Cambridge IGCSE Combined and Co-ordinated Sciences Revision checklists

Chapter C2  The nature of matter

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There are three different physical states in which a
substance can exist: solid, liquid and gas. Changes in
state can be made by changing the temperature and/
or the pressure. Sublimation is a change of state from
solid to gas in which the liquid phase is bypassed.
Pure substances have precise melting and boiling
points – their sharpness can be taken as an indication
of the degree of purity of the substance.
The processes of melting and boiling require energy
– when heating a substance, the temperature stays
constant during these processes.
The solubility of most solids increases with rising
temperature, whereas gases are less soluble at higher
temperatures.
A range of separation methods exist to purify one
substance from a mixture, for example:
• filtration separates an insoluble substance from
suspension in a liquid
• distillation separates a liquid from the solutes
dissolved in it
• fractional distillation separates liquids that mix
but have different boiling points
• chromatography separates substances,
particularly coloured dyes, by differences in their
solubility in a solvent.
Chromatography can help identify unknown
substances, particularly using the measurement of
Rf values. Paper chromatography can be extended to
colourless substances by the use of locating agents.
Elements are the basic building units of the material
world – they cannot be chemically broken down into
anything simpler.
Compounds are made from two or more elements
chemically combined together. The properties of
a compound are very different from those of the
elements it is made from.
Chemical reactions produce new substances and
involve energy changes.

Each element is made from atoms. These atoms can

be represented by a chemical symbol. Atoms can join
together to make the molecules either of an element
or of a compound.

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Cambridge IGCSE Combined and Co-ordinated Sciences Revision checklists

Chapter C2  The nature of matter (continued)

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The particles (atoms, molecules or ions) of a substance
are in constant motion – the kinetic model. The speed
and range of movement of these particles in a solid,
liquid or gas is different. Evidence for this motion of
particles comes from diffusion in fluid states.
The kinetic model explains the processes and energy
changes involved in changing state.

The rate of diffusion of gaseous atoms and molecules

is inversely proportional to the mass of the particles –
the lighter the particles, the faster they diffuse. The
phenomenon of Brownian motion provides evidence
for the movement of atoms and molecules.
The atoms of elements are made up of different
combinations of the sub-atomic particles – protons,
neutrons and electrons. Each element is made
from atoms that contain a characteristic number of
protons and electrons. This number is always the
same in atoms of that element and is defined by the
proton (atomic) number (Z) of the element.
In any atom, the protons and neutrons are bound
together in a central nucleus; the electrons ‘orbit’
the nucleus in different shells (or energy levels). The
mass of an electron is negligible compared to that of
a proton or neutron, which have approximately equal
mass. The nucleon (mass) number (A) defines the
total number of protons and neutrons in any atom.
Isotopes of the same element can exist that differ
only in the number of neutrons in their nuclei. The
isotopes of an element have the same chemical
properties because they have the same electron
structure.
Some isotopes of many elements have unstable
nuclei and this makes them radioactive.

The electrons in atoms are arranged in an organised

way in different shells. These electron shells have
different energies and are at different distances from
the nucleus of the atom. Electrons are placed in the
shells closest to the nucleus first, and each shell has a
maximum number of electrons that it can contain.

19 © Cambridge University Press 2017