Matter & Particles
Anything that has mass and takes up space.
Matter
A characteristic that can be observed or measured without changing what a substance is made of.
physical property
A pure substance made of only one kind of atom, such as gold, oxygen, or iron.
element
A combination of two or more substances that are physically combined, not chemically bonded.
mixture
Color and thickness show up just by looking at steel wool, but the fact that it rusts only shows up when it goes through this process.
chemical change
A single, pure kind of matter with a fixed, uniform composition, such as pure gold or pure water.
Substance
Color, odor, density, and melting point are all examples of this type of property.
physical properties
Two or more atoms chemically bonded together. O₂ and H₂O are both examples.
molecule
This type of mixture is uniform throughout, like saltwater or air.
homogeneous mixture
An astronaut's mass stays the same on the Moon, but this measurement is smaller because gravity is weaker.
weight
The smallest basic unit of matter that still has the properties of an element.
Atom
This type of property describes a substance's ability to react and form a new substance.
chemical property
A substance made of two or more different elements chemically combined.
compound
This type of mixture has visibly different parts, like trail mix or a salad.
heterogeneous mixture
A student drops an irregular rock into a graduated cylinder holding 50 mL of water, and the level rises to 62 mL. This is the rock's volume.
12 mL (12 cm³)
This theory says all matter is made of tiny particles that are always moving, have spaces between them, and attract each other.
the Particle Theory of Matter?
Flammability and the ability to rust are examples of this type of property.
chemical property
Compounds are written this way, such as H₂O or CO₂, with subscripts showing how many atoms of each element are present.
chemical formula
This separation method uses a porous barrier, like filter paper, to separate solids from liquids.
filtration
A student seals baking soda and vinegar in a bag, and the total mass is 100 g before and after the reaction, even though the bag inflates. This law explains why.
Law of Conservation of Mass (Matter)
According to the Particle Theory, particles move faster and spread farther apart when this increases.
temperature (heat)
A student says a bowling ball and a beach ball are the same size, so they must have the same amount of matter. She is mixing up volume with this measurement, which tells how much matter is in an object.
mass
The three most common elements found in compounds.
hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon
This method heats a liquid mixture so different substances evaporate at different boiling points, then condenses and collects each one.
distillation
Ice cubes melt in a glass of tea while sugar dissolves in it. Both are this type of change.
physical change