Classification of Matter

Substances
• Matter that is either an element or a compound
• Elements and compounds can not be reduced to
more basic components by physical means
 Elements
• All units that make up all
matter are called atoms
• If all the atoms in a
sample of matter have the
same identity, that kind of
matter is an element
• The carbon in a pencil
point contains only carbon
atoms, carbon is an
element
 Compounds
• Compounds are material
made of two or more
elements combined
• The ratio of the different
atoms is always the same
for that compound
• Example: Waters ratio is
H2O, so in each water
molecule there are two
hydrogen atoms and one
oxygen atom
 Element or Compound

Gold
Element
Au
 Element or Compound

Salt
Compound
NaCl (sodium chloride)
 Element or Compound

Copper
Element
Cu
 Element or Compound

Baking soda
Compound
NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate)
 Element or Compound

Propane
Compound
C3H8
 Mixtures
• A mixture is a material • A heterogeneous mixture
is a mixture in which the
that is made up of two different materials can
or more substances easily be distinguished
• Do not always contain • A homogenous mixture or
solution is a mixture in
the same amounts of which two or more
substances that make substances are uniformly
them up spread out and the
different materials can not
be easily distinguished
 MATTER

M atter
H a s m a ss
T a ke s up sp a ce

S ubstance M ixture
C om po sition de fin ite C o m po sitio n v ariab le

E lement Com pound Hom ogeneous Heterogeneous

O n e k in d o f a to m T w o or m o re E v en ly m ixe d; U ne v en ly
k in d s o f a to m s a so lu tion m ix ed
 Colloids and Suspensions
• A colloid is a
heterogeneous mixture
containing tiny particles
that never settle out.
Example : milk and jello
• A suspension is a
heterogeneous mixture
containing a liquid in
which visible particles
settle. Example: Muddy
water
 Detecting Colloids
• One way to distinguish a colloid from a
solution is by its appearance.
• Fog appears white because its particles are
large enough to scatter light.
• Sometimes it is not so obvious that a liquid
is a colloid.
• You can tell for certain if a liquid is a colloid
by passing a beam of light through it.
 Detecting Colloids
• A light beam is invisible as it passes through
a solution, but can be seen readily as it passes
through a colloid. This occurs because the
particles in the colloid are large enough to
scatter light, but those in the solution are not.
• This scattering of
light by colloidal
particles is called
the Tyndall
effect.
 Suspensions
• Some mixtures are neither solutions nor
colloids. One example is muddy pond
water.
• Pond water is a suspension, which is a
heterogeneous mixture containing a liquid
in which visible particles settle.
 Suspensions
• The table summarizes the properties of
different types of mixtures.