4 Matter, Its States and Classification

COURSE:ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY (209)
2022
LECTURE 4
Matter, its States and Classification

Instructor: Prof. Dr. Mohammad Rafiq Khan
Matter
Matter is simply defined as anything that occupies some space and has some
mass and volume.
Other definitions based on the particles that compose it and thus the constitute
a chain of events in the history of the studies on the structure of matter which
translated into discovery of ultimate subatomic particles right from Dalton’s
atoms and molecules to the recently discovered lepton and quarks .
Examples:
Animal or human body, wood,(Solids)
Water, vegetable oil (Liquid). Water’s three states; Water, ice and steam
Air, different gases (Gases)
Plasma
Two Approaches to Understand an Object under

Study:
Observing it in the form it exists and cognizing by the observing
senses, splitting it into its primary components and studying their
nature, then splitting primary into secondary and so on to reach its
ultimate components to present the final picture about the nature of
the object under study.
Starting with the study of the ultimate components, making brick by
brick model in an ascending order till the object is reproduced.
The first approach seems more appropriate to follow because it
presents single definition that can sustain while the other approach
presents a series of non-sustainable definitions which go on changing
with the discovery of new components
Qualitative and Quantitative Significance of Matter

The definition narrated above conveys its qualitative
significance. That is why the International Standards
Organization uses the terminology "amount of substance",
rather than "matter". “Amount of substance is defined to be
proportional to the number of specified elementary entities in a
sample.. The unit of amount of substance is called the mole,
symbol mol, and the mole is defined by specifying the mass of
carbon 12 that constitutes one mole of carbon 12 atoms. By
international agreement this was fixed at 0.012 kg, i.e. 12 g.
1. The mole is the amount of substance of a system which
contains as many elementary entities as there are atoms in
0.012 kilogram of carbon 12; its symbol is "mol".
2. When the mole is used, the elementary entities must be
specified and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other
particles, or specified groups of such particles.”
States of Matter
Solid: A solid is characterized by its tendency to retain its
structural integrity. Thus, if it is left on its own, it doesn’t
spread like others such as gas or liquids do. Many solids such
as rocks and concrete possess high hardness and rigidity
exhibit a tendency to break or shatter when subjected to
different forms of stress, while others such as iron, paper,
board, etc,, exhibit flexibility and tend to bend. Solids are
often composed of crystals, long chain molecules, etc. Some
solids such as starch are amorphous also. Water presents
three states, the liquid as commonly encountered, gaseous as
steam and solid as ice.
States of Matter
Liquid: A liquid is characterized by its mobility which is the

tendency to flow. The reason of its mobility is that its
constituents frequently touch and are able to move around
each other. That is why the constituents are interlinked due
to presence of the force of cohesion and exhibit viscosity;
tendency to resist flow. The cohesive forces holding
constituents together are weaker, as compared to solids. That
is why liquids are not rigid and adapt the shape of the
container to which these are transferred. A common example
of liquid state is water.
States of Matter
Gas: A gas is characterized as a state in which constituting
components aggregate without cohesion. A gas thus has no
resistance to changing its shape. That is why the gases like
liquids also take the shape of the container to which these are
transferred. The distance between constituent particles is
flexible and determined by the size of the container and the
number of particles, not by internal forces. A common
example is steam, the vapor form of water. Another is air that
is composed of nitrogen and oxygen as major constituents.
States of Matter
Plasma: Plasma is a fourth state of matter which consists of
an overall charge-neutral mix of sub-atomic particles
(electrons, ions and neutral atoms to be described later). The
plasma exhibits behavior peculiar to long range Coulomb
forces in which the particles constitute motion in
electromagnetic fields generated by their own motions . The
stars including the sun are important plasmas similar to those
which occur in Earth's ionosphere, and plasmas in neon signs.
Plasmas of deuterium and tritium ions are used in fusion
reactions.
Classification of Matter
Bases: On the basis of physical state it is classified into solids, liquids and
gases (As above) On the basis of chemical composition, matter is classified
into three important categories: elements, compounds and mixtures.
Elements: An element is a substance (A material that bears same
composition throughout the bulk) which cannot be broken into two or more
substances by ordinary physical and chemical methods. For example,
hydrogen is an element because it cannot be further split to form other
elements. It is rather the lightest element known and thus its splitting is out
of question. Similarly, sodium is s an element because it cannot be broken
into form lithium, hydrogen, etc. The word “ordinary” has been added in
the definition because this classical definition has been modified on the basis
that some heavier elements have been broken into lighter elements by
special methods such as bombardment with neutrons to undergo nuclear
fission that translates into destruction of some mass and its conversion into
energy. Thus when uranium is bombarded by neutrons, it splits into barium
and krypton with the liberation of tremendous quantity of energy that
forms the basis of a nuclear reactor for its use for peaceful purpose and that
of the formation of nuclear bomb for destructive purpose. It is pertinent to
Elements (Continued): Elements are the fundamental

substances from which all other higher forms are formed.
Even the macromolecules which form the backbone of life in
the universe are the higher derivatives of the elements. So
much so even if it is said that life in the universe is an
organizational expression of the elements, there is hardly any
doubt about it. Till now, the total number of known elements
is 118 out of which 92 occur naturally.

Source: https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/number/atomic-
number.htm
Compounds: A compound is a substance formed by the combination

of two or more elements in specific ratio of weights. The chemical
nature of the compound formed is entirely different from that of the
elements that combined to form it. Water is the common example of
a compound as it is formed by the chemical combination of hydrogen
and oxygen in a fixed ratio of weights (2:16) and atomic ratio that is
2:1. Another common example is that of sodium chloride that is the
common salt used by the households as a routine. Another most
commonly heard compound is Deoxyribonucleic Acid or DNA. How
big and complex it is, it can be judged from its formula given below.
The illustration of its formula is not possible at this stage. It will be
illustrated later at an appropriate point. There is no limit to the
existence of the number of chemical compounds as there is an
infinite number of permutations and combinations that can be
formed out of 118 elements.
Fig. 1: Structure of DNA molecule. The dotted lines show

hydrogen bonding between N-atom and H-atom.
Mixtures: A mixture is a material that is formed by simple mixing of any

two or more than two materials in any ratio of weights. The major
distinction between the mixture and the compound is that the mixture
components after mixing don’t change their nature while in a compound
formation the nature of components which are elements is entirely
changed. An important example is the gun powder which is a mixture of
potassium nitrate, sulfur and carbon. The components of the gun power
retain their identity after mixing. Of course they may change their
chemical nature after explosion as their will be a chemical decomposition
of the components to form entirely new compounds. Another important
example of mixture is the atmospheric air which is a mixture of nitrogen
and oxygen as major components and others such as argon, carbon
dioxide, water vapors, etc., as minor components.

Physical and Chemical Changes
Physical Change: A physical change is a change in which the interacting

materials don’t change their chemical nature and maintain their
identities and also their physical characteristics. Examples may be
formation of air from nitrogen and oxygen. After mixing both gases
maintain their identities and physical characteristics. Similarly the
mixture of potassium nitrate , sulfur and iron filings is formed by
simple mixing without supply of any form of energy. Such a change can
be easily reversed. Take the mixture just cited. Its iron component can
be separated by picking its filings with a magnetic as these are attracted
by the magnet very strongly. The potassium nitrate can be removed by
dissolving it with water and filtering to get the filtrate containing
potassium nitrate dissolved from which it can be recovered by
evaporation or crystallization. The sulfur will be left on the filtrate as a
residue.
Physical and Chemical Changes
Chemical Change: A chemical change is a change in which

interacting materials changes its chemical nature entirely. For
example, water formed out the elements hydrogen and oxygen
is entirely different species with chemical nature and
characteristics entirely different from them. This change is
not easy to reverse as it was in case of formation of a mixture
from different material. Here it will be possible by passing
electricity through water acidulated by adding a few drops of
an acid such as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid. It will
again be a chemical change in which hydrogen will be
collected at the negative electrode or cathode while oxygen at
the positive electrode or anode.
Coverage
.Up to this point, the matter has been dealt with as the people
come across without penetrating into its nature at the level of
its ultimate components. The model presented above is highly
deficient as it does not offer the explanation of all the physical
and chemical changes, processes and phenomena ongoing in
the universe. The next step will be to study through successive
divisions till are reached its ultimate components capable of
offering illustrations narrated above. This will be the subject
of study in the next phase.

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COURSE:ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY (209)

Matter, its States and Classification

Two Approaches to Understand an Object under

Qualitative and Quantitative Significance of Matter

Liquid: A liquid is characterized by its mobility which is the

Elements (Continued): Elements are the fundamental

Compounds: A compound is a substance formed by the combination

Fig. 1: Structure of DNA molecule. The dotted lines show

Mixtures: A mixture is a material that is formed by simple mixing of any

Physical Change: A physical change is a change in which the interacting

Chemical Change: A chemical change is a change in which

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