Lesson 1.

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Particulate Nature of
Matter

General Chemistry 1
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Have you ever wondered what makes up dust?

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As wood is sawn into
pieces, fine specks of
dust are produced.
These are too small
to be seen by our
naked eyes but they
have unique
arrangement and
motion.
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All kinds of matter
are particulate in
nature. These
particles may be in
the form of
molecules, atoms, or
ions. Atoms are the
building blocks of
matter.
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This lesson tackles the ancient views on
matter and how the particulate nature
of matter evolved. A comparison of the
arrangement, relative spacing, and
motion of particles of solids, liquids,
and gases will be presented to justify
their nature.

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How do particles of matter
interact with one another?

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 Learning Competencies
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Recognize that substances are made up of

smaller particles (STEM_GC11MP-Ia-b-1).

● Describe and/or make a representation of the

arrangement, relative spacing, and relative
motion of particles in each of the three phases
of matter (STEM_GC11MP_1a-b-2).

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 Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Describe the ancient views on matter.

● Discuss the main ideas in the particle nature of

matter.

● Describe and represent each state of matter using

particulate drawings based on the arrangement,
relative spacing, and relative motion of their
particles.
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How do ancient
philosophers view matter?

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 Matter

● Matter is anything that has mass and volume.

● Ancient Greek philosophers were the first to speculate
the nature of matter.
● They only speculated on the nature of materials
around them as they were not able to conduct
experiments that will validate their assumptions.

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 Ancient Views on Matter

Materials are made up of one primal matter.

Empedoclean Elements
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 Ancient Views on Matter

● Aristotle suggested that

all space is filled up with
matter, thus, implying
that there are no empty
spaces.
● He described each
element as a balance
between two qualities.

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 Continuity of Matter

● Since matter is not void, this means that it is divisible

and can be cut into pieces over and over again.

● This started the principle of continuity of matter,

wherein matter can be broken down into pieces and as
you do so, you will not be able to obtain its smallest
parts.

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 The Greek Concept of Atom

● Leucippus and
Democritus thought
that all materials are
made up of tiny bits of
matter which cannot
be divided further.
● Greeks referred to this
as atom (Greek word
atomos, meaning
indivisible). Democritus’s view of matter
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How does the idea of Democritus
result in the formulation of the
particulate nature of matter?

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 Particulate Nature of Matter

Discontinuity of Matter: Matter is made up of particles

instead of a primal material.

Four main ideas

1. Matter is composed of discrete particles.
2. There is an empty space between particles of
matter.
3. The particles of matter are in constant motion.
4. There are forces that act between the particles.

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What does the particulate
nature of matter mean?

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 Discrete Particles of Matter

A block of wood (left) can be easily observed as hard, and

based on its internal composition, it is made up of compact
particles (right).
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 Empty Space between Particles

● The particles that

make up matter have
spaces in between
them.

● These spaces may be

little or huge,
depending on the kind
of matter.
Food coloring spreads out in water.

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 Motion of Particles

The spaces between particles dictate the kind of

movement that particles in matter can do.

Particles that are close to one another (left) move in vibratory motion
while particles that are far apart (right) move fast and in random
directions. 20
 Motion of Particles

As the temperature increases, particles gain kinetic

energy which results in their fast movement. 21
What happens to the space
between particles of a heated
matter?

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 Forces between Particles

● Intermolecular forces or
forces that exist between
particles may be attractive
or repulsive.
● The water particles (inside)
attract one another.
● The glass particles and the
water particles (outside)
repel one another.
Formation of water droplets in
cold glass of water 23
Particulate Nature of the Three States of Matter

Particulate drawings of solid, liquid, and gas

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 Particulate Nature of the Three States of Matter

Solids are like military units. The particles are rigid and
close to one another.

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 Particulate Nature of the Three States of Matter

Liquids are like people

in a reunion party.
There are small,
random motions but
people are close to one
another.

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 Particulate Nature of the Three States of Matter

How does the arrangement of particles in gases similar to

a soccer ball game?

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Particulate Nature of the Three States of Matter

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 Check Your Understanding

Tell whether the statement is true or false.

1. Matter is made up of distinct particles.
2. Charged particles that make up matter are known as
atoms.
3. According to Aristotle, there are no empty spaces in
matter.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● Ancient Greek philosophers were the first to

speculate the nature of matter by providing
different assumptions on what it is made of.
● The idea of Democritus paved the way in
establishing that matter is made up of particles
instead of a primal material.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● There are four main ideas in the particulate

nature of matter:
1. Matter is composed of discrete particles.
2. There is an empty space between particles of
matter.
3. The particles of matter are in constant motion.
4. There are forces that act between the particles.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● The arrangement of particles, its motion, and

intermolecular forces dictate the kind of state in
which matter exists.

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Challenge Yourself

A pot of water is placed on top of a

hot stove. After some time, you
notice the buildup of moisture inside
the pot cover. What inference can
you make based on your knowledge
of the particulate nature of matter?

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Bibliography

Chang, Raymond, and Kenneth A. Goldsby. General Chemistry: the Essential Concepts. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2014.

Handwerker, Mark J. Science Essentials. San Francisco, CA.: Jossey-Bass, 2005.

Hawe, Alan, Dan Davies, Kendra McMahon, Lee Towler, Chris Collier, and Tonie Scott. Science 5–11: A
Guide for Teachers. 2nd ed. New York, NY: David Fulton Publishers, 2009.

Petrucci, Ralph H. General Chemistry: Principles and Modern Applications. Toronto, Ont.: Pearson
Canada, 2011.

Silberberg, Martin S. Principles of General Chemistry. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013.

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