Study guide: LFS103 Bioscience Week 1

📋 Course Outline

1. Course Structure and Assessment
2. Classifications of Matter
3. Elements and Periodic Table
4. Metals and Non-metals
5. Atoms and Subatomic Particles

📖 1. Course Structure and Assessment

★ Must-know

• Task 1 is worth 40% of the course grade, Task 2 is a mid-semester exam worth 20%, and Task 3 is a final exam worth 40%.

Further detail

• The course runs from weeks 1–13 and expects approximately 10–12 hours of study per week.

• The unenrolment deadline is Friday Week 4, 14 Aug, with no academic or financial penalty.

📌 Students scoring below 14 on the Maths Diagnostic should seek support from a STEM Learning Adviser, although the diagnostic does not count toward the grade.

💡 Memory Hook

Theory → workshop → practical preparation → practical → case study and assessment

📖 2. Classifications of Matter

📝 Essential Points

📌 A solid has a definite shape and definite volume, a liquid has a definite volume but no definite shape, and a gas has neither a definite shape nor a definite volume.

📌 A physical change does not form new substances, whereas a chemical change forms new substances through changes in chemical structure.

• Caramelisation of sugar is a chemical change because sugar's chemical structure breaks down and reforms into new compounds, producing browning.

💡 Memory Hook

Solids keep shape and volume; liquids keep volume only; gases keep neither

📖 3. Elements and Periodic Table

★ Must-know

• Sodium has the symbol Na and is located in :

  • Period 3 and Group 1A

  • also called Group 1

  • the alkali metals

Further detail

• The listed element symbols are:
  • Ca: calcium
  • C: carbon
  • Cu: copper
  • Ne: neon
  • Ar: argon
  • Zr: zirconium
  • Ni: nickel
  • Pb: lead
  • Mg: magnesium
  • Fe: iron

📖 4. Metals and Non-metals

★ Must-know

📌 Non-metals typically have low density and poor electrical conductivity, and some are liquids or gases at room temperature, unlike most metals, which are solid and conductive.

• An unknown element with low density, liquid state at room temperature, and no electrical conductivity is classified as a non-metal.

Further detail

• Bromine is a non-metal that is liquid at room temperature.

• For Week 1, the required element names are phosphorus for P and calcium for Ca; valence electrons and electron-dot structures are Week 2 content.

💡 Memory Hook

Metals generally conduct and remain solid; non-metals typically conduct poorly and may be liquid or gaseous

📖 5. Atoms and Subatomic Particles

★ Must-know

• An electron has charge 1−, a proton has charge 1+, and a neutron has charge 0.

📐 Formula — The atomic number is given by $Z = \text{number of protons in the nucleus}$, and it uniquely identifies the element.

Further detail

• The actual masses are 9.109 × 10⁻²⁸ g for an electron, 1.673 × 10⁻²⁴ g for a proton, and 1.675 × 10⁻²⁴ g for a neutron.

• The relative mass is approximately 0.00055, or about 1/1837, for an electron and 1 for both a proton and a neutron.

📊 Synthesis Tables

States of Matter

State	Definite shape	Definite volume
Solid	Yes	Yes
Liquid	No	Yes
Gas	No	No

Subatomic Particles

Particle	Charge	Relative mass
Electron	1−	≈0.00055 (~1/1837)
Proton	1+	1
Neutron	0	1