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1: Chapter 1 - Matter

  • Page ID
    366562
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    • 1.1: What is chemistry
      Humans began to practice chemistry when they learned to control fire and use it to cook, make pottery, and smelt metals. Subsequently, they began to separate and use specific components of matter. A variety of drugs such as aloe, myrrh, and opium were isolated from plants. Dyes, such as indigo and Tyrian purple, were extracted from plant and animal matter.
    • 1.2: States of matter
      Another way that we can describe the properties of matter is the state (also called phase). The amount of energy in molecules of matter determines the state of matter. Matter can exist in one of several different states, including a gas, liquid, or solid state.
    • 1.3: Classification of Matter
      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.
    • 1.4: Physical and Chemical Properties
      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.
    • 1.5: Chemical Elements and Symbols
      An element is a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler chemical substances. There are about 90 naturally occurring elements known on Earth. Using technology, scientists have been able to create nearly 30 additional elements that do not occur in nature. Today, chemistry recognizes 118 elements—some of which were created an atom at a time.
    • 1.6: Chemical Equations
      A chemical reaction is a rearrangement of atoms in which one or more compounds are changed into new compounds. Anytime that atoms separate from each other and recombine into different combinations of atoms, we say a chemical reaction has occurred. No atoms are lost or gained, they are simply rearranged.


    1: Chapter 1 - Matter is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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