Chapter 1: Matter and Measurement

1.1 Matter and Its Classifications

Chemistry

▪ Concerned with matter and energy & how the two interact with each other.
▪ Foundation for other disciplines
o Engineering
o Health Sciences
o Pharmacy and Pharmacology
o Scientific Literacy

Current Related Issues

▪ Depletion of the ozone layer
▪ Alternative sources of fuel
▪ Nuclear Energy

Matter
Matter
▪ Matter has mass.
➢ Weight is what we normally consider.
▪ Matter occupies space.

Phases of Matter
▪ Solids – Fixed volume & Fixed shape
▪ Liquids – Fixed volume & Indefinite shape
▪ Gases – Indefinite volume & Indefinite shape

Pure substances (Elements or Compounds)

▪ Fixed composition
▪ Unique set of properties

Mixtures
▪ Two or more substances in some combination.
o Homogeneous
o Heterogeneous

Elements
Element
▪ Element is a type of matter that cannot be broken down into two or more pure sub-
stances.
▪ There are 118 known elements, of which 91 occur naturally.
Common Elements
▪ Carbon – found in charcoal.
▪ Copper – found in pipes, jewelry etc.

Rare Elements
▪ Gold
▪ Uranium

Atomic Symbols
Atomic Symbols
▪ Element are given symbols.
➢ Chemical Identifier
➢ Elements known to ancient times - often have symbols based on Latin names.
❖ Copper – Cu (cuprum)
❖ Mercury – Hg (hydrargyrum)
❖ Potassium – K (kalium)
o One element - has a symbol based on a German name.
❖ Tungsten – W (wolfram)

Compounds
Compounds
▪ Combinations of two or more elements.
➢ Carbon and Hydrogen
o Hydrocarbons
o Methane, acetylene,
naphthalene
o Different proportions of
each element

Composition of Compounds
▪ Compounds always contain the same
elements in the same composition by mass.
➢ Water by mass
o 11.19% hydrogen
o 88.81% oxygen
▪ Properties of compounds – often very different from the properties of elements which the
compound form.

Resolving Compounds into Elements (COMPOUNDS → ELEMENTS)

Resolving Compounds into Elements (COMPOUNDS → ELEMENTS)
▪ Many methods
➢ Heating mercury (II) oxide – releases mercury and oxygen
o Priestley, 200 years ago
 ➢ Aluminum
o Not known until about 100 years ago
o Difficult to resolve aluminum from rocks and minerals where it is
commonly found.
➢ Electrolysis – required to prepare aluminum from its compounds.

Mixtures
Mixtures
▪ Two or more substances in such a combination
▪ Each substance retains a separate chemical identity.
➢ Copper sulfate & sand
o Identity of each is retained.
➢ Contrast with the formation of a compound
o Sodium and Chlorine = forms Sodium Chloride

Two types of Mixtures:

Homogeneous Mixtures
▪ Uniform
▪ Composition is the same throughout
▪ Ex: seawater

Heterogeneous Mixtures
▪ Not uniform
▪ Composition varies throughout
▪ Ex: rocks
Different methods used to separate the components of a mixture from one another:

Filtration

▪ Separate a heterogeneous solid-liquid mixture.

▪ The mixture is passed through a barrier with fine pores, such as filter paper.
▪ Barrier holds back one part of the mixture and lets the other pass.
▪ Filter paper – will hold back sand but allow water to pass through.

Distillation
▪ Resolves a homogeneous solid-liquid mixture.
▪ The liquid vaporizes, leaving a residue of the solid in the distilling flask.
▪ The liquid is obtained by condensing the vapor.
▪ Distillation can be used to separate the components of a water solution from any solution.
(Figure 1.6).

Chromatography
▪ A more complex but more versatile separation method.
▪ Separation of mixtures in industry and research.
o Many mixtures can be separated by chromatography:
Gas mixtures
Liquid Mixtures
▪ A technique widely used in teaching, research, and industrial laboratories to separate all
kinds of mixtures.
▪ This method takes advantage of differences in solubility and/or extent of adsorption on a
solid surface.

Gas-liquid chromatography (GLC)

▪ A mixture of volatile liquids and gases is introduced into one end of a heated glass tube.
▪ As little as one microliter (1026 L) of sample may be used.
▪ The tube is packed with an inert solid whose surface is coated with a viscous liquid.
▪ An unreactive “carrier gas,” often helium, is passed through the tube.
▪ The components of the sample gradually separate as they vaporize into the helium or
condense into the viscous liquid.
▪ Usually, the more volatile fractions move faster and emerge first; successive fractions
activate a detector and recorder.

Ultra high-speed gas chromatography (GC)

▪ Fitted with an odor sensor is a powerful tool for analyzing the chemical vapors produced by
explosives or other chemical or bio-logical weapons.
Solutions
Solutions (homogeneous)
▪ Common Homogeneous mixture
▪ Components:
➢ Solvent – most commonly a liquid.
➢ Solute – may be solid, liquid or gas.
o Will always be smaller than the solvent.
▪ Seawater
o Water is the solvent.
o Solutes may be one of a variety of salts.

Forensic Chemistry
Forensic Chemistry
▪ Study of materials or problems where evidence is sought for criminal or civil cases tried in
court.
➢ Chromatography – a fundamental tool of forensic chemistry.
➢ Biochemistry – relies heavily on chromatography and on mass spectrometry.

1.2 Measurements

Quantitative

▪ Identify the amount of substance present.

▪ Chemistry is a quantitative science.
Measurement

▪ Needed to quantify the amount of substance present.

▪ SI – the international system of measurements.
o Common name: The Metric System

Metric System

Metric System

▪ Based on the Decimal.

❖ Power of Ten
❖ Four units:
o Length
o Volume
o Mass
o Temperature

Instruments and Units

Length

▪ Meter – unit of length in the SI system.

o A meter is slightly longer than a yard.
o Precise definition is the distance light travels in 1/299,792,458 of one second.

Volume

▪ Volume is related to length.

▪ Units of volume:
❖ Cubic centimeters
❖ Liters
❖ Milliliters
o 1 mL = 1 cm3
 Measuring Volume

▪ Graduated Cylinder
▪ Pipet or Buret (Burette)
o Used when greater accuracy is required.

Mass

▪ Expressed in grams (Metric system)

▪ Powers of ten: modify the unit.
o Milligram (0.001 g)
o Kilogram (1000 g)

Temperature

▪ Factor that determines the direction of heat flow.

▪ Temperature is measured indirectly.
o Observing its effect on the properties of a substance.
o Mercury thermometer – mercury expands and contracts in response to
temperature.
o Digital Thermometer – uses a device called Thermistor.

Temperature Units

▪ Degrees Celsius
o Until 1948 – Degrees centigrade.
▪ Celsius Scale
o Water freezes at 0 °C.
o Water boils at 100 °C.

The Fahrenheit Scale

▪ Fahrenheit Scale
o Water freezes at 32 °F.
o Water boils at 212 °F.
▪ Comparing Scales
o 0 C is 32 °F.
o 100 C is 212 °F.
o There are 180 F for 100 °C, so each °C is 1.8 times larger than each °F.

The Kelvin Scale

▪ 1/273.16 of the difference between the lowest attainable temperature (0 K) and the
triples point of water (0.01 °C)
▪ Unlike the other two scales: no degree sign is used to express temperature in K.
Relationships Between Temperature Scales

Fahrenheit and Celsius

tF = 1.8tC + 32

Celsius and Kelvin

TK = t C + 273 .15

Uncertainties in Measurements

Uncertainties in Measurements

▪ Significant Figures
o Every measurement carries uncertainty.
o All measurements must include estimates of uncertainty with them.
o There is an uncertainty of at least one unit in the last digit.

Uncertainties in Measuring Volume

▪ Three volume measurements with their uncertainties

o Large graduated cylinder (8 c 1 mL)
o Small graduated cylinder (8.0 ± 0.1 mL)
o Pipet or Buret
 ▪ Text convention
o Uncertainty of ± in the last digit is assumed but not stated.

Significant Figures

Significant Figures

▪ Significant Figures are meaningful digits in measurements.

o 8.00mL – 3 significant figures
o 8.0 mL – 2 significant figures
o 8 mL – 1 significant figure
Ambiguity in Significant Figures

▪ Consider the measurement, 500 g.

o If the measurement was made to the nearest 1 g, all three digits are significant.
o If the measurement was made to the nearest 10 g, only two digits are significant.
o Resolve by using scientific notation.
5.00 X 102 g
5.0 X 102 g

Rounding

Rounding

▪ Rounding off numbers

o If the digits to be discarded less than – 500 (leave the last digit unchanged)
▪ 23.317 and 23.485 – round to 23.
o If the digits to be discarded is greater than – 500 (add 1 to the last digit)
▪ 23.692 and 23.514 – round to 23.
o If the digits to be discarded are equal to – 500 (round off so that the last digit is an
even number.
▪ 23.5 and 24.5 – both round to 24.
Significant Figures

SF: Addition and Subtraction

▪ When to numbers are added or subtracted.

▪ Perform the addition(s) and/or subtraction(s).
▪ Count the number of decimal places in each number.
▪ Round off – resulting number has the same number of decimal places as the
measurement with the greatest uncertainty.
o The fewer number of decimal places .e.g

SF: Multiplication and Division

▪ When measured quantities are multiplied or divided.

▪ The number of significant figures in the result is equal to that I the quantity with the
fewest significant figures.
o 2.40 x 2 = 5
o 1.775/2.0 = 0.89

Exact Numbers

Exact Numbers tF = 1.8tC + 32

▪ Some numbers carry an infinite number of significant figures.
▪ There are exact numbers.
▪ Exact numbers do not change the number of significant figures in a calculation.
▪ The numbers 1.8 and 32 in the conversion between Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature
are exact:
▪ Problems in text: numbers will be spelled out in words.
o “Calculate the heat evolved when one kilogram of coal burns.”
▪ Consider these numbers to be exact.

Dimensional Analysis

▪ Units (dimensions) – guides you to the solution of a problem.

▪ Always be sure that your answer is reported with both a number and set of units.
Conversion 1L 1000 cm3
= =1
Converting Units → 1000 cm3 1000 cm3

▪ Conversion factors are used to convert one set of units to another.

o Only the Units change.
o Conversion factors are numerically equal to 1.
1L = 1000 cm3

Choosing a conversion factor

▪ Choose a conversion factor that puts the initial units in the denominator.
o Initial units – will cancel.
o Final units – will appear in the numerator.

1.3 Properties and Compounds

Properties of Substances

Properties of Substances

▪ There are 2 fundamental properties of matter:

o Chemical properties – Accompany chemical change.
o Physical properties – Occur w/o chemical change.

Figure 1.12 – Gold Metal

2 Fundamental Properties of matter
Chemical Properties

▪ Accompany chemical change.

o Mercury (II) oxide – decomposes to mercury and oxygen when heated.
o Silver tarnishes on exposure to sulfides in air.

Physical Properties

❖ Melting Point (sublimation)

o Temperature at which Solid changes to a Liquid.
❖ Boiling Point (vaporization)
o Temperature at which Liquid changes to Gas.
❖ Both boiling and melting
o Reversible simply by changing the temperature.

m
Density d=
Density → V Figure 1.13 – Density of Wood
and water
▪ The density of a substance is its mass divided by its volume.
Solubility

Solubility

▪ The process by which one substance dissolves in another is

ordinarily a physical change.
▪ The resulting mixture is a solution.
▪ Solutions may be classified by the relative amount of solute and
solvent.
o Saturated: maximum amount of solute.
o Unsaturated: less than maximum amount of solute.
o Supersaturated: more than maximum amount of solute.

Key Concepts

▪ Convert between Fahrenheit, Celsius and Kelvin.

▪ Determine the number of significant figures in a measured quantity.
▪ Determine the number of significant figures in a calculated quantity.
▪ Use conversion factors to change from one quantity to another.
▪ Use density to relate mass and volume.
▪ Given the solubility, relate mass to volume for a substance.