AP Chemistry Chapter 1 Notes

1.1 CHEMISTRY: AN OVERVIEW 1. Chemistry is fundamentally concerned with how one substance changes another. 2. The entire universe is composed of only about 100 kinds of atoms. 3. Two of the fundamental concepts of chemistry: a. Matter is composed of various types of atoms b. One substance changes to another by reorganizing the way atoms are attached to each other. 1.2 THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD SCIENCE: A PROCESS FOR UNDERSTANDING NATURE AND ITS CHANGES 4. scientific method the process that lies at the center of scientific inquiry 5. There can be different ways to use the scientific method. framework for a generic scientific method. 6. The fundamental steps of the scientific method are: a. Making observations (collecting data) These observations can be either qualitative or quantitative. (A measurement is called a quantitative observation.) b. Making a prediction (formulating a hypothesis) A hypothesis is a possible explanation for an observation. c. Doing experiments to test the prediction (testing the hypothesis) This involves gathering new information to help determine whether a hypothesis is valid or not. 7. theory (model) a set of tested hypotheses that gives an overall explanation of some natural phenomenon 8. natural law a statement of a generally observed behavior that occurs in many different systems 9. law of conservation of mass the total mass of material is not affected by a chemical change The following is a

10. A law summarizes what happens; a theory(model) is an attempt to explain why it happens.
1.3 UNITS OF MEASUREMENT 11. A measurement always consists of tow parts: a number and a unit.

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12. Learn the fundamental units below. Table 1.1 The Fundamental SI Units

Physical Quantity
Mass Length Time Temperature Electric current Amount of substance Luminous intensity

Name of Unit
kilogram meter second kelvin ampere mole candela

Abbreviation
Kg M S K A Mol cd

13. Learn the prefixes that are printed in blue in Table 1.2 on page nine. 14. mass a measure of the amount of matter, A mass measurement is made on a balance. 15. weight a measure of the gravitational pull on matter 1.4 UNCERTAINTY IN MEASUREMENT 16. All measurements have a certain degree of uncertainty. The uncertainty depends on the precision of the measuring device (tool) that is used to make the measurement. 17. significant figures the digits that are certain and the first uncertain digit 18. precision refers to the agreement of a particular value with a true value 19. accuracy the agreement of one value with the true value 1.5 SIGNIFICANT FIGURES AND CALCULATIONS 20.Learn and Use the Rules for Counting Significant Figures a. Nonzero digits Nonzero digits always count as significant. b. Zeros The three classes of zeros are: i. Leading zeros zeros that precede nonzero digits. These do not count as significant figures ii. Captive zeros zeros that are between nonzero digits. These do count as significant figures. iii. Trailing zeros zeros at the right end of a number. They are significant only if the number contains a decimal.
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c. Exact numbers Numbers that were obtained by counting, not by using a measuring device. All the digits in such numbers are significant. 21. Learn and use the Rules for Significant Figures in Mathematical Operations from page 15. 22.Learn and use the Rules for Rounding from page 15. 1.6 DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS 23. dimensional analysis (unit factor method) a method for converting a given result from one system of units to another (Work Sample Exercises 1.7 and 1.8 on pages 19-21.), 1.7 TEMPERATURE 24. temperature a measure of the average kinetic energy of a substance 25.The three widely used systems for measuring temperature are: the Celsius scale, the Kelvin scale, and the Fahrenheit scale. 26.Learn to convert between and among these systems. 1.8 DENSITY 27. density a property of matter that is used by chemists as an identification tag for substances It is calculated by dividing the mass of a substance by its unit volume. 1.9 CLASSIFICATION OF MATTER 28. matter anything that occupies space and has mass 29. Matter exists in three states: solid, has a fixed volume and shape; liquid, definite volume, but no definite shape; gas, no fixed volume or shape 30. mixtures combinations of pure substances 31. homogeneous having visibly indistinguishable parts 32. heterogeneous having visibly distinguishable parts 33. solution a homogeneous mixture 34. pure substance a substance with constant composition 35. physical change a change of state without a change in substance 36. chemical change a change in substance, usually accompanied by a change in state 37. distillation a process for separating the components of a mixture based on the difference in volatility (boiling point) 38. filtration used when a mixture is composed of a solid and a liquid 39. chromatography a separation method based on two phases of matter
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40. paper chromatography pourous paper is the stationary phase and a substance dissolved in a solvent 41. compound a substance with constant composition that can be broken down into elements by chemical processes 42. elements substances that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by chemical or physical means

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