Chemicals Used in Daily Life (Class 6 PDF)

# Chapter 20: Some Useful Chemicals ## Objectives * Identify some useful chemicals used daily * Explain the application of some useful chemicals ## Points to be Emphasized * Chemical name of chuk amilo, ghee, sugar, salt, soap, phenol, detergent and baking powder * Uses of those compounds ## In...

# Chapter 20: Some Useful Chemicals ## Objectives * Identify some useful chemicals used daily * Explain the application of some useful chemicals ## Points to be Emphasized * Chemical name of chuk amilo, ghee, sugar, salt, soap, phenol, detergent and baking powder * Uses of those compounds ## Introduction We begin and end our day with the use of chemicals. The soap and paste are used in the early morning, spices, salt, sugar, ghee, oil are used in the kitchen. We make use of chemicals throughout our life. So, it is impossible to imagine our life without the use of chemicals. Now, we will discuss some useful chemicals used in our day-to-day life. ## Activity 1 | Chemicals | Used For | |---|---| | Lemon | To make pickle | _a. Make a list of some chemicals used in your daily life. Also, mention their use._ _b. What chemicals are found in your surroundings? Write their names and prepare a list. Mention their uses too._ ## Think Why is bread soft and spongy to touch? ## Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) Baking soda is chemically known as Sodium bicarbonate. It is edible and used in making bakery products like bread, cake, biscuits etc. Flour, baking soda, and water are mixed to make a dough. This dough is kept aside for some time and then used to make bread. The sodium bicarbonate present in the dough releases carbon dioxide to make the bread light, soft and fluffy. ## Activity 2 Bake a mixture of water and wheat flour. Add a small amount of baking soda and make a dough. Now heat the mixture. Write your observation and conclusion. ## Ghee Ghee is a common item used in the kitchen to prepare food. It is a creamy white coloured, slippery solid or semi-solid substance obtained from the milk of animals like cow, buffaloes, yak, etc. Now-a-days, it is also manufactured from the oil extracted from the seeds of soya bean, sunflower, peanut etc. Hydrogen is passed through vegetable oil at high temperature to convert it to solid fat called vanaspati ghee (Dalda). This process of changing vegetable oil into vanaspati ghee is called hydrogenation. Chemically ghee is triglycerides. It supplies energy to our body. It also helps in the absorption of vitamins like A, D, E and K. ## Sugar Sugar is another useful chemical used in our daily life. Chemically, it is also known as sucrose and is made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. It is soluble in water. It is produced from the juice extracted from sugarcane, sugar beet etc. Some amount of sugar is also present in fruits like grapes, apple, guava, mango, pineapple, banana, litchi, etc. It is available in the form of white crystals and sweet in taste and hence is used as a sweetening agent in making confectionary products. It provides energy to our body. It is used as preservatives while making jam, jellies etc. ## Chuk Amilo Chuk Amilo is a common chemical substance used in our house to make pickles. It is a viscous liquid prepared by boiling the juice extracted from lemon, lime, bhogate etc. Chemically chuk is citric acid. It is sour in taste and is a main source of vitamin C. It is used in flavouring food and as a preservative for food materials, especially pickles. ## Know your FACT Turmeric: A yellow coloured powder extracted from the roots of turmeric plant is used in food items to kill the harmful germs and bacteria, and as a coloring agent. The turmeric paste helps to heal wounds and cuts. ## Yeast Yeast is a unicellular plant which does not have chlorophyll. Yeast consists of vitamin 'B,' Vitamin 'E,' and proteins. It consists of enzymes known as mase and invertase. These enzymes convert sugar into alcohol. So, yeast is used in fermentation process. It is also used to prepare bakery products. ## Common Salt The chemical name of common salt is sodium chloride. It is an important chemical used in our daily life. It is obtained from seawater. Common salt is mostly iodized by keeping iodine in it. Iodized salt helps to prevent goitre. Common salt is used in food materials to give taste. Common salt helps to keep meat, fish and pickles safe for a long time. ## Soap Soap is a cleansing agent that is used with water for washing and cleaning. It is prepared by heating natural oils or fats with sodium hydroxide or other alkali. It removes dirt and other foreign matters from contaminated surfaces. Simple soap is prepared by heating vegetable oil of olive, coconut, cotton seeds with sodium hydroxide. Quality soap is prepared by heating animal fat with sodium hydroxide. The process by which soap is prepared is called saponification. Different types of perfumes, colors, antiseptics are added to the soap. ## Shampoo A Shampoo is a hair care product in the form of viscous liquid that is used for cleaning hair to remove dirt, dandruff, pollutants and other contaminated particles that gradually build up in hair. Basically shampoo contains water, surfactants, conditioning agent, antidandruff agents, etc. ## Detergents Detergents are chemical substances that are used in the removal of dirt or other foreign matters from contaminated surfaces. They are formed from petroleum products. They remove dirt by acting on the surface of the cloth. So, they are called surfactants. Detergents remove dust and dirt by dissolving them in water rather than producing insoluble scum as that by soap. They have stronger cleansing action that soap. So, they are considered better than soap. Detergents are not biodegradable. The water containing detergents harms the plants for their growth and development. The drain containing detergent-rich water pollutes water sources and destroys aquatic lives. ## Phenol Phenol is a useful chemical made from petroleum products. It is colorless naturally and has needle-like crystals. When it is stored for a long time, its colour changes from pink to reddish brown. (Dilute solution of phenol is used for sterilizing wounds, surgical dressings, to remove foul smell and kill flies. Concentrated solution and solid form of phenol is used in the manufacturing of resins, plastics, insecticides, explosives, dyes and detergents. Phenol belongs to the alcohol group of organic compounds. ## Stain Remover A stain remover is a substance that is used for removing stains or dirty marks from the surface of clothes, furniture, carpets, etc. A solvent or detergent is generally used to remove stains. The solvent present in stain remover solves the stains and removes from the surface. We can see different types of stain remover on the basis of nature of stain present in the surface. For oily stain, we use oil stain remover, for water-based stain, we use water-based stain remover. For removing stains of blood or chocolate, we use enzyme-based stain. The enzyme breaks apart stain molecules. Some stain removers contain whiteners which contain chemicals that reflect back light covering a stain or making it less noticeable. Besides above chemical substances, there are many other chemical substances that are used in our daily life. Some chemicals are useful and some chemicals pollute our environment. We have to take precautions and minimize the use of chemicals to control environmental pollution. Some of the other chemicals that are used in our daily life are dettol, insecticides, chemical fertilizers, plastics etc. ## Chemical Pollution With the growing population around the world, demand of chemicals is increasing day by day. Chemicals play an important role in our daily lives. Different types of chemicals, which are obtained from organic and inorganic substances like detergents, soaps, plastics, stain remover, etc. are polluting the environment. So, the pollution which is created by unwanted and excessive use of chemical substance is called chemical pollution. When we use chemicals to improve our quality of lives, they enter air, water, soil, etc. and pollute them. These chemicals should be properly managed or disposed to minimize its effects on the environment. Some of the effects in the environment due to improper management of chemicals are as follows: * **a.** The excessive use of cleansing agents like soap, detergents, phenol, causes water and land pollution. Aquatic lives are adversely affected and vegetation cannot be grown well due to the water pollution and land pollution respectively. * **b.** We throw different materials that contain metal in land and water. Metals are non-biodegradable. Due to this reason, plants do not grow in the soil. Some heavy metals like mercury, lead, nickel, etc contaminate water and land that have negative impacts on the environment as well as the health of the human body. * **c.** Due to excessive use of fossil fuels in vehicles, they produce harmful gases like carbon dioxide that causes air pollution. Similarly, different industries produce smokes due to the use of fossil fuels. * **d.** Different dyes and coloring materials used in food, textiles, cosmetics can pollute water. The chemical pollution can be controlled or minimized by the following ways: * **a.** The cleansing agents should be properly disposed. * **b.** The non-biodegradable waste like metals should be properly managed by reduce, reuse or recycle method. * **c.** Overuse of fossil fuels should be minimized. Instead of fossil fuels, other alternative sources should be used for running vehicles. * **d.** Public awareness should be created for proper management and disposal of chemicals. * **e.** Overuse of industrial substances should be controlled.