Chemistry Note Taking Guide
Describing Matter (p.6-15)
 Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space (NRG is everything else)
 Chemistry is the study if the properties of matter & how matter Δ
 Substance - single type of matter that is pure; specific make-up; specific
properties (salt vs. blueberry muffin)
 Chemical & Physical properties describe matter
 Physical Property - can be observed without changing it into another substance
(water to ice or water to steam); hardness, texture, color, state of matter; can be
used to classify matter; usually observed with the five senses
 Chemical Property - characteristic of a substance that describes it ability to Δ into
a different substance; flammability, rusting, tarnishing, production of gas
 Elements - 117 known ones, simplest substances; can’t be broken down into any
other substance (must be 118 - haven’t made element #117 yet)
 Chemical bonds form when atoms combine to make molecules - groups of two or
more atoms held together by chemical bonds
 Compound is a pure substance made of two or more elements chemically
combined in a set ratio (comparison of two numbers); have properties that are
different from those of the uncombined elements; difficult to separate into its
elements; have a chemical formula that can be written
 Compounds are represented by chemical formulas - shows the elements and the
ratio of atoms of those elements (H2O; CO2; NaCl; C6H12O6)
 Both elements and compounds are “pure” substances
 Mixture is made from two or more substances that are NOT chemically
combined; easy to separate into its components (filtration, evaporation,
distillation, etc), cannot be written as ONE chemical formula
 Heterogeneous Mixture - not evenly mixed; can see the different parts (salad)
 Homogeneous Mixture - evenly mixed; can’t see the different parts (sugar +
water)
 Solution - example of a homogeneous mixture - could be solid(brass - copper +
zinc), liquid(lemonade) or gas(air)
Measuring Matter (p. 16-20)
 Unlike weight, mass does not change with location, even when the force of
gravity changes on an object.
 International System of Units - (SI) - used to measure the properties of matter –
metric
 Mass, Weight, Volume, Temperature, and Density are physical properties of
matter.
 Density of water = 1 gm/cm3
States of Matter (p. 42 - 47)
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Solid - has definite shape & volume due to fixed, closely packed arrangement of
particles, particles vibrate in place
Crystalline Solids - made of crystals in regular, repeating patterns; melts at a
distinct temperature
Amorphous Solids - particles are not in a regular pattern - plastic, rubber, glass;
does not melt at a distinct temperature - Δ into a softer or other substance
Liquid - definite volume, but no definite shape; particles are free to move; called a
fluid
Fluids are substances that flow - anything that has NO definite shape (liquids,
gases, plasmas, filaments (?))
Surface Tension - inward pull among the molecules of a liquid that brings the
molecules on the surface closer together; “stickiness of the atoms of the liquid”
Viscosity - a liquid’s resistance to flowing - depends on size and shape of
particles and the attractions between them; high viscosity = flow slowly (honey)
Gas - no definite shape or volume; particles are spread apart and fill all space
available
Changes in Matter (p.22 - 27)
 Physical Change - any change that alters the form or appearance of matter, but
does not make any substance in the matter into different matter; does NOT
change the chemical formula of the substance; is still the same substance after
the change; can be just a change in the state of matter; dissolving, breaking,
crushing, chopping, bending, separating of mixtures; ex. - ice melts to liquid
water
 Chemical Change - when a substance is transformed into another substance;
production of one or more new substances; the new substance has different
properties from the original substances; combustion, electrolysis, oxidation,
tarnishing; ex. - when rust forms on metal due to the interaction of the metal and
water or lighting a table on fire
 Conservation of Mass - matter is not created or destroyed in any chemical or
physical change; atoms are not lost or gained, just rearranged; can be
transferred
 Energy (NRG) - is the ability to do work or cause change
 Every chemical or physical change in matter includes a change in NRG
 Temperature - measure of the average NRG of random motion of particles of
matter; related to the amount of thermal NRG; no such thing as cold in science lack of heat
 Thermal NRG - total NRG of all of the particles in an object (NOT average!);
always flows from warmer matter to cooler matter
 Endothermic Change - a change in which NRG is taken into the reaction/change;
ex. melting of ice, baking soda & vinegar
 Exothermic Change - a change in which NRG is given off by a reaction/change;
ex. Combustion, yeast & hydrogen peroxide