General Chemistry/Properties of Matter/Basic Properties of Matter 1

General Chemistry/Properties of Matter/Basic

Properties of Matter
What is Matter?
Matter is anything that has mass and volume. Matter is composed of
atoms, which are then composed of "elementary particles": protons,
neutrons, and electrons.
Mass is a measure of an object's inertia. It is proportional to weight:
the more mass an object has, the more weight it has. However, mass is
not the same as weight. Weight is a force from gravity, and mass is the
the object's resistance to change in motion, its "heaviness". Mass is
measured with a scale.
Volume is the amount of space that an object takes up. Volume can be
Matter has mass and volume, as exemplified by
this concrete block. measured in several ways, including a graduated cylinder and length
measurements. A graduated cylinder is a tube that holds liquid. It is
marked and labeled at regular intervals, usually every 1 or 10 mL. Objects that have regular shape, like a box, can
have their volume calculated by measuring its dimensions. In the case of a box, its volume equals length times width
times height.

Another measure of matter is the amount of substance. This can either represent a quantity of objects (e.g. three
mice or a dozen bagels) or the number of particles of a substance being delt with. The latter is measured in moles.
One mole is 6.022 x 1023 particles. For example, one mole of carbon atoms weighs exactly 12 g and is composed of
6.022 x 1023 atoms. In either case, the type of substance being measured must be specified — for example, a pair of
shoes, a dozen eggs, a mole of carbon atoms.

Atoms, Elements, and Compounds

The fundamental building block of matter is the atom.
Any atom is composed of a little nucleus surrounded by a "cloud" of
electrons. In the nucleus there are protons and neutrons.
However, the term "atom" just refers to a building block of matter; it
doesn't specify the identity of the atom. It could be an atom of carbon,
or an atom of hydrogen, or any other kind of atom.
This is where the term "element" comes into play. When an atom is
defined by the number of protons contained in its nucleus, chemists
refer to it as an element. All elements have a very specific identity that
makes them unique from other elements. For example, an atom with 6
protons in its nucleus is known as the element carbon. When speaking
of the element fluorine, chemists mean an atom that contains 9 protons
in its nucleus.

• Atom: A fundamental building block of matter composed of The red dots are protons and the blue dots are
neutrons.
protons, neutrons, and electrons.

• Element: A uniquely identifiable atom recognized by the number of protons in the nucleus.
General Chemistry/Properties of Matter/Basic Properties of Matter 2

It is important to note that if the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom changes, so does the identity of that
element. If we could remove a proton from nitrogen (7 protons), it is no longer nitrogen. We would, in fact, have to
identify the atom as carbon (6 protons). Remember, elements are unique and are always defined by the number of
protons in the nucleus. The Periodic Table of the Elements shows all known elements organized by the number of
protons they have.
An element is composed of the same type of atom; elemental carbon contains any number of atoms, all having 6
protons in their nuclei. In contrast, compounds are composed of different type of atoms. A carbon compound
contains some carbon atoms (with 6 protons each) and some other atoms with different numbers of protons.
Compounds have properties different from the elements that created them. Water, for example, is composed of
hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is an explosive gas and oxygen is a gas that fuels fire. Water has completely
different properties, being a liquid that is used to extinguish fires.
The smallest unit of a compound is called a molecule. Molecules are composed of atoms that have "bonded"
together. As an example, the formula of a water molecule is "H2O": two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.

Properties of Matter
Properties of matter can be divided in two ways: extensive/intensive, or physical/chemical.

• Extensive properties depend on the amount of
matter that is being measured. These include mass
and volume.
• Intensive properties do not depend on the amount
of matter. These include density and color.
• Physical properties can be measured without changing the chemical's identity. The
freezing point of a substance is physical. When water freezes, it's still H2O.
• Chemical properties deal with how one chemical reacts with another. We know that
wood is flammable because it becomes heat, ash, and carbon dioxide when heated in
the presence of oxygen.

States of Matter
One important physical property is the state of matter. Three are common in everyday life: solid, liquid, and gas. The
fourth, plasma, is observed in special conditions such as the ones found in the sun and fluorescent lamps. Substances
can exist in any of the states. Water is a compound that can be liquid, solid (ice), or gas (steam).

Solids
Solids have a definite shape and a definite volume. Most everyday
objects are solids: rocks, chairs, ice, and anything with a specific shape
and size. The molecules in a solid are close together and connected by
intermolecular bonds. Solids can be amorphous, meaning that they
have no particular structure, or they can be arranged into crystalline
structures or networks. For instance, soot, graphite, and diamond are
all made of elemental carbon, and they are all solids. What makes them
so different? Soot is amorphous, so the atoms are randomly stuck The ice in this picture is a solid. The water in the
together. Graphite forms parallel layers that can slip past each other. picture is a liquid. In the air there is water vapor,
which is a gas.
Diamond, however, forms a crystal structure that makes it very strong.
General Chemistry/Properties of Matter/Basic Properties of Matter 3

Liquids
Liquids have a definite volume, but they do not have a definite shape.
Instead, they take the shape of their container (or the shape of a puddle
if there is no container). The molecules are close, but not as close as a
solid. The intermolecular bonds are weak, so the molecules are free to
slip past each other, flowing smoothly. A property of liquids is
viscosity, the measure of "thickness" when flowing. Water is not nearly
as viscous as molasses, for example.

Gases
Gases have no definite volume and no definite shape. They expand to
The states of matter depend on the bonding
fill the size and shape of their container. The oxygen that we breathe
between molecules. and steam from a pot are both examples of gases. The molecules are
very far apart in a gas, and there are minimal intermolecular forces.
Each atom is free to move in any direction. Gases undergo effusion and diffusion. Effusion occurs when a gas seeps
through a small hole, and diffusion occurs when a gas spreads out across a room. If someone leaves a bottle of
ammonia on a desk, and there is a hole in it, eventually the entire room will reek of ammonia gas. That is due to the
diffusion and effusion. These properties of gas occur because the molecules are not bonded to each other.

Technically, a gas is called a vapor if it does not occur at standard temperature and pressure (STP). STP is 0° C and 1.00 atm of pressure.
This is why we refer to water vapor rather than water gas.
Article Sources and Contributors 4

Article Sources and Contributors

General Chemistry/Properties of Matter/Basic Properties of Matter  Source: http://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?oldid=2011399  Contributors: Aeluwas, Duplode, Gori.silvio, Hoogli,
Jomegat, Maranatha77, NipplesMeCool, ParlorGames, QuiteUnusual, Roosh, Segatailsfanatic, Unbitwise, 21 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Concrete block.JPG  Source: http://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=File:Concrete_block.JPG  License: Public Domain  Contributors: domsau2
File:Stylised Lithium Atom.svg  Source: http://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=File:Stylised_Lithium_Atom.svg  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors: User:Halfdan,
User:Indolences, User:Liquid_2003
File:Icewithwater.JPG  Source: http://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=File:Icewithwater.JPG  License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5  Contributors: user:Dingske
File:Solid liquid gas.svg  Source: http://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=File:Solid_liquid_gas.svg  License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5  Contributors: User:Tomtheman5
Image:Information icon.svg  Source: http://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=File:Information_icon.svg  License: unknown  Contributors: El T

License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
http:/ / creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by-sa/ 3. 0/