The

Classification of
Matter

Atoms, Elements,
Molecules and
Compounds
 PURE SUBSTANCE
Something that can not be
broken down into simpler matter
using physical methods.

There are two types of

substances…
Elements & Compounds.
ELEMENTS

 Are the simplest kind of

pure substance.

 There are ~ 110 elements,

each made of a different type
of atom (periodic table).
 Each element has a name and symbol.
Not all elements are equally
common.
Most elements can
exist as a single
atom (Fe, Cu):

Diatomic Gases
But some elements Hydrogen H2
(mostly gases) Nitrogen N2
Oxygen O2
usually exist as
Fluorine F2
diatomic molecules Chlorine Cl2
(groups of 2 Bromine Br2
atoms). Iodine I
 Allotropes
Different structural forms of the same element.

Oxygen has 3 allotropes:

O
O2 O3
Monatomic
Oxygen Diatomic Ozone
(Single Oxygen Oxygen Molecule
Atom) Molecule
COMPOUNDS

 Are pure substances that are

composed of multiple types of
elements (2 or more),
chemically bonded to one
another.

 Compounds can not be

broken down by physical
methods (they can be broken
down by chemical reactions).
COMPOUNDS

 Have definite compositions,

with element ratios indicated by
subscripts (H2O).

 We call this building block

the “water molecule”.
COMPOUNDS

 The properties of compounds

are very different from the
properties of the elements that
make them up!
Na + Cl  NaCl
 MIXTURES
A mixture is something that CAN be broken
down into simpler materials using
physical methods.

There are 3 possible types of mixtures:

1) Element + Another Element
2) Compound + Another Compound
3) Element + Compound
 MIXTURES
There are 2 main types of mixtures:

a) Homogeneous- The parts are distributed

evenly.
Examples: Salt water; syrup; air; brass.
 MIXTURES
Homogeneous mixtures of liquids are called
solutions.

Homogeneous mixtures of metallic atoms

are called alloys.
b) Heterogeneous- The parts are distributed
unevenly.
Examples: Spaghetti and Meatballs;
Water + Oil mixture.
We learned that the properties of
compounds are TOTALLY DIFFERENT
from the properties of the elements that
make them up.

In contrast, the properties of mixtures ARE

related to the properties of the substances
that make the mixtures up.
Properties of
Saltwater
 Matter Flowchart

MATTER
yes Can it be physically
no
separated?

MIXTURE PURE SUBSTANCE

yes Is the composition no yes Can it be chemically no

uniform? decomposed?

Homogeneous Heterogeneous
Mixture Mixture Compound Element

Solutions +
Alloys
Four different molecules:
• Which are compounds?
 Chemical Symbols Represent
Elements Chemical
Symbols are
either one or two
letters.
If one letter, it is
always
capitalized.
If two letters, the
first is
capitalized, the
A chemical symbol implies one second is lower
atom of that element. case.
 Chemical Formulas show how many
atoms of each element are in one molecule
of an element or compound:
Chemical # of # of atoms # of Carbon
Formula elements total atoms
O2 1 2 0
H2O 2 3 0
C3H8O 3 12 3
C6H12O4Cl 4 23 6
• All pure substances can be represented by a

Single Chemical Formula:

H2O
If it’s really a pure substance, you should only need to
write ONE chemical formula to describe it’s composition.
 How many atoms of each
element are present in one
molecule of:

(NH4)2SO3
N……………. 2
H…………… 8
S……………. 1
O…………… 3
Practice with Vocabulary: