In this activity, students view the interactive Calcination – lime from limestone, which shows the industrial processing of limestone1 into lime2, and use the information to complete a matching activity.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
- describe the effect of heat3 on limestone
- define the term ‘calcination’
- outline the main process steps in the production of lime from limestone
- recall the meanings of the terms ‘exothermic’ and ‘endothermic
- write word and symbol equations for the main chemical reactions occurring
- distinguish between the terms ‘limestone’, ‘lime’ and ‘slaked lime
Calcination
Lime, produced by calcining limestone, plays a key role in a multitude of industrial, manufacturing and agricultural processes.
This interactive outlines the process steps taken at the McDonald’s Lime Limited Ōtorohanga plant. Click on the labels for more information.
Select here to view the full transcript and copyright information.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
- introduction/background notes
- what you need
- what to do
- student handouts.
Related content
Use these articles below to help introduce some of the ideas and concepts behind this activity:
- Carbonate chemistry – Calcium carbonate is the principal mineral4 component of limestone. Its chemical and physical properties lie behind the societal use of limestone and the unique limestone landscapes of the countryside.
- Limestone uses – The calcium carbonate content of limestone rocks has been used from the earliest civilisations. Today, it is a valuable resource that services the needs of a multitude of industries.
- limestone: Sedimentary rocks formed mainly from the minerals calcite or dolomite. Many limestones are derived from the shells of dead marine organisms. Others are formed by chemical precipitation.
- lime: Chemically, lime is the compound calcium oxide. Commercially, lime could refer to ground-up calcium carbonate marketed as AgLime.
- heat energy (heat): Heat energy: the transfer of energy in materials from the random movement of the particles in that material. The greater the random movement of particles the more heat energy the material has. Temperature is a measure of the heat energy of a material.
Heat: the flow of energy from a warm object to a cooler object. - mineral: 1. (Geology) A naturally occurring solid formed through geological processes. Any given mineral has a characteristic chemical composition and a specific set of physical properties. 2. (Dietary) An inorganic compound needed for proper body function and maintenance of health, for example, iron in the form of haeme present in red meat.
