Go Back to The Beginning: Matter, Mixtures and Elements

Dear Kalpita,

I've been gone a long time and it turns out there is quite a lot for me to do. I shall be going on about thee Basics of Matter. I've been so busy talking about quantum physics that I haven't bothered to learn about the stuff I will actually NEED to know. I promise I won't bombard you with bright colors....maybe.

-**-

As I so eloquently pointed out before, Matter is anything made of atoms and molecules. 

Matter can be any color, any shape, any texture or any temperature ect.

Properties of matter

• Color
• Odor
• Luster - How shiny a substance is.
• Malleability - The ability of a substance to be beaten into thin sheets.
• Ductility - The ability of a substance to be drawn into thin wires.
• Conductivity - The ability of a substance to allow the flow of energy or electricity.
• Hardness - How easily a substance can be scratched.
• Melting/Freezing Point - The temperature at which the solid and liquid phases of a substance are in equilibrium at atmospheric pressure.
• Boiling Point - The temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid is equal to the pressure on the liquid (generally atmospheric pressure).
• Density - The mass of a substance divided by its volume

All of the above are called Intensive Properties. These properties do not rely on the size of the matter.

The next few properties I will tell you about are Extensive Properties. They are basically the exact opposite of Intensive Properties,

• Mass - A measurement of the amount of matter in a object (grams).
• Weight - A measurement of the gravitational force of attraction of the earth acting on an object.
• Volume - A measurement of the amount of space a substance occupies.
• Length

Chemistry:

Chemistry is the science of matter and any changes it undergoes chemistry is mostly about the composition, behavior and how it acts during a chemical reaction.

Elements:

An element is a pure substance, consisting of one type of atom, each element is distinguished by an atomic number

The Atomic Number is the number of protons in the nucleus of the atom.

Elements are called the building blocks of matter because all matter is made from some combination of elements.

The element symbol tells you the elements name in Latin

A compound is a substance made from two or more elements mixed together

A Subscript:]

A subscript tells you about the ratio of elements in a compound

for instance I give you water, also known as H2O

H stands for Hydrogen

O stands for Oxygen

This means that water consists of two Hydrogen atoms and one oxygen 

However if I add one more oxygen i get H2O2. This makes an entirely different compound called hydrogen peroxide 

Hydrogen Peroxide is a liquid but it is NOT the same as water. It is often used as a bleaching agent and disinfectant

Most matter consists of a mixture of isotopes. 

Surprisingly A Mixture isn't the same thing as a Compound.

A mixture is a mix of two things that can be separated psychically.

A compound CAN be seperated but only by use of a chemical reaction.

So As a final review

Matter

is classified as a

Element.................................................... Compound...................................Mixture.........................

made up of..------------------------------------made up of..-------------------------------made up of...---------------

Atoms.................................. Two or more elements...... Two or more substances

Ok I admit that I lied. i ended up painting rainbows all over this log post anyway