Chapter Overview

Chemistry in everyday life (दैनिक जीवन में रसायन) is Class 10-level science applied to the world around you: the acid in tamarind, the base in an antacid, the zinc on a GI sheet, the soap that will not lather in hard water, the urea on a paddy field and the LPG in the kitchen. CGPSC tests it as one-line factual MCQs in Prelims Paper I and as short notes and applied questions in Mains Paper IV (GS-II). Chhattisgarh adds a strong state angle, because it is a metals and minerals state: Bhilai steel, BALCO aluminium, India’s only tin production, and a cement belt.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

Identify acids and bases by indicators, read the pH scale, and explain tooth decay, acid rain and antacids
Name and use the five key salts: bleaching powder, baking soda, washing soda, gypsum and Plaster of Paris
State the properties of metals and non-metals with their exceptions, the reactivity series, and how metals are extracted
Explain corrosion and its prevention, and the composition of common alloys
Distinguish soaps from detergents, and classify medicines (antacids, analgesics, antibiotics, antiseptics)
Explain food preservatives, artificial sweeteners, adulterants and the ban on carbide ripening
Explain plastics, fertilisers, cement, glass, fuels and fire extinguishers, and recall common chemical names
Write Mains answers linking chemistry to health, agriculture, industry and the environment in Chhattisgarh

Prerequisites

Class 10 science basics: elements, compounds, chemical equations
Physics in Everyday Life — the companion general-science chapter

Learning Path

Follow the topics in this order:

graph TD
    A["1. Acids, Bases and Salts
Indicators, pH, neutralisation,
five key salts"] --> B["2. Metals and Non-metals
Properties, reactivity series,
extraction, corrosion, alloys"]
    B --> C["3. Soaps, Medicines and Food
Hard water, drug classes,
preservatives, adulteration"]
    C --> D["4. Common Chemicals and Materials
Plastics, fertilisers, cement,
glass, fuels, chemical names"]
    D --> E["5. Quick Revision
One-page sheet"]
    E --> F["Next chapter:
Life Science and Human Health"]

Topics in This Chapter

#	Topic	What it covers
1	Acids, Bases and Salts	Acids and bases, natural acids, indicators, pH and its daily-life uses, neutralisation, chlor-alkali process, bleaching powder, baking soda, washing soda, POP, water of crystallisation
2	Metals and Non-metals	Properties and exceptions, oxides, reactivity series, ores and extraction, corrosion and galvanisation, alloys, gold purity, Chhattisgarh’s iron, aluminium, tin, gold and lithium
3	Soaps, Medicines and Food Chemicals	Soaps, micelles, hard water, detergents; classes of drugs, antibiotics and AMR, antiseptics vs disinfectants; preservatives, antioxidants, sweeteners, adulteration, FSSAI
4	Common Chemicals and Materials	Polymers and plastic rules, fertilisers (urea, DAP, neem-coated and nano urea), cement and glass, fuels and calorific value, fire extinguishers, common chemical names, hazardous chemicals
—	Quick Revision	Every formula, name, number and trap on one page

Where It Is Asked

Paper	What to expect
Prelims P-I (Part 1, India GS)	General-science MCQs: acid in a fruit or sting, indicator colours, pH order, chemical names and formulas, alloys, ores, corrosion, drug classes, LPG/CNG composition, plastics. Statement-based and match-the-following formats are common
Mains P-IV (GS-II), Science section	Short answers (pH, soaps vs detergents, corrosion, thermoplastics vs thermosets, antiseptic vs disinfectant) and applied answers (AMR, fertiliser overuse, plastic waste, industrial pollution) with a Chhattisgarh angle

Exam focus

High-yield: natural acids; pH values (5.5 tooth decay, 5.6 acid rain, 7.4 blood); the five salts and their formulas; mercury, bromine, graphite exceptions; brass vs bronze; galvanisation; Dettol; paracetamol; aspartame; LPG vs CNG; urea 46% N; gypsum in cement.
Common mistakes: swapping baking and washing soda; thinking pure rain has pH 7; thinking antibiotics treat viral infections; thinking gypsum speeds up cement setting.
Chhattisgarh angle for Mains: Bhilai Steel Plant and BALCO (metallurgy), India’s only tin production (Dantewada, Sukma), the Baloda Bazar cement belt, arsenic in Ambagarh Chowki groundwater, acid-rain precursors from Korba’s coal power.

Quick Reference: The Chapter at a Glance

Item	Key fact
pH scale	0–14; 7 neutral; 1 unit = 10× change
Tooth decay / acid rain / blood	Below 5.5 / below 5.6 / 7.35–7.45
Bleaching powder	CaOCl₂ — disinfects drinking water
Baking soda / washing soda	NaHCO₃ / Na₂CO₃·10H₂O
Gypsum / POP	CaSO₄·2H₂O / CaSO₄·½H₂O (373 K)
Liquid metal / liquid non-metal	Mercury / bromine
Reactivity series	K Na Ca Mg Al Zn Fe Pb [H] Cu Hg Ag Au
Rusting needs	Oxygen + water; galvanisation = zinc coat
Brass / bronze	Cu + Zn / Cu + Sn
Soap in hard water	Forms scum; detergents do not
Dettol	Chloroxylenol + terpineol
Thermosets	Bakelite, melamine
Urea	46% nitrogen
LPG / CNG	Butane + propane / methane

Start Learning

Begin with the first topic:

→ Acids, Bases and Salts