LESSON 2 – NATURE AND ORGANIZATION OF MATTER

WHAT IS MATTER?
• Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist.
• Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass.
• A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies
volume.
• However, different fields use the term in different and sometimes incompatible
ways.
• There is no single agreed scientific meaning of the word "matter".

• For much of the history of the natural sciences people have contemplated the exact
nature of matter.
• The idea that matter was built of discrete building blocks, the so-called particulate
theory of matter, was first put forward by the Greek philosophers Leucippus
(~490 BC) and Democritus (~470–380 BC).
• Over time an increasingly fine structure for matter was discovered: objects are made from molecules, molecules consist of atoms,
which in turn consist of interacting subatomic particles like protons and electrons.

WHAT ARE THE STATES OF MATTER?

• Exist in three states (or phases): solid, liquid, and gas.
• However, advances in experimental techniques have realized other phases.
• The state or phase of a given set of matter can change depending on pressure and temperature conditions, transitioning to other
phases as these conditions change to favor their existence; for example, solid transitions to liquid with an increase in temperature.

SOLID
Definition and Properties
• It is characterized by structural rigidity and resistance to changes of shape or volume.
• A solid object does not flow to take on the shape of its container, nor does it expand to fill the entire volume
available to it like a gas does.
• The atoms in a solid are tightly bound to each other.
⎯ Regular geometric lattice (crystalline solids, which include metals and ordinary water ice)
⎯ Irregularly (an amorphous solid such as common window glass).

Examples
1. Metals – Metals typically are strong, dense, and good conductors of both electricity and heat.
2. Minerals – Minerals are naturally occurring solids formed through various geological processes under high pressures.
3. Ceramics – Ceramic solids are composed of inorganic compounds, usually oxides of chemical elements.
4. Wood – Wood is a natural organic material consisting primarily of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin. Regarding
mechanical properties, the fibers are strong in tension, and the lignin matrix resists compression.
5. Polymers – Polymer is a large molecule (macromolecule) composed of repeating structural units. Although the term polymer is
sometimes taken to refer to plastics, it actually encompasses a large class comprising both natural and synthetic materials with a
wide variety of properties.

Solid to Liquid
• Melting or Fusion – A physical process that results in the phase change of a substance from a solid to
a liquid.
• The internal energy of a substance is increased, typically by the application of heat or pressure, resulting
in a rise of its temperature to the melting point, at which the rigid ordering of molecular entities in the solid
breaks down to a less-ordered state and the solid liquefies.
• An object that has melted completely is molten.
ICE MELTING –

Solid to Gas
• Sublimation – The process of transition of a substance from the solid phase to the gas phase without
passing through an intermediate liquid phase.
• Sublimation is an endothermic phase transition that occurs at temperatures and pressures below a
substance's triple point in its phase diagram.

DRY ICE SUBLIMING –

LIQUID
Definition and Properties
• Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container.
• Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed.
• Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly constant density.
• Distinctive property of the liquid state – Surface tension, leading to wetting phenomena.
• Density of a liquid – Usually close to that of a solid, and much higher than in a gas. Therefore, liquid and solid
are both termed condensed matter.
• Fluids – As liquids and gases share the ability to flow

Examples
Only two elements are liquid at room temperature and pressure:
1. Mercury – Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It
is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum (from "hydr-" water and "argyros" silver).
2. Bromine – Bromine is a chemical element with the symbol Br, an atomic number of 35,
and an atomic mass of 79.904. It is in the halogen element group.

Pure substances that are liquid under normal conditions include:

3. Water – Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. Its molecule
contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds.
4. Ethanol – Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking
alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the
oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages.
In common usage, it is often referred to simply as alcohol or spirits.

Liquid to Solid
• Freezing or solidification – A phase change in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature
is lowered below its freezing point.
• Melting – Reverse process
• For most substances, the melting and freezing points are the same temperature; however, certain
substances possess differing solid–liquid transition temperatures.
WATER FREEZING –

A. Liquid to Gas
• Evaporation – A type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs only on the surface of a liquid.
• Boiling – Other type of vaporization which occurs on the entire mass of the liquid.
• Evaporation is also a part of the water cycle.

WATER EVAPORATING –

GAS
Definition and Properties
• Gas particles are widely separated from one another, and as such are not as strongly intermolecularly
bonded to the same degree as liquids or solids.
• These intermolecular forces result from electrostatic interactions between each gas particle.
• Like charged areas of different gas particles repel, while oppositely charged regions of different gas
particles attract one another; gases that contain permanently charged ions are known as plasmas.

Examples
1. Butane – Butane is a gas with the formula C4H10 that is an alkane with four carbon atoms. The most
common use of butane is as lighter fuel for a common lighter or butane torch.
2. Propane – Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula C3H8, normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable
liquid. A mixture of propane and butane, used mainly as vehicle fuel, is commonly known as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP
gas).
3. Natural gas – Natural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons (primarily ethane).
Natural gas is often informally referred to as simply gas, especially when compared to other energy sources such as oil or coal.
4. Diesel fuel – Diesel fuel in general is any liquid fuel used in diesel engines. Diesel fuel is produced from petroleum and from various
other sources.

Gas to Solid
• Deposition – A process in which gas transforms into solid (also known as desublimation).
• One example of deposition is the process by which, in sub-freezing air, water vapor changes directly
to ice without first becoming a liquid. This is how snow forms in clouds, as well as frost and hoar
frost on the ground.
• Deposition releases energy and is an exothermic phase change.
• Sublimation – Reverse of deposition
DEPOSITION OF WATER VAPOR –
Gas to Liquid
• Condensation – The change of the physical state of matter from gaseous phase into liquid phase,
and is the reverse of vaporization.
• Condensation commonly occurs when a vapor is cooled and/or compressed to its saturation limit when
the molecular density in the gas phase reaches its maximal threshold.

WATER VAPOR CONDENSES –

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MATTER

• A physical property of a substance is any feature that can be measured or observed without changing the composition of the
substance.

Some physical properties are the following:

1. Melting Point – The melting point of a solid is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid.
2. Boiling Point – The boiling point of an element or a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid equals
the environmental pressure surrounding the liquid.
3. Color – Color is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Color
derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light power versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities
of the light receptors.
4. Odor – An odor is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or
other animals perceive by the sense of smell.
5. Texture – Texture is the perceived surface quality of a work of art.
6. Solubility – Solubility is the property of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical substance called solute to dissolve in a solid, liquid, or
gaseous solvent to form a homogeneous solution of the solute in the solvent.
7. Density – The density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume.
8. Malleability – Malleability is a material's ability to deform under compressive stress; this is often characterized by the material's
ability to form a thin sheet by hammering or rolling.
9. Ductility – Ductility is a solid material's ability to deform under tensile stress; this is often characterized by the material's ability to
be stretched into a wire.

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MATTER

• Chemical property is the way by which a substance interacts with another substance to undergo a change in composition.

Some chemical properties are the following:

Ability to burn
• Combustibility is a measure of how easily a substance will set on fire, through fire or combustion.

Ability to corrode metals

• Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings.
• In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen.

Ability to undergo oxidation or reduction

• Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in oxidation state by a molecule, atom, or ion.
• Reduction is the gain of electrons or a decrease in oxidation state by a molecule, atom, or ion.

PHYSICAL CHANGE
• A change in matter that involves size, shape, form, or state is called a physical change.
• When heat is added to a solid, its temperature rises. This causes the particles to
vibrate rapidly and move farther apart.
• Eventually, a point is reached when the vibrating particles can no longer retain their
orderly arrangement. When this happens the melting point of the solid is reached and
the solid melts.
• If additional heat is added, particles move faster and move farther apart.
• Soon, a point is reached when particles are so far apart that they become independent
of one another. When this happens, the liquid boils and rapidly changes to gas.

• Reverse Process – A gas may be cooled or allowed to condense to become liquid.

Further cooling of the liquid causes it to freeze or become solid.
• Freezing Point – Temperature wherein a liquid solidifies.
• Sublimation – Some substances change from solid to gas without passing through the liquid state. This happens when the vapor
pressure of the solid is high enough that it changes to gas or vapor without becoming liquid.
• Deposition – A reverse reaction in which a gas changes directly to solid without passing through the liquid state also happens.

Examples of Physical Changes

• Melting • Evaporation
• Freezing • Deposition
• Condensation • Sublimation
CHEMICAL CHANGE
• A chemical change happens when one or more substances disappear and a new substance or new substances are formed.
• A chemical change results from a chemical reaction.
• In any chemical reaction, there are two sets of substances – the reactants and the products.
• Some chemical reactions give off energy (exothermic) or absorb energy from the surroundings (endothermic).

• Reaction – Which substances combine is called a combination reaction or synthesis.

• Synthesis means “putting together”.
• Oxidation – The reaction in which oxygen combines with another substance.
• Combustion Reaction – If the oxidation reaction produces heat and light.
• Decomposition – A reaction in which a substance breaks down into simpler substances.

Laws of chemical combinations:

• Law of conservation of mass – “No mass is gained nor lost in an ordinary chemical reaction.”
• Law of definite proportion – “When elements combine to form compounds, they always do so in fixed proportions.”

CLASSIFICATION OF MATTER
• Mixtures – Substances whose components come in different proportions. It be classified as heterogeneous or homogeneous.

Heterogeneous Mixture shows the following properties:

1. It consists of two or more substances.
2. The particles of each substance can be identified.
3. Each component can be separated by physical means.

Suspensions and Colloids (subcategories of heterogeneous mixtures)

• Suspension – A mixture consisting of solid particles that may remain suspended momentarily or dispersed throughout the liquid
phase by shaking. After sometime the particles settle at the bottom of the container.
o Examples: cornstarch in water, sand in water, and small stones in water.

• Colloid – A mixture of a dispersed phase and a dispersing medium. The dispersed phase has a size ranging from 1 nanometer to
1000 nanometer. The particles of a colloid remain suspended. The particles do not settle.
o Examples: milk, mayonnaise gelatin, butter, and marshmallow.

Homogeneous Mixture shows the following properties:

1. Uniform in composition or character.
2. The components of the mixture cannot be recognized.

⎯ A homogeneous mixture may be a solution or a pure substance.

Solution shows the following properties: Pure substance shows the following properties:
1. The particles are spread evenly. 1. It has a definite composition.
2. It consists of two or more substances. 2. It exhibits only one phase.
3. It exhibits only one phase. 3. It cannot be separated into simpler substances by
4. Each component can be separated by physical means. physical means.

⎯ A pure substance may be a compound or element.

Element
• A substance which cannot be divided into simpler substances.
• An element contains only one kind of atom.
• To date, there are 115 known elements in nature. 92 of these are found in nature. 23 of these are produced in the laboratory.
• There are only 2 elements that are liquid in room temperature: mercury and bromine.
• There are 11 elements that are gases. And the rest are solids.

Classification of Elements
• Metallic elements – Good conductors, malleable, and ductile.
• Nonmetallic elements – Poor conductors, brittle and nonductile.
• Metalloids – Display both metallic and nonmetallic properties.

Elements that are essential to life

The absence of these elements results in death or severe malfunction of the organism. These elements are classified as:
1. Bulk elements – They are major components of molecules found in the body. These include H, C, N, O, and S.
2. Macro minerals – They are nutritionally important elements required in amounts greater than 100 mg/day. These include Na, K,
Mg, Ca, Cl, and P.
3. Trace elements – They are elements needed by the body in minute amounts. The three prominent biologically active trace
elements are Fe, Zn, and Cu.

Compound
• Formed when two or more elements chemically combine in definite proportions.
• Based on types of bonding, compounds maybe classified as ionic or covalent.
An acid is a compound that exhibits the following properties:
1. Tastes sour. 3. Changes blue litmus paper to red.
2. Reacts with some metals. 4. Reacts with a base to form a salt.

⎯ Vinegar, muriatic acid, citric acid, and lactic acid are examples of acids.

A base is a compound that exhibits the following properties:

1. Has bitter and biting taste. 3. Changes red litmus paper to blue.
2. Feels slippery. 4. Reacts with acid to form salt.

⎯ Soap, lye, shampoo, and milk of magnesia are examples of bases.

• Neutralization – The combination of an acid and a base produces salt and water.
• Mixtures – Most materials we see around us. It is possible to separate a mixture into its components. Since the components are
not chemically combined, they can be separated by physical means.

Some methods used in separating components of a mixture:

Sedimentation
• The settling of particles in a liquid. It varies with the pull of gravity.
• The heaviest particles settle first, and the lightest particles settle last

Decantation
• The process wherein you pour the liquid in a container, leaving the heavier particles inside the container.

Filtration
• Used to remove the suspended particles in a liquid.
• It involves the use of a filter to separate the components of a mixture.

Solar Evaporation
• A process where a liquid is allowed to evaporate under the sun, leaving the solid particles behind.

Paper Chromatography
• A process by which various materials are separated using their varied solubility rates.
• They are separated on a surface such as paper.

ATOMIC STRUCTURE AND THE PERIODIC TABLE

• Atoms are the smallest unit of an element. Atoms take part in a chemical reaction.

Theories on the atomic structure:

Thales of Miletus (634 – 546 B.C.)
• He proposed that all things came from one prime material – water.

Empedocles (490 – 430 B.C.)

• He proposed that matter is made up of four elements, namely, earth, water, fire, and air.

Democritus (460 – 370 B.C.)

• He theorized that matter is made up of tiny indivisible atoms (atomos means uncut).
• He believed that the variety of observable things in the world can be explained as combinations of atoms of various sizes and
shapes.

Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C.)

• He thought that matter could be subdivided into minute particles.
• He said that matter could be divided further and further with each becoming smaller and smaller without end.

John Dalton (1766 – 1844)

• He pictured an atom as a tiny, indestructible sphere endowed with mass.

Joseph John Thomson (1856 – 1940)

• He saw an atom as a positive sphere with negative electrons stuck in it like raisins in a loaf of bread.

Ernest Rutherford (1871 – 1937)

• He concluded that an atom is mostly empty space. It has a tiny positive core, called the nucleus.
• The electrons of an atom are smaller spheres revolving around the nucleus

Niels Bohr (1885 – 1962)

• He saw the atom as a miniature solar system with its nucleus as the sun and the electrons whirling around it as the planets that
orbit around the sun.

Bohr – Sommerfeld
• Arnold Sommerfeld modified Bohr’s model of an atom by adding the now accepted elliptical orbits to explain certain experimental
data.
 Dalton Thomson Rutherford Bohr Sommerfeld

• Rutherford predicted that there must be another particle in the nucleus of an atom with a mass and no charge.
• The particle was later discovered by Sir James Chadwick (1891 – 1974), and called it the neutron.
• Based on these discoveries, it can be said that the proton, the electron, and the neutron are the building blocks of an atom.

• The number of positive charges (protons) determines the element and is equal to its atomic number.
• Since an atom is electrically neutral, the number of protons in it must be equal to the number of electrons.
• ATOMIC NUMBER = Protons = Electrons

• The mass of an atom is concentrated in its nucleus.

• Therefore, the mass number of an atom is equal to the sum of the masses of the protons and the neutrons.
• MASS NUMBER = Protons + Neutrons

• Henry Moseley (1887 – 1915), an English physicist, proposed that elements should be arranged in the order of increasing atomic
numbers. This arrangement is found in the modern periodic table.
• He discovered that the properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic numbers.
• This is now known the modern periodic law.
• PERIODS or SERIES – Horizontal rows
• GROUPS – Vertical columns. A group is often called a FAMILY because of the similarities in chemical properties of the elements
within it.

Complete list of families and their special names:

Group IA – Alkali metals VA – Nitrogen family
IIA – Alkaline earth metals VIA – Oxygen family
IIIA – Boron family VIIA – Halogen family
IVA – Carbon family VIIIA – Noble gases

• The periodic table of elements is of great help to everyone.

• It is a tool that aids you in knowing the physical and chemical properties of elements.
• It helps you remember the chemical symbols of elements like atomic size, and metallic properties and nonmetallic properties.
• The periodic table of elements is also helpful in predicting simple chemical formulas.