Chapter 1

Introduction:
Matter and Measurement

What is chemistry?
• a science that deals with the
composition, structure, and properties
of substances and with the
transformations that they undergo

Webster's dictionary

Do we need chemistry?
• Chemistry is a core science that used in many
multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences

Physics Biology Mathematics

Astronomy Pharmacology Zoology

Bacteriology Medicine Pathology

Botany Bioinformatics Toxicology

Genetics Geology Nanotechnology
Meteorology Enzymology Environmental Science
Neurobiology Virology Nutrition

• From this list, can you suggest daily contact

with chemistry?

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The Scientific Method
• Collect data
• Analyze data
• Form a hypothesis
• Test the hypothesis
• Create a theory

Matter - Anything that has

mass and takes up space

Gas Liquid Solid

Air in a Balloon Pouring fixed Rock, Ice
quantity milk
from measuring
cup to bowl

Matter Composition
• Atoms – basic building blocks of
matter, where properties of matter
become distinctive

• Elements - elementary
substances that compose matter,
elements are made up of unique
atoms

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Pure Substances & Mixtures

Atoms of an element Molecules of an element

Molecules of a compound Mixture of elements

and a compound

Matter Classification
• Pure substances:
– are matter with fixed compositions and
distinct proportions
– are elements (cannot be decomposed into
simpler substances, i.e. only one kind of
atom) or
– compounds (consist of two or more
elements)

• Mixtures:
– May be composed of an element or
compound, a combination of two or more
pure substances.
– Each substance retains its own identity

Compounds
• Compound – a combination of elements
– Example: water
2H2 + O2 Æ 2H2O

– Compounds have different properties than their

component elements

– Water is liquid, but H2 and O2 are both gases at the

same temperature and pressure

• Law of Constant (Definite) Proportions

– A compound always consists of the same combination of
elements (e.g., water is always 11% H and 89% O).

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Mixtures
• A mixture is a combination of two or more
pure substances.
– Each substance retains its own identity; each
substance is a component of the mixture. The
composition may vary unlike a compound.

• Mixtures have variable composition.

– Heterogeneous mixtures do not have uniform
composition, properties, and appearance

– Homogeneous mixtures are uniformly mixed e.g.,

air; they are solutions.

Matter Classification

Properties of Matter
• Physical Properties:
– Observed without changing a substance into
another substance.

– Intensive properties do not depend on the

amount of substance present
• temperature, melting point etc.

– Extensive properties depend on the quantity of

substance present
• mass, volume etc.

• Chemical Properties:
– Only observed when a substance is changed
into another substance.
• Flammability, corrosiveness, reactivity with acid, etc.

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Matter Changes
• Physical changes – any change of
matter that does not change the type of
atoms and molecules within the matter
(change in a physical property or state, the
color, density, odor, melting point)

• Chemical changes - The process

where a molecule is transformed into a
different molecule (chemical property
change in oxidation, combustion)

Mixture Separations
• Filtration: remove solid from liquid.

• Example – Total Suspended Solid (TSS)

measurement of water samples

Mixture Separations
• Distillation: boil off one or more components
of the mixture

• Remove salt from saltwater or distill alcohol to

increase alcohol percentage

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SI Units of Measurement
• Le Systéme International (SI Units)

• Notice each physical quantity has a

different base unit

Metric System Prefixes

• Multiples of the base units are factors
of 10

A nanometer?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=D_LOpYg1eOw

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Temperature Scales

Physical property that determines heat

flow direction.

Celsius Scale
• The Celsius scale is based on the
properties of water.

0°C is the freezing point of water.

100°C is the boiling point of water.

Kelvin Scale
• Kelvin is the SI unit of temperature

• no negative Kelvin temperatures

• Conversion
TK = °C + 273.15

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Fahrenheit Scale
• An “American” temperature scale, not used
in science

• Conversions
T°F = 9/5(°C) + 32
T°C = 5/9(°F − 32)

Derived SI Units
• These are formed from the seven base
units.

• Examples
– Volume
– Density
– Velocity is distance traveled per unit time,
so units of velocity are units of distance (m)
divided by units of time (s): m/s.

Volume
• The base unit for volume in the metric system is the
cubic meter. The abbreviated symbol for meters is "m3".

• 1 L = 1 dm3 = (10 cm) (10 cm) (10 cm) = 1000 cm3,

we often use 1 mL (mL is the symbol for milliliter) in
place of 1 cm3. You will sometimes see a mL called a
"cc", which stands for cubic centimeter.

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Density
• Density - the mass per unit volume.

mass
d=
volume
• The S.I. units for density are kg/m3, but are
not for everyday use. More common units are:
– g/cm3 for solids
g/ml for liquids
g/L for gases

• If we know the mass and volume of a sample,

then we can calculate its density.

Other Measurements
• Length
– The base unit for length in the metric
system is the meter. (symbol for
meters is "m“).

• Mass
The base unit for mass in the metric
system is the kilogram. (symbol for
meters is "kg“).

Measurement Uncertainty
• Volume Delivery

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Measurement Uncertainty
• All scientific measures are subject to
error.

• These errors are reflected in the

number of figures reported for the
measurement.

• These errors are also reflected in the

observation that two successive
measures of the same quantity are
different.

Accuracy & Precision

• Precision indicates degree of reproducibility
of a measured number, and

• Accuracy indicates how close your

measurements are to the true value.

Significant Figures
• Significant Figures are the number of
digits that express the result to the true
measured precision.

• When rounding calculated numbers, we

pay attention to significant figures so
we do not overstate the accuracy of our
answers.

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Scientific Notation
• 0.092067 is written
9.2067 x 10-2 and has 5 sig. figs.
• 0.092 is written
9.2 x 10-2 and has 2 sig. figs.
• 0.0920 is written
9.20 x 10-2 and has 3 sig. figs.

• When using scientific notation all digits,

including zeroes, are significant

Sig Fig Rules

1. All nonzero digits are significant.

2. Zeroes between two significant figures

are themselves significant.

3. Zeroes at the beginning of a number

are never significant.

4. Zeroes at the end of a number are

significant if a decimal point is written
in the number.

Rounding in Sig Figs

• Round down when leftmost digit is <5.
Round up when leftmost digit is >5.

• Round the following quantities to the given

number of significant figures:

1. 3.5500 L (2 significant figures)

2. 8394 nm (2 significant figures)

3. 72.4503 g (3 significant figures)

4. 0.39261 kJ (4 significant figures)

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Operation Sig Fig Rules
• Addition or Subtraction
– Answers are rounded to the least
significant decimal place.

• Multiplication or Division
– Answers are rounded to the number
of digits that corresponds to the least
number of significant figures in any of
the numbers used in the calculation.

Dimensional Analysis
• Dimensional analysis is a
method of calculation utilizing a
knowledge of units.

• conversion factors are simple

ratios.

Common Conversions

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Metric Conversions
• Convert the mileage over the Atlantic Ocean
between New York City and London to
kilometers and meters.

Google Maps

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