Adsorption

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/adsorption

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the thermodynamic basis?Driven by the reduction of surface energy of the adsorbent
2. What is the adsorption types?Physisorption (weak van der Waals forces) and Chemisorption (strong chemical bonds)
3. How does adsorption differ from absorption?Adsorption only happens on the surface, while absorption means the material goes inside the whole substance. In adsorption, the stuff stays on the outside; in absorption, it spreads throughout.
4. Why does activated carbon clean water and air?Activated carbon has a huge surface area with many tiny pores, so it can grab and hold many pollutants and smells on its surface, cleaning water and air. It works by adsorption, pulling contaminants onto its surface.

Surface Energy: The excess energy present at the surface of a material due to unbalanced atomic forces.
Van der Waals Forces: Weak, short-range attractive forces between molecules.
Heterogeneous Catalysis: Catalysis where the catalyst and reactants are in different phases, often involving surface adsorption.
Sorption: A general term encompassing both adsorption and absorption.