Diffusion

D. Crowley, 2007

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Diffusion
To understand, and be able to explain diffusion

State changes
Look at the particle theory diagrams of a solid, liquid and gas.
Copy out these boxes, and label the arrows showing the changes of

state. The first one has been done for you

Melting

Solid

Evaporating

Liquid
Condensing

Gas

Gas
Freezing

Liquid

Solid

State Change
See if you can fill in the correct boxes on the state changes

Deodorant
What has deodorant got to do with diffusion?!
Who will smell the deodorant first if it is sprayed in the corner?

When you smell it, put your hand up

Why can you smell it, if its been sprayed over in the corner?

Deodorant
When deodorant is sprayed it doesnt take long for everyone in the

room to smell it

This is because the deodorant particles mix with the air particles.

Remember, gas particles move quickly and randomly, in all

directions. So wait enough time and eventually all those smelly
particles will spread throughout the room

This is diffusion!

Before diffusion

After diffusion

Diffusion in gases
You dont need to wave your arms around to mix the smelly particles - it mixes

on its own

Diffusion in gases is very quick, because the particles in a gas move quickly, so

they can get from one side of the class to the other quickly

Can you think when diffusion is useful / not so good?!

Amorphophallus titanum - attracts insects with

the smell of rotting meat - gas mixes in
atmosphere due to diffusion

What about solids & liquids

Can diffusion happen in liquids?
Why do you think it can / cannot?
What about in solids?
Look at the demonstration - we are going to add some potassium

manganate (solid) in the water.

What do you think will happen to the potassium manganate?
What do you notice?

The potassium manganate has dissolved in the water, giving a deep

purple solution (as the potassium manganate particles diffuse in the

water)

Now look at another solid, iron. Has the iron diffused into the water?

How can you tell?

Which States Can Diffuse?

Remember the particle theory of solids, liquids and gases

In solids the particles are fixed in place (can only vibrate)
In liquids the particles can flow over each other
In gases, the particles move freely and randomly

Solid

Liquid

Gas

Explain in your own words what diffusion is, and why it

occurs in gases and liquids, but not solids
Diffusion is the mixing of particles, which occurs in gases and liquids but not solids
Diffusion can occur in gases and in liquids, because their particles are able to move
Diffusion is slower in liquids than in gases because the particles move more slowly
But diffusion cannot occur in solids - this is because the particles are fixed in place -

they are not able to move (they can only vibrate), so do not mix

Heat
How does heat affect the rate of diffusion?
Look at the demo using the potassium manganate again. What happens to the rate of diffusion when

the temperature is increased?

Why does diffusion happen quicker in liquids and gases when they are heated? See if you can

answer this question, thinking about what happens to the gas and liquid particles when they are
heated

Have a go at home - place a tea

bag in some water, and place
another in some hot water

Adding heat to the gas or liquid causes diffusion to happen quicker. This is because the

particles have even more energy, and move around much quicker (mixing quicker)