Matter
Everything around us is made of matter. It has mass and takes up space.
Matter has certain characteristics that define and describe it. There is a group of properties to each substance and are used to differentiate one object from another. These are the specific properties of matter and can be classified as physical or chemical properties.
Introductory questions
1. Is air made of matter? Explain your answer.
2. How do fizzy drinks get their bubbles?
3. How are chemical properties of matter different from the physical properties?
4. Choose an object and make a list with three intensive and three extensive physical properties.
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What is matter?
Properties of matter
Try this...
Take a bottle and carefully fill it with different materials like oil, colored alcohol, colored water, pebbles, and syrup or honey.
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Write your hypothesis. What do you think is going to happen inside of the bottle with each material? Explain.
After 10 minutes, observe your bottle and make a drawing of it.
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What can you say about the experience? Was your hypothesis right?
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Why do you think you obtained these results?
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES: Are those that can be determined without changing the nature of the material.
Organoleptic properties: Are those that can be determined by using the organs of the senses. These can be:
a. Shape
b. Color
c. Porosity
d. Taste/smell
e. Roughness
Extensive properties depend of the amount of matter. These can be:
•Mass: Amount of matter or particles.
•Volume: Space occupied by matter.
•Lenght: How long an object is.
•Shape: Arrangement of the particles within a material.
Intensive properties do not depend on the amount of matter
•State: Condition by which mater can be found. The main ones are solid, liquid, gas and plasma.
•Boiling point: The temperature needed for a substance to pass from liquid to gas.
•Fusion point: The accurate temperature needed for a substance to pass from solid to liquid.
•Compressibility: The ability to be squeezed or pressed together.
•Solubility: Property of a substance to dissolve into a liquid at a determined temperature.
•Density: Is the relationship between a substance’s mass and its volume.
•Hardness: Resistance of substances to be scratched.
•Elasticity: Ability of substances to change and to recover their original shape after a force is applied.
•Ductility: Property of a substance to become wire or strand.
•Malleability: Ability of materials to turn into sheets.
•Toughness: Resistance offered by a material to break or to deform when hit.
•Fragility: Tendency to break or fracture.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES: The characteristics that interrelate the composition of matter and its reactions with other materials.
Any change in these properties include a chemical change or reaction. In a chemical reaction, materials change their physical and chemical properties producing new substances with different characteristics.
Some chemical reactions can be:
•Flammability: Ability to burn in the presence of oxygen or other oxidizer.
•Reactivity: Ability to react with oxygen, water, acids, bases.
•Decomposition: Ability to divide into smaller molecules under changes of temperature, electricity or pressure.