Classification of Matter

Sunday, March 1, 2015

1:43 PM

Matter - Anything that has mass and occupies space

We can classify matter based on whether it's solid, liquid, gas, or *plasma
*The book I was studying from didn't teach plasma, but I saw that is was important to state
that it is a state of matter.
State

Shape

Volume

Compressible Flow

Solid

Fixed

Fixed

No

No

Liquid

Indefinite Fixed

No

Yes

Gas

Indefinite Indefinite Yes

Yes

Solids
The particles in a solid are packed close together and are fixed in position
They may vibrate and have some movement
The close packing of the particles result in solids being incompressible
Crystalline Solids - Solids that have their particles arranged in an orderly geometric pattern
Amorphous Solids - Solids that have their particles randomly distributed without any long-range pattern
Liquids
He particles in a liquid are closely packed but they have some ability to move around
The ability of the particles to move allows liquids to take the shape of their container and to flow
Gases
The particles in a gas have complete freedom from each other
The particles are constantly flying around, bumping into each other and the container
There is a lot of empty space between the gas particles*
*On average
Because the empty space, gas particles can be compressed
Pure Substance - Matter whose composition does not change from one sample to another
Mode of a single type of atom or molecule
Because composition is always the same, all samples have the same characteristics
Mixture - Matter whose composition may vary from one sample to another
Two or more types of atoms or molecules combined in variable proportions
Samples have different characteristics
Elements - Pure substances that cannot be broken down into simpler substance by chemical reactions
Basic building blocks of matter
Composed of a single type of atom
These atoms may or may not be combined into molecules
Compounds - Pure substance that can be decomposed
Chemical combinations of elements
Composed of molecules that contain two or more different kinds of atoms
All molecules of a compounds are identical, so all samples of a compound behave the same way

Chemistry Page 1

*Most natural pure substances are compounds

Homogeneous - Mixtures that have uniform composition throughout
Made of multiple substances, but appears to be one substance
Every piece of a sample has identical characteristics through another sample with the same
components may have different characteristics
All proportions of a sample have the same composition and properties
Heterogeneous - Mixture that does not have uniform composition throughout
Contains regions within the sample with different characteristics
Made of multiple substances, whose presence can be seen
We can separate mixtures based on different physical properties of the components
Physical Change - A change that alters the state or appearance of the matter without altering the
composition
Chemical Change - A change that alters the composition of the matter
During the chemical change, the atoms that are present rearrange into new mlecules
Physical Properties - The characteristics of matter that can be changes without changing its composition
Characteristics that are directly observable
Chemical Properties - The characteristics that determine how the composition of matter changes as a
result of contact with other matter or the influence of energy
Characteristics that describe the behavior of matter
Common Changes:
Physical

Chemical

Boiling

Rusting

Condensing Burning
Melting
Freezing
Subliming
Dissolving

Chemistry Page 2