Unit 1: Nature of Matter Flashcards
(17 cards)
Chemistry
The study of the composition and structure of matter and the ways that substances react and change.
Matter
Anything that occupies space and has mass.
Physical Science
The study of matter and energy and their interactions, which includes the disciplines of physics and chemistry.
Atom
The building blocks of matter and are composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Element
A chemical substance containing only one kind of atom that can’t be broken down into another simpler chemical substance.
Molecule
The smallest component in an element or a chemical compound that still has the properties of that element or compound.
[For example, a single water molecule has all the properties of water. But if you break a water molecule apart, you have hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms—you would no longer have a water molecule.]
Nuclear Fission
A nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus splits spontaneously or on impact with another particle, with the release of energy. Nuclear fusion continues to build larger and larger elements by pushing atoms together.
Physical Properties
Properties of matter that do not change the chemical makeup of matter.
[For example, physical properties are smell, freezing point, boiling point, melting point, viscosity, and density. Measuring or changing any of these properties will not change the basic identity of the substance.]
Chemical Properties
Properties of matter that have the potential to change the chemical makeup of matter. The way a substance reacts with water, the heat of combustion it produces when burned, or how easily the substance burns are chemical properties of the substance. Substances are also classified as acids or bases according to their chemical properties.
[For example, tne chemical property of hydrogen is that it can ignite and even explode.]
Phase Change
A change in state of matter.
Mixture
A substance made by mixing other substances together. It can be physically separated.
Mixture
A substance made by mixing other substances together. It can be physically separated.
[For example: A chocolate chip cookie]
Heterogeneous Mixture
A mixture having a non-uniform composition.
[For example: a cookie, raisin bread, and rocks]
Heterogeneous Mixture
A mixture having a non-uniform composition. If you take samples of said mixture, you will find that all the samples are different.
[For example: a cookie, raisin bread, and rocks]
Homogeneous Mixture (Solution)
A mixture having uniform composition throughout. Also known as ‘solutions’.
[For example: water]
Pure Substance
A substance in which all samples of the substance have fixed composition and properties; elements and compounds are pure substances
[For example; water is a compound, and silver is an element]
Compound
A substance composed of two or more elements that are chemically bonded in a definite, fixed ratio by mass.
[For example; you can boil, filter, freeze, and crush water, but you cannot physically separate the hydrogen from the oxygen.]
