Chapter 3: Matter: It Matters Most

Matter is everything around you. Atoms and compounds are all made of very
small parts of matter. Those atoms go on to build the things you see and touch every
day. Matter is defined as anything that has mass and takes up space (it has volume).

States of Matter

Gases, liquids and solids are all made up of microscopic particles, but the behaviors of
these particles differ in the three phases. The following figure illustrates the microscopic
differences.

Microscopic view of a Microscopic view of a Microscopic view of a

gas. liquid. solid.

Note that:
 Particles in a:
o gas are well separated with no regular arrangement.
o liquid are close together with no regular arrangement.
o solid are tightly packed, usually in a regular pattern.
 Particles in a:
o gas vibrate and move freely at high speeds.
o liquid vibrate, move about, and slide past each other.
 o solid vibrate (jiggle) but generally do not move from place to place.
Liquids and solids are often referred to as condensed phases because the particles are
very close together.

The following table summarizes properties of gases, liquids, and solids and identifies the
microscopic behavior responsible for each property.

Some Characteristics of Gases, Liquids and Solids and the Microscopic

Explanation for the Behavior

gas liquid solid

assumes the shape and assumes the shape of the retains a fixed volume
volume of its container part of the container and shape
particles can move past which it occupies rigid - particles locked
one another particles can move/slide into place
past one another

compressible not easily compressible not easily compressible

lots of free space little free space between little free space between
between particles particles particles

flows easily flows easily does not flow easily

particles can move past particles can move/slide rigid - particles cannot
one another past one another move/slide past one
another
Classification of Matter

Pure Substances and Mixtures

A pure chemical substance is any matter that has a fixed chemical composition
and characteristic properties. Oxygen, for example, is a pure chemical substance that is a
colorless, odorless gas at 25°C. Very few samples of matter consist of pure substances;
instead, most are mixtures, which are combinations of two or more pure substances in
variable proportions in which the individual substances retain their identity. Air, tap
water, milk, blue cheese, bread, and dirt are all mixtures. If all portions of a material are
in the same state, have no visible boundaries, and are uniform throughout, then the
material is homogeneous. Examples of homogeneous mixtures are the air we breathe and
the tap water we drink. Homogeneous mixtures are also called solutions. Thus air is a
solution of nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and several other gases; tap
water is a solution of small amounts of several substances in water. The specific
compositions of both of these solutions are not fixed, however, but depend on both source
and location; for example, the composition of tap water in Boise, Idaho, is not the same
as the composition of tap water in Buffalo, New York. Although most solutions we
encounter are liquid, solutions can also be solid. The gray substance still used by some
dentists to fill tooth cavities is a complex solid solution that contains 50% mercury and
50% of a powder that contains mostly silver, tin, and copper, with small amounts of zinc
and mercury. Solid solutions of two or more metals are commonly called alloys.

If the composition of a material is not completely uniform, then it

is heterogeneous (e.g., chocolate chip cookie dough, blue cheese, and dirt). Mixtures that
appear to be homogeneous are often found to be heterogeneous after microscopic
examination. Milk, for example, appears to be homogeneous, but when examined under a
microscope, it clearly consists of tiny globules of fat and protein dispersed in water. The
components of heterogeneous mixtures can usually be separated by simple means. Solid-
liquid mixtures such as sand in water or tea leaves in tea are readily separated by
filtration, which consists of passing the mixture through a barrier, such as a strainer, with
holes or pores that are smaller than the solid particles. In principle, mixtures of two or
more solids, such as sugar and salt, can be separated by microscopic inspection and
sorting. More complex operations are usually necessary, though, such as when separating
gold nuggets from river gravel by panning. First solid material is filtered from river
water; then the solids are separated by inspection. If gold is embedded in rock, it may
have to be isolated using chemical methods.
Properties of Matter

All matter has physical and chemical properties. Physical properties are
characteristics that scientists can measure without changing the composition of the
sample under study, such as mass, color, and volume (the amount of space occupied by a
sample). Chemical properties describe the characteristic ability of a substance to react to
form new substances; they include its flammability and susceptibility to corrosion. All
samples of a pure substance have the same chemical and physical properties. For
example, pure copper is always a reddish-brown solid (a physical property) and always
dissolves in dilute nitric acid to produce a blue solution and a brown gas (a chemical
property).

Physical properties can be extensive or intensive. Extensive properties vary with

the amount of the substance and include mass, weight, and volume. Intensive properties,
in contrast, do not depend on the amount of the substance; they include color, melting
point, boiling point, electrical conductivity, and physical state at a given temperature. For
example, elemental sulfur is a yellow crystalline solid that does not conduct electricity
and has a melting point of 115.2 °C, no matter what amount is examined
(Figure 1.3.11.3.1). Scientists commonly measure intensive properties to determine a
substance’s identity, whereas extensive properties convey information about the amount
of the substance in a sample. (INSERT PICTURE)

Physical Property and Change

Physical changes are changes in which no chemical bonds are broken or formed. This
means that the same types of compounds or elements that were there at the beginning of
the change are there at the end of the change. Because the ending materials are the same
as the beginning materials, the properties (such as color, boiling point, etc) will also be
the same. Physical changes involve moving molecules around, but not changing them.
 Some types of physical changes include:

 Changes of state (changes from a solid to a liquid or a gas and vice versa)
 Separation of a mixture
 Physical deformation (cutting, denting, stretching)
 Making solutions (special kinds of mixtures) .

As an ice cube melts, its shape changes as it acquires the ability to flow. However, its
composition does not change. Melting is an example of a physical change since some
properties of the material change, but the identity of the matter does not. Physical
changes can further be classified as reversible or irreversible. The melted ice cube may be
refrozen, so melting is a reversible physical change. Physical changes that involve a
change of state are all reversible. Other changes of state include vaporization (liquid to
gas), freezing (liquid to solid), and condensation (gas to liquid). Dissolving is also a
reversible physical change. When salt is dissolved into water, the salt is said to have
entered the aqueous state. The salt may be regained by boiling off the water, leaving the
salt behind.

Chemical Properties and Change

Chemical changes occur when bonds are broken and/or formed between
molecules or atoms. This means that one substance with a certain set of properties (such
as melting point, color, taste, etc) is turned into a different substance with different
properties. Chemical changes are frequently harder to reverse than physical changes.

One good example of a chemical change is burning paper. In contrast to the act of
ripping paper, the act of burning paper actually results in the formation of new chemicals
(carbon dioxide and water, to be exact). Another example of chemical change occurs
when water is formed. Each molecule contains two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of
oxygen chemically bonded.

Another example of a chemical change is what occurs when natural gas is burned
in your furnace. This time, before the reaction we have a molecule of methane, CH4CH4,
and two molecules of oxygen, O2O2, while after the reaction we have two molecules of
water, H2OH2O, and one molecule of carbon dioxide, CO2CO2. In this case, not only
has the appearance changed, but the structure of the molecules has also changed. The new
substances do not have the same chemical properties as the original ones. Therefore, this
is a chemical change.

The combustion of magnesium metal is also chemical change (Magnesium + Oxygen →

Magnesium Oxide): 2Mg+O2→2MgO2Mg+O2→2MgO as is the rusting of iron (Iron +
Oxygen → Iron Oxide/ Rust): 4Fe+3O2→2Fe2O34Fe+3O2→2Fe2O3

Using the components of composition and properties, we have the ability to distinguish
one sample of matter from the others.