Ontario Chemistry Curriculum

Grade 9

Chemistry: Atoms, Elements,
and Compounds

C1. Assess social, environmental, and economic impacts of the use of common elements and compounds, with reference to their physical and chemical properties.
C2. Investigate, through inquiry, the physical and chemical properties of common elements and compounds.
C3. Demonstrate an understanding of the properties of common elements and compounds, and of the organization of elements in the periodic table.

BIG IDEAS
• Elements and compounds have specific physical and chemical properties that determine their practical uses.
• The use of elements and compounds has both positive and negative effects on society and the environment.

Grade 10

Chemistry: Chemical
Reactions

C1. Analyse a variety of safety and environmental issues associated with chemical reactions, including the ways in which chemical reactions can be applied to address environmental challenges.
C2. Investigate, through inquiry, the characteristics of chemical reactions.
C3. Demonstrate an understanding of the general principles of chemical reactions, and various ways to represent them.

BIG IDEAS
• Chemicals react with each other in predictable ways.
 • Chemical reactions may have a negative impact on the environment, but they can also be used to address environmental challenges.

Grade 11

Matter, Chemical Trends, and
Chemical Bonding

B1. Analyse the properties of commonly used chemical substances and their effects on human health and the environment, and propose ways to lessen their impact.
B2. Investigate physical and chemical properties of elements and compounds, and use various
methods to visually represent them.
B3. Demonstrate an understanding of periodic trends in the periodic table and how elements combine to form chemical bonds.

BIG IDEAS
• Every element has predictable chemical and physical properties determined by its structure.
• The type of chemical bond in a compound determines the physical and chemical properties of that compound.
• It is important to use chemicals properly to minimize the risks to human health and the environment.

Chemical Reactions

C1. Analyse chemical reactions used in a variety of applications, and assess their impact on society and the environment.
C2. Investigate different types of chemical reactions.
C3. Demonstrate an understanding of the different types of chemical reactions.

BIG IDEAS
• Chemicals react in predictable ways.
• Chemical reactions and their applications have significant implications for society and
the environment.

Quantities in Chemical Reactions

D1. Analyse processes in the home, the workplace, and the environmental sector that use chemical quantities and calculations, and assess the importance of quantitative accuracy in industrial chemical processes.
D2. Investigate quantitative relationships in chemical reactions, and solve related problems.
D3. Demonstrate an understanding of the mole concept and its significance to the quantitative analysis of chemical reactions.

BIG IDEAS
• Relationships in chemical reactions can be described quantitatively.
• The efficiency of chemical reactions can be determined and optimized by applying an
understanding of quantitative relationships in such reactions.

Solutions and Solubility

E1. Analyse the origins and effects of water pollution, and a variety of economic, social, and environmental issues related to drinking water.
E2. Investigate qualitative and quantitative properties of solutions, and solve related problems.
E3. Demonstrate an understanding of qualitative and quantitative properties of solutions.

BIG IDEAS
•Properties of solutions can be described qualitatively and quantitatively, and can be predicted.
• Living things depend for their survival on the unique physical and chemical properties of water.
• People have a responsibility to protect the integrity of Earth’s water resources.

Gases and Atmospheric Chemistry

F1. analyse the cumulative effects of human activities and technologies on air quality, and describe some Canadian initiatives to reduce air pollution, including ways to reduce their own carbon footprint;
F2. investigate gas laws that explain the behaviour of gases, and solve related problems;
F3. demonstrate an understanding of the laws that explain the behaviour of gases.

BIG IDEAS
• Properties of gases can be described qualitatively and quantitatively, and can be predicted.
• Air quality can be affected by human activities and technology.
• People have a responsibility to protect the integrity of Earth’s atmosphere.

Grade 12

Chemical Systems and Equilibrium

E1. Analyse chemical equilibrium processes, and assess their impact on biological, biochemical,
and technological systems.
E2. Investigate the qualitative and quantitative nature of chemical systems at equilibrium, and solve related problems.
E3. Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of dynamic equilibrium and the variables that cause shifts in the equilibrium of chemical systems.

BIG IDEAS
• Chemical systems are dynamic and respond to changing conditions in predictable ways.
• Applications of chemical systems at equilibrium have significant implications for
nature and industry.

Organic Chemistry

B1. Assess the social and environmental impact of organic compounds used in everyday life, and
propose a course of action to reduce the use of compounds that are harmful to human health and the environment.
B2. Investigate organic compounds and organic chemical reactions, and use various methods to represent the compounds.
B3. Demonstrate an understanding of the structure, properties, and chemical behaviour of compounds within each class of organic compounds.

BIG IDEAS
• Organic compounds have predictable chemical and physical properties determined by their respective structures.
• Organic chemical reactions and their applications have significant implications for society, human health, and the environment.

Structures and Properties of Matter

C1. Assess the benefits to society and evaluate the environmental impact of products and technologies that apply principles related to the structure and properties of matter.
C2. Investigate the molecular shapes and physical properties of various types of matter.
C3. Demonstrate an understanding of atomic structure and chemical bonding, and how they relate to the physical properties of ionic, molecular, covalent network, and metallic substances.

BIG IDEAS
• The nature of the attractive forces that exist between particles in a substance determines the properties and limits the uses of that substance.
• Technological devices that are based on the principles of atomic and molecular structures can have societal benefits and costs.

Energy Changes and Rates of Reactions

D1. Analyse technologies and chemical processes that are based on energy changes, and evaluate them in terms of their efficiency and their effects on the environment.
D2. Investigate and analyse energy changes and rates of reaction in physical and chemical processes, and solve related problems.
D3. Demonstrate an understanding of energy changes and rates of reaction.

BIG IDEAS
• Energy changes and rates of chemical reactions can be described quantitatively.
• Efficiency of chemical reactions can be improved by applying optimal conditions. • Technologies that transform energy can have societal and environmental costs and
benefits.