help of the wind.
2. Answer the questions which follow.
In this grass plant you can see the small These white, feathery ends are the flowers
yellowish flowers attached to the green of this grass.
stem.
Can you see the small, brown flowers This image shows the silky female flower of
sticking up from the maize plants? These the maize plant.
are the male flowers of maize.
...
92 Life and living

QUESTIONS:
1. Write a description of the flowers in the photos. Your description must

show that you have observed the colour of the flowers, the size, the shape
and how many there are on each plant.
2. Why do you think these flowers are not colourful like the flowers in the last
activity?
3. Do you think the flowers in wind pollinated plants produce nectar? Why do
you say so?
4. What types of plants are generally pollinated by the wind?
5. The flowers in these photos generally produce a huge amount of pollen.

They produce much more pollen compared to the flowers pollinated by
animals. Why do you think this is so? Hint: Think of the chances of a flower
being pollinated by an animal which visits it to drink nectar, compared to
the chances of being pollinated by pollen that is carried in the wind.
6. In animal pollinated flowers, the pollen is often sticky and clumps together.
This is so that it sticks to the animal which is visiting the flower for nectar
and can then be carried to the next flower. In wind pollinated flowers, the
pollen is very different. The pollen is smooth and not sticky. It is also very
light and small. Why do you think this is so?
7. The structures of the male and female parts in wind pollinated and animal
pollinated flowers are also different. For example, in wind pollinated plants,
the stamens (male structures) often have much longer filaments and the
anthers hang down and can move easily. The stigmas (female structures)
are also often large and look like feathers, as you can see in the photos in
this activity. How do you think these adaptations of the stamen and stigma
help the flowers to be pollinated by the wind? ..
. .

8. Fill in the following table to compare the structures of wind pollinated
plants and pollinator (animal) pollinated plants.
Pollinator pollinated
Structure Wind pollinated plants plants
Petals
Scent
.
Nectar
Amount of
pollen
Structure of
pollen
Anthers
Stigma
Plants that are pollinated with the help of water usually live in water. We say
they are aquatic. When pollen is released it floats on the surface of the water.
The stigmas of the receiving plant are generally close to the water surface. This
is so that they can be pollinated when the pollen in the water washes up against
them.
...
94 Life and living

Pollinators and us
Pollinators play an extremely important role in the life cycle of flowering plants.
These flowering plants include the crops that farmers grow for us to eat, such as
maize and sunflowers. Since angiosperms produce a very large amount of the
world's food crops, without pollinators, we would be without most of the food
crops produced for us to eat.
ACTIVITY: Article from "The Earth Times"

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Imagine it is the future - it is the year 2056!

2. Read the following article from a newspaper called "The Earth Times".
Loss of pollinators lead to crop destruction - third year of famine
23 May 2056
The loss of pollinators in Southern Africa, specifically wild bees and

butterflies, has lead to further crop failures three years in a row. Very
few viable seeds remain to plant the next crop. The next crops planted
might be the last ones unless another means of pollination can be found.
The entire region has been severely affected by the sudden death of large
swarms of bees and butterflies in the . past 5 years. Bees and butterflies,
that were once so common, are almost extinct.
One group of researchers have been working to preserve the last

remaining colony of bees. It was found hidden away in the mountains
of the Helderberg Nature Reserve. So far they report that the colony is
doing well and have added 127 new worker bees this week. It is hoped
more colonies will be found in other remote mountain regions.
The researchers are still trying to identify the cause of the extinction of
these insects. They think that the huge increase in air pollution and acid
rain has affected the wings and flight of these insects. They are therefore
not able to fly to food sources, such as the nectar of flowers, and then
die.
The lead researcher, Dr Wimple, has indicated that they have wild bee
larvae from other parts of the world which were frozen several years
ago to preserve them. The team is now close to reintroducing these
bee larvae into the remaining colony. They hope this will increase the
diversity of the population. Dr Wimple's team is working closely with
other similar teams around the world to find a possible solution.
. .

The team is also looking at ways to modify the crop plants to increase
how efficient they are at being pollinated by the wind, for example maize
crop plants. They hope that this will increase the production of maize.
They need to do this by changing the DNA of the existing crop plants.
This is called genetic modification. "It's a long shot but one we hope will
bear fruits" commented Dr Wimple.
Bees, and other pollinators, are dying due to air pollution.
QUESTIONS:
.
VISIT
Pollinators and us. (video)
1. Find the following words in the article and underline them. Then look up a
bit.ly/14J8Ms6
definition for each word and write it. down. Identify whether the word is a
noun, verb, adverb or adjective. Do not copy the definition word for word,
but write it in your own words.
a) famine:
b) failure:
c) severely:
d) extinct:
e) preserve:
f) remote:
...
96 Life and living

g) diversity:
h) modify:
2. Write down the title of this article.
3. What is the message that is brought across by the title and article?
.
VISIT
Watch this video about
the mysterious
disappearance of bees
bit.ly/195ITRh
4. Explain what the link is between the loss of pollinators and crop failures.
.
5. Which specific pollinators were lost?
6. What reason did the article provide for the loss of these pollinators?
7. Explain at least two ways in which wind pollinated plants' structures are
adapted for wind pollination.
8. How do you think the researchers could modify the crops' flowers so that
they are able to be pollinated more efficiently by wind?
..
. .

9. Do you think the situation described in this article could happen in the
future? Write a paragraph where you explain your reason why.
.
NEW WORDS
• disperse
• pollen tube
.
Fertilisation
. We have now looked at pollination, but what happens next? What happens
TAKE NOTE after the pollen lands on the stigma of the flower?
An ovary can contain
Do you remember that the pollen grains contain the male sex cells, and the
more than one ovule. If
ovary contains the ovules or female sex cells. The male and female sex cells
each ovule is fertilised,
each contains only half of the genetic material (DNA) from the parent plant.
then the fruit will
After pollination, the male sex cell in the pollen grain needs to fuse with a
contain more than one
female sex cell in the ovary to produce a fertile seed. This is called fertilisation.
seed. For example,
think of an apple which In angiosperms, each pollen grain contains two male sex cells. See if you can
has a few seeds inside identify the reason for this as you read through the steps for fertilisation.
the fruit.
The process of fertilisation in plants occurs in clearly defined steps:
1. After the pollen grain lands on the mature stigma of a flower from the
same species, the pollen produces a tube.
2. This pollen tube starts to grow from the stigma and down the style. This
transports the male sex cells to the ovules.
.
VISIT
A simple animation of
fertilisation.
bit.ly/17lTvt1
The pollen tube growing down the style to the ovary.
3. There is a small structure inside the ovule called the embryo sac. When the
pollen tube bursts into the ovule, one of the male sex cells fertilises the
female sex cell in the embryo sac.
...
98 Life and living

4. This fertilised egg develops into a seed. .
5. The other male sex cell joins with another cell in the embryo sac to form DID YOU KNOW?
the endosperm. The endosperm is the starchy food that is stored in the There is a difference
seed once it has ripened. Later this food is used to feed the germinating between fruit and
seed until it has formed leaves and can produce its own food through vegetables! Fruits are
photosynthesis. the ripened ovaries of
6. The ovary then starts to swell and enlarge, and becomes a fruit. flowering plants that
contain seeds, such as
tomatoes and oranges.
Vegetables are
produced by other parts
of the plant, like the
roots, stems, and
leaves, such as carrots
and cabbage.
Can you see the pollen tubes growing here from individual pollen grains?
After fertilisation, the ovule inside the ovary starts to develop into a seed and
the ovary wall becomes the rest of the fruit. There is huge variety in the types of
seeds and fruit in the world.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Coco de Mer seed is
larger than the size of
the human head!
This is one seed from the Coco de Mer plant Seeds from different orchid species. They
and it has been cut in half. are really small - like dust particles.
Think about all the different fruits that you can buy in the shops - there are
many different shapes, sizes and colours!
There are many colours, shapes and sizes of fruit!
. .

. So why do plants have so many different kinds of seeds and fruit? This is
NEW WORDS because the seeds need to be spread to other areas to grow into a new plant.
• gravity
The shapes and structures of seeds help with this, and so too does the fruit. We
say the fruit and seeds are dispersed. Let's look at some ways that seeds can be
dispersed.
Seed dispersal
Plants use different methods to disperse their seeds as far from the parent plant
as possible. Why do you think seeds need to be dispersed? Discuss this with
your teacher and your class and take some notes.
. Different plants have different ways of dispersing the seeds and fruit. Let's have
VISIT
a look at some of these.
Interactive website on the
life cycle of plants
bit.ly/15R4ZYX
Gravity: Fruit can fall off a tree and roll as far as possible from the parent tree.
When the fruit has fallen it can then be taken further from the parent plant by
water, by rolling along the ground or by animals.
Animals: Animals may eat the fruit from the plant or the fallen fruit, and carry
the seeds in their digestive systems. The seeds have a tough outer covering so
that they are not digested by the animal. Some seeds also have spiky structures
that can stick to the fur of animals. They are then carried along as the animal
walks and drop off later.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
The tiny hooks on seeds
and burrs that stick to
fur inspired the design
of Velcro. One part of
Velcro tape hooks into
the other part of the
Velcro tape just like
seeds hook into fur.
Many wild animals love to eat the fruit from the marula tree, such as this elephant, which
has pushed the tree over to get to the fruit. The seeds are dispersed later far away in the
elephant's dung.
Explosive force: In some plants their seed capsules mature and then 'explode',
shooting the small, light seeds far away from the parent plant.
...
100 Life and living

.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Sandbox tree that
grows in the Amazon
Rainforest can fling its
seeds anything from 45
to 100 m away at
speeds of up to 252
km/h!
The seed pods of jewelweed (shown on the left) explode when they are touched (shown
on the right) and shoot out the seeds to disperse them.
Wind: Wind dispersal requires very light, small seeds that can be carried on the
wind. Some seeds have 'wings' like dandelion seeds that can be carried across
great distances by the wind.
.
VISIT
Video showing how ripe
yellow woodsorrel pods
explode to release their
seeds
bit.ly/14Apbii
Dandelion seeds are dispersed by the wind.
Water: Plants that grow in or near water use the water to disperse their seeds.
Mangrove seeds start to germinate while still on the parent plant, then drop into
the ocean and wait until the sea washes them onto a shore where they can
continue germinating and growing.
.
VISIT
Review all of the different
ways that plants can
disperse their seeds
bit.ly/1bf1nzm
A mangrove seed floating in the water.
Do you remember how we spoke about the different flower structures and how
they are adapted for pollination by either animals or wind or water? In the same
way, the seeds and fruit are adapted for their method of dispersal.
. .

.
ACTIVITY: Studying different kinds of seeds

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Look at the following table which contains different kinds of seeds. Each
one is dispersed in a different way.
2. In the second column, state how the seed or seeds are dispersed (for
example, by an animal, by the wind, by water etc.)
3. In the third column, write a couple sentences describing how you think this
seed is adapted for dispersal. You need to think about what would most
help this seed to be dispersed.
What adaptations does

How is it the seed or plant have for
Seed
dispersed? dispersal?
.
VISIT
Watch a video that
illustrates the different
ways that plants can
disperse seeds
bit.ly/178UyMS
...
102 Life and living

.
.
.
. .

We have now finished looking at how angiosperm plants reproduce. We are
.
NEW WORDS
now going to look at how animals reproduce. Specifically, we are going to look
• hormone
at how humans reproduce so that we can learn about our own bodies and how
• maturing they function.
• menstruation
• penis
• puberty .
3.2 Human reproduction
• sperm
If you look around at your Gr. 7 classmates, you will probably notice that your
friends, and you, have changed quite a bit since you started Gr. 1. Apart from
growing taller, changing hairstyles or changing the way you dress, your bodies
are changing and growing up. We say you are maturing.
Understanding the changes that occur in your body and more specifically
understanding why they occur, will help you to manage and cope in the next
few years until you become a young adult.
Why do humans need to reproduce?

Humans need to reproduce to have children to continue the existence of our
species. As with angiosperm plants, humans reproduce sexually. This means
that human reproduction requires a male and a female and a new human being
is formed by combining the genetic material (DNA) from the parents. The child
will have half its genetic material (DNA) from its mother and half from its father.
In order for this to happen, the sperm (from the male) has to combine with the
egg cell (from the female) to produce a baby. Our sexual organs are adapted
for these functions.
Our sexual organs need to reach maturity. This takes place during a stage in our
life called puberty.
Puberty
When a boy or girl reaches a certain point of growth and development, the
sexual organs in the body also start to mature. Girls and boys do not, generally,
go through puberty at exactly the same time:
• Girls go through puberty between 10/11 - 14/15 years of age

• Boys go through puberty between 12/13 - 15/16 years of age
During puberty, you will experience different physical and emotional changes as
your body develops towards sexual maturity and adulthood. Let's take a look at
some of these changes that take place during puberty.
ACTIVITY: What happens during puberty?

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Study the images above of a girl at. 10, 12 and 17, and of a boy at 10, 12 and
17.
QUESTIONS:
1. Identify the changes that both go through during puberty and fill these
into the table.
...
104 Life and living

Changes in the girl Changes in the boy
2. Study the following graph and answer the questions that follow.
..
. .

What type of graph is this?
3. What information is this graph providing?
4. In a graph, there are two variables. The independent variable is placed

along the horizontal x-axis. The dependent variable is the variable that
changes according to the independent variable. It goes along the vertical
y-axis. Identify the independent variable and the dependent variable that
was used in this study based on the graph.
5. What is the unit of measurement that height is recorded in? What is the
unit of measurement for age?
6. Explain in words what you think this graph is telling us about how boys and
girls grow from 0 to 18 years old. Compare the two different lines for boys
and girls and see what you can tell from the average heights as they grow
.
older. Answer the following questions to help you interpret this graph.
a) There are two lines on this graph. What does each line represent? Use
the colours in your answer.
b) Why are the graph lines for boys and girls overlapping from 0 to 6
years old? What does this tell us about the height of boys and girls up
until 6 years old?
c) After 6 years old, and until 10 years old, the graph lines for boys and
girls split. Which line is on top? What does this tell you?
d) At what age are boys and girls on average the same height again?
How can you tell this from the graph?
...
106 Life and living

e) At age 18, are boys or girls generally taller? What is the average height
of boys and of girls at 18 years old? Read this off the graph.
7. A growth spurt is when children grow quite rapidly over the years, faster
than over other years. Answer the following questions to help you
understand this.
a) What can you use to identify a growth spurt in the graph? Hint: A
growth spurt means that the boys' and girls' height is increasing faster
than at other times.
b) On the graph, we can see that there is a growth spurt for girls and a
growth spurt for boys. Do the growth spurts take place at the same
age for boys and girls?
c) At what ages do the growth spurts take place for boys and girls?
d) Why do you think these growth spurts took place when they did? Hint:
Think back to the ages of puberty for boys and girls and how they
differ.
8. Make an X on the graph to indicate where you are in this process according
to your age.
9. Using the data on the graph, what changes in your height can you expect
to experience if you were to follow the typical growth trend?
10. Based on your family history and the height of other members of your
family, predict whether you will 'follow the curve' or whether you will be
shorter or taller than the average person your age?
.
.
. .

. The following table summarises some of the physical changes that occur during
VISIT puberty.
Learn more about puberty
for girls
bit.ly/13J6Pcd Physical changes in boys during
Physical changes in girls during
puberty
puberty
• The sexual organs (vagina, • The sexual organs (testicles

uterus and ovaries) start to and penis)start to mature.
mature. • Pubic hair starts to grow on
• Pubic hair starts to grow on the genitals.
the genitals. • Fertility: the testicles start to
• Menstruation and fertility: produce sperm that can
girls have their first menstrual fertilise a female egg during
bleeding. Menstruation is a sexual intercourse.
sign that the ovaries have • Body shape: changes occur as
started secreting hormones the bones and muscle increase
and releasing eggs, and is to give the young man a
therefore a sign that the girl is stronger, more muscular look.
now fertile (able to fall • Voice changes occur
pregnant). becoming deeper and lower.
. • Body shape: changes occur, • Body odour is typically part of
VISIT such as the waist becomes puberty as the skin produces
Learn more about puberty more defined and hips widen more oils and the smell of
for boys (to make space for childbirth). sweat changes.
bit.ly/1cNfFZQ There is an increase in body • Acne and pimples can occur
fat. due to changes in hormones
• Breasts start to develop and increased oil secretion
• Body odour is typically part of from the skin.
puberty as the skin produces
more oils and the smell of
sweat changes.
• Acne and pimples can occur
due to changes in hormones
and increased oil secretion
from the skin.
During puberty, many young people have commented that their emotions are
like a roller-coaster. This time in your lives is not only about growing up and
maturing physically, but also emotionally.
Many events are taking place in your life, so let's draw a timeline to show this!
ACTIVITY: Draw a timeline of your life

.
A timeline shows us a representation of how time passes and the events which
take place. .
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Draw a personal timeline of your life so far.

2. You can include photos and pictures.
3. You can possibly include:
...
108 Life and living

4. Your birth - where and when
5. Your first tooth, first word, first first step that you took, etc
6. Your different birthdays - perhaps you have some photos you can stick on
for some of your birthdays.
.
7. Your first day at school, playing a team sport, on stage as a performer, etc
8. Celebrations and memorable events in your life.
9. Locate puberty on your timeline.
.
.
Let us now take a closer look at the male and female reproductive organs that
mature during puberty.
Human reproductive organs

Puberty is a time when the human reproductive organs start to develop, .
maturing about 5 - 6 years after puberty started. NEW WORDS
• fallopian tube
In males, the reproductive organs include the penis and two testes hanging in a (oviduct)
pouch or bag of skin called the scrotum. • ovary (ovaries)
• ovulation
• scrotum
• At the start of puberty the scrotum starts to grow larger and pubic hair • testes
• uterus
starts to appear. The penis also grows bigger. • vagina
• Inside the scrotum, the testes mature and start to produce sperm.
When the male reproductive organs are mature in an adult, they will look as
they do in the following diagram:
The female reproductive organs include the vagina, uterus, two fallopian tubes
(oviducts) and two ovaries.
• Inside the girl's body the uterus becomes longer and the lining of the
uterus becomes thicker.
• When a girl is born she already carries millions of eggs (also called ova) in
two organs called the ovaries. During puberty, the ovaries mature, and
start to release one mature egg each month. This is called ovulation.
• Two tubes connect the uterus with the ovaries - these are called the
fallopian tubes or the oviducts.
When the female reproductive organs are mature in an adult, they will look as
they do in the following diagram:
. .

.
NEW WORDS
• conception
• ejaculate
• sexual
intercourse
• umbilical cord
We now know more about the male and female sexual organs and how these
organs mature during puberty. Let's take a closer look at human reproduction
and the different stages.
Different stages in human reproduction

Although you are not ready for the responsibility of having a baby and
parenthood, your body starts to prepare itself for reproduction during puberty.
The main purpose of the human reproductive organs is to produce a mature
sperm or egg that can fuse and create a new human baby.
Ovulation
.
TAKE NOTE Once a month, one of the ovaries in a girl or woman's body will release a mature
egg into the fallopian tube (oviduct). From here it moves to the uterus. During
You are 100% unique -
this time the uterus develops a thick lining of blood in preparation for the
there is no one like you
possible arrival of a fertilised egg.
on Earth!
Fertilisation and pregnancy
In order for a baby to develop in the mother's uterus, the egg needs to be
fertilised. During sexual intercourse, the male ejaculates (releases) millions of
sperm into the woman's vagina. From the vagina, the sperm travel into the
uterus and up into the oviducts and to the egg cell.
The sperm reach the egg cell, and only one of them enters through the outer
layer of the egg cell. The layer then hardens and no other sperm are allowed to
enter. This moment, when the male sperm and the female egg cell fuse is
referred to as the moment of conception, or fertilisation, and this leads to
pregnancy as the baby starts to develop.
Only one sperm will fertilise the egg cell. The other millions will not be able to enter.
...
110 Life and living

Once the egg cell is fertilised, it continues its journey to the uterus. When it .
arrives in the uterus, it is safely attached in the thick lining of the uterus. The TAKE NOTE
foetus starts to grow and develop. An umbilical cord grows between the foetus
If the mother consumes
and the uterus. A placenta forms to supply food and oxygen to the developing
drugs and alcohol while
baby and to remove waste. The developing foetus receives food and oxygen
she is pregnant, these
from the mother through the placenta and umbilical cord.
harmful substances will
also pass through the
placenta to the baby.
They can cause serious
damage to the baby.
For example, if a
pregnant mother drinks
alcohol, the baby can
develop Foetal Alcohol
Syndrome (FAS).
A baby developing inside the mother's uterus. Can you see the umbilical cord?
At the end of pregnancy, the mother gives birth to the baby through the vagina.
Sometimes there are complications and the doctors perform a Caesarean
section. this is a surgical procedure where a cut is made in the mother's
abdomen and the baby is removed.
As we have seen, if the egg is fertilised after sexual intercourse, the mother falls
pregnant. But what happens to the egg if it is not fertilised?
Menstruation
After ovulation, if the egg in the oviduct does not fuse with a sperm and
fertilisation does not take place, then the egg cell will still travel down to the
uterus. But instead of implanting into the uterine wall, the unfertilised egg cell
will be discarded through the vagina, together with the thick blood-rich uterus
lining that had developed in case of fertilisation. This is called menstruation.
Do you know what a myth is? A myth is a story that may or may not be true.
Often, myths are quite old stories that are passed down from one generation to
the next. Myths are often told and people believe them even when there is no
proof that they are actually true.
One such Greek myth is about a lady called Medusa. She had hair made of real
snakes and could turn anyone into stone if they looked directly at her. One day,
the hero Perseus fought her and rather looked at her reflection in his shield. He
was protected from her deathly stare and managed to cut off her head and kill
her.
. .

Do you think the myth about Medusa is true?
There are many myths about menstruation and sex which are told by people in
our society. A lot of these myths are not based on proof. Now that you know
more about human reproduction, you need to decide if these stories and myths
are true or not. Let's discuss this some more.
ACTIVITY: Conduct a survey

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Read some of the following comments people have made about

menstruation and sex.
2. As a homework assignment, read these to at least five separate members
of your family and friends.
3. Make a small cross if the person thinks it is not true and tick if they think it
is true or correct.
Myth Responses (tick or cross)

.
"Women who are menstruating are dirty

and unclean."
"During your period you should never

have cold food or walk with bare feet. If
you get cold your period will be worse."
"Exercise is bad for you when you

menstruate."
...
112 Life and living

Myth Responses (tick or cross)
"Don't ever swim when you are having a

period!"
"Virgins cannot use tampons - they will

lose their virginity."
"It is unhealthy to have sex at the time of

the month when you are menstruating."
"You cannot fall pregnant during your

period."
"You cannot fall pregnant or make

someone pregnant if you have sex in
water."
"Women are always moody and

irrational during menstruation."
.
"Drinking and drugs make sex more fun."
"If you have a shower after sex, you will

not fall pregnant."
"You cannot fall pregnant if it is your first

time."
"Everyone is having sex."
..
. .

QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION:
.
TAKE NOTE
1. How many people in the homework survey believed that the comments
A virgin is someone
were in fact true?
who has not had sexual
intercourse.
About half believed
they were true and None believed they
Most believed they
the other half were true
were true
believed they were
not.
2. Discuss with your class which of the comments were most widely believed
to be true by the people you surveyed. Take some notes on the following
lines.
3. Which of these comments had the strongest reaction from the people you
.
surveyed? (Either positive or negative reaction.) Discuss their reactions
with your class. Take some notes on the following lines.
4. Did anyone laugh at any of the comments? Which ones? Did they tell you
why they laughed? Share this with the class.
5. Which of these statements do you think are true? Discuss this with your
class and take some notes on the following lines.
.
...
114 Life and living

Ways to prevent pregnancy and STDs
As we discussed above, your body prepares itself to reproduce during puberty. .
TAKE NOTE
However, you are in control of your body and can make the decision when you
are ready to become a parent and to fall pregnant. 'Contra-' means against,
so contraception means
If you decide to become sexually active, it is important to think very carefully of against conception
two risks involved in sexual activity:
1. Pregnancy
2. Being infected by a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) like HIV/AIDS,
Herpes or Syphilis.
There are different things that you can do to prevent pregnancy.
Contraceptives
To avoid falling pregnant, you can use contraceptives. There are different
contraceptives available today. They prevent the sperm from reaching the egg
and thus prevent fertilisation from taking place. Or else, they can prevent the
fertilised egg from implanting in the uterus wall.
Male condoms are rubbery sheaths that are placed over a man's erect penis
before sex, and are worn during sexual intercourse to prevent the sperm from
entering the woman's vagina. Condoms also help to prevent the spread of STDs.
Female condoms also prevent the sperm from reaching the egg. However these
are placed in a woman's vagina to act as a barrier to the sperm, and are much
less commonly used.
Oral contraceptive pills are used by many women today. Many of these prevent
ovulation. Pills need to be taken at the same time every day, otherwise they are
not effective. If the woman has an infection with a high temperature, or is on
antibiotics, this may also reduce the pill's effectiveness. While the pill is
excellent at preventing pregnancy, it offers NO protection against STDs.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
There are various very dangerous and harmful diseases that are spread from
one person to another during sexual intercourse. Some of these are
life-threatening, like the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), while others
cause very painful and long-term symptoms.
. .

. You can prevent yourself from being infected with an STD by doing the
TAKE NOTE following:
If you have been a
victim of sexual abuse • Get the facts: Make sure you know up-to-date information about STDs and
you can receive how they are spread, their symptoms and how you can protect yourself
guidance and help by during sexual intercourse.
contacting Lifeline at • Take control of your sex life: The more sexual partners you have, the
0800 150 150. The higher your risk will be of contracting an STD.
Lifeline website for • Be faithful: If you or your partner has sex with someone else you risk
victims of sexual abuse infecting the other person with the STD.
can be found at • Using condoms significantly reduces the risk of contracting STDs.
http://www.
lifeline.co.za/
need-support/
It is your decision whether you want to participate in sexual intercourse with a
rape/.
romantic partner or not. There are two very important points to remember here:
1. No one, no matter who they are, has the right to force you or pressure you
to have sex with them or with anyone else. Therefore you are the only one
who should be permitted to decide when you are ready to have a sexual
relationship.
2. If you decide to have sex, you should do so in a responsible manner. This

includes protecting yourself against possible pregnancy and against any
STD infection.
ACTIVITY: Write a letter

.
So often we make promises to other people and work very hard to keep them,
but when we make promises to ourselves we often neglect to honour these.
Write a letter to yourself in which you explain what you want to do with regards
to sexual activity. Do you want to engage in sex or do you want to wait until
you are older? Explain why you made this . decision.
Then add to your letter what you promise yourself that you will do to protect
yourself from contracting an STD or from a pregnancy before you are ready to
be a parent. Explain how you see yourself practising responsible choices
regarding sex.
Put your letter in a safe place at home where you can often see it to remind
yourself of your promise to yourself. Remember this is a private letter and you
can choose whether you want to show it to anyone else or not.
...
116 Life and living

..
SUMMARY:
.
Key Concepts
• Sexual reproduction occurs when a sperm and an egg from two people
combine to make offspring which look similar but not identical to the
parents.
• In angiosperm plants, seeds are produced in the flowers.
• The male structures of flowers are the anthers and filaments, making up
the stamens.
• The female structures of a flower are the stigma, style and ovary,
forming the pistil.
• Pollination occurs when pollen is transferred from the anther of one
flower to the stigma of another flower of the same species.
• Pollination is assisted by animals (pollinators), the wind and/ or water.
• Pollinators play an important role in the production of crops for humans.
• The pollen grows a pollen tube down the style to deliver the pollen
nucleus to the ovules in the ovary.
• The fertilised ovules become seeds and the ovary may swell to form a
fruit.
• Seeds are dispersed in various ways by animals, the wind, water and
explosive force.
• In humans the main purpose of reproduction is for the sperm and egg
to fuse and develop into a baby during pregnancy.
• Puberty is the stage in the human life cycle when sexual organs mature
for reproduction.
• During puberty, boys and girls experience physical and emotional
changes.
• The male reproductive organs include the penis and testes that produce
sperm.
• The female reproductive organs include the vagina, uterus, oviducts and
the ovaries.
• The ovaries produce one mature egg each month during ovulation
which is then transported to the oviduct.
• If sexual intercourse takes place, the sperm travel to the egg and one
will fuse with it in the process of fertilisation.
• The fertilised egg then moves to the uterus, is embedded in the lining
of the uterus and grows for approximately 9 months before the baby is
born.
• If fertilisation does not take place the egg moves to the uterus from
where it is discarded in the vagina. The uterus lining is broken up and
discarded through the vagina during menstruation.
• Pregnancy and STDs can be prevented mostly by wearing a male
condom.
. Map
Concept
Study the concept map below. Does it make sense to you? Are you starting
to see what concept maps do? To complete the concept map below, fill in
the blank spot. Look at the concept it is linked to in order to find the answer:
'In humans, fertilisation is prevented by …....'
. .

.
.
REVISION:
.
1. Study the following diagram of a flower and the reproductive parts.

Provide labels for numbers 1-12. [12 marks]
1: . 7:
2: 8:
3: 9:
4: 10:
5: 11:
4 and 10:
6:
. .

2. Describe the function of the following structures: [5 marks]
Structure Function
petal
ovules
pollen
grains
filament
receptacle
3. Look at the following image of a bat busy drinking nectar from the flower.
.
How is this flower adapted for pollination by the bat? [3 marks]
A bat drinking nectar.
...
120 Life and living

4. Look at the following image of the seed. How do you think this seed is
dispersed? How is this seed adapted for this kind of dispersal? [3 marks]
A seed.
5. A Gr. 7 learner was trying to explain the process of the human reproduction
cycle, but they muddled up the order of the cycle. Write numbers 1 - 6 to
place their sentences below into the correct order. [3 marks]
The sperm arrive in the oviduct.

During sexual intercourse, the sperm is propelled from the penis.
One sperm enters the outer cover of the egg to fertilise it.
The fertilised egg is implanted in the uterine lining.
The sperm travel from the vagina, through the uterus to the oviduct.
The egg is released from the ovaries and travels along the oviduct.
6. Explain the difference between ovulation and menstruation. [2 marks]
7. Once an egg is fertilised, where is it implanted or embedded? [1 mark]
..
. .

8. The reproductive organs are structured in a very specific way - to make
fertilisation and pregnancy possible. Explain the function of each of these
structures in the male and female bodies. [12 marks]
Reproductive
Their function
organs
Ovaries
Oviducts
Uterus
Vagina
Penis
Testes
9. During puberty the penis and testes develop and mature to fulfil their
function in reproduction. Explain what changes occur and why these
changes are necessary. [2 marks]
10. Explain what changes occur inside the ovaries of a girl during puberty and
why these changes are important for reproduction. [2 marks]
...
122 Life and living

11. A Gr. 7 learner was asked to define the terms puberty, menstruation,
fertilisation, pregnancy and conception. First evaluate how well they
defined each of these terms and then correct or improve their definitions
in each case. [10 marks]
Term and definition Evaluation Improvement
Puberty: when you

grow up.
Menstruation: when a
girl bleeds.
.
Fertilisation: when
you put stuff into the
garden to make it
grow better.
Pregnancy: when the
mom's stomach
grows and a baby
pops out.
Conception: when
the baby starts to
come alive.
Total [55 marks]
.
.
. .

4 Variation
..
.KEY
. ... QUESTIONS:
• Are all dogs part of the same species if there are so many different sizes,
shapes and colours?
• What about humans? What does it mean that we have different skin
colours, heights and other differences if we are all part of Homo sapiens?
• What does variation mean?
• What causes variation?
• Why is it important that we study variation?
.
4.1 Variation within a species
. In the last chapters we looked at how to classify organisms on Earth. Do you

NEW WORDS remember what the classification levels are? What is the smallest group in the
• inheritance classification system?
• natural selection
• variation A species is a group of organisms that can interbreed with each other to
produce fertile offspring. In this section you will learn why the ability to create a
fertile offspring is the single most defining characteristic of a species.
Wherever organisms in a species live, they need to survive in those conditions.

We say they are adapted to their environment. Those individuals of a species,
which have characteristics that make them more successful at surviving, will
reproduce more and pass on their characteristics to their offspring. However,
environments change over periods of time. This means that the species needs
to constantly change over time to better survive the conditions of their
changing habitat. If the organisms do not adapt to their environment, they may
not survive, and the species will die out. But how do species adapt? Does it
happen quickly or over a long time?
What does variation mean when we use it in Natural Sciences? Let's take a look
at some animals with which we are all familiar to find out what variation means.
ACTIVITY: Small, big, long-haired, short-haired,

black, white, brown or spotty?!
.
Do you have a dog, or have you seen some dogs in your neighbourhood? Think
.
of those dogs, and use the following image to answer the questions.
QUESTIONS:
1. What kingdom of animals do dogs belong to?
124
2. What phylum do dogs belong to? Why do you say so? Give a reason for
your answer.
3. What class do dogs belong to? Give three reasons why you would classify
.
dogs in this class.
4. Look at the dogs in the above picture and write down some common
characteristics of the animals.
5. Do you think these dogs are part of the same species? How would you
know? Discuss this with your class and teacher.
6. Although these dogs share many characteristics, there are many

differences between them. What are some of these differences?
..
. .
Chapter 4. Variation 125

7. Another example of variation is
horses. Horses all belong to the same
species as they can mate and
produce offspring which are fertile.
This means their offspring are able to
reproduce. But there are many
different colours and sizes of horses.
A white horse with a brown foal.
Horses and ponies are from the same species. But what about donkeys?
.
If a horse and a donkey mate, they
are able to produce offspring, but the
offspring are infertile. They are called
mules or hinnies. Do you think
donkeys and horses are the same
species? Give a reason for your
answer.
A donkey
All living organisms that reproduce sexually produce offspring that are different
from the parent organisms. Remember that we learnt about sexual
reproduction in angiosperms and humans in the last chapter. This allows the
new organisms to be different to other organisms within the same species. We
call this difference variation. As we saw in the last activity, all dogs on Earth are
actually the same species, as well as horses, but there are huge differences
between all the individuals. We say there is variation.
Even animals from the same

litter or children from the
same parents have
differences. Take a look at
the kittens in the box below.
They are all from the same
litter so they share the same
parents, but they all look
Three kittens from the same litter different.
but they all look different!
...
126 Life and living

All humans on Earth are from the same species, and yet there is huge variation
among us. Look at the following photos of people from around the world.
A Tibetan girl. A Swedish man. A schoolgirl in Congo.
An Indian lady. A Cambodian boy. A Dutch girl.
A Masai warrior in Kenya. A Chinese soldier. An English boy.
An Iranian woman. An Ethiopian man. A Peruvian woman.
. .

Humans are all one species. Do you remember what the species name is for
humans?
South Africa is an amazing example of diversity amongst our people. Just have
a look at your class and how much variation there is between all of you in one
class. Some learners may be tall and others may be shorter, some have dark
hair, some have blonde or brown hair, and there is a range of skin colours in
South Africa. Since you are all from the same species this is another example of
variation. Let's have a look at how your class varies in height.
ACTIVITY: The height of learners in your class

.
MATERIALS:
• 2 m measuring tape
• pencil, table drawn on scrap paper and clipboard to work on
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Attach a measuring tape or similar apparatus to a wall in your class.

2. Learners who are having their length measured must be barefoot and must
place their heels against the wall, standing up straight against the wall.
3. Learners who are taking the measurement must stand on a chair and place
a ruler or pencil horizontally on the person's head (and flatten the hair)
when taking the measurement.
4. Another learner should record the name and height of each learner.
5. Use this method to record the height of each learner in the class.
6. Draw a table to record the measurements.
7. Represent these results on a bar graph in the space provided.
Use the following space to record the heights of learners in your class in a table.
.
...
128 Life and living

Now use this information to draw a graph to represent the information. You will
need to draw a bar graph. Think about what must go along the horizontal x-axis
and what must go along the vertical y-axis. Remember, the x-axis is for the
independent variables and the y-axis is the dependent variable. Give your graph
a heading.
.
TAKE NOTE
Do you remember how
to calculate an average?
You need to add up all
the individual
measurements, then
divide by the number of
learners you have
measured.
QUESTIONS:
1. Who is the tallest and who is the shortest in your class?
2. What is the average height of all the learners in your class? Use the
following space to show your working for this calculation.
..
.
. . TAKE NOTE
A correlation is a
relationship between
two or more sets of
measurements or
objects (items or
things).
3. What is the average height of the boys and what is the average height of
the girls? Use the space to show your working.
4. As a homework activity, measure the heights of some of the adult

members in your family. Record these heights in the following space to
discuss with your class the next day.
5. Discuss these results with your class.

a) Do the shorter people in your class also have shorter family members
and do the taller people in your class also have taller family members?
b) Is there a correlation (relationship) between the heights of learners in
your class and the adults in their family?
c) What other similarities are there between family members?
d) Write down some notes from your class discussion below.
...
130 Life and living

We have now seen that there is huge variation between all the people on Earth,
and even in your class. But, there are also lots of similarities, especially between
family members, such as height and skin colour. These characteristics (or traits)
are passed down from one generation to the next in a family. We say they are
inherited traits. Let's look at this a bit more.
.
4.2 Inheritance in humans
We say that certain traits are passed down from generation to generation over
many years, from parent organisms to their offspring. This is called inheritance.
There are some traits which are very easy to see how they are inherited, such as
skin colour or height. Did you know that some people are able to wink with one
eye but not with both? Or that others can only see some colours but not all the
colours - this is called colour blindness. Let's find out a bit more about some of
these inherited traits.
ACTIVITY: What is your inheritance?

.
1. Think about your most recent family event or family photo. Is there
something that you all have in common? It can be something about your
physical appearance, or your behaviour or something that you can each
do. Discuss any inherited traits or characteristics that get passed down
from generation to generation in your family.
2. One of the very interesting inherited traits is the ability to roll your tongue.
Can you roll your tongue?
Can you roll your tongue? Can your family members roll their tongues?
3. There are many other traits and abilities that are inherited from our
parents, that they inherited from their parents, which they inherited from
their parents and so on. Below is a table detailing some of these traits.
4. Count how many people in your class can do each or have each of these
traits or characteristics.
5. Record the number of learners in your class who have each characteristic.
6. Calculate the percentage of learners that have this characteristic.
. .

Characteristic Illustration Number of Percentage of
learners with learners with
the the
characteristic characteristic
Tongue rolling
Thumb shape Hitchhiker

thumb:
Straight thumb:
Dominant hand Right-handed:
.
Left-handed:
Attachment of Attached
earlobe earlobe:
Unattached
earlobe:
Dimples
...
132 Life and living

Second toe Longer second
length toe:
Vulcan sign
When you have collected all the data and have worked out the percentage of
learners that have a certain trait, draw a bar graph in the space provided. .
Remember to label your graph and to give it a heading. TAKE NOTE
We can use the word
inheritance in different
.
ways. When someone
dies they may leave an
inheritance of money, a
home, car or other
physical belongings to
their children or other
people. In Science,
inheritance is how
parents pass on traits or
characteristics to their
children.
.
.
. .

. How does variation in a species help it to survive?
VISIT
Watch a video that
Natural selection
explains how natural
selection works Have you ever heard the saying: "survival of the fittest or strongest"? This
bit.ly/17zOR9R .
refers to the way in which the organisms are able to survive in their
Afterwards, experiment environments because they have adapted the best or they have certain
with natural selection by
controlling the characteristics which allow them to survive better than others.
environment and causing
changes in rabbits. Survival refers to the characteristics that allow the members of a species to
(simulation)
thrive and reproduce successfully so their advantageous characteristics are
bit.ly/15zeea9
passed on successfully. Thus over generations the entire species can survive as
the majority of its members happen to have inherited the advantageous
characteristics.
For example, imagine some impala in one group in a game reserve started to
develop a characteristic, which was passed down from the parents to the
offspring, allowing them to run faster for longer. The impala in this group can
then run faster than the impala in another group. Over time, the faster impala
will be able to escape the predators such as cheetahs and lions more often and
so they will live long enough to reproduce and raise their offspring successfully.
They will therefore pass on the swift running characteristic. The slower impala
will get caught more often and so they will not survive to produce offspring.
The slower impala are slowly removed over time. The characteristic making
some of the impala faster allows those impala to survive and pass this trait on to
their offspring. This is the principle of natural selection.
Let's look at a famous and interesting example of how variation in the peppered
moth allowed for natural selection.
ACTIVITY: Natural selection in the peppered moth

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Read the following information about the peppered moth.

The peppered moth's story of evasion
The peppered moth has been studied in a lot of detail over the past 200 years
as it has a very interesting evolution over a short time period. Originally, most of
the peppered moths were a light, speckled colour, as you can see in the top
moth in the image. .
This colouring allowed the moths to be

camouflaged when they rested upon
the light-coloured trees and lichens in
their habitat. However, not all the
peppered moths were this light colour.
There was some variation and there
were a few which were a much darker,
grey colour. They could not camouflage
themselves as well as the light coloured
one. The darker coloured moth is The light and dark variation in the
shown below the lighter coloured moth. peppered moth.
...
134 Life and living

During the Industrial Revolution in England, there was a huge increase in the
.
number of factories. These factories mainly burnt coal as an energy source,
DID YOU KNOW?
which increased the amount of pollution and soot in the air. The pollution
caused the lichen on the trees to die off. The soot coated the trees in the The location of this
peppered moths' habitat. These trees now did not have any lichen and they fabulous example of
were a dark grey colour because of the soot covering them. natural selection was
the city of Manchester
The light coloured moths were therefore not camouflaged anymore and could in England. The first
be seen easily by predators when they rested on the trees. As a result, more of observation of a dark
the light-coloured moths were eaten by birds and didn't have a chance to mate black peppered moth
and lay eggs. Therefore the number of light-coloured moths decreased. In occurred in 1848.
comparison, the few moths that were a dark grey colour were now at an However, by 1895 98%
advantage as they were now the same colour as the soot covered trees and of peppered moths in
could hide. These darker-coloured moths could therefore go on to have more the city were dark!
offspring. Over time, this resulted in more and more of the moths being
dark-coloured.
QUESTIONS:
1. When the moths land on the trees and they are camouflaged, what are .
VISIT
they hiding from?
Play the evolution game
and hunt for peppered
moths!
bit.ly/178YdKJ
2. Why do you think there were only originally a few of the dark coloured
moths, and there were lots of light-coloured moths?
3. Why do you think the dark grey moths started to increase over time after
the Industrial Revolution?
..
. .

4. Since the Industrial Revolution, the numbers of light-coloured moths have
started to increase again due to improved environmental standards. Why
do you think this is?
. .
VISIT
10 reasons to love science
(video)
bit.ly/1bf3K5r
We have now looked at how variation within a species helps it to adapt to its
changing environment and therefore survive. But, these changes do not happen
quickly. Although small changes can happen within a few generations, big
changes take a very, very long to happen over thousands of years.
..
SUMMARY:
.
Key Concepts
• A species is a category within the classification system.
• Living organisms of the same type belong to the same species.
• Organisms from the same species can reproduce sexually and produce
offspring that are fertile and can reproduce.
• People belong to the species Homo sapiens.
• Variation is the difference between individuals from the same species.
• This variation can be inherited from one generation to the next.
• The individuals that are better suited (adapted) to their environment
will survive to reproduce. This is called natural selection.
• Small changes can take place in a species over shorter periods, like from
one generation to the next.
• Over very long periods these small changes can accumulate so that big
changes occur over time.
. Map
Concept
This was a short section and so we have a smaller concept map than in the
previous sections.
...
136 Life and living

.
.
REVISION:
.
1. Are dobermans, terriers and bulldogs from the same species? Give a
reason for your answer. [2 marks]
2. A new breed of cat has been

developed, called the munchkin
cat. Breeders specifically tried to
breed a cat with very short front
legs. Explain how you think they
achieved this. [2 marks]
3. Predict whether you think munchkin cats would be able to hunt as well as
other cats with normal length front legs. [2 marks]
4. Do you think it is correct for humans to breed animals in this way? Explain
your answer. [2 marks]
5. Explain in your own words what you understand by the term "inherited
characteristics". [2 marks]
...
138 Life and living

6. Why do you think it takes a long time for a species to adapt and change to
its changing environment? [2 marks]
Total [12 marks]
.
.
Curious? Use your imagination and show what this key can be.
. .

.
.
GLOSSARY
abiotic: non-living elements of the environment such as

soil, water and air
adapt / adapted: to change the way that something looks or the way
something is done based on the surroundings /
environment
amphibian: any of a class of vertebrate animals that live on
land and in water at different times in its life-cycle,
are ectothermic and have a naked skin, and that
the larvae hatch in water and has gills, which later
transforms into the adult that breathes with lungs
angiosperm: a plant that has flowers and produces seeds that
are enclosed in a fruit
antenna (antennae): one of two long thin parts on the head of some
arthropods (like insects and crustaceans) used for
touch, smell and taste
anther: the part of the male sex organ of a plant that
contains the pollen
aquatic: being in or near water
arthropod: any of a large group of animals with a hard body,
no backbone and legs that are divided into sections
asexual reproduction: reproduction of plants and fungi that doesn't
require male and female sex cells to fuse in order to
.
make a new organism
atmosphere: the layers of gas that surround the Earth
biosphere: the parts of the Earth's surface, water and
atmosphere in which life can exist (and where
plants, animals and organisms can live)
bulb: a type of underground stem with one or more buds
that are covered by leaves or scales - like onions
and tulips
cartilage: strong, flexible tissue similar to bone
cell: the smallest structural unit or building block of life
that can sustain the seven life processes
cellular respiration: the process in living organisms by which oxygen is
used to release energy from food and carbon
dioxide is given off as a by-product
characteristic: a typical feature or quality that makes one thing
different from another
class: the major taxonomic rank below phylum and above
order that includes groups of vertebrate animals
such as fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and
mammals, and the invertebrate groups such as
insects and arachnids
classify: a systematic grouping of objects, items or
organisms based on characteristics, relationships
and processes
component: one of the parts that something is made of
...
140 Life and living

conception: moment of fertilisation when the male sperm and
the female egg cell fuse and a new individual is
formed
cotyledon: the seed leaf that is involved in the storage or
absorption of food reserves
depend / dependent: to need something or somebody to do their part in
providing a shelter, food, air, etc. for an organism's
survival
dependent variable: the variable of interest that is measured to get the
results
dicotyledon: a plant that has a seed with two cotyledons, nodes
and internodes on its stem, a tap root and generally
leaves on small stalks called petioles; the leaves
have a net-type leaf vein
disperse: spread over a wide area
diversity: the number and variety of species present in an
area and the location of their different habitats
ectothermic: relating to animals that have a blood temperature
that changes if the temperature of their
surroundings change
ejaculate: when a male releases sperm from the penis
embryo sac: structure within the ovule that contains the egg
cell; contains the newly developing plant and
endosperm after fertilisation
endothermic: relating to animals
. that have a blood temperature
that does not change if the temperature of their
surroundings change
environment: the external surroundings, conditions, resources,
stimuli, etc. in which an organisms lives and
interacts
exoskeleton: the hard outer covering that protects the body of
certain arthropods
fair test: an experiment where only one independent
variable is changed each time the experiment is
repeated
fallopian tube a tube lying close to each ovary that receives the
(oviduct): mature ova (egg) and transports it to the uterus
favourable: good, suitable or acceptable
fertilisation: the process when a male sex cell fuses with a
female sex cell to make a new, unique individual
with half the genetic material from the male and
half from the female parent organisms
filament: the stalk-like structure of the stamen that holds
and supports the anther
fuse: to join or blend to form a single entity
genetic information the inherited information coded into the cell that
(DNA): determines what type of cell it is and what it needs
to do
gill: the organ in fish and other water-breathing animals
that allows them to breathe underwater
. .

gravity: the force that attracts a body towards the centre of
the Earth or towards any other physical body
having mass
habitat: the natural place where a plant or animal lives
herbaceous: a plant that has a non-woody stem and which
normally dies at the end of the growing season
hormone: chemical messengers that travel in the
bloodstream to tissues and organs to affect many
different reactions in the body.
hydrosphere: the water on the Earth's surface, including the
oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and dams
hypothesis / a statement that is an educated guess about the
hypotheses: outcome of the experiment; an idea that is
suggested as the possible explanation for
something that has not yet been proved to be true
or correct
independent variable: those variables that will be changed one at a time
to see what effect they will cause in the dependent
variable; variables that are under the control of the
investigator
inheritance: something that is passed on genetically from one
generation to another
invertebrate: an animal without a line of bones (backbone) going
down its back
jointed (segmented) separate parts of the leg is covered in a hard
limbs: exoskeleton with
. clear joints between them
kingdom: refers to five major divisions of living organisms;
plants, animals, fungi, protists and bacteria that is
in turn composed of smaller groups called phyla
larva / larvae: a stage in the development of insects and other
animals where it has come out of the egg and is
mainly concerned with consuming food
leaf vein: little tubes that branch throughout a leaf carrying
water and dissolved substances
lithosphere: the crust or outer part of the Earth
mammary gland: milk producing glands in female mammals
marine: of or relating to the sea
mate: come together for breeding, copulating
matter: the physical substances from which all things are
made, such as rocks, soil, air, water, plants and
animals
maturing: to become physically mature and fully developed
menstruation: a recurring monthly event where the lining of the
uterus breaks down and is discharged as menstrual
blood
microorganism: an organism that is too small to see without a
microscope
monocotyledon: a plant that has a seed with one cotyledon,
adventitious, generally shallow roots and leaves
that forms sheaths around the stem; the leaves
have a parallel leaf vein
...
142 Life and living

natural selection: a process in which organisms with more suitable
features survive and reproduce more successfully
in a particular environment, resulting in more
offspring that carry the same traits
order: a taxonomic rank below class and above family
that classifies organisms based on specific
characteristics, such as diet and tooth structure,
such as herbivores, carnivores and primates
organic: produced by or formed from living organisms
organism: an individual living thing that can react to stimuli,
reproduce, grow, etc, such as a bacterium, protist,
fungus, plant or animal
ovary: the female reproductive organ in which the female
sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone as well
as female sex cells (ova) are produced and stored;
in a flower it is the thickened part at the base of the
flower that contains the ovules
ovule: the part of the ovary of the flower that contains the
female sex cell and that becomes the seed after
fertilisation
ovulating: when a mature egg (ova) is ready and gets
released (and is in the right place) for fertilisation
to take place
peduncle: the stalk or stem of a flower
penis: the male sex organ for the transfer of sperm cells
to the female
.
petal(s): each of the modified leaf sections of a flower that
are typically coloured to attract animals
photosynthesis: the process by which green plants (and some
bacteria) use energy from light to turn carbon
dioxide and water into food and oxygen
phyla: a taxonomic rank in biological classification that is
below kingdom and above class, that divides
organisms according to major body similarities,
such as chordates, molluscs and arthropods
pistil (carpel): the female organs of a flower containing the
stigma, style and ovary
pollen: a fine powdery substance that is often yellow and
contains the male sex cells
pollen tube: a hollow tube that develops from a pollen grain and
grows into the stigma and down the style to deliver
the male sex cells to the ovary of the flower
pollination: the transference of pollen from the anther of one
flower to the stigma of another flower of the same
species
pollinator(s): an agent that carries pollen from one flower to
another (bees, butterflies, birds or the wind for
instance)
puberty: the period between childhood and adulthood when
the sex organs mature causing changes in the body
that prepare the body to be able to reproduce
receptacle: the place where a flower is attached to the
peduncle (stalk or stem)
. .

requirement: something that you need or must have
respire: to take oxygen into the body and release carbon
dioxide; to breathe
rhizome: a horizontal stem underground that has both roots
and shoots
roots: the part of a plant that is (mostly) underground
and responsible for anchoring the plant, and for
absorbing water and minerals from the soil
scientific method: a set way of doing / conducting a scientific
investigation allowing you to gain new knowledge
by collecting measurable evidence based on
observation, measurement and experiment based
on the formulation, testing and changing of the
hypotheses
scrotum: the external sac of skin that encloses the testes in
males
seeds: the reproductive organ formed in gymnosperms
and angiosperms from which a new plant can grow;
it is usually covered by a protective coat and also
contains food reserves for the young plant
sepal(s): small green leaves that protect the developing bud
sexual intercourse: when the male sperm is introduced into a woman's
body
sexual reproduction: the process of producing new individuals of a
species by fusing the genes of two individuals
shoot: a young branch . that sprouts from the main stem of
a plant
sperm: the male sex cell produced by the testes
spore: the reproductive cell of mosses and ferns (and
other organisms) that under the right conditions
can develop into a new individual fern or moss
stamen: the male reproductive organ of a flower containing
the filament and anther
stem: the long thin part of a plant that rises from the
ground and from which smaller branches can grow;
it supports the leaves, flowers and fruit
stigma: the sticky tip of a flower pistil where the pollen is
deposited during pollination
style: the stalk-like slender part of the pistil joining the
stigma and the ovary, and holding the stigma in a
favourable position to receive pollen; the pollen
tube grows through the style to deliver the male
sex cells to the ovules
sustain: to keep things alive or healthy
symbiotic: a type of relationship between organisms in which
one or both organisms benefit
tap root: the main root of a plant that grows deep into the
soil of a plant that has a single, dominant main stem
testes: sperm producing glands of the male body
umbilical cord: the cord- or tube-like structure that connects the
foetus from its abdomen with the placenta of the
mother; it transports nourishment and oxygen to
the foetus and removes waste
...
144 Life and living

uterus: the hollow muscular organ in the pelvic area of
female mammals in which the fertilised egg
implants and develops (also known as the womb)
vagina: an elastic muscular tube or canal that connects the
neck of the uterus (cervix) with the external sexual
opening
variables: any factor that
. can affect the outcome of the
investigation and can be measured, controlled or
varied in some way
variation: differences between living organisms of the same
species
vertebrate: an animal that has a backbone (spine) that holds
the nerve or spinal column
. .

SB 103_Siyavula NEW Gr7-9 divider M&M DBE A4.indd 1 2013/12/11 3:59 PM
SB 103_Siyavula NEW Gr7-9 divider M&M DBE A4.indd 2 2013/12/11 4:00 PM
1 Properties of materials
..
.KEY
. ... QUESTIONS:
• Which properties are important when choosing a material for a
particular use?
• How can we measure the strength of a material?
• What does it mean when a liquid boils?
• How can we explain the term 'boiling point'?
• How can we explain the term 'melting point'?
• Why should we always think about the impact on the environment when
we manufacture or use a particular material?
We learnt in Gr. 5 that the properties of a material determine what it can be

used for. Can you remember what properties are?
.
1.1 Physical properties of materials
What are properties and why are they important?

.
NEW WORDS You may remember that properties are distinctive characteristics that describe
• property an object or material. For instance, we can describe a metal by saying that it is
• durable strong and durable. A metal is is also malleable. This property, malleability,
• ductile
• malleable means that a metal can be formed into sheets which can be used for a variety of
• flexible different purposes. For example, metal sheets can be used as roof panels for a
• mould
house, or to press body panels for a car.
The walls and roof of this house are made Can you see some parts of a car hanging up
of sheets of corrugated metal. inside a car factory? These are made of
sheets of metal.
What other properties of metals do you remember? Discuss this as a class.
Let's do a warm-up activity to get us thinking about materials and their

properties.
148
.
ACTIVITY: Thinking about materials and their

properties
.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Complete the following table by adding the names of different materials

that have the properties listed.
Property Materials
Strong
Flexible
Conducts
electricity
Conducts heat .
QUESTIONS:
1. What does it mean when a material is flexible?
2. Suggest three possible uses of flexible materials?
3. Suggest three possible uses of a material that is a good conductor of

electricity.
. .
Chapter 1. Properties of materials 149

4. Suggest three possible uses of a material that is a good conductor of heat.
5. Which of the above properties would

be important if you were choosing
a material for making cookware
(cooking pots)?
A metal pot.

be important if you were choosing a
material for making the wires used .
for distribution of electricity (shown
in the adjacent photo)?
These electrical wires carried by pylons

are made of metal.

be important if you were choosing
a material to make a barbed wire
fence?
A barbed wire fence.
...
150 Matter and Materials

.
We can think of certain properties of materials in terms of advantages and VISIT
disadvantages. Do you know what those are? Let's find out. An interesting video on a
new type of 'concrete
Advantages versus disadvantages canvas' with varying
properties.
bit.ly/147izAO
We have seen that strength and durability

are desirable properties in some materials.
We want things to be strong and to last
long. Let's think of an example.
Why would plastic shopping bags need

to be strong?
A black, plastic shopping bag.
Why would plastic shopping bags need to be durable?
We call the desirable properties of materials advantages. Disadvantages are

unfavourable features, as can be seen in the images of plastic in the
environment. .
VISIT
A Hawaiian student looks
at plastic objects found in
the stomachs of
albatrosses.
bit.ly/13PxkJj
A goose about to eat a plastic bag in a These plastic rings from soft drink
river. packaging are very dangerous in the
wild as they can entangle an animal's
neck.
The following activity has another example of advantages versus disadvantages.
. .

.
ACTIVITY: Advantages versus disadvantages

.
Can you imagine a car made of solid gold? A car like this would be very
valuable!
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Look at the image of a gold car then answer the questions that follow.
2. Discuss some of the questions with your classmates before writing down
your answers.
QUESTIONS:
1. What are your feelings about the golden car in the picture?
2. What are the advantages of having a car made of gold?
3. Do you think a golden car would be very strong? Would it perhaps be

safer in the event of an accident?
4. What are the disadvantages of a car made of gold?
...

We always have to weigh up the advantages against the disadvantages when
we choose materials for a particular job.
How would you test how strong a material is? Let's imagine you have different
types of paper. How would you test which paper is the strongest? Discuss this
as a class and write some notes on the lines provided.
The strength of paper is important because we use paper for many different
things.
All these objects are made from different types of paper

with different properties that suit the function of the object.
In the next activity we are going to investigate the tearing strength of different
types of paper.
INVESTIGATION: Which type of paper is the

strongest?
.
AIM: To compare the tearing strengths of different types of paper.
HYPOTHESIS: .
When you write a hypothesis, you must state what you think will happen in your
investigation.
. .

• strips of different types of paper (20cm x 5cm)

• hole puncher
• strong paper clips
• yoghurt tub
• marbles
• string
• hand lens (optional)
METHOD:
1. Punch a hole at both ends of each paper strip. This is so that you can test
the paper twice on each side. Make sure that the holes are in the middle,
and also at the same distance from the end of each strip. This will make it a
fair test.
2. Form the paper clip into an S-shape and hang it from the hole in the paper.
3. Make a handle for the yoghurt tub, using the string.
4. Hang the yoghurt tub from the paper clip and hold it in your hand.
5. Add marbles one-by-one to the yoghurt tub until the paper tears. Count
the number of marbles in the tub. (Tip: Place the marbles very gently into
the yoghurt tub or the shock of dropping them in might tear the paper).
6. Repeat steps 1 - 5 using the other end of the strip and count the marbles
again. Take the average of the number of marbles.
7. Repeat this using the other strips of paper, doing each twice and taking
the averages.
8. If each marble has a mass of 5 grams, work out the mass in grams that was
needed to tear each strip of paper and write the number in the final
column of your table. .
9. If you have time, you can also test different kinds of materials, such as a
plastic shopping bag, aluminium foil or plastic wrap.
Tip: To calculate the average of a set

of numbers, you add all the numbers
together and then divide by how many
numbers there were in the set.
In this investigation, you will add the

number of marbles together for each
time you tested the paper strength
(this was twice for each strip of paper)
and then divide by 2 to calculate the
average number of marbles that each
piece of paper can hold before it tears.
For example, if you had 5 marbles in

the first attempt, and 3 marbles in the
second attempt, the average will be
calculated as follows:
5 + 3 = 8 marbles
8 ÷ 2 = 4 marbles on average
Therefore, the paper type could hold

an average of 4 marbles.
...

Record your results in the table.
Number of Number of Average

Type of Mass of the
marbles marbles number of
paper marbles
(Trial 1) (Trial 2) marbles
Now answer the following questions:
1. Look carefully at the surface of one of the paper strips. Now look carefully
at the torn edge. Can you see anything special? Describe what you think
the paper is made of.
.
2. Which paper is the strongest?
3. Which paper is the weakest?
4. Arrange the different types of paper in order of increasing tearing strength.

(That means from weakest to strongest.)
ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION:
Let's now analyse and think about the results of the investigation.
1. What do you think causes one paper to be stronger than another?
..
. .

2. How would you modify the investigation to test the strength of different
types of plastic?
3. What did you do to ensure fair testing?
4. How would you modify the investigation to test the flexibility of different
types of materials?
5. Why did you repeat the experiment for the same type of paper?
CONCLUSION:
What can you conclude from this investigation?
...

Strength, flexibility (the ability to flex or bend), electrical conductivity and heat
conductivity are important properties of materials that we learnt about in Gr. 5
and have revised again here.
Can you think of materials that are both strong and flexible? Most people will
immediately think of plastics! Most plastics can easily be melted and moulded
into different shapes for different purposes. Why do you think plastics can be
'melted and moulded' with ease?
All of these items are made of plastic in different shapes,

sizes and colours.
We are going to learn about two new properties of materials, namely boiling
point and melting point.
.
First, let's check if everyone knows that there is a difference between the words NEW WORDS
heat and temperature. The two words, heat and temperature, are connected • temperature
but they do not mean the same thing: • thermometer
• heat
• melting point
• Heat is the transfer of energy from one object to another. This happens • boiling point
because of the difference in temperature between the two objects. The
transfer of energy will be from the hotter object to the cooler object until
they are the same temperature. You cannot measure heat directly, but you
can detect its effect on a substance. Changes in heat can usually be
detected as changes in temperature.
• Temperature is used to describe how hot or cold something is.
Temperature can be measured directly with a thermometer.
Adding heat energy usually results in a temperature rise, so people often

confuse heat and temperature. But they are not the same thing! We will look
more at heating as a transfer of energy next term in Energy and Change.
Boiling and melting points

Do you remember learning about the state changes in previous grades? We will
be focusing on boiling and melting in this section. Have a look at the following
diagram to refresh your memories about the different changes of state between
solids, liquids and gases.
. .

1. Melting is when a solid changes into a liquid. Look at this photo of a candle
burning. What is happening to the wax around the flame?
2. Discuss with your partner why you

think this is happening to the wax.
Write your answer below.
A burning candle.
As you can see in the previous diagram, a liquid can change into a gas by
evaporation. For example if you leave a saucer of water out in the sun, the
water will evaporate. Evaporation can take place at any temperature. But, in
boiling, the liquid needs to be heated to reach its boiling point. Bubbles of
water vapour then form in the liquid and rise up.
Can you think of at least three different ways to boil water? Discuss this with
your class and write your answer down.
What would happen if you tried to put the kettle into the microwave or on the
stove? We will soon find out!
...

.
ACTIVITY: Boiling and melting

.
Look carefully at the picture.

It looks as if something has
gone wrong here!
QUESTIONS:
1. Write a short story to explain what you think happened to the kettle in the
picture.
2. Why do you think the person made the mistake of heating the kettle on the
stove? .
3. Do you think plastic is a good choice of material for making a whole

cooking pot? Why do you say so?
4. Why does a plastic kettle not melt when we boil water in it?
5. Sometimes, just the handles of the cooking pot are made from plastic or
wood. Why do you think this is so?
. .

At what temperature does water boil? We are going to do an investigation to
. find out! Since we have to make temperature measurements in the investigation,
TAKE NOTE we are going to first check if everyone knows how temperature is measured.
The mercury inside
Have you ever been so sick that you had a fever? Have you ever had your
these kinds of
temperature taken?
thermometers is toxic
and dangerous so they Perhaps you have had your temperature taken with a thermometer. A
must be handled with thermometer can be used to find out how hot or cold something is. A
care. thermometer is an instrument for measuring temperature.
This is a thermometer used to take your temperature when you have a fever.
Let's now investigate boiling and melting.
INVESTIGATION: What is the boiling point of water?

.
AIM: To observe boiling and to determine the boiling point of water.
HYPOTHESIS:
What is your hypothesis for this investigation?
.
NEW WORDS
• contract
• expand .
• constant • glass beakers x 2 (or small pot)
• independent • Bunsen burner (or stove plate)
variable
• dependent • tripod with gauze
variable • tap water
• altitude
• thermometer
• funnel
• ice blocks
Before you start, discuss the following questions in your group:
1. Discuss what you know about gases, liquids and solids; the three states of
matter. Write down your ideas from your discussion.
...

2. What needs to happen to water to make it freeze?
3. What needs to happen to water to make it boil?
4. How do we measure temperature?
5. Can you remember the boiling point and freezing/melting point of water?
If you can, write them in the space below.
6. Let's make some predictions. Read the two statements below, and indicate
whether you AGREE, DISAGREE or are NOT SURE, by drawing a cross in
the matching column:
.
Statement AGREE DISAGREE NOT SURE
Water can get hotter than 100°C.
Water always freezes at 0°C.

.
VISIT
Safety precautions
This video shows you how
to use a laboratory
• Your teacher will demonstrate how to handle the Bunsen burner safely. thermometer.
• Remember that boiling water can cause painful burns. bit.ly/16ww1kU
• The thermometer is made of very thin glass. Hold it gently, and do not use
it to stir the water. Be careful not to drop it or bump it against the bottom
or sides of the beaker.
METHOD:
1. Set up your apparatus as shown in

the image. Remember that when
you want to take the temperature,
the thermometer must not be
touching the sides.
2. Take a measurement of the water
temperature before you start
heating the water. This will be your
measurement at time 0.
..
. .

.
TAKE NOTE 3. Light the burner and heat the water.
4. Measure the temperature of the water at regular intervals. Record the
Perhaps you measured
temperature in the table provided.
the boiling point of the
5. After a while you will notice that the temperature of the water becomes
water as slightly less
constant (this is when the temperature stops going up). Continue to take
than 100°C. This does
the temperature three more times (once every three minutes) after this
not mean that your
happens. What do you notice about the water?
measurements were
incorrect. The boiling
point of water depends
on the atmospheric
pressure. At sea level
(close to the ocean) RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS:
water boils at 100°C.
Water boils at a lower Record your results in the table.
temperature at higher
altitudes (for example,
Elapsed time (minutes) Temperature of the water (°C)
on a mountain) because
the air pressure is less.
0
.
VISIT
Water can boil at room
temperature, inside a
vacuum
bit.ly/16ww3cp
We are now going to draw a graph of the results recorded in the table. Here are
some guidelines for drawing the graph:
1. The title of your graph should be: Determining the boiling point of water.
2. The independent variable should be 'Time'. Label the axis, and use minutes
as units. Remember that the independent variable should always be
drawn on the horizontal axis of your graph, or the x-axis.
3. The dependent variable should be 'Temperature'. Label the axis, and use
degrees Celsius (°C) as units. The dependent variable should always be
drawn on the vertical axis of your graph; this is the y-axis.
4. Plot the data on a line graph using the graph paper - each data point must
be marked with a small, neat cross.
...

.
TAKE NOTE
The boiling point of
water also depends on
the purity of the water.
Water which contains
impurities (such as salt
or sugar) boils at a
higher temperature
than pure water. This is
why orange juice or
apple juice will boil at
temperatures slightly
above 100°C.
.
TAKE NOTE
ANALYSIS: Different thermometers

from different batches
1. What did you see when the water started to boil? might also give slightly
different readings. This
is because they might
have been calibrated
2. What do you think happened to the water when it boiled? differently.
3. Describe the shape of your graph. Is it a straight line?
4. How did the temperature of the water change over time?
..
. .

5. How does the shape of the graph show the way the temperature changed
over time?
6. What happened to the temperature of the water when it started to boil?
7. How long did it take for the water to start boiling?
8. At what temperature did the water boil?
9. What do we call the temperature at which the water boils? Indicate this
temperature on your graph.
.
10. Suppose we used a Bunsen burner with a bigger flame.
a) Do you think the water would boil at a temperature that is higher,
lower or the same as the boiling point you just measured? Why do you
say so?
b) Do you think the time required for the water to boil would be longer,
shorter or the same? Why do you say so?
CONCLUSION:
Write a conclusion for this investigation. When writing a conclusion, you must
go back to look at your initial aim.
...

.
We will learn more about changes of state in Gr. 8 Matter and Materials. In order TAKE NOTE
to melt ice, we need to add energy to it to raise the temperature to melting
Ice melts at 0°C. Water
point. However, if we want to freeze water, we need to remove (take out)
freezes at 0°C.
energy from it until the temperature decreases to freezing point.
Coincidence, or not?
Does boiling have a reverse process? Boiling is when liquid water changes to
water vapour or steam. The reverse process, when steam turns back to water, is
called condensation. In order to boil water, we need to add energy to it. But if
we want to condense the water vapour, we need to cool it down (take energy
out of it).
The following diagram summarises what we have learnt so far.
. .

Do all liquids boil at 100°C? No, of course not! Not all substances melt at 0°C
either.
Can you think of a few substances that are solids at low temperatures, but have
low melting points? (Think of things that melt easily when it is hot outside. Ice
cream is an example.)
In the next activity we are going to explore the boiling and melting points of a
few substances other than water.
ACTIVITY: Boiling and melting points of other

substances
.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Place the boiling and melting points of the substances listed below on the
.
blank template provided and then answer the questions.
2. The boiling point of nitrogen is - 200°C. Draw a green line at this
temperature on the diagram and label it 'Boiling point of nitrogen'.
3. The boiling point of ethanol is 78°C. Draw a red line at this temperature on
the diagram and label it 'Boiling point of ethanol'.
4. Now draw a blue line at the boiling point of water and also label this line.
5. What is room temperature? Draw a black line at this temperature and label
it.
...

.
QUESTIONS:
.
1. What state would nitrogen be in at room temperature? Why do you say VISIT
so? Play an interactive game
based on the melting
points of solids.
bit.ly/16ww5RR
2. Suppose you mix some water and some ethanol. They are mixed but they
have not changed into something else. The mixture is at room temperature
to begin with. Now suppose you start heating the mixture. What
temperature would be reached first: 78°C or 100°C?
3. What do you think will happen when the mixture reaches a temperature of
78°C? Do you think the ethanol will start to boil?
4. Will the water boil at the same time?
.
.
. .

So far we have seen that materials have different properties such as their
strength, their flexibility and their melting and boiling points. These properties
determine how these different materials are used.
We also briefly mentioned how some materials can conduct heat better than
others. This is called heat conductivity. Think of some objects which you want
to be able to conduct heat well and what material they should be made of.
Write some of your ideas down.
.
NEW WORDS
• impact Why do you think you put a jersey on when you are cold? What can we say
• concern
• environmental
about the wool that the jersey is made from in terms of heat conductivity?
concerns
We will learn more about heat transfer later in the year. Another property of
materials is how well they can conduct electricity. This is called electrical
conductivity. We will look more at how different materials can be used as
electrical insulators (meaning they do not conduct electricity well), later in the
year.
.
1.2 Impact on the environment
Earlier, we saw how some of the properties of materials may be advantages
under certain circumstances, but can become disadvantages under a different
set of circumstances, such as plastics and other materials which, if they end up
in nature, can have serious consequences and cause harm to other animals.
Every process used to produce materials for our benefit has an impact on the
environment. Some processes have a small impact and others have a large
impact.
We have already seen how the use of materials, such as plastics and paper, has
a negative impact on our environment, but what about their production?
ACTIVITY: Environmental impact of material

production
.
INSTRUCTIONS:
.
1. Look at the pictures and answer the questions that follow about the
production of different materials in South Africa.
2. You will need to do some extra research for this activity. Some information
about each of the processes has been provided, but you will need to
research them in more detail and answer the questions that follow.
...

Mining:
Mining in South Africa has been one of the main reasons for our development. .
VISIT
South Africa is still one of the top gold mining countries in the world. We also
What is fracking? (An
mine and produce other metals such as chromium, platinum, as well as coal and article)
iron ore. Although this is hugely beneficial for the economy, it has devastating bit.ly/16BKP3A
Learn more about fracking
effects on the environment. in South Africa. (An
article)
bit.ly/13lJ1Yw
1. This huge hole is
actually a diamond
mine about 40 km
outside of Pretoria.
What effects do you
think this has had on
the environment?
The Premier Diamond Mine outside of Pretoria.
2. In this photograph, .
the 2010 World Cup DID YOU KNOW?
Soccer Stadium can A major environmental
be seen in the centre. concern at the moment
In the top left are is the proposal to start
huge areas called slag fracking in the Karoo.
piles. These are huge Fracking is a process
piles of crushed rock where water is injected
left over from decades at very high pressures
of gold mining. What into small fractures in
impact do you think underground rock to
this has on this area? crack it further and
release gas and oil
which are used as fuels.
An aerial view of the Soccer City Stadium and

surrounding area.
..
. .

3. Coal mining in South Africa also has a major impact on the environment.
Not only the mining, but the use of coal in power stations has negative
impacts. What are some of these?
Paper making:
.
VISIT Can you imagine your world without paper? Probably not! We use it every day
Video on the of our lives. South Africa has a big paper-making industry. Although paper is
environmental impact of
coal mining in South important in our lives today, the production has negative impacts on the
Africa. environment.
bit.ly/14n2Hyz
A tree plantation for paper. A paper-making factory.
. 1. Huge areas of land are used to plant the trees that are then harvested to
VISIT
make pulp and then paper. What impact do you think this has on the
For a list of the 10 most
serious environmental environment? Hint: Also think about what you learnt about in Life and
concerns of the 21st Living about biodiversity.
century, visit the website.
Each of the environmental
issues is accompanied by
a short video.
bit.ly/147jh0V
2. Look at the photo of the paper-making factory. What effects does this
have on the environment?
...

..
SUMMARY:
.
Key Concepts
• The properties of a material determine the purposes for which it can be
used.
• Some of the properties of materials include strength, flexibility, heat and
electrical conductivity and they have specific boiling and melting points.
• Boiling point is the temperature at which a liquid boils.
• Melting point is the temperature at which a solid melts.
• The suitability of a material for a certain use is also influenced by other
factors such as its cost, its colour and its texture.
• The ways we use materials and the processes we use to produce them
always have an impact on the environment.
. Map
Concept
On the following page is a concept map for what we have learnt about the
properties of materials. We discussed several properties of materials in this
chapter. Can you see how we can summarise a lot of information onto one
page?
. .

.
.
REVISION:
.
1. Below are a number of short sentences. In each case, you must complete
the sentence by filling in the missing words. Write the whole sentences out
on the lines provided. Fill in the missing word. [8 x 1 mark each = 8 marks]
a) The set of characteristics that describe a material are called the
of that material.
b) Materials that can be hammered into thin sheets are called

. (Metals have this property.)
c) Materials that can be bent are called . (Some plastics

have this property.)
d) The boiling point of a material is the at which the

liquid state of that material turns into a gas.
.
e) When we want to measure temperature we use a .
f) The boiling point of water at sea level is .
g) A material that conducts heat well is said to have a high

.
h) If you want to create a circuit for a bulb, the material that you use in
the circuit to connect the battery to the bulb must have a high
.
. .

2. State whether each of the following statements is TRUE or FALSE. If you
think a statement is FALSE, you have to write a TRUE statement in its
place. [4 x 2 marks each = 8 marks]
a) All liquids boil at 100°C.
b) Water always boils at 100°C.
c) Any given material will melt and freeze at the same temperature.
d) When water is boiled over a bigger flame, it will boil at a higher

temperature.
.
3. A scientist wants to determine the boiling point of an unknown liquid. She
places the unknown liquid in a beaker and carefully heats it on a hot plate.
The scientist measures the temperature of the liquid at regular time
intervals (every 3 minutes). Afterwards, she draws the the following graph:
a) At what temperature does the unknown liquid boil? Show this

temperature on the graph. [2 marks]
b) How long does it take for the unknown liquid to start boiling? [1 mark]
...

c) The scientist suspects that the unknown liquid is one of the substances
on the following list. Use the list to identify the unknown liquid. Say
why you think it is this substance. [2 marks]
Substance Boiling point ( °C )
Acetone 56
Methanol 65
Ethanol 78
Isopropanol 83
Water . 100
d) What was the temperature of the unknown liquid at the start of the
experiment? [1 mark]
Total [22 marks]

.
.
Draw and discover the possibilities of what a slinky can be.
. .

2 Separating mixtures
..
.KEY
. ... QUESTIONS:
• How can we explain the term 'mixture'?
• What types of materials can be mixed?
• What methods can be used to separate a mixture into its original
components?
• Which factors are important when choosing a method for separating a
mixture into its components?
• Which materials can be recycled?
• Who is responsible for the disposal of waste materials?
• What are the negative consequences of poor waste management?
.
2.1 Mixtures
.
NEW WORDS What does it mean to mix something? Can you mime an explanation (that
• mixture means you have to explain without saying a single word!)
• suspension
• opaque Is it possible to mix water? Discuss this with your class.
• solution
• clear
One substance alone cannot be a mixture. A mixture is made up of two or more
different substances.
A mixture can contain solids, liquids and/or gases. The components in a mixture
are not chemically joined; they are just mixed. That means we do not need to
use chemical reactions to separate them. Mixtures can be separated using
physical methods alone and that is what this chapter is all about: how to
separate mixtures.
There are many different kinds of mixtures. Before we learn how to separate
them, it is worth looking at all the different kinds of mixtures briefly.
Different kinds of mixtures

A mixture of a solid and a solid
Can you think of an example of a

mixture of a solid and a solid? Soil
is an example of a mixture of solids.
What are the substances found in
soil?
Soil is a mixture of different

components.
176
A mixture of a solid and a liquid
.
NEW WORDS
What happens when clay or sand is mixed with water? Would you be able to • emulsion
see through a mixture of clay and water? • abundant
• condense
• alloy
• pigment
The mixture of clay or sand with
water is muddy. The small clay
particles become suspended in the
water. This kind of mixture is called a
suspension. Suspensions are opaque;
that means they are cloudy and we
cannot see through them very well.
What happens when sugar is mixed
with water? Does the mixture

become muddy? Why not? The sugar
Can you see the difference between
an opaque suspension of sand and dissolves in the water and the mixture
clay in water (on the left) and a clear is called a solution. Solutions are
solution of sugar in water on the clear; that means we can see through
right? them.
A mixture of a solid and a gas
Have you ever seen smoke from a fire?

What is the smoke made of? Do you
think it is a mixture?
The black smoke from a burning

building.
A mixture of a liquid and a liquid
Milk is not a single substance, but actually a mixture of two liquids! The one
liquid component in milk is water, and the other is fatty oil. The reason milk is
opaque is that tiny droplets of the oil is suspended in the water. Can you
remember what a mixture is called when a solid is suspended in liquid?
When some liquids are suspended in liquid, we call the mixture an emulsion.
Like suspensions, emulsions tend to be opaque.
. .
Chapter 2. Separating mixtures 177

Are all liquid-liquid mixtures emulsions?
(One way to recognise an emulsion is
that it is opaque). Are all liquid-liquid
mixtures opaque? Can you think of a
liquid-liquid mixture that is not an
emulsion? Discuss this with your class
and give an answer below.
A clear, transparent solution on the left

and an opaque emulsion on the right
A mixture of vinegar and water is clear, and that is a clue that the mixture is a
solution.
Solutions are special kinds of mixtures in which the particles are so well mixed
that they are not separated from each other. We cannot make out separate
substances anymore - everything looks the same when we look with the naked
. eye.
VISIT
An artists, Berndnaut A mixture of a gas and a gas
Smilde, uses a fog
machine to make small
clouds inside a room We learnt in Gr. 6 Matter and Materials that the particles of gases are far apart.
which only last a few This means that gases can mix very easily, because it is easy for their particles
seconds. A wonderful
example of science as art! to move in amongst each other. The air we breathe is not a single gas but
bit.ly/16wwlA6 actually a mixture of gases! Do you know what the two most abundant
components are?
A mixture of a liquid and a gas
Do you remember that we discussed boiling in the previous chapter (Properties

of Materials)? What happens to a liquid when it boils?
Can you see the water vapour in the

picture of a boiling kettle? Point to it
with your finger. Discuss this with your
teacher and classmates and when you
have agreed on an answer, draw an
arrow onto the picture to indicate the
water vapour.
Can we see most gases? Why do you

think so?
...

Clouds and fog or mist are all examples of tiny water droplets suspended in air.
We have learnt that mixtures can be made of substances in the same state or in
different states. The following activity will help us apply our new knowledge
about mixtures to more examples.
ACTIVITY: Types of mixtures

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Look at the list of mixtures. Discuss in your group, or with your partner,
what each mixture consists of.
2. Identify the type of substances (solid, liquid or gas) that are mixed in each
of the examples on the list.
3. Write the name of each example in the appropriate block on the diagram.
Mixtures:
• air
• smoke
• hair oil (emulsion of oil and water)
• clear fruit juice (eg. apple juice)
• cloudy apple juice
• salty water
• alloys such as brass (used for coins) and stainless steel (used for
rust-resistant metal items)
• foam plastic (like the material used for making mattresses and pillows)
• spray deodorant
• air freshener (aerosol type) .
• paint
• dust cloud
• soil
For instance, sugar dissolved in water would go in the middle block of the
bottom row, to show that it is a solid (sugar) mixed with a liquid (water).
. .

Why do we make mixtures? Mixtures have many uses: perhaps we are mixing
ingredients to bake a cake, or mixing metals to make a really strong alloy.
A cake is a mixture of ingredients, including flour, eggs and milk.

.
NEW WORDS Many things around us occur naturally as mixtures: salty sea water, moist air,
• sieve soil, compost, rocks (mixture of minerals) to name a few. Many mixtures are
• filtration
• filtrate
man made, for instance; Coca Cola, paint, salad dressing and so forth.
• magnetic
• grain Mixtures are very useful. However, sometimes we need to separate mixtures
• residue
into their components. Remember that the substances in a mixture have not
combined chemically. They have not turned into new substances, but are still
the same substances as before - they have just been physically combined. That
is why we can use physical methods to separate them again.
.
2.2 Methods of physical separation
Now that we know about the different kinds of mixtures that are possible, we
are going to learn about some ways of separating them.
How do we separate mixtures?

. Suppose you were given a basket of apples and oranges. How would you sort
VISIT them? You would probably pick out all the oranges from the apples by hand.
Sometimes people create The same method may not be suitable for all mixtures. You would probably not
machines to perform tasks
for them, like this Skittles consider sorting sugar and sand grains by hand. Why not?
sorting machine.
bit.ly/1cx5078
Let us look at some of the most commonly used methods of physical

separation.
Hand sorting
How would you separate the mixture

of beads in the adjacent picture into
the different colours?
A mixture of different coloured beads.
...

.
ACTIVITY: Thinking about hand sorting

.
1. Would hand sorting also be a practical way to sort out the mixture of rice
and lentil beans in the picture below?
A mixture of rice and lentils
.
2. Would hand sorting be a practical way to sort the pebbles out of a large
pile of sand?
3. Besides what we discussed in the chapter, think of at least three other

examples of mixtures that could be hand sorted.
4. When is hand sorting a good method for separating the components in a

mixture?
Sieving
Can you think of a practical way to sort stones or pebbles from sand? Do you
think picking the pebbles out by hand would work?
. .

When we have large quantities of
. materials to sort and the different
TAKE NOTE particles have different sizes, we
The clear liquid that has can sieve the mixture. The smaller
passed through the particles will fall through the
filter paper is called the openings in the sieve, while the
filtrate and the particles larger particles stay behind.
that are left behind on How would you separate the pebbles
the filter paper is called from the sand in this pile?
the residue
Filtration
When the particles in a mixture are

too small to be caught by a sieve
and when the components of the
mixture are in different states, we
can separate them by filtration
using a filter.
What type of mixture is the muddy

water in the glass an example of?
Muddy water is poured through a funnel

lined with filter paper to remove the
small sand and clay particles.
Have you ever noticed how, when

people have to work in dusty or
smoky environments, they wear
dust masks or smoke masks? Why
do you think that is necessary?
A firefighter wears a mask to filter

out the smoke.
The following diagram shows how a gas mask works. Layers of very fine filters
trap harmful substances and dust or smoke particles, so that only clean air is let
through.
...

A smoke mask consists of filter layers which clean the dirty air before it is breathed into
the body.
ACTIVITY: Thinking about sieving and filtering

.

mixtures that could be sieved, and write them in the space below.
2. When is sieving a good method for. separating the components in a

mixture?
3. Nowadays most people use tea bags to make tea, but there was a time
when people brewed tea from leaves and then poured the tea through a
sieve into the cup. Why do you think they did this?
. .

.
DID YOU KNOW? Tea leaves and bits have collected in the sieve after pouring the tea into the cup.
In ancient cultures,
grain and chaff was 4. Sometimes the particles that we want to remove from a mixture are so
separated by a process small that they will pass easily through a sieve (think of the example of the
called winnowing. They muddy water from before). Can you think of a way to overcome this?
would throw the
mixture into the air and
.
the wind would blow
away the lighter chaff,
but not the heavier
mixtures that could be filtered, and list them below.
grain.
6. When is filtering a good method for separating the components in a

mixture?
Can you remember the activity from Gr. 6 when Tom used magnetism to
separate different kinds of metals at his uncle's junk yard? The magnetic
properties of the metals allowed them to be separated in this way.
Magnetic separation
The following diagram shows how magnetic separation can be used to separate
a mixture of components. In the example, mineral ore that contains two
compounds (one magnetic, and the other non-magnetic) is being separated.
The ore grains are fed onto a revolving belt. The roller on the end of the belt is
magnetic. This means that all the magnetic grains in the ore will stick to the belt
when it goes around the roller, while the non-magnetic grains will fall off the
end. As soon as the magnetic grains move past the magnetic roller, they will
also fall down.
...

In the above diagram, what colour are the non-magnetic grains and into which
container do they fall? Label this on the diagram. What colour are the magnetic
grains and which container do they fall into?
ACTIVITY: Thinking about magnetic separation

.
1. Besides what we discussed in the chapter, can you think of two other
mixtures that could be separated magnetically? Write them in the space
provided.
2. When is magnetic separation suitable for separating the components in a

mixture?
How can we separate the components in a solution? Let's find out.
Separating solutions
The substances in a solution are mixed on the level of individual particles. In a
sugar and water solution, the sugar particles and the water particles are mixed
so well that we could not distinguish them with the naked eye. You might think
that mixtures that are so 'well-mixed' are impossible to separate! But as we shall
soon see, this is not true.
. .

. Separation by evaporation
NEW WORDS
• evaporation
• condensation Do you know where most of the salt that we use in South Africa comes from?
• distillation
• still
South Africa gets it salt from inland salt pans, coastal salt pans and seawater. A
• chromatography salt pan is a shallow dam in the ground where salt water evaporates to leave a
• chromatogram
• solute
layer of dry salt.
• solvent
An aerial view of salt pans. Salt pans in India. A man is busy collecting
the dried salt to be packaged and sold.
When sea water is allowed to stand in shallow pans, the water gets heated by
sunlight and slowly turns into water vapour, through evaporation. Once the
water has evaporated completely, the solid salt is left behind.
Do you think this is a good method for separating salt from water? Do you think
it would work for a sugar and water solution?
ACTIVITY: What if we want to keep both the

water and the salt?
.
QUESTIONS:
1. Do you think separation by evaporation would be a good method to

separate a salt-water-solution if you wanted to keep both the salt and the
water? Why do you say so? .
2. Can you think of a way to modify the method so that the water that
evaporates is not lost? Perhaps the following diagram will help you to
formulate a plan. Write an explanation.
...

3. What is happening in the kettle?
4. Can you say what change in state is happening inside the kettle? What is
.
the process called?
5. What change of state is occurring on the cold surface of the metal plate?
What is the process called? (Hint: the change of state from gas to liquid
was covered in the previous chapter, under Physical properties of
materials.)
6. Does the salt evaporate with the water? How would you find out?
7. What can you tell about the purity of the water after it has evaporated and
condensed?
.
.
. .

The water that is lost through evaporation can be condensed on a cold surface.
The cold metal plate will do the job, but it would be difficult to recover all the
condensed water, because it will be dripping off the surface of the plate in many
different places. Scientists have a solution for that problem: they use a special
technique to separate mixtures like these without losing any of the components.
The technique is called distillation.
Distillation
Distillation is the separation of one substance from another by evaporation

followed by condensation. The apparatus used in this technique is called a still.
.
VISIT
Find out more about the
distillation of crude oil in
this video
bit.ly/14n3a3J
Experimental setup for distillation
Suppose we want to separate the water and salt in seawater. We would place
the seawater in the round flask on the left of the picture (in the distillation flask).
We would then boil the seawater to produce water vapour, or steam. The salt
would not evaporate with the water, because only the water evaporates. The
water vapour rises through the top of the flask and passes into the Liebig
condenser.
.
VISIT
A video describing how a
solar still can desalinate
(take salt out of) water.
bit.ly/14zWJwW
Two Liebig condensers which are used in the distillation process
The Liebig condenser consists of a glass tube within a larger glass tube. The
condenser is designed in such a way that cold water can flow through the space
between the tubes. This cools the surface of the inner tube. The water vapour
condenses against this cold surface and flows into the receiving flask. Since the
salt has not evaporated, it stays behind in the distillation flask.
Distillation is also the best way to separate two liquids that have different
boiling points, like water and ethanol for example. Let us have a look.
...

.
ACTIVITY: How can we separate two liquids with

different boiling points?
.
QUESTIONS:
1. Can you remember the temperature at which water boils? Write it down
below.
2. What is this temperature called?
3. Ethanol boils at a temperature lower

. than the boiling point of water,
namely 78°C. Suppose you mix some water and some ethanol. The mixture
is at room temperature to begin with. Now suppose you start heating the
mixture. What temperature would be reached first: 78°C or 100°C?
4. What do you think will happen when the mixture reaches a temperature of
78°C? Do you think the ethanol will start to boil?
.
DID YOU KNOW?
5. Will the water boil at the same time?
Crude oil is separated
into different
components using
distillation. The
components are
evaporated, starting
. with lighter fuel (which
has the lowest boiling
point), then jet fuel,
then petroleum, then
motor car oil, until only
We can use the same distillation method that we used for separating seawater, tar is left. We call the
to separate the two liquids. The principle is exactly the same, except that we separated components
will distill the mixture more than once. Here is how it works: fractions, and the
process, fractional
The mixture of the two liquids is placed in the distillation flask and heated to the distillation.
lowest boiling point. In the case of an ethanol/water mixture, that temperature
would be the boiling point of ethanol, namely 78°C. All of the liquid with that
boiling point will evaporate, condense in the Liebig condenser, and pass into the
receiving flask. The liquid with the higher boiling point will remain in the
distillation flask. Suppose it contains a third substance that we want to
separate. How would you do this?
. .

There is one more separation technique for us to explore. Have you noticed
how ink on paper will sometimes 'run' when it gets wet?
.
TAKE NOTE
Chromatography comes
from from the Greek
words chroma
(meaning 'colour') and
graph (meaning 'to
write').
Can you see how the ink on this sign has run after being wet, probably by the rain?
Most inks are a mixture of different pigments, blended to give them just the
right colour. A pigment is a chemical that gives colour to materials. When a
mixture contains colourful compounds, it is often possible to separate the
different components using a separating method called chromatography. Let's
have a look at this next.
Chromatography
Chromatography is a method for separating coloured substances into individual

pigments. We are going to explore this in the next investigation.
INVESTIGATION: Is black ink really black?

.
AIM: To separate the pigment components in ink using different liquids.
HYPOTHESIS:
What do you propose the answer to our. investigative question is? This is your
hypothesis.
...

• absorbent paper cut into strips approximately 3 cm wide and 12 cm long

• clear drinking glass or beaker .
TAKE NOTE
• assorted black pens and markers
• tap water A solvent is a substance
• pencil that dissolves a solute,
• paper clip or clothes peg resulting in a solution. A
• filter paper solvent is usually a
• dropper liquid, but can also be a
• variety of liquid solvents (ammonia, surgical spirits, methylated spirits, and solid or a gas.
nail polish remover)
METHOD:
To make a strip chromatogram
1. Use a black pen or marker to draw a line across one end of the paper strip,
2 cm from the end.
2. Pour tap water into the beaker to a depth of approximately 1 cm.
3. Wrap the unmarked end of the paper strip around the pencil and secure it
in place with a paper clip.
4. Before putting it into the glass, adjust the strip of paper so that the height
of the inked line is approximately 1 cm above the surface of the liquid by
holding it against the outside of the beaker.
5. Lower the strip into the glass and rest the pencil across the top of the glass
as shown in the diagram. The end of the strip should be in the water, but
the inked line should be above the surface of the water.
6. Allow the liquid to soak up into the paper, rising through the inked line.
. .
VISIT
Pen colour science.
bit.ly/13Py29D
7. When the migrating pigments approach the top of the strip, near the paper
clip, remove the paper strip and allow it to dry on a flat, non-porous
surface.
8. Make a similar strip chromatogram for each of the black pens you have
collected.
9. Compare the chromatograms. Are they the same or are they different?
10. When you have finished comparing your chromatogram with those of the
rest of the class, you can either stick your chromatogram in the following
space, or draw a picture of it in the space. ..
. .

.
To make a circular chromatogram
1. Lay a large round piece of filter paper on a smooth non-absorbent surface,

like the surface of your desk, for instance.
2. Use one of the coloured pens to make a 0.5 to 1 cm ink spot in the centre
of the disk.
3. Lay the paper disk flat over the top of a beaker.
4. Place a drop of water in the centre of the ink spot.
5. Add another drop of water every minute or so to make the chromatogram
spread toward the edges of the paper disk.
6. Repeat the experiment with one of the other solvents (ammonia, alcohol or
nail polish remover).
OBSERVATIONS:
1. Do the two chromatograms look the same or different? If they look

different, and you have used the same pen, why do you think that is?
2. Which colour pigments were you able to observe?
...

3. Draw pictures of your chromatograms in the space below.
CONCLUSION:
1. What can you conclude about the pigments that make up black ink?
.
.
A closer look at how this works:
In paper chromatography, liquid is drawn through the paper fibers. But, why do
the pigments in the ink separate into bands of different colours?
The pigments in the ink are carried along by the liquid, but because they are
different compounds, they get carried upward at different speeds. This causes
them to appear as bands of different colours on the chromatogram.
Look at the picture of the chromatogram on the following page.
. .

An example of a strip chromatogram
1. Which colour pigment is moving up the paper at the fastest speed? Why
. do you say so?
VISIT
Is black really black?
(video)
bit.ly/1cMhHJC
2. Which colour pigment is moving up the paper at the slowest speed?
Why are the different pigments carried at different speeds?
Pigments migrate at different speeds because of differences in their properties:

large pigment particles tend to move more slowly. Furthermore, particles that
dissolve well in the liquid will tend to stay in the liquid and be carried to the top
quickly, while particles that bind well to the paper will tend to move more slowly.
Now that we have learnt about some of the different ways in which mixtures
can be separated, we are going to apply what we know to separate a mixture
made of many components.
ACTIVITY: Separating a complex mixture

.
Imagine you are a member of a team of scientists working together in a
laboratory. Your team has been given an important job. You have been given a
beaker that contains a mixture of substances to separate.
The mixture contains the following components:
• sand .
• iron filings
• salt
• ethanol
• water
Your job is to design a procedure for separating the mixture into its individual
components. How would you do that? Your procedure should be summarised in
the form of a flow chart.
...

Before you start, imagine what the mixture would look like. Draw a picture of
the a clear container and the different contents in the mixture in the space.
To help you design your procedure, here are a few guiding questions and a
template for your flow chart:
1. What is the physical state (solid, liquid or gas) of each of the components
in the mixture? Fill these into the table.
Component State (solid liquid or Dissolved or
(substance) gas) undissolved?
.
2. Name the solids that will not dissolve in the mixture. These are the
undissolved solids.
3. Name the dissolved solids in the mixture.
4. What would be the best method for separating the undissolved solids from
the liquids in the mixture? Write the name of this method in the block
numbered 1 of the flowchart below.
5. Write the names of the undissolved solids in block 2 of the flowchart.
6. What remains after the undissolved solids have been removed from the
mixture? Write the names of these compounds in block 3.
7. How could we separate the undissolved solids? (Hint: look at the flow
chart for some ideas.) Write the name of this process in block 4.
8. Write the names of the two undissolved solids in blocks 6 and 7. ..
. .

9. How could we separate the liquids from the dissolved solid? We could
evaporate them, but then they would be lost. What other option is
available if we want to separate the components in a solution? Write the
name of this process in block 5.
10. Which liquid would be distilled first? (Hint: which liquid has the lowest
boiling point?) Write the name of this liquid in block 8.
11. What remains in the solution when the first liquid is removed? Write the
names of these components in block 9.
12. How can we separate the liquid from the dissolved solid? (Hint: this
.
VISIT process is the same as the one in block 7.) Write the name of the process
Summary of separating in block 10.
mixtures in short 13. Write the names of the final two components in blocks 11 and 12.
slideshows
bit.ly/1cMhKVY
So far, we have been discussing materials, their properties, how to mix them
and how to separate them if they are mixed. The final section of this chapter
deals with waste materials and what we can do to reduce their impact on the
environment.
...

.
2.3 Sorting and recycling materials
Over time, some of our things get old and break and we need to throw them
away. When we buy food or other items, the packaging used for wrapping
these items is also thrown away. But what does 'away' mean? Does it mean
these waste items just disappear? Where do you think our rubbish goes once
we 'throw it away'?
ACTIVITY: What happens when we throw things

away?
.
INSTRUCTIONS: .
1. Work in groups of 3 to 4.
2. In your group, spend 5 minutes discussing the posters and what you think
they mean.
QUESTIONS:
1. Write a paragraph to explain the messages on the posters. What do you

think they mean?
. .

2. Do you think it is possible to stop throwing things away altogether?
.
3. Can you suggest ways to reduce the amount of trash that is thrown away
in your home?
How is household waste managed by local authorities?

. In some suburbs, recycling is actively encouraged and special transparent
VISIT
Have you ever heard of
recycling bags are provided for this purpose. Do you have recycling in your
the Great Pacific Garbage community? Is the recyclable waste collected from your home or do you have
Patch? Millions of tonnes to drop it off at a container or a depot? Did you know that some people even
of plastic waste end up in
the ocean, and stay there. make money selling recyclable waste that they collect?
bit.ly/1950eda
Do you know which materials from household waste can be recycled? What are
the four main categories?
Have you seen colourful bins similar to If you ever need to dispose of objects, like
these around your school or in shopping batteries and fluorescent light bulbs that
areas? They are for recycling. contain harmful substances, be sure to use
the correct recycling bin.
...

Careers in chemistry
Do you know what chemists do? Let's discover the possibilities of chemistry!
Chemists study various chemical elements and compounds, their properties and
how they react with each other. We will learn about elements and compounds
in the next chapter. Chemists are also responsible for developing new materials
with specific properties; such as new medicines; innovative materials for
building buildings and other structures; materials that could be used for making
fuels from renewable sources and many others.
If you study chemistry after you have finished school, you can work as a
researcher, a laboratory technician, a science teacher and many other important
and stimulating jobs! Be curious and discover the possibilities! Science can help
us solve problems in the world around us.
ACTIVITY: Careers research task

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Below is a list of different careers that all use chemistry in some way. Have
a look through the list and then select one that you find most interesting.
2. Do an internet search to find out the career involves.
3. Write a short description of this career. Find out what level of chemistry
you will need for this particular career.
4. There are many other careers besides the ones listed here which use
chemistry in some way, so if you know of something else which is not listed
here and it interests you, follow your curiosity and discover the
possibilities!
Some careers involving chemistry:
• Chemical education/teaching .
• Chemistry researcher VISIT
. A useful site to find out
• Environmental chemistry more about some
• Mining industry chemistry-related careers.
• Oil and petroleum industry bit.ly/19cXkqe
• Pharmaceuticals and drug discovery
• Space exploration
• Waste management
Your descriptions of the career you are interested in:
. .

..
SUMMARY:
.
Key Concepts
• A mixture consists of two or more components that have different

physical properties.
• The components in a mixture are not chemically joined; they do not
change their chemical identities and they retain their physical properties
as well.
• When we want to separate a mixture, we can use the differences in the
physical properties of the components of the mixture to separate the
components from each other.
• Hand sorting is a suitable separation method for a mixture that contains
a relatively small number of large items.
• Sieving is a suitable separation method when the pieces to be separated
are sized differently.
• Filtration is a good method for separating an undissolved solid from a
liquid.
• Components with different magnetic properties can be separated using
magnetic separation.
• Evaporation is a suitable separation method for removing a liquid from
a solid.
• Distillation is a suitable method for separating two liquids with different
boiling points.
• Chromatography is a good method for separating coloured pigments
from each other.
• Waste disposal should be managed in a responsible way so that the
negative impact on the environment is as small as possible.
• Metals, plastics, paper and glass can be recycled.
• Organic waste can be turned into compost.
• Responsible waste disposal is everyone's responsibility, but it is usually
managed by the local authorities, who have systems for sorting and
recycling waste.
• Poor waste management leads to negative consequences for humans,
animals and the environment. Some of these are:
– pollution of the soil, water resources and the environment;
– health hazards and the spread of disease;
– blockage of sewers and drainage systems;
– land wasted when it is used to dump or bury garbage (landfills);
and
– materials and other resources wasted when they could have been
recycled.
. Map
Concept
We looked at physical methods to separate mixtures and these are shown
in the concept map. Give an example of the types of mixtures you could
separate using three of these methods. What negative consequences does
human waste have on the environment? Fill these in the concept map.
...

.
.
REVISION:
.
1. Two important words have been left out of the following paragraph. The
missing words are chemical and physical. Rewrite the sentences and fill in
the missing words in the paragraph by placing each one in the correct
position:
The components in a mixture have not undergone any changes.
They still have the same properties they had before they were mixed. That
is why mixtures can be separated using methods. [1 mark]
2. In the diagram below, iron filings and sulfur have been mixed. Write a short
paragraph (2 sentences) to explain how the mixture can be separated
using magnetic separation. [2 marks]
3. A vacuum cleaner creates a suspension of dust in air as it sucks up the dust

on the floor. Clean air comes out of the vacuum cleaner. How does the
vacuum cleaner separate the dust from the air? [2 marks]
...

4. Write a short paragraph (3 sentences) to explain how salt is produced
from seawater. [3 marks]
5. Choose the correct word to complete the sentence from the following list:
colours; boiling points, tastes. Write the word below.
Suppose we want to separate two liquids using distillation as separation
method. This will only be possible if the two liquids have different... [1
mark]
6. The diagram below shows a strip chromatogram that is being prepared

from a spot of black ink. The strip on the left shows the chromatogram at
the start of the experiment, the strip in the middle shows the
chromatogram halfway through the experiment, and the strip on the right
shows the chromatogram at the end of the experiment.
a) How many different pigments does the black ink consist of? Explain
your answer. [1 mark]
b) Which pigment is moving up the paper at the fastest speed? Arrange

the pigments in order of increasing speed of movement. [2 marks]
..
. .

7. The table below contains a list of mixtures. In the right hand column, next
to each mixture, write the best method for separating the mixture into its
components. [8 marks]
Mixture Separation method
Salt and water
Sand and iron filings
Sand and water
Colour pigments in ink
Stones and sand
Ethanol and water
Oranges and apples
Sugar and iron filings
8. Name the 4 classes of materials that can be recycled. [4 marks]

.
9. Write a sentence to say how you would dispose of each of the following
non-recyclable materials: vegetable peels; old running shoes; expired
medicine. [3 marks]
TOTAL: 27 marks
...

Are these just cogs? Be curious! What else could they be?
. .

3 Acids, bases and neutral substances
..
. ... QUESTIONS:
.KEY
• Which tastes can we sense with our tongues?
• How does our sense of taste ensure our survival?
• What are the unique properties of:
– acids;
– bases;
– neutral substances?
• Which household substances are (or contain):
– acids;
– bases;
– neutral substances?
• How can we tell if something is an acid, a base or a neutral substance?
.
NEW WORDS
• flavour
• sense What do you know about acids? Would you touch an acid? Have you ever
• taste buds tasted an acid? Do you think it is possible to taste an acid without burning your
• chemoreceptor
• savoury tongue? What do you think it would feel like when an acid burned your tongue?
• instinct
• tongue map
Before we talk more about acids, let us first examine the human tongue. It is a
most fascinating organ, and plays an important role in our sense of taste.
3.1 Tastes of. substances

What is your favourite food? What do you like most about your favourite food?
You will probably say that you just LOVE the taste of it! The taste of our
favourite foods make us feel good. How do we taste our food?
.
DID YOU KNOW?
Insects have the most
highly developed sense
of taste. They have
taste organs on their
feet, antennae, and
mouthparts. We taste food with tiny structures on our tongues!
Look in the mirror, and stick out your tongue. Look for small, round bumps.
These are called papillae. Most of them contain taste buds. The taste buds are
very small structures which have sensitive hairs. The chemicals in the food that
you eat dissolve into your saliva in solution. The chemicals then stimulate the
tiny hairs within the tastebuds and turn these signals into impulses. These
impulses travel to the brain allowing us to experience the sensation of taste.
206
.
ACTIVITY: Have a look at your own tongue

.
MATERIALS:
• mirror
• pencil
• sugar water
• lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Look in the mirror at your tongue.

2. Stick it out as far you can and try to see the papillae. Are they larger in
some areas?
.
DID YOU KNOW?
We have more than 10
000 taste buds in our
mouth. You even have
Have you tasted a lemon before?
taste buds on the roof
of your mouth.
Close your eyes and imagine biting into a slice of lemon. Can you describe the
experience? What does the lemon taste like? Sweet, sour, salty or bitter?
If you have sugar solution and lemon juice available in the class, taste these
different substances. See if you can identify where on your tongue you taste the
two different tastes.
Your tongue can only sense four flavours

You can only sense four different tastes with your tongue. Can you name them?
. .
Chapter 3. Acids, bases and neutral substances 207

.
TAKE NOTE
A flavour is a
combination of tastes
and smells.
The tongue map.
The four main tastes that are most common, are sweet, sour, salt and bitter.
These tastes combine to make up the different flavours of our foods.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
Almond nuts can be
sweet or bitter,
depending on the type
of tree they come from.
The sweet almonds
(which we eat) do not
contain poisonous
chemicals. Bitter
almonds from another How would you classify the taste of apples? Many people really enjoy the sour-salty
tree species contain Sweet or sour? Bitter? Perhaps a taste of salt and vinegar chips!
chemicals which are combination?
toxic to humans.
There is a good reason for why we like certain tastes, but not others.
Our sense of taste protects us
Just as we like and seek out foods that taste good, our bodies have also been
programmed to avoid food with strong bitter or sour tastes. This helps to
protect us against poisons, which often have a strong bitter taste. 'Bitter' is also
the basic taste that our tongues are most sensitive to. Spoiled food often tastes
sour and it may also have a bad smell. Our instinct will be to avoid it, which will
protect us from becoming ill from ingesting the organisms that have spoiled the
food.
...

.
TAKE NOTE
When we want to say
something has the
properties of an acid,
we use the adjective
acidic. When we want
to say something has
the properties of a base,
we use the adjective
basic.
Sweet almonds, such as these, are edible as Cocoa beans come from cocoa pods.
they do not contain toxic chemicals, unlike Chocolate is made from cocoa, but cocoa is
the wild bitter almonds. very bitter. Lots of sugar is added to
chocolate to make it sweet.
Soon the link between the tongue and chemical substances will become clear.
.
3.2 Properties of acids, bases and neutral substances
In the previous section you had to imagine what it would feel like if an acid
burned your tongue. In the next section we are going to learn more about acids. .
We will learn that they taste sour (and also why it is not a good idea to taste NEW WORDS
them!). • corrosive
• acid
We will also learn about other substances that have a special relationship with • chemical
formula
acids. They are called bases. Finally, we will also learn about substances that are • essential
neither acids or bases, but neutral substances. • immune system
• ascorbic acid
• citric acid
• formic acid
Acids
Do you know the names of any acids? Think about this as a class and make a list
of all the acid names you have heard.
There are many different acids. You might have already tasted an acid in class.
Was it the sugar water or the lemon juice?
. .

.
DID YOU KNOW?
The word acid comes
from the Latin word
acidus, meaning 'sour'.
Do you like sour sweets, such as sour The juice of lemons is rich in ascorbic acid
worms? The sour taste comes from fumaric (vitamin C) and citric acid, which makes it
acid. Fumaric acid is a natural acid with a taste sour.
sour taste, that is often added to foods.
All acids taste sour. Does this mean that all acids are safe to taste? Definitely
NOT! Next, we will learn which acids should not be tasted under any
circumstances.
Laboratory acids
Some acids are very dangerous and

must be handled carefully. These acids
are corrosive. They can cause serious
burns on your skin. Scientists always
. wear protective clothing when
TAKE NOTE handling these acids. It would be very
dangerous to taste them. These acids
The chemical formula of
are most often found and used in
a substance tells us
laboratories and certain industrial
which elements it
Concentrated hydrochloric acid is very processes. We will refer to them as
contains.
corrosive and dangerous. laboratory acids.
This scientist is handling an acid. Can you Look out for this label on bottles which
see he is wearing protective clothing, contain corrosive substances, such as
gloves and safety glasses? strong acids.
...

Name of the acid Formula of the acid
hydrochloric acid HCl
nitric acid HNO3
sulfuric acid H2 SO4
The above table contains the names and chemical formulae of the three most .
common laboratory acids. Even though you have not learnt how to write DID YOU KNOW?
chemical formulae yet, we have included them here. You should handle You have a laboratory
containers with these formulae printed on them with care. acid inside your body?!
Your stomach contains
There are many other laboratory acids that we have not listed. These are only
hydrochloric acid (HCl).
the most common ones.
HCl helps break down
Other acids in the foods we eat are not dangerous. In fact, some are even vital the food for digestion.
for our health and well-being. Let's now have a look at acids that are safe to Your stomach has a very
handle. mucous lining which
helps protect it from the
strong acid.
Natural and household acids
Not all acids are dangerous. One such acid is called ascorbic acid, or vitamin C.
Vitamin C helps our immune system. Which foods contain vitamin C? Have a
look at the pictures.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
Most people associate
oranges with a high
vitamin C content, but
there are other foods
which are much higher
in vitamin C. These
Kiwi fruit. Strawberries. include chillies, guavas,
strawberries, bell
peppers, broccoli, kiwi
fruits and papaya.
Broccoli. Bell peppers.
We will call the acids that we find in food natural acids. Many of these natural
acids are found in the kitchen. For this reason they are also sometimes called
household acids.
. .

One very well-known household acid is acetic acid. Vinegar is a mixture of a
.
small amount of acetic acid dissolved in water. So vinegar is a solution of acetic
DID YOU KNOW?
acid in water.
Formic acid is what
gives ants their sting
when they bite. 'Formic'
comes from the Latin
word for ant 'formica'.
Spirit vinegar and balsamic vinegar.
ACTIVITY: True or false?

.
INSTRUCTIONS:
• Let's briefly revise some of the concepts we have learnt so far.

• Below are some statements. You need to state whether they are true or
false. If they are false, explain why.
True or false?
1. We can sense three tastes with our tongues.
2. Acids taste sour.

.
3. If we want to know if something is an acid, we can just taste it.
4. All acids are dangerous.
5. Vinegar is a mixture of a small amount of acetic acid dissolved in water.
...

6. Laboratory acids must be handled with care and using protective clothing. .
DID YOU KNOW?
Many fizzy drinks
contain carbonic acid.
7. The following symbol means you can wash your hands using this
substance.
8. Formic acid is commonly referred to as Vitamin C.
9. Oranges are the food which contain the highest amount of ascorbic acid.
.
.
Do you think that it would be possible for acids to lose their strength? There is
one class of compounds that can make acids lose their strength. These
compounds are called bases.
Bases .
NEW WORDS
Bases can neutralise acids and vice versa. What does it mean to neutralise • base
• neutral
something? substance
• neutralise
• alkali
Bases and acids have chemical properties that are the opposite of each other.
We can think of bases as the chemical opposite of acids.
As with acids, there are some bases that are extremely dangerous. The same
hazard symbol that is used to warn people of the dangers of acids, is also used
for these bases. Strong bases react corrosively with other materials and can
burn your skin. They must be handled carefully and always while wearing
appropriate protective clothing, such as lab coats, gloves and safety glasses.
. .

Other bases are mild enough to
be used as cleaning materials in
and around the home. This
does not mean that they are
completely harmless. It just
means that they have been
mixed with other substances so
that they are not so corrosive.
Sodium hydroxide is a strong base used in

laboratories. Do you see the yellow corrosive
warning symbol?
ACTIVITY: Acids and bases in our homes

.
1. All of the products in the picture below contain bases. Which of the
products do you recognise? Write their names and what they are used for
in the table.
Some household products which are bases.
...

Product What is it used for?
2. Next, your teacher will let you come up to feel different substances which
are either bases or acids. All of these substances are safe to touch. Take
note of how they feel between your fingers and then come back to fill in
the table.
How did it feel
Substance between the Is it an acid or a
fingers? base?
.
TAKE NOTE
When an acid and a
base are mixed together
. in the correct ratio,
they will neutralise each
other. This means that
the solution made up of
QUESTIONS: the acid and the base

becomes something
1. What can you conclude about how bases feel? that is neither an acid
nor a base, but neutral.
In the process, both the
acid and the base will
2. What can you conclude about how acids feel? lose their unique
characteristics.
3. What did your teacher have to do to the dry washing powder before you
could feel it in the bowl? Do you know what we call the solution which
forms? If so, write it down, otherwise your teacher will help you.
4. Although we have spoken about acids and bases as being chemical

opposites, what property do many of them have in common?
.
.
. .

.
TAKE NOTE Finally, there is a class of substances that are neither acids nor bases. They are
called neutral substances. We will explore them next.
Bases that can dissolve
in water are called Neutral substances
alkalis. For this reason,
the terms base and We have learnt that when an acid and a base are mixed (in the right amounts),
alkali are sometimes they will neutralise each other. That means that, together, they will change into
considered to have the something that is neither an acid nor a base. So the acid will lose its properties
same meaning. (Words and so will the base. And the new substance that forms from the two
that have the same substances will be neither an acid nor a base. We call it a neutral substance.
meaning are called
synonyms.) Some neutral substances are formed when an acid is mixed with a base and a
neutralisation reaction occurs. Other substances are neutral to begin with. They
are not the product of a neutralisation reaction. The neutral substances that are
the most well known are: water, table salt, sugar solution and cooking oil.
.
TAKE NOTE
To indicate means to
show.
Cooking oil is a neutral substance.
We have learnt about three classes of substances: acids, bases and neutral
substances. But, we cannot tell whether a substance is an acid, base, or a
neutral substance, just by looking at it. We know that acids taste sour, but we
have also learnt that it is never a good idea to taste chemicals.
Let's imagine we have an unknown substance. It is colourless and looks just like
water. It is also odourless (that means it has no smell). There are no physical
signs to show whether it is acidic, basic, or neutral. How can we tell what it is?
.
NEW WORDS
. 3.3 Acid-base indicators
• indicator
• litmus What do the indicators on a car do?
Acids and bases can change the colour of some substances. In the next activity,
we are going to investigate a substance that changes colour when we mix it
with an acid or a base.
Have you ever eaten red cabbage? It is not only tasty, but also very healthy. We
are going to see how red cabbage juice changes when we mix it with different
substances.
...

.
ACTIVITY: Preparing and testing red cabbage

juice with acid and base
.
MATERIALS:
• one large, red cabbage

• pot with water for boiling
• hot plate (or stove)
• strainer
• sharp knife
• container for red cabbage juice (ice cream tub or large yoghurt tub will
work well)
• white plate
• vinegar
• baking soda solution
INSTRUCTIONS:
Prepare the cabbage juice:
1. Cut the cabbage into thin slices and place it in the pot.
.
VISIT
This website has a list of
other household products
that will also change
2. Add just enough water to cover the cabbage slices. colour when mixed with
3. Boil it over low heat for approximately 30 minutes, adding water to keep acids or bases. Make sure
you ask your parents if
the cabbage covered if necessary. you may experiment
before you start!
bit.ly/195o6gF
4. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool completely.
5. Strain the juice off the cabbage slices into the ice cream tub. The boiled
cabbage slices can be eaten (or placed in the compost).
. .

.
VISIT
Video on red cabbage and
black tea as indicators
bit.ly/19PBmsJ
6. If kept in the fridge the red cabbage juice will last about 3 days.
Test the cabbage juice indicator
1. Carefully place three large drops of the cabbage juice on a smooth, white
surface (a white plate or tile will work well).
2. Pour a few drops of vinegar into one of the drops of cabbage juice. What
do you see?
.
3. Pour a few drops of baking soda solution into one of the remaining drops
of cabbage juice. What do you see?
.
VISIT
These two videos are both
demonstrations of the
cabbage juice indicator
experiment you just
completed
bit.ly/18cZjX5 and
Red cabbage juice mixed with baking soda (left) and with vinegar (right). The blue drop
at the top is the unmixed juice.
bit.ly/15Qjigh .
In the next activity we are going to preserve the red cabbage juice by absorbing
it on some filter paper, and drying it, so that we can use it later.
...

.
ACTIVITY: Making red cabbage indicator paper

.
MATERIALS:
• pieces of absorbent paper

• red cabbage juice from the previous activity in a container
• scissors
• container
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Place the absorbent paper in the cabbage juice.
.
.
DID YOU KNOW?
Litmus is a coloured
substance that comes
from the pigments of a
living organism called
lichen. Pigments are
coloured substances
found in nature.
2. After 30 minutes, remove the paper and leave it in a warm place to dry.
3. When the paper has completely dried, cut it into strips (approximately 1
cm wide). You can keep the strips for a long time if you store them in a dry
place.
We will use the red cabbage paper strips later, as part of an investigation.
Some other substances also

change colour when an acid or a
base is added to them. By
changing their colour, they show
that they have reacted with an
acid or a base. That is why we call
them acid-base indicators.The
most well-known acid-base
indicator is a substance called
litmus.
Blue and red litmus paper.
. .

.
VISIT
Colourful chemistry with
acids and bases using
household products
(video)
bit.ly/15QjCfd
Litmus comes from pigments in the lichen which are found growing in many different
places, mostly on rocks.
Litmus solution is most commonly soaked into paper, the paper is then dried
and cut into strips we then call "litmus paper". It is just like the red cabbage
paper we made earlier. Litmus paper is available in two colours: blue and red.
How does litmus paper indicate whether a substance is an acid or a base? In the
next activity, we will investigate how litmus responds to some household acids
and bases.
INVESTIGATION: How does litmus respond to acids

and bases?
.
AIM: To determine how litmus responds to some household acids and bases.
HYPOTHESIS: What is your hypothesis for this investigation?

.
• small containers (test tubes or yoghurt tubs) filled with the following
substances:
– water
– soda water
– vinegar
– lemon juice
– sugar water (1 tablespoon dissolved in a cup of water)
– baking soda (1 tablespoon dissolved in a cup of water)
– Handy Andy (1 tablespoon dissolved in a cup of water)
– aspirin (Disprin) (1 tablet in 2 tablespoons of water)
– dishwashing liquid (1 teaspoon dissolved in a cup of water)
– any other substances commonly used at home that are not dangerous
• litmus paper (blue and red)
• glass or plastic rods (plastic teaspoons will also work well).
...

METHOD:
1. Cut a small piece (1 cm long) of blue and red litmus for each substance that
you will be testing.
2. Use the plastic teaspoon or rod to place just 1 drop of water on the blue
litmus. Do the same with a piece of red litmus.
3. Did the blue litmus change colour? Did the red litmus change colour?
Write the new colours in your table, in the appropriate place.
4. Repeat the procedure to test all the substances you have been given. You
must rinse the teaspoon or rod with water in between substances.
5. Save all your test substances, because you will need them for another
investigation later.
Record your observations in the table. If you did not use some of these
substances, cross them out and write headings for your substances in the
empty rows.
Substance Colour with blue litmus Colour with red litmus
Water
Soda water
Vinegar
Lemon juice
Sugar water
.
Baking soda
Handy Andy
Aspirin
Dishwashing liquid
ANALYSIS:
Let us now have a look at our observations to see what we can conclude.
1. How does the litmus paper indicate when a substance is an acid?
..
. .

2. Which of the substances you tested are acids?
3. How does the litmus paper indicate when a substance is a base?
4. Which of the substances you tested are bases?
5. How would you describe a neutral substance?
6. How does the litmus paper indicate when a substance is neutral?
.
7. Which of the substances you tested were neutral?
8. Why do you think you had to rinse the glass rod or teaspoon in between
testing each substance?
CONCLUSION:
Write a conclusion based on your results in response to the initial aim for this
investigation.
Extension: If you have time in class with your teacher, use your knowledge of
how litmus responds to acids and bases to test some of the beverages that you
drink every day. You can use litmus paper to indicate whether beverages such
as ceylon tea, rooibos tea, orange juice, milk, coffee and fizzy drinks are acids,
bases or neutrals. If you do so, record your findings here:
...

.
.
.
.
We can say the following about litmus:
• Blue litmus is used to test for acids:

– acids turn blue litmus red.
– Bases and neutral substances do not change the colour of blue litmus.
• Red litmus is used to test for bases
– bases turn red litmus blue.
– Acids and neutral substances do not change the colour of red litmus.
What about the red cabbage paper that we made earlier? Can these paper
strips be used to tell if something is an acid or a base? Let's find out.
INVESTIGATION: Is red cabbage paper suitable as

acid-base indicator?
.
AIM: To determine whether red cabbage is a suitable acid-base indicator.
• small containers with the same substances as in the previous investigation

• red cabbage paper strips .
• glass or plastic rods
METHOD:
1. Use a small strip (2 cm long) of red cabbage paper for each substance that
you will be testing.
2. Dip a fresh piece of paper into each of the test solutions. Does the paper
change colour? Write the colour of the paper with each substance in your
table in the appropriate place.
. .

Record your observations in the table.
Substance Colour with red cabbage paper
Water
Soda water
Vinegar
Lemon juice
Sugar water
Baking soda
Handy Andy
Aspirin
Dishwashing liquid
.
QUESTIONS:
1. Which of the test substances are acids? (Check the results from the litmus
investigation that you did earlier.)
2. What colour did the red cabbage paper turn in the test substances that
were acids?
3. Which of the test substances are bases? (Check the results from the litmus
investigation that you did earlier.)
...

4. What colour did the red cabbage paper turn in the test substances that
were bases?
5. Did the red cabbage paper change colour with all the substances? If there
were some substances that did not change the colour of the paper, write
their names below.
6. Are these substances acidic, basic or neutral (also check your litmus test
results)?
7. Do you think red cabbage paper makes a good acid-base indicator? Why
do you say so?
.
.
. .

..
SUMMARY:
.
Key Concepts
• Our tongues can sense 4 different flavours namely, sweet, salty, sour
and bitter.
• Our sense of taste protects us from eating foods that are harmful and
stimulates us to eat foods that are nutritious and energy-rich.
• Acids and bases are chemical opposites of each other.
• Though it is not a good idea to taste chemicals, acids have a sour taste
and bases taste bitter.
• When they are in solution with water, acids feel rough and bases feel
slippery.
• Some acids and bases are present in foods and in household items.
These are relatively safe to handle. Others are often very corrosive and
should only be handled when you are wearing protective clothing.
• Substances which are neither acidic nor basic, are called neutral
substances.
• When an acid is mixed with a base in the right quantities, they neutralise
each other. That means they lose their power.
• Some substances change colour when they react with an acid or a
base. These substances are called acid-base indicators. One household
example of an acid-base indicator is red cabbage juice.
• Litmus is the best known of all acid-base indicators. It does not change
colour in the presence of a neutral substance, but responds to acids and
bases in the following way:
– litmus is red in the presence of an acid; and
– litmus is blue in the presence of base.
. Map
Concept
The human tongue can taste 4 main different tastes. What are these? Fill
them in the spaces below. You also need to complete the section of the
concept map about indicators. Can you work out how to do this? You need
to fill in the colour that litmus turns (or remains) in each either an acid or a
base (or neutral).
...

.
.
REVISION:
.
1. The box below is filled with ideas relating to acids and bases.
Ideas
• Sour taste
• Bitter taste
• Tartaric acid
• Bicarbonate of soda
You must sort the ideas into
• Feels slippery
two columns in the table. One
• Feels rough
column is labelled 'Acids' and
• Vinegar
the other is labelled 'Bases'.
• Soaps
Write each idea inside the
• Lemon Juice
correct column. If an idea fits
• Citric acid
into both columns, you must
• Formic acid
write it in both. [16 marks]
• Bleach
• Turns red litmus blue
• Turns blue litmus red
• Corrosive
Acids Bases
...

2. Here is another box; this one is filled with words.
Words
• Indicator
• Sour
• Red cabbage
You must use the words to
• Bitter
complete the sentences that
• Poisonous
follow. Write out the
• Corrosive
sentences in full. Each word
• Neutralise
can be used only once. [11
• Sweet
marks]
• Neutral
• Litmus
• Salty
a) The most well-known of all acid-base indicators is called .
b) A substance that can eat away at other substances is called
c) Foods that are often taste bitter.
.
d) Some scientists believe the human tongue can taste 4 flavours. These
flavours are: , , , and .
e) An acid-base is a substance that changes colour when it

reacts with an acid or a base.
f) substances are neither acids nor bases.
g) An acid will a base (and vice versa).
h) The juice of the makes a very good acid-base indicator.
..
. .

3. Give an example of a strong acid and a strong base, commonly used in the
laboratory. [2 marks]
4. Write one or two sentences to explain what is meant by the term

neutralise. [2 marks]
5. Write a short paragraph to explain how laboratory acids should be

handled. Your paragraph should contain the following words: corrosive;
taste; clothes. [3 marks]
.
6. Would all acids burn your tongue or is it OK to taste some acids? Explain
your answer. [2 marks]
7. Give 2 examples of acids that are safe to taste. [1 mark]
8. How you would be able to recognise an acid when you taste it? [1 mark]
9. How does our sense of taste warn us when food is not good to eat? [2
marks]
...

10. Have you heard of acid rain before? Read the following information and
study the diagram. Then answer the questions that follow.
a) Which two gases are mentioned in the text and on the diagram which
contribute to forming acid rain? [2 marks]
.
b) Where do these gases come from? [2 mark]
c) The gases then combine with water droplets in the atmosphere to

make acids. What are some of the environmental impacts of acid rain?
Study the diagram for some clues. [3 marks]
11. Acid rain can also damage buildings as it 'eats away' the stone. What
property of acids allow it to do this? [1 mark]
Total [48 marks]
.
.
. .

4 The Periodic Table of Elements
..
. ... QUESTIONS:
.KEY
• What is an element?
• How can we classify the elements in our world?
• Which table helps us to make sense of the patterns we observe in the
chemical properties of the elements?
• How are elements arranged on the Periodic Table?
• What does the position of an element on the Periodic Table tell us about
its expected properties?
• What information can we use to represent the identity of an element?
• What are the typical properties of the
– metals;
– nonmetals; and
– semi-metals?
.
VISIT
A video to introduce us to People have been interested in science from the earliest times. Early man
elements and to the discovered how to process natural ores into metals for ornaments, weapons and
Periodic Table
tools. At least 3000 years ago, ancient people were already using embalming
bit.ly/16C5ZyC
fluids (chemicals) obtained from plants to preserve the bodies of dead people
and animals!
Mankind has been studying and experimenting with materials to try to

understand matter for thousands of years. Scientists especially, wanted some
understanding of all the different substances that they were working with.
.
VISIT
An interesting video that
tells us about how
scientists solved the
puzzle of the Periodic
Table.
bit.ly/1cMGnSw
An ancient Egyptian mummy that has been embalmed to preserve it.
Over time, many different elements were discovered by scientists all over the
world. These elements make up all the materials around us. But what do we
mean by the word element? An element is a pure substance which cannot be
broken down any further. We will find out more about elements in this chapter.
232
Over time, our knowledge about the elements and
.
their behaviour increased and scientists recognised VISIT
the need to organise this information. They began This video tells us more
to observe patterns and similarities in the way some about how Dmitri
Mendeleev listed and
groups of elements behaved and recorded these arranged the elements on
observations. Scientists wanted some way to the Periodic Table and
why this was such an
classify the elements according to their properties important event in the
that they were observing. history of science as we
know it.
bit.ly/147Ql9f
The version of the Periodic Table that we use today
was first proposed by Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev
in 1872. Mendeleev was a brilliant Russian scientist.
While other scientists made many contributions to
the design of the Periodic Table, Mendeleev was the
one who first showed that the table could predict
the existence and properties of elements that were
Dmitri Mendeleev. still undiscovered at the time.
.
NEW WORDS
• element
• Periodic Table
• symbol (or
element
symbol)
• atomic number
Alchemists, experimenting with materials in their laboratory.
.
4.1 Arrangement of elements on the Periodic Table
The Periodic Table is a classification system for the elements that make up the
matter and materials in our world. Today, there are more than 100 different
elements known! Each element has its own name, symbol, atomic number and
position on the Periodic Table.
Element names
What is your name? Perhaps it is Thando. Or David. Or Megan. Perhaps you are
lucky enough to be the only person in your class with that name. Perhaps you
are lucky enough to be the only person in the world with that name! That would
make your name unique.
Each element has a unique name. We can think of each name as a unique 'label'
we can use to identify the element. There are two other unique labels that we
. .
Chapter 4. The Periodic Table of Elements 233

. can use to identify elements. They are the chemical symbol and the atomic
VISIT number. We will learn more about these in the next section. Each element has
There are TWO songs to some of its own unique properties and later on we will see that those with some
help you remember the
elements of the Periodic
similar properties can be grouped together.
Table. Which one is your
favourite? Can you learn
one (or both) of them?
bit.ly/18d0bLl and
bit.ly/11OuoPM
.
VISIT
A tour of the Periodic
Table
bit.ly/147Qzgx
.
TAKE NOTE
There is a bigger version
of the modern Periodic
Table of elements on
the inside cover of your
workbook. You can use
it for easy reference.
The Periodic Table of elements as it is today.
...

Chemical symbols .
TAKE NOTE
If you are a scientist and you work with elements every day, writing out the
names can become very tedious. To make writing about elements easier, You need to know the
scientists have given each element a short symbol. To make sure we do not names and symbols of
become confused with different elements when we write about them, the these elements listed
symbol for each element must be unique, just like its name is. here.
The names and symbols for some common elements are shown in the following
table.
Element Symbol Element Symbol
Aluminium Al Magnesium Mg
Bromine Br Nitrogen N
Calcium Ca Oxygen O
Carbon C Phosphorus P
Chlorine Cl Potassium K .
VISIT
A game to learn about the
Copper Cu Silicon Si Periodic Table
bit.ly/15QkMHn
Gold Au Silver Ag
Hydrogen H Sodium Na
Iodine I Sulfur S
Iron Fe Tin Sn
Lead Pb Zinc Zn
The symbol for carbon is C, the symbol for sulfur is S and the symbol for
nitrogen is N. It is easy to see why these symbols were chosen: they simply
represent the first letter of each name. This letter is always capitalised (upper
case).
.
What happens when the different elements all start with the same letter? For DID YOU KNOW?
example: calcium, carbon, chlorine and copper all start with the letter 'C'! To The symbol for lead
ensure they all have a unique symbol, a second letter was added to their (Pb) comes from
symbol. This letter is always a small letter (lower case). plumbum, the Latin
word for lead. For many
Some chemical symbols are more difficult to understand. Na, for example, is the
years, lead was used to
symbol for sodium. The Na comes from the Latin name for sodium, which is
make water pipes. This
natrium. These symbols were chosen very long ago, when many subjects were
is also where the word
studied in Latin. Can you imagine how difficult that must have been?!
plumber comes from.
Some simple rules to remember when using chemical symbols:
1. Every element has its own, unique symbol.

2. The symbol is usually (but not always) the first one or two letters of the
name of the element.
3. The first letter of the symbol is always a capital letter.
4. If the symbol has two letters, the second letter is always a small letter.
5. Some elements have symbols that come from their Latin names.
. .

. Atomic numbers
TAKE NOTE
If you look at the Periodic Table, you will see that each element also has a
You do not need to unique number. This is called the atomic number. To properly understand what
know about the atom in the atomic number is, we need to know what an atom is. We will learn more
detail for now. We will about atoms in Gr. 8, but for now, let's briefly go back to our history lesson!
learn more about this in
Gr. 8! Do you remember we said Mendeleev developed the first periodic table in 1869?
Well before that, at the beginning of the 1800's, a man by the name of John
Dalton said that all matter is made up of very small particles called atoms.
These atoms vary in mass and size. Do you remember we said an element is a
pure substance? We can now also say that an element is a substance that
contains only one particular type of atom. The atoms of one element are
different from the atoms of any other element.
All atoms are made up of even smaller particles which we call subatomic
particles. These are protons, neutrons and electrons. All you must remember for
now is that the protons, electrons, and neutrons of one element are exactly the
same as the protons, electrons, and neutrons of any other element. It is their
number and arrangement that make the elements different.
The atomic number of an element refers to how many protons that element has
in its atoms. Since each element has a different number of protons in its atoms,
each element also has a unique atomic number.
.
TAKE NOTE Have a look at the Periodic Table. What is the atomic number of hydrogen?
When things show a How many protons are there in its atoms?
regular, repeating
pattern, we say it is
periodic. When the
elements were arranged
in order of increasing What is the atomic number of carbon? How many protons are there in its
mass, Mendeleev atoms?
observed a pattern in
their properties, which
allowed him to arrange
the elements into rows
and columns in a table,
the Periodic Table.
Elements in the same
rows and columns in the
table, have similar
properties to each
other.
Mendeleev's Periodic Table from 1872. The spaces marked with blank lines represent
elements that Mendeleev thought existed, but they were not yet discovered at the time,
so he left places for them.
Can you see how the elements are arranged so that their atomic numbers
increase from left to right across the Periodic Table? This is not a coincidence!
...

When Mendeleev first created the Periodic Table, he arranged the 60 elements
that he knew of at the time in order of increasing mass. He then saw that there
was a regular pattern in other characteristics of these elements. Mendeleev then
grouped them into columns and rows according to their properties. These were
physical and chemical properties which the scientists had observed from doing
many different experiments. This resulted in the arrangement of the elements
on the Periodic Table.
The Periodic Table that we use today looks a lot more modern than Mendeleev's
original version. You will notice that there are no empty blocks in the modern
version of the table. That tells us that all the elements that were still
undiscovered in Mendeleev's lifetime, are now known.
In the next activity, we will compare Mendeleev's original Periodic Table with
the version that we use today. This will help show us how scientific discovery is
sometimes a slow process.
ACTIVITY: Comparing Mendeleev's table with the

modern version of the Periodic Table
.
When Mendeleev first arranged the elements according to their mass and their
properties, it resulted in there being some gaps in the rows. But, as a good
scientist, Mendeleev did not see this as a problem! Instead, he thought it simply
meant that there were elements that had not been discovered yet. And he was
right!
Mendeleev put a blank line and the atomic number to show that he thought
there is an element which should go there, but it had not been discovered. Look
carefully at Mendeleev's original table. See if you can find where it says ' = 44'
in the table.
See if you can find the 2 other elements that had not been discovered at that
time. Write their numbers down in the space below. .
TAKE NOTE
. In Life and Living, we

looked at the
Now look at the modern version of the Periodic Table. Can you find the classification of living
elements with these numbers? What are their symbols? What are their names? organisms in our world.
Write your answers in the table provided. Now in Matter and

Materials, we are
As an extension of this activity you could look up the names of these elements, looking at the
and research when they were discovered, and add this information to the table. classification system for
elements!
When was this
Number of the Symbol of the Name of the element
element element element discovered?
. .

In the next activity we are going to use our new knowledge of element symbols
and atomic numbers to hunt for a very valuable 'treasure'. We will find the
treasure by following some clues about the Periodic Table.
ACTIVITY: Periodic Table treasure hunt

.
Your job is to follow the clues, in order to find the treasure. The instructions will
help you to spell out the name of the treasure in the blocks below.
1. Clue 1: What is the symbol for carbon (atomic number 6)? Write this
symbol in the first block above.
2. Clue 2: Hydrogen is the lightest element. Can you find it on the Periodic
Table? Write its symbol in the second block.
3. Clue 3: Which element represents the gas that we breathe to stay alive?
Here is a hint: It is represented by atomic number 8. Write its symbol in the
third block and give the name of the element below.
4. Clue 4: This element is in the fourth row and the ninth column of the
Periodic Table. It is a metal that is used in magnets. Write its symbol in the
fourth block. Do you know its name? Write its name below.
.
5. Clue 5: This element is represented by atomic number 57. Write its symbol
in the fifth block. See if you can find out the name of this element and write
it down below.
6. Clue 6: This element is represented by atomic number 52. It is a

semi-metal that is used in the manufacture of solar panels. Write its
symbol in the last (sixth) block. See if you can find out the name of this
element and write it down below.
7. What is the 'treasure' that you have found?
Complete the following sentence by replacing the names of the elements with
chemical symbols. You would have to look up some of the symbols!
SCIENCE...Fluorine Arsenic Carbon Iodine Nitrogen Astatine Einsteinium... ME!
...

Complete the following table to see how many of the names and symbols of the
elements you remember. Try to do this without referring to the Periodic Table.
Element Symbol Element Symbol
Al Mg
Bromine N
Calcium Oxygen
C Phosphorus
Cl . K
Copper Si
Au Silver
H Na
Iodine Sulfur
Fe Tin
Lead Zn
.
.
.
NEW WORDS
• semi-metal
• semi-conductor
.
4.2 Properties of metals, semi-metals and non-metals
The Periodic Table is an amazing tool! Did you know that the position of an
element on the Periodic Table can tell a scientist what properties the element
can be expected to have? This is because the elements have not just been
arranged randomly! But, rather, they are grouped and arranged according to
similar properties. Let's find out what this means.
ACTIVITY: What do some of the elements look

like?
.
INSTRUCTIONS:
.
1. Your teacher will guide you through this activity. You will either look at
real samples of some of the elements, or else refer to the photos below of
some of the elements.
2. Your task as a class is to identify the different elements and find their place
on the Periodic Table. You will either stick the real samples onto a large
blank Periodic Table, or use the blank one here in your workbook, or both.
. .

3. You must then look at what the different elements look like and see if you
can identify any similar properties. The questions at the end will help guide
you through this.
Here are some photos of the different elements:

.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Periodic Table is
made up of more than
100 elements, but only
90 of the elements
occur in nature. The rest
have been made by
man.
Aluminium foil. Carbon (graphite).
Copper. Magnesium.
Sulfur. Bromine in tube.
...

Chlorine gas. Calcium.
Phosphorus. Potassium.
Nitrogen gas. Iron.
If you do not have a large cardboard Periodic Table to work with at the front of
the class, write the names of the elements you discuss on the blank table
provided here:
..
. .

After completing this activity, either by sticking actual samples onto a
cardboard cut out, or looking at the photos
. provided here in your workbook and
seeing where they are positioned on the Periodic Table, answer these questions.
QUESTIONS:
1. How would you describe the elements that are mostly on the left side of
the Periodic Table?
2. How would you describe the elements that are mostly on the right side of
the Periodic Table?
. You probably saw from the last activity that there is a difference in the elements
DID YOU KNOW? on the left and right of the Periodic Table. Were you able to identify what these
elements are classified as. You have learnt about them before in previous
Francium (Fr) is the
grades. They are metals and non-metals.
rarest element on Earth.
Only 20 to 30 g exists at Let's do a quick revision of what we have already learnt about metals and
any one time on Earth non-metals in previous grades.
in nature!
The properties of metals and non-metals

Metals and non-metals have distinct properties. That means their properties are
unique and different from each other. Can you remember what the unique
properties of metals and non-metals are? The next activity will refresh your
memory.
...

.
ACTIVITY: Blitz revision of the properties of

metals and non-metals
.
Here is a block with different Properties

properties of metals and • shiny
non-metals in it. They have • lustrous
been jumbled and are not • dull
sorted. You need to decide • brittle
whether these properties • malleable
describe metals or • ductile
non-metals and sort them • conducts electricity
into the columns in the table • conducts heat
which has been provided. • usually a solid
Make sure that all the • can be
properties in the block are in solid/liquid/gas
your table. If you can think • electrical insulator
of properties that are not • thermal insulator
listed in the block, you may • (other)
also add them to the table.
Do the activity as quickly (but also as neatly) as you can, and time yourself!
Properties of metals Properties of non-metals
Most elements fall into one of

these two categories: metals and
non-metals. We use the
properties of an element to
categorise it as a metal or a
non-metal.
Think of chromium, for example,

which is shiny (lustrous), bends
easily (malleable) and conducts
heat and electricity well. A piece of chromium.
. .

1. What are the properties of chromium?
2. Based on these properties, would you categorise chromium as a metal or a

non-metal?
3. Can you find chromium on the Periodic Table? (Hint: It may help to find its
symbol first.) What is its atomic number?
Now think of sulfur.
Sulfur is usually a dull, yellow powder.

.
It does not conduct electricity or heat
well and large crystals of sulfur break
easily when they are dropped.
Sulfur crystals forming on a rock wall
inside a volcano.
1. What are the properties of sulfur?
2. Based on these properties, would you categorise sulfur as a metal or a

non-metal?
3. Can you find sulfur on the Periodic Table? (Hint: It may help to find its
symbol first.) What is its atomic number?
We have now looked at the properties of metals and non-metals. But, when
scientists were doing their experiments to observe the properties of the
elements, they sometimes found some elements which were difficult to classify
as either a metal or a non-metal.
...

The properties of semi-metals
Some elements are not quite metals, but they are not quite non-metals either.
They just don't fit into either category! Does this sound strange to you? Let us
explore.
ACTIVITY: Classifying element X

.
Pretend that you are a member of a team of scientists that has just discovered a
new element. The element has not been named yet, so it is simply referred to as
'element X'.
The team has a sufficient amount of element X to make several disks of the
material. They create a file about element X. In the file, they place the following
picture of one of the disks.
A disk of element X.
Look carefully at the picture. How would you describe the appearance of
element X? .
TAKE NOTE
Room temperature is
25o C.
The team performs experiments on element X and adds the following data to
the file:
1. In an attempt to bend a disk of element X, the disk shattered, like glass. The
same result was observed when a second disk was dropped from a height.
2. The material is found to be a poor conductor of heat and electricity at
room temperature. Element X was then cooled down significantly by
placing it in a freezer. At very low temperatures, it becomes a good
conductor of electricity.
. .

Fill out the following checklist for element X by placing crosses next to each
property that was observed.
Metallic properties YES NO
Is the material shiny (lustrous)?
Is the material malleable and ductile?
Does the material conduct electricity at room

temperature?
Does the material conduct heat?
Non-metallic properties YES NO
Is the material brittle?
Does the material have a dull appearance?
Is the material an insulator?
Additional comments
(what else did you observe?):
.
QUESTIONS:
1. Which of the properties of element X are typical of metals?
2. Which of the properties of element X are typical of non-metals?
3. Would you classify element X as a metal or a non-metal?
Element X does not quite fit into either category. Some of its properties are
metallic and others are non-metallic. Element X is a real element, and its name is
tellurium (chemical symbol: Te). Can you find it on the Periodic Table?
There are other elements, like tellurium, that are difficult to classify as either
metals or non-metals. This is because they have some properties that are
typical of metals and some properties that are typical of non-metals. A special
category was invented for these elements: they are called semi-metals.
...

There are not many semi-metals. They are all listed in the following table. You .
do not have to remember all their names. TAKE NOTE
Names and symbols of the semi-metals: The semi-metals are

also sometimes referred
to as metalloids.
Name Chemical symbol Atomic number
Boron B 5
Silicon Si 14
Germanium Ge 32
Arsenic As 33
Antimony Sb 51
Tellurium Te 52
Polonium Po 84
Now that we have looked at some of the elements and where they are found on
the Periodic Table, you might have already recognised that there is a trend in
where the metals, semi-metals and non-metals are positioned on the Periodic
Table. We are now going to do a colouring activity to see where on the Periodic
Table we will find each of the categories of elements.
ACTIVITY: The regions of the Periodic Table

.
We are going to colour areas on the following version of the Periodic Table.
This will help us identify the regions on the table where the metals, non-metals
and semi-metals are located.
MATERIALS:
For this activity you will need coloured pencils or kokis or crayons in the
following colours:
• Blue
• Yellow .
• Red
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Semi-metals:
Find all the semi-metals on the Periodic Table. You will need to consult the
table (names and symbols of the semi-metals) to help you remember
which elements are semi-metals. Colour the block representing each of the
semi-metals yellow.
2. Metals:
Colour all the blocks to the left of the semi-metals blue. Do not colour
hydrogen (H), as it is not strictly a metal. All these elements are metals.
3. Non-metals:
Colour all the blocks to the right of the semi-metals red. All these elements
. .

are non-metals. Now you can also colour hydrogen (H) red. On most
versions of the Periodic Table hydrogen is placed with the metals, even
though it has physical properties similar to those of the non-metals (it is a
gas at room temperature). Hydrogen is placed with the metals, because it
tends to behave like the other members of its column in chemical reactions.
Now answer the following questions, using your colourful Periodic Table.
QUESTIONS:
1. Which category contains the most .(biggest number of) elements: metals,
non-metals or semi-metals?
2. Which category contains the least (smallest number of) elements: metals,
non-metals or semi-metals?
3. State which category of material (metal, non-metal or semi-metal) each of

the following elements belongs to:
Category: (Metal, non-metal or

Element Chemical symbol
semi-metal?)
Iron Fe
Silicon Si
Fluorine F
Titanium Ti
Nitrogen N
...

We have learnt that the Periodic Table can be divided into regions where .
metals, non-metals and semi-metals can be found. This is useful information DID YOU KNOW?
because the elements in different regions share similar properties. Their Stainless steel is an
properties help us to decide what we can use them for. For example, metals are alloy, meaning it is
durable, malleable and shiny so they are suitable for making jewellery, pots and made up of a mixture of
pans and motor car parts. elements, including
iron, carbon, chromium
Let's look at some more examples. Where can we find all these elements in the and nickel.
real world? Where do they occur, and what are they used for?
We all know that oxygen (O) is one of the elements in the air we breathe. Rings
and other jewellery are often made of gold (Au), silver (Ag) or platinum (Pt).
But what do we know about calcium? And what is nickel used for?
1. Think about how long coins are used for. How are properties of metals
useful to us when making coins?
Our South African coins are made from various metals and mixtures of metals, such
as copper, nickel and stainless steel.
2. Why do you think we make jewellery out of the metals gold, silver and
platinum, and not for example out of a non-metal such as sulfur? What are
the properties of these metals?
Jewellery is made from metals such as gold, silver and platinum.
. .

3. Why do you think these electrical wires are made out of copper? What
property of copper is useful in this situation?
These electrical wires are made out of copper.

.
VISIT
These websites of the
Periodic Table highlight
some of the uses of the
elements:
bit.ly/1euHmVi and
bit.ly/17zr35Q . 4. Do you think you could make electrical wires out of a non-metal such as
bromine or phosphorus? Why or why not?
What do we use some of the non-metals for? We use carbon (coal) as a fuel, we
use chlorine as a disinfectant to purify water, iodine is used as an antiseptic for
wounds and helium is used to fill balloons. Arsenic, a semi-metal, is poisonous
and therefore used as a pesticide for insects, bacteria and fungi. Another
semi-metal, antimony, is used to make an alloy with lead which is very hard and
has many applications. As you can see, the elements have many uses all around
us! In the final activity of this chapter, we will explore some of the uses of the
elements in more detail.
ACTIVITY: Uses of the elements

.
Your teacher will divide the class into small groups. Your group must choose
one element from the Periodic Table (if you are unsure, your teacher will help
you choose) and research the following .questions about this element:
1. Where is this element found?

2. What do we use this element for?
3. What are some of the properties if the element?
Your group must make a poster to present all the information you found about
your element.
...

..
SUMMARY:
.
Key Concepts
• All the elements that are known, can be arranged in a table called the
Periodic Table.
• The discoveries of many scientists over many years contributed to the
information in the Periodic Table, but the version of the table that we
use today was originally proposed by Dmitri Mendeleev in the 1800s.
• Each element has a fixed position on the Periodic Table. The elements
are arranged in order of increasing atomic number, with the lightest
element (hydrogen: H) in the top left hand corner.
• An element's position on the Periodic Table tells us whether it is a metal,
a non-metal or a semi-metal.
– metals are found on the left hand side of the table;
– non-metals are found on the far right hand side of the table; and
– semi-metals are found in the region between the metals and
non-metals.
• An element can be identified in 3 different ways:
– each element has a unique name;
– each element has a unique chemical symbol; and
– each element has a unique atomic number.
• Metals are usually shiny, ductile and malleable. Most are solids at room
temperature, and have high melting and boiling points.
• Non-metals can be solids, liquids or gases at room temperature. They
have a great variety of properties that usually depend on the state they
are in.
• The semi-metals are all solids at room temperature. They usually have
a combination of metallic and non-metallic properties.
. Map
Concept
We learnt that the elements in the Periodic Table fall into 3 main categories.
What are these? Fill these in the concept map by looking at the concepts
which come after each category.
. .

.
.
REVISION:
.
1. What information can we tell from an element's position in the Periodic

Table? In other words: [2 marks]
a) What does it tell us when an element occurs on the left hand side of
the Periodic Table?
b) What does it tell us when an atom occurs on the right hand side of the
Periodic Table?
2. There are 3 unique 'labels' that can be used to identify an element. The first
is its name. What are the other two? [2 marks]
3. What is the relationship between the atomic number of an element and its
place on the Periodic Table? [1 mark]
4. Which element has the lowest atomic number? Write both its name and its
symbol. [2 marks]
5. Extension question: What does the atomic number of hydrogen tell us

about it? [1 mark]
6. Write the chemical symbols of all the elements that are in the same column
as the element with the atomic number 9. (Note: The columns on the
Periodic Table are called Groups.) [2 marks: 1/2 mark each]
. .

7. The following table contains some Chemical symbols
names of elements. There is also a
• C
box of chemical symbols. You should
• Na
place the chemical symbols in the
• Si
right hand column of the table so that
• N
they match the names in the left hand
• He
column. [8 marks]
• Cl
• S
• O
Names of elements Chemical symbols
Sulfur
Carbon
Nitrogen
Sodium
Oxygen
Silicon
Chlorine
Helium .
8. Write a short paragraph to explain what a semi-metal is. Also give an

example of one semi-metal and say where in the Periodic Table the
semi-metals can be found. [3 marks]
9. Name two properties of metals and two properties of non-metals.

[4 marks]
Total [25 marks]
...

.
.
GLOSSARY
abundant: when something exists, or is available, in large

quantities; plentiful
acid: a substance which is corrosive, has a sour taste and
feels rough (grippy) between your fingers
alkali: a base that is dissolved in water
alloy: a mixture of two or more metals (stainless steel is
an example of an alloy)
altitude: the height of a place above sea level; places that
are inland, or on mountains, are said to be at a
higher altitude than places on the coast
ascorbic acid: a natural acid that occurs in some fruits and
vegetables; also known as Vitamin C
atomic number: a unique number that represents a given element
and shows its position on the Periodic Table
base: a substance that can also be corrosive, has a bitter
taste, and feels slippery between your fingers
boiling point: the temperature at which a particular material
changes from the liquid to the gas state (boils)
capillary action: the process by which liquid is drawn up in a narrow
tube
chemical formula: a representation of chemicals using symbols that
tell us which elements a compound contains and in
.
what ratio
chemoreceptor: a sensory nerve cell or sense organ that detects
chemical signals
chromatogram: the pattern formed on the paper by the
components separated by chromatography
chromatography: a process in which a mixture carried by a liquid is
separated into components
citric acid: a natural acid that occurs in citrus fruit
clear: transparent; see-through
concern: (noun) something that you are worried about
condensation: the process of changing a gas to a liquid
condense: when particles come together; to change from the
gaseous state to the liquid state
constant: a variable, or physical quantity, that is constant or
does not change over time
contract: (verb) the physical size of an object gets smaller
controversial: controversial issues are issues that people do not
agree about; issues that people argue about
because they hold different opinions
corrosive: a corrosive substance damages ('eats away') other
materials by chemical action (the related verb is
corrode)
dependent variable: a dependent variable is one that we do not directly
choose values for, but can only measure as we go
along
. .

disperse: to spread evenly throughout
distillation: a technique for separating the components of a
liquid solution through evaporation and
condensation
ductile: the property of a material that allows it to be pulled
and stretched out into thin wires
durable: a material that is durable can last for a long time
without breaking down
element: a pure substance which cannot be broken down
further
emulsion: a mixture of two or more liquids that usually do not
mix, such as tiny oil droplets in water
environmental worries about the negative effects on habitats and
concerns: ecosystems in our environment, caused by humans
and their activities
essential: necessary and important; required
evaporation: the process of changing a liquid to a gas
expand: (verb) the physical size of an object gets bigger
filtrate: the liquid that has passed through a filter is called
the filtrate
filtration: the process of passing something through a filter
flavour: the taste and smell of food in the mouth
flexible: a material that is flexible will change shape easily
without breaking when it is bent, and will return to
its original shape
. when it is released
formic acid: a natural acid found inside the bodies of some ant
species
grain: a very small piece of something
heat: is the transfer of energy, from a hotter object to a
colder object
immune system: the biological system inside our bodies that
protects us from disease and infection
impact: to have an effect on something else
independent variable: an independent variable is one whose values we
can choose (manipulate); we still have to be able to
measure it
indicator: a substance that changes colour in the presence of
another substance, showing that that substance is
present
instinct: a natural or inborn way of responding to something
litmus: a well known acid-base indicator that turns red
when mixed with an acid and blue when mixed with
a base
magnetic: a property of some materials that allows them to
be attracted to a magnet
malleable: the property of a material that allows it to be
shaped by flattening with a hammer or squeezing it
between rollers
melting point: the temperature beyond which a particular material
changes from the solid to the liquid state (melts)
...

mixture: matter consisting of two or more components
(substances) that retain their own properties
moulding: a process that involves melting a substance and
then pouring it into a specially shaped hollow
container (mould) that will give it that particular
shape when it cools down and returns to the solid
state; clay can also be moulded
neutral substance: a substance that isneither acidic nor basic
neutralise: to make something chemically neutral
opaque: something that we cannot see through is opaque;
opaque is the opposite of transparent
Periodic Table: a table in which the chemical elements are
arranged in order of increasing atomic number
pigment: a substance that gives colour to other materials
property: a distinctive attribute, characteristic or quality (of a
certain material)
residue: the substances that are left behind in the filter after
filtering
savoury: refers to salty or spicy food (not sweet)
semi-conductor: a material that conducts electricity only under
special conditions, for instance at very low
temperatures
semi-metal: an element that has properties of both metals and
non-metals
sense: to become aware. of something (specifically
through our sense organs, e.g. by smelling tasting,
feeling, hearing or seeing something)
sieve: a device with small holes through which finer
particles of a mixture may be passed to separate
them from coarser ones
solute: the substance that is dissolved in a solvent to make
a solution, for example sugar (solute) dissolved in
water (solvent)
solution: when a solid, liquid or gas dissolves in a liquid, we
call the resulting mixture a solution; a mixture that
has no cloudiness
solvent: the substance that the solute is dissolved in to
make a solution
soot and ash: small particles of burnt material that are the solid
components in smoke
still: the apparatus used for distillation
suspension: a mixture in which the tiny clumps and pieces are
mixed in a liquid but they are undissolved; all
suspensions are milky/cloudy in appearance
symbol (or element a unique letter (or letters) that represents a given
symbol): element
taste buds: taste buds are very small structures contained
within papillae on the surface of the tongue
responsible for taste
temperature: a measurement of how hot or cold something is
. .

thermometer: a device for measuring the temperature of an
object or a material
tongue map: a map of the human
. tongue, showing which areas
on the tongue are sensitive to which flavours; some
scientists do not believe that the 'tongue map' is
accurate
Here is your chance to discover the possibilities. What else can this beaker be?
...

. .

Image Attribution
1 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Biosphere_2_Habitat_%26_Lung_2009−05−10.jpg . . . . . 5
2 http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheezepix/1733216613/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3 http://www.flickr.com/photos/sidelong/542808053/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4 http://www.flickr.com/photos/71888644@N00/6310931034/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dodo−bird/477583981/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dodo−bird/477499086/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
7 http://www.flickr.com/photos/87328375@N06/8434096665/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
9 http://www.flickr.com/photos/kankan/19828575/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
10 http://www.flickr.com/photos/kkoshy/8576660148/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
11 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_white_shark_south_africa.jpg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
12 http://www.flickr.com/photos/diamondglacieradventures/5737115639/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
13 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:False_Morel.jpg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
14 http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott_darbey/7472656286/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
15 http://www.flickr.com/photos/tessawatson/384591931/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
16 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nitzschia−kerguelensis_hg.jpg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
17 http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristrambrelstaff/231188253/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
20 http://www.flickr.com/photos/nuskyn/4145250156/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
21 http://www.flickr.com/photos/haemengine/3982256034/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
22 http://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/7064505883/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
23 http://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/7064433129/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
26 http://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/7064464957/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
28 http://www.flickr.com/photos/zappowbang/5043221443/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
29 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spotted_Eagle_Ray_%28Aetobatus_narinari%292.jpg . . . . 43
30 http://www.flickr.com/photos/zappowbang/5043846856/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
31 http://www.flickr.com/photos/hermanusbackpackers/3343254977/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
32 http://www.flickr.com/photos/scobleizer/3458608999/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
33 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adult_Microcaecilia_dermatophaga_in_life_−_journal.pone.0057756.g005−top.png 46
34 http://www.flickr.com/photos/anthonymasi/3373720130/sizes/l/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
35 http://www.flickr.com/photos/eklem/3132577798/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
36 http://www.flickr.com/photos/exfordy/2967158255/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
37 http://www.flickr.com/photos/jries/6702308713/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
38 http://www.flickr.com/photos/wagnertc/3217889835/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
39 http://www.flickr.com/photos/berenicedecados/3265420622/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
40 http://www.flickr.com/photos/tpholland/6448731161/in/photostream/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
41 http://www.flickr.com/photos/21998322@N00/81770194/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
42 http://www.flickr.com/photos/peteredin/5619821151/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
43 http://www.flickr.com/photos/ant_ronald/2398765085/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
45 http://www.flickr.com/photos/amylovesyah/3945525048 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
46 http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamespreston/88889976/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
48 http://www.flickr.com/photos/botheredbybees/4305415817/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
49 http://www.flickr.com/photos/slodocents/2372480074/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
50 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reef_squid.jpg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
51 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Common_octopus_Octopus_vulgaris_%284681010396%29.jpg 59
52 http://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/5117159619/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
54 http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/4695864776/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
55 http://www.flickr.com/photos/atoach/6575875147/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
56 http://www.flickr.com/photos/verzo/869167288/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
58 http://www.flickr.com/photos/honey−bee/500865399/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
59 http://www.flickr.com/photos/computerhotline/8434319385/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
60 http://www.flickr.com/photos/antijoe/3318398036/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
61 http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoobygirl/89255754/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
62 http://www.flickr.com/photos/lofink/2374856187/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
63 http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiryna/6223985706/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
64 http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmmavocado/7359493202/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
65 http://www.flickr.com/photos/elwillo/5461546631/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
66 http://www.flickr.com/photos/msvg/4794692330/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
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72 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhobern/8871371203/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
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81 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bees_Collecting_Pollen_2004−08−14.jpg . . . . . . . . . . . 88
82 http://www.flickr.com/photos/fsnorthernregion/6330342852/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
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Natural Sciences

Grade 7-A (CAPS)

Natural Sciences Grade 7-A

Workbook 7-A covers: Life and Living (Term 1)

Fr Ra Ac-Lr Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Uut Uuq Uup Uuh Uus Uuo

Developed and funded as an ongoing project by the Sasol Inzalo

Distributed by the Department of Basic Education

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Siyavula Coordinator and Editor

Life and living 2

Matter and Materials 146

1 Properties of materials 148

2 Separating mixtures 176

3 Acids, bases and neutral substances 206

4 The Periodic Table of Elements 232

Image Attribution 260

Biosphere 2 is a man-made research centre in America,

ACTIVITY: Where do you think life exists on Earth?

1. The following table contains some photos of different places on Earth.

Do you think there

Chapter 1. The Biosphere 5

• Lithosphere which includes the soil and rocks.

The biosphere includes the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. The

6 Life and living

ACTIVITY: Describe the components of the

The lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere on Earth.

Chapter 1. The Biosphere 7

ACTIVITY: The atmosphere

The hydrosphere consists of all water on Earth in all its forms.

8 Life and living

ACTIVITY: The water cycle

1. Study the following diagram describing the water cycle on Earth.

Chapter 1. The Biosphere 9

ACTIVITY: How do organisms depend on the

Bird nests A rock pool

A termite mound A tree growing in the ground

10 Life and living

Characteristics of living plants and animals

3. All living things need to be sensitive to their environment. Think of an

4. All living things need to be able to grow.

Chapter 1. The Biosphere 11

1.2 Requirements . for sustaining life

ACTIVITY: Identify the requirements for sustaining

. The international space station that orbits Earth,

12 Life and living

Living organisms require certain conditions or things to be able to stay alive.

Next, we look at these in a bit more detail. .

Chapter 1. The Biosphere 13

Favourable temperatures: All organisms are adapted to live in a particular

INVESTIGATION: What are the requirements to

14 Life and living

A hypothesis is where you propose (suggest) what the outcome of the

Identify the variables for this investigation.

1. Independent variable. What will you change?

Chapter 1. The Biosphere 15

16 Life and living

Chapter 1. The Biosphere 17

3. The investigation was fair because...

4. I can trust the results because...

5. While I conducted (did) this investigation I also discovered that...