1: Classifying Matter
- Page ID
- 218271
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- 1.1: In Your Room
- Matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space; this includes atoms and anything made up of these, but not other energy phenomena or waves such as light or sound. While this simple definition is easily applied, the way people view matter is often broken down into two characteristic length scales: the macroscopic and the microscopic.
- 1.2: What Is Chemistry?
- Chemistry is the study of matter—what it consists of, what its properties are, and how it changes. Being able to describe the ingredients in a cake and how they change when the cake is baked is called chemistry. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space—that is, anything that is physically real.
- 1.3: Classifying Matter According to Its State- Solid, Liquid, and Gas
- Three states of matter exist - solid, liquid, and gas. Solids have a definite shape and volume. Liquids have a definite volume, but take the shape of the container. Gases have no definite shape or volume
- 1.4: Classifying Matter According to Its Composition
- One useful way of organizing our understanding of matter is to think of a hierarchy that extends down from the most general and complex to the simplest and most fundamental. Matter can be classified into two broad categories: pure substances and mixtures. A pure substance is a form of matter that has a constant composition and properties that are constant throughout the sample. A material composed of two or more substances is a mixture.
- 1.5: Measurements
- Chemists measure the properties of matter and express these measurements as quantities. A quantity is an amount of something and consists of a number and a unit. The number tells us how many (or how much), and the unit tells us what the scale of measurement is. For example, when a distance is reported as “5 kilometers,” we know that the quantity has been expressed in units of kilometers and that the number of kilometers is 5.
- 1.6: Expressing Numbers - Scientific Notation
- Scientific notation is a system for expressing very large or very small numbers in a compact manner. It uses the idea that such numbers can be rewritten as a simple number multiplied by 10 raised to a certain exponent, or power. Scientific notation expressed numbers using powers of 10.
- 1.7: Expressing Numbers - Significant Figures
- Significant figures properly report the number of measured and estimated digits in a measurement. There are rules for applying significant figures in calculations.
- 1.8: The International System of Units
- Recognize the SI base units. Combining prefixes with base units creates new units of larger or smaller sizes.
- 1.9: Problem Solving and Unit Conversions
- During your studies of chemistry (and physics also), you will note that mathematical equations are used in a number of different applications. Many of these equations have a number of different variables with which you will need to work. You should also note that these equations will often require you to use measurements with their units. Algebra skills become very important here!
- 1.10: Solving Multistep Conversion Problems
- Sometimes you will have to perform more than one conversion to obtain the desired unit.
- 1.11: Units Raised to a Power
- Conversion factors for area and volume can also be produced by the dimensional analysis method. Just remember that if a quantity is raised to a power of 10 both the number and the unit must be raised to the same power of 10.
- 1.12: Density
- Density is a physical property found by dividing the mass of an object by its volume. Regardless of the sample size, density is always constant.
- 1.E: Chemistry, Matter, and Measurement (Exercises)
- These are homework exercises to accompany Chapter 1 of the Ball et al. "The Basics of GOB Chemistry" Textmap.
- 1.S: Chemistry, Matter, and Measurement (Summary)
- To ensure that you understand the material in this chapter, you should review the meanings of the bold terms in the following summary and ask yourself how they relate to the topics in the chapter.