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Why are chemicals coloured?

This unit will be a combination of a little bit of physics with a little bit of art and a lot of Chemistry! Since the stone age, man has recognised that different substances have different colours and people have made use of this in art, fashion, cooking etc.

We will be looking at how light is reflected to give the appearance of different colours, We will also look at how to make inorganic pigments used in paint and also how to extract pigments from plants to colour our clothes.

Investigations will come in the form of a piece of extened writing on the discovery of Mauve (Criteria A and B), Data processing of a colour calibration chart (Criterion E), a written test on the formation of salts (Criterion C) and a practical test in synthetic Inorganic Chemistry (Criterion F).

The area of interaction for this unit is: Human Ingenuity. Here is what the IB say about it:

Human ingenuity

• Why and how do we create?
• What are the consequences?

This area of interaction allows students to explore in multiple ways the processes and products of human creativity, and to consider their impact on society and the mind.

Human ingenuity allow students to focus on the evolution, process and products of human creativity and their impact on life and society. Human ingenuity provides opportunities for students to appreciate and develop in themselves the human capacity to create, transform, enjoy and improve the quality of life.

In particular, human ingenuity:

• stresses the way humans can initiate change, whether for good or bad, and examines the consequences
• emphasizes both the importance of researching the developments made by people across space, time and cultures, and the importance of taking time to reflect on these developments.

In this way, human ingenuity goes beyond the act of creation alone, leading students to examine, experience and reflect on the creative process.