Prelim CHEMISTRY THE CHEMICAL EARTH PART 1: MATTER page 1

States and Properties of Matter

Chemistry is the study of the composition, structure, properties and reactions of matter.
Matter is defined as anything which has mass and occupies space, such as wood, water,
steel and air. Light, sound and magnetic fields are examples of phenomena which are not
matter.

Matter commonly exists in three states – gas, liquid and solid. Water, for example, exists
as steam, liquid water and ice. The characteristics of solids, liquids and gases are
summarised in the table below. These characteristics reveal some information about the
arrangement of particles in solids, liquids and gases.

In solids that particles are closely packed, held fairly rigidly in position and only vibrate
about these fixed positions. In liquids the particles are still fairly closely packed but not
held as rigidly in position. This allows the particles to move relative to one another and is
why liquids have variable shape. It is also the reason why diffusion occurs in liquids.

In gases the particles are widely spaced and move virtually independently of one another.
Because of this a gas will become dispersed throughout any container into which it is
placed. Also diffusion can occur rapidly. Gases are very compressible because the
particles are relatively widely spaced compared with the size of the particles. A model for
the arrangement of particles in solids, liquids and gases is illustrated below.
Prelim CHEMISTRY THE CHEMICAL EARTH PART 1: MATTER page 2

 Exercise 1.1
1. Classify the following substances as solids, liquids or gases at room temperature and
pressure: salt, petrol, air, milk, cheese, steam and clay.
2. Briefly describe how the models of gases, liquids and solids represented in fig 1.7 (p1)
can account for the observed characteristics of these states of matter.
3. Explain how a smell produced from cooking in the kitchen can quickly travel around the
whole house.

Classification of Matter
The matter which makes up the Earth includes naturally occurring matter such as rocks,
air and water, and matter modified by human activity such as metals, glass and plastics. A
classification scheme for different kinds of matter found on earth is shown below. In this
scheme, matter is classified into pure substances and mixtures.

Pure substances consist of matter which is homogeneous, ie, has the same type and
distribution of particles throughout, and a definite, fixed composition. Pure substances
include elements and compounds. Elements are substances that cannot be separated by
chemical change into simpler substances, for example carbon, oxygen and copper.
Compounds are substances composed of two or more elements combined in fixed
proportions. Water and carbon dioxide are examples of compounds. Water consists of
hydrogen and oxygen which are chemically combined; carbon dioxide contains combined
carbon and oxygen. Compounds have quite different properties from those elements they
contain. Water, for example, has very different properties from the elements hydrogen and
oxygen which, as elements, exist as gases at normal temperatures. Iron (II) sulfide is a
compound which contains chemically combined iron and sulfur. Like most compounds iron
(II) sulfide has a vastly different properties from those of the elements from which it is
formed.
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Matter which contains two or more pure substances is described as a mixture. Mixtures
can contain different proportions of the same component substances. Pure substances, on
the other hand, always have the same composition.

Mixtures can be homogeneous or heterogeneous. Homogeneous mixtures have uniform

composition and properties throughout. For example, when sugar is dissolved in water it
forms a solution in which the sugar and water are uniformly mixed, and is therefore
homogeneous. A container of air is another homogeneous mixture, this time of gases.

Heterogeneous mixtures are those which are not uniform in composition and properties
throughout. For example, granite is a heterogeneous mixture which consists of the
minerals quartz, feldspar and mica and usually hornblende. It is usually possible to identify
these separate components in a granite sample by visual observation. Concrete, which
consists of cement, sand and rock aggregate, is another example of a heterogeneous
mixture.

 Exercise 1.2
4. Distinguish between the following terms:
(a) element and compound
(b) homogeneous mixture and heterogeneous mixture
(c) compound and homogeneous mixture

5. Classify the following as elements, compounds, or mixtures

(a) molten iron
(b) salt
(c) carbon dioxide
(d) sugar
(e) lemonade
(f) nitrogen
(g) water
(h) concrete
(i) air
(j) wine

The different ‘spheres’ of planet Earth

Planet Earth is made up of several distinct layers as shown in fig 1.2: the inner and outer
core, mantle, crust and atmosphere. Some parts of earth have the special names shown in
table 1.3.
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The Earth as Mixtures of Substances

Planet earth - or at least that portion of it accessible to humans - is made up of almost
entirely of mixtures. The nature and composition of the mixtures varies greatly from region
to region.

The atmosphere is a mixture of gases. It is predominantly a mixture of the elements

nitrogen, oxygen and argon, though it contains small amounts of gaseous compounds
such as water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide.

The hydrosphere also consists of different mixtures. The major component of the mixtures
in the hydrosphere is the compound water. Rivers and lakes are predominantly water
which has dissolved in it small amounts of the elements oxygen and nitrogen and
compounds such as carbon dioxide, and sodium, calcium and magnesium chlorides and
sulfates. The total amount of dissolved matter in ‘fresh water’ is generally less than 0.05%.
If only these dissolved substances are present in fresh water then it is a solution (that is,
homogeneous). However suspended solids and microscopic bacteria, algae and plant life
are often present as well and these make the mixtures heterogeneous.
Sea water is a mixture of water and sodium chloride (about 3.5%) along with smaller
amounts of other compounds such as magnesium and calcium chlorides and various
bromides, iodides and sulfates.

Ground water (water stored under the Earth’s surface) is a mixture similar to river water,
except that it generally contains larger amounts of dissolved solids such as chlorides and
sulfates.

Apart from dissolved oxygen and nitrogen, the mixtures of the hydrosphere contain only
compounds.

The lithosphere contains an extremely diverse range of mixtures. These are:

• rocks - which are mixtures of various silicates (compounds of silicon, oxygen and
various metals)
• sand - which is mainly silicon dioxide with variable amounts of ground up shells or finely
divided dirt
• soils - which are various mixtures of aluminosilicates (clays, compounds containing
aluminium, silicon, oxygen and metals), sand and decomposing animal and vegetable
matter
• mineral ores - which are mainly oxides, sulfides, carbonates, sulfates and chlorides of
metals mixed with various silicates or aluminosilicates, and
• coal, oil and natural gas - which are mixtures of compounds of carbon formed from
decayed plant and animal matter.
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The mixtures of the lithosphere contain predominantly compounds. There are some
common mixtures (fairly rare) which contain uncombined elements such as gold, silver,
platinum and carbon (as diamond).

Living matter such as animals, plants, algae and bacteria consists of mixtures of carbon-
containing compounds (along with water and small amounts of minerals); the main types
are carbohydrates (or sugars), proteins, fats and vitamins. Many of the carbohydrates and
proteins are insoluble (cellulose, skin, hair) and make up the structure of the organisms,
while others are soluble and so cause the functioning of the organism. Free elements
(apart from dissolved oxygen and nitrogen) are extremely rare in living matter.

Cloze Passage:

Elements are a)....................... substances composed of b)............................................. of

atom. They c)........................ be separated into any simpler substances by either
d)....................................... nor ................................................ processes.

e)....................................... are f)......................... substances which contain 2 or more

types of atoms, which are g)................................... bonded together in a h).......................
ratio. They cannot be separated by any i)............................... process, but can be
chemically separated into the j)...................................... they contain.

Mixtures are k)......................................... substances which may contain various

l)......................... and ................................which are NOT all chemically
m)................................... to each other. The proportions of each part of the mixture may
n)................................. enormously.

The “Lithosphere” is the o)........................... part of the Earth. It is mostly made of rocks,
which are p)...................... of minerals. The q)............................................ is the liquid part
of the Earth. It is a mixture of r)............................. and various dissolved
s)............................... and ............................., notably t)........................ The Atmosphere is
a mixture of u).............................., the most abundant being v)........................................
and .................................................. Living things are mixtures of (mostly) w)......................
and many complex x)..................................... such as y)........................................... and
...............................................