Chemistry 1

Properties of Matter That Can Be Used To Identify Substances

1. Density
-The density of a substance is defined as the total mass divided by its volume. The density of its
objects such as water, plastics, and iron are all different. An object has a high density if it’s a
heavy and compact. Since scientists have already determined the densities of many substances,
you can now compare the density unknown substances with the densities known substances,
thereby it will give you information about the possible identity of the unknown substance. It is
possible for two different substances to have the same density, so in order to identify the
substance positively, you would need additional data.

2. Solubility
-Solubility is the ability of substance to dissolve in given amount of solvent (usually a liquid).
For example, salt and flour have different solubility in water. If you put a spoonful of salt
into a cup of water and stir, the salt will dissolve in the water rapidly. If you put a spoonful
of flour into water and stir, some of the flour settles to the button as soon as you stop
stirring.

3. Magnetic Properties
-Some substances are attracted to magnets but others are not. You can use a magnet to pick up
a paper clip but not sand or a wooden stick. The elements silver, iron, and gold are magnetic-
meaning they respond to magnets but copper, aluminum, and zinc are not.

4. Boiling Point

- The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which a liquid is converted into gas. At the boiling
points, the temperature of the liquid is the same as the escaping vapor (or gas). Although the boiling
point does a vary slightly with the prevailing atmospheric pressure, we will use the normal boiling
points at one atmosphere pressure. Boiling point is one of the properties of matter that can be used
to identify and characterized a substance since objects boil at different temperatures.

5. Electric Properties

-Some substances conduct electricity better than others. Metals are good conductors of electricity.
Exemplified by copper wire which is used to carry electricity because it is a good conductor. Nonmetals
are materials that do not conduct electricity easily such as a rubber and plastics, are used to block the
flow of charge. Scientists can test the electric conductivity of an unknown substance with the proper
equipment.401
Heating Properties

When substances are heated they respond in different ways. Some substances warm up very quickly and
others take a long while to increase in temperature. This property is very important in selecting
materials for different uses. Metals such as aluminum and iron are good materials for making pots and
pans because they conduct heat easily. Various materials used in household insulation are poor
conducts of heat. These insulators are used to keep warm air inside a home on a cold day. You can
measure the rate at which substances conducts heat and compare that rate with the heat conduction
rates of other substances.

Separate Me

A mixture can be containing solids, liquids and/or gases. The components in mixture are not a chemically
joined, they are just mixed. That means we do not need to use a chemical reactions to separate them.
Mixtures can be separated using physical methods and that is what this activity is all about: how to
separate mixtures.

Many things around us occur naturally as mixture: salty sea water, moist air, soil, compost, rocks
(mixture of minerals) to name a few. Many mixtures are man-made, for instance: Coca Cola, paint, salad
dressing and so forth.

Mixtures are very useful. However, sometimes we need to separate mixtures into their components.
Remember that the substances in a mixture have not combined chemically. They have not turned into
new substances, but are still the same substances as before-they have just been physically combined.
That is why we use physical methods to separate them again.

Now that we know about the different kinds of mixtures that are possible, we are going to learn about
some ways of separating them. Thus we can say that there are different methods to separate different
mixtures depending upon the constituents of the mixture and the final product required. Some of these
methods are carried out in dry conditions while some of them are carries in wet conditions. The
following are the methods of physical separation used to separate components of substances or
mixtures.

Hand Sorting

The method in which substances in a mixture can be separated by just picking them out with the help of
hand from the mixture is known as hand sorting or handpicking method. It is one of the various methods
which are carried out in a dry condition. The substances which are separated with the help of this
method can be a useful products. This methods useful only when the substance which needs to separate
is in small quantities.
This method doesn’t need any special machinery for the separation of substances and it takes less time
when used for a small quantity. The substances in the hand sorting method can be separated on the
basis of size, color, shape, weight etc. For example, if in a bowl, there are 7 round shaped boxes and 3
rectangular boxes then the boxes can be easily separated on the basis of shape.

Another example, in our house, our mother separates stones and insects from rice simply by hand.

Sieving

Sieving is defined as a method in which two or more components of different sizes are separated from a
mixture on the basis of the difference in their sizes. It uses sieve plates for separation of course particles
from finer particles. Sieve plates have meshed or perforated bottoms which allows only particles of a
specific size to pass through it. The size of the mesh can vary from one place to another depending upon
its application.

A sieve is a fine mesh strainer, also known as sift. It is a device for separating wanted elements from
unwanted materials or for characterizing the particle size distribution of a sample typically using a
woven screen such as a mesh, net or a metal. The smaller particles will fall through the opening in the
sieve, while the larger particles stay behind.

Sieving is a good method for separating the components in a mixture when the components of the
mixture have different sizes. Thus, it cannot separate two substances in a mixture which have the same
size. For example, it cannot separate a mixture of chalk powder from flour.

Filtration

When particles in a mixture are too small to be caught by a sieve and when the components of the
mixture can be are in different states, we can separate them by filtration using a filter. Filtration is a
method use to separate an insoluble solid from liquid. The solid remains in the filter paper and the liquid
goes through the paper into the beaker. The clear liquid that has passed through the filter paper is called
filtrate and the particles that are left behind on the filter paper is called residue.

Magnetic Separation

Magnetic separation is the process of separating components of mixtures by using magnets to attract
magnetic materials. It is suitable for separating the components in a mixture when the components in
the mixture have different magnetic properties, in other words when one or more components in the
mixture is magnetic and the others are nonmagnetic.
Evaporation

Evaporation is a method used to separate soluble solid from liquid. The method drives off the liquid
components from the solid components. The process typically involves heating the mixture until no
more liquid remains. If the solutions is heated the liquid evaporates leaving the solid behind. The solids
cannot be decomposed when heated in a solution.

Prior to using this method, the mixture should only contain one liquid component, unless it is not
important to isolate the liquid components. This is because all liquid components will evaporate over
time

Distillation

Distillation is the process of separating components of a mixture based on different boiling points. It is
an effective method to separate mixtures comprised of two or more pure liquids with different boiling
points. Distillation is a purification process where the components of a liquid mixture are vaporized and
then condensed and isolated. The solution is heated in a flask until the liquid boils. The vapor produced
passes into condenser where it is cooled and condenses into a liquid. The pure liquid (distillate) is
collected in a beaker.

Examples of uses of distillation include purification of alcohol, desalination, crude oil refining, and
making liquefied gases from air.

Chromatography

Chromatography is suitable to separate different colored dyes. The dyes traveled up the
chromatography paper at a different distances before they cannot remain in a solution. The more
soluble dyes move further up than the less soluble ones, hence separating from each other.

This simple separation technique will be discussed further in the succeeding lessons.

Formulas of Common Chemical Substances

Now that you are already familiar with the different physical and chemical properties that can be used
to identify and separate substances, this time you are going to recognize the formulas of common
substances especially those that are found at home.

Symbols and formulas are often used to represent elements and compounds rather than their names.
Chemical symbol is an abbreviation for a specific element which consists of 1-2 letters. If one letter is
used, it is capitalized. If two letters are used, the first letter capitalized and the other is in lowercase. The
formula of an elements are found in your modern periodic table of elements, whether they are naturally
occurring or man-made, is represented by a chemical symbol. For example, calcium has symbol or
chemical formula of Ca

Seven nonmetallic elements from diatomic molecules in which two atoms are covalently joined to each
other. They are found in nature as diatomic molecules and in a gaseous form or state. Their chemical
formula consists of the symbol of the element followed by a subscript of two as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Seven Diatomic Elements

Name of Diatomic Elements Properties Chemical Formula

Hydrogen Colorless, odorless, tasteless, H2
highly combustible gas
Nitrogen Colorless , odorless, tasteless, N2
inert gas
Oxygen Colorless, odorless, tasteless, O2
reactive gas
Fluorine Pale yellow, pungent odor F2
Chlorine Greenish yellow Cl2
Bromine Fuming red brown Br2
Iodine Gives off a purple flavor I2

Formulas of compounds can be represented by its molecular formula, empirical formula or structural
formula. A molecular formula consists of the chemical symbols for the constituent elements followed by
numeric subscripts describing the number of atoms of each ratio of atoms in a compound. The
empirical formula represents the simplest whole-integer ratio of atoms in a compound. The molecular
formula for a compound can be the same as or a multiple of the compound’s empirical formula.
Molecular formulas are compact and easy to communicate, however, they lack the information about
bonding and atomic arrangement that is provided in a structural formula. Structural formula indicates
only the number of atoms but also their arrangement in space.

Most of the common substances we encounter every day are compounds that are made up of two or
more different kinds of elements that are chemically combined. These substances are very common in
our homes. For example, rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol (C 3H8O) is a good disinfectant because it
kills bacteria, fungus, and viruses. Another kind of alcohol is ethanol or ethyl alcohol (C 2H5OH) is also a
good disinfectant because it kills organisms by denaturing their proteins. These are the two
predominant types of alcohol used for sanitizing during this time of pandemic. Some substances like
ammonia (NH3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), muriatic acid or hydrochloric acid (HCl), methane (CH 4),
acetone (C3H6O), aluminum dioxide (Al2O3) in aluminum foil, mothballs or naphthalene (C 10H8), laundry
bleach (NaClO), caustic soda (NaOH) and many others are actually very common at home. The medicines
that we take are also common like aspirin (C 9H8O4) that is used to reduced fever and relieve mild pains in
the body such as muscle aches, toothaches, common cold and headaches, and vitamin C (C 6H8O6) that
boost immunity that is why we are recommended by medical experts to takes vitamins C to strengthen
our immune system especially now during the covid-19 pandemic.
All of these substances mentioned above could either be iconic or covalent compound which will be
discussed in your next lessons. What we are concerned now is to familiarize the formulas of these
compound formulas of these common substances we usually encounter in day to day experiences or
those substances that are mostly found at our homes.

Compare Consumer Products on the Basis of their Components for Use, Safety, Quality and Cost

When COVID-19 struck the Philippines and turned into a pandemic in March 2020, everyone was in a
hurry to buy goods for personal use in the market. Canned good, biscuits, disinfectants, cleaning
materials and products for health and hygiene are mostly in-demand. These products which are
purchased for personal, for family or for household consumption are called consumer products.

In this lesson, you will learn about consumer products in terms of their components, use, safety, quality
and cost. There are tremendous consumer products with different brands available in the market but we
will only focus on the products widely used in the pandemic crisis.

Consumer products have various components depending on its use. Aside from the main or active
component intended for its use, or other components are added into the product to enhance the quality
and safety; to prolong its shelf life; and for uniqueness and aesthetic value purposes. To name some,
these are the preservatives, colorants, thickeners and other ingredients needed for production.

Preservatives generally refer to the functional name for a wide variety of compounds that help slow or
prevent bacterial growth in a wide range including foods, medicines, and personal care products. These
substances play vital roles in many products, we use in our everyday life. In food, these are added to
fight spoilage caused by bacteria, molds, fungus, and yeast