EOTT Matter Study Guide
Pt. 1 States of Matter
1. What are the four states of matter? solid, liquid, gas, plasma
2. How are particles arranged in a solid? The particles are tightly packed and vibrate in place.
3. How are particles arranged in a liquid? The particles in a liquid have some space between them and
move freely.
4. How are particles arranged in a gas? The particles in a gas move at high speeds in all directions.
5. What causes matter to change its state? In other words, how does matter change from a solid to a
liquid to a gas? Thermal energy (not temperature) causes matter to change from one state to the other.
6. What is thermal energy? Thermal energy is the total kinetic and potential energy of all the particles in
a sample of matter.
7. How is thermal energy and temperature related? The movement of thermal energy from a substance
at a higher temperature to one at a lower temperature is called heat. For example, When a warm object
is brought near a cooler object, thermal energy will be transferred from the warmer object to the cooler
one.
8. What is the melting point of water? The temperature at which a substance changes from a solid to a
liquid is called the melting point. The melting point of water is 00 C.
9. What is the boiling point of water? The temperature at which a liquid boils is called the boiling point.
The boiling point for water is 1000 C. When the boiling point is reached, the liquid will change from a
liquid into a gas. That change is known as vaporization.
10. A. What is vaporization? B. What are the two types of vaporization? C. What is the relationship
between the two?
A. Vaporization is the change from a liquid into a gas. For example, As liquid water is heated, its
temperature rises until it reaches 1000 C. At this point, liquid water changes into water vapor. This is
what is actually happening: The water is absorbing thermal energy from the fire. The additional energy
causes the particles to move faster and faster until they have enough energy to escape the liquid as gas
particles.
B. There are two types of vaporization: evaporation and boiling. Boiling is vaporization that is taking
place below the surface of the liquid (B=Boiling, B=Below). Evaporation is vaporization that is taking
place at the surface of the liquid.
C. While some particles are becoming gas inside the liquid, other liquid particles can become gas at the
surface.
11. A. What is condensation? B. Explain what happens to particles in a substance during condensation?
A. Condensation is the change from a gas to a liquid, which is the opposite of vaporization.
B. As a gas cools, its particles slow down. When particles move slowly enough for their attractions to
bring them together, droplets of liquid form.
12. What is freezing? The change from a liquid state to the solid state is called freezing. As the liquid
cools, it loses thermal energy. As a result, its particles slow down and come closer together. Attractive
forces begin to trap particles and the solid begins to form. The temperature at which a substance
changes from a liquid to a solid is called the freezing point. The freezing point of water is 00 C.
13. What is melting? The change from the solid state to the liquid state is called melting. The solid
substance absorbs thermal energy causing the particles to move more rapidly. The addition of energy
into the particles causes the temperature begins to rise. The temperature at which a substance melts is
called the melting point. The melting point for water is 00 C. Isn't it interesting that the melting point and
the freezing point of a substance is the same temperature? Wonder why that is? I've helped you along
so far, now you figure this one out all by yourself. :-)
Pt. 2 Chemical and Physical properties and changes
14. A. What is a chemical property? B. Give two examples:
A chemical property is a characteristic of matter that allows it to change to a different type of matter. A
chemical property describes how easily one substance reacts to another substance.
B. 1. An apple slice has a characteristic that causes it to react to oxygen. When apple slices are exposed
to air, they react with the oxygen to cause it to turn brown.
B. 2. A piece of iron has a characteristic that causes it to react to water to produce a new substance
(rust).
15. What is a physical property? A physical property is a characteristic of matter that can be detected
with the five senses: color, shape, size, texture, mass, volume, density, etc.
16. What is a physical change? A physical change is any change in size, shape, form, or state where the
identity of the matter stays the same. For example, when water freezes into ice, it is still water even
though it is now a solid. When a piece of paper is shredded into little bits, it is still paper.
17. What is a chemical change? A chemical change is when one type of matter changes into a different
type of matter with different properties. When iron turns into rust is one example. Another example is
when an object is burnt in a fire, the smoke and ash that is created is a different substance.
18. Give two indicators that a chemical change has taken place. One way that we can tell that a chemical
change has taken place is the formation of a new substance. For example, rust is formed on iron when
it's left in the rain. Another way that you can tell if a chemical change took place is the fact that the
change isn't easily reversed. For example, you cannot reverse the rust to become iron again. An egg that
is cooked into a cake cannot go back into its shell and become an egg.
19. What is a chemical reaction? The process by which new substances are formed during a chemical
change. Some signs that indicate a chemical reaction has occurred include the forming of gases a change
in color, the release of heat, or the emission of light.
In the language of chemistry, materials undergoing a chemical change are said to be reacting. Any
change in a substance that involves a rearrangement of the way its atoms are bonded to create a new
substance. Reactivity describes how likely an element is to form bonds with other elements.
Reactants are the elements or chemicals that will react to another chemical.
Products are what is produced after the elements react.
20. What is the difference between a chemical property and a chemical change? The chemical property
is the characteristic of a substance that would have the ability to react chemically to create a new
substance. The chemical change is the result of the reaction to create the new substance.
Periodic Table
21. The periodic table is a list of all the known elements. It is organized by increasing atomic number.
There are two main sections on the periodic table: metals and nonmetals. The left side of the table
contains the metals with the greatest metallic properties. As you move from the left to the right, the
elements become less metallic with the far right side of the table consisting of the nonmetals. the
elements in the middle of the table are called "transition" elements because their properties change
from metallic properties to nonmetallic properties. A small number of elements whose members touch
the zigzag line between the metals and nonmetals are called metalloids because they have both metallic
and nonmetallic properties.
The periodic table is organized by columns called "groups." Each group of elements have the same
number of valence electrons and react to other substances similarly. For example oxygen and sulfur are
both in group 16, so oxygen and sulfur react to other substances very similarly.
Each element is made of its own type of atom. For example an atom of oxygen is made of only oxygen
atoms. An atom of carbon is made of only carbon atoms. If you had a large sample of oxygen and a small
sample of oxygen, they would both have the same type of atoms in each of the samples.
Sometimes an element is called a chemical. For example chlorine is typically called a chemical.
The symbol of the element begins with a capital letter. Some elements have two letters in their symbol.
The first letter is capital and the second letter is lowercase. Examples are: Carbon-C, Hydrogen-H,
Helium-He, Lithium-Li.
If you take an element and break it down to its tiniest piece that still has the same properties of the
element, it is called an atom.
An atom cannot be divided and still keep the same properties of the element from which it came.
Two or more atoms that are chemically bonded together is called a molecule.
Two or more different atoms that are chemically bonded together are still called a molecule, but they
are also a compound.
A compound is when two or more different elements come together to create a new substance.
An element and a compound are pure substances.
Measurement
Density is measured grams per cubic centimeter.
1 mL of water is 1 cm3