CHEM181

Section 1: Matter

Lecturer: Mr V Pillay
 What is Chemistry?
• study of matter & changes it undergoes

• matter is anything that has mass and takes up space

• study of physical & chemical properties of matter

• what changes occur in these properties, in the course of/as the

result of a chemical reaction, & how these changes may be
observed
Different phases of matter
 Composition of matter
• Atoms are building blocks of matter

• Element - is made of same kind of atom/molecules e.g. O2

• Compounds - made of two or more different kinds of elements

bonded together e.g. CO2, H2O, C2H5OH
Composition of matter
 Pure substance, Elements and Compounds
• Pure substance – matter that has distinct properties and a
composition that doesn’t vary from sample
to sample e.g. salt
• Elements - are the basic building blocks of all substances and
cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by
chemical reactions e.g Na, Mg, Cu
• Compounds - are formed from elements and contain elements
in fixed or constant proportions by mass,
contains at least two different elements
 Mixtures
• A material system made up of two or more different
substances which are mixed but are not combined chemically.

• Homogenous mixture – uniform in composition and properties

e.g. sucrose in water.

• Heterogenous mixture – components separate into distinct

regions e.g. sand and water.
Mixtures
 Example 1
• Which of the following are pure substances (elements or
compounds) and which are mixtures (homogenous or
heterogenous)?
• Magnesium powder floating on water
• Table sugar
• Copper
• Salad dressing
• Rooibos tea
 Properties of matter
• Physical properties – can be observed without changing a
substance into another substance (boiling
point, density, mass, volume, etc.)

• Chemical properties – can only be observed when a substance

is changed into another substance
(flammability, corrosiveness, reactivity
with acid, etc.)
Cu (s) + HNO3 Cu(NO3)2 + 2NO + 4H2O
 Properties of matter
• Intensive properties – independent of the amount of the
substance that is present (density,
boiling point, colour, etc.)

• Extensive properties – dependent upon the amount of the

substance present (mass, volume,
energy, etc.)
 Changes of matter
• Evidence of a chemical change/ reaction:
➢Colour change e.g. mixing two clear liquids producing a red liquid

➢Liberation of a gas (bubbles)

➢Heat released or absorbed

➢Formation of a precipitate
 Separation of mixtures
• Distillation – separates a homogenous mixture on the basis of
differences in boiling point
 Separation of mixtures
• Filtration – separates solid substances from liquids and
solutions