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Matter and Its Classification
Matter is anything that occupies space (has volume) and has mass. Mass is a measure of the
quantity of matter. The interaction of mass with gravity creates weight, which can be
measured on a scale of balance.
Matter can be classified by its chemical composition. Some types of matter always have the
same chemical composition, no matter what their origin. Such types of matter are called pure
substances or more briefly, substances. A pure substance has the same chemical composition
throughout from sample to sample. It cannot be separated into components by physical
means.
There are two types of pure substances; elements and compounds. An element is a substance
that cannot be broken down into simpler substances even by a chemical reaction. Elements
are the building blocks of matter and are generally classified into metals and non-metals.
A compound, sometimes called a chemical compound, is a substance composed of two or
more elements combined in definite proportions. A compound has properties different from its
component elements.
In contrast to pure substances, other materials are mixtures. A mixture consists of two or more
pure substances and may vary in composition. Mixtures differ in the uniformity of composition.
A homogeneous mixture has a uniform composition throughout and is often called a solution.
A mixture that is not uniform throughout is a heterogeneous mixture.
The flowchart below describes how we can easily classify matter.
Element Symbols and Formulas
To avoid having to write out the name of an element every time we refer to it, we use a system
of symbols. An element symbol is a shorthand version of an element’s longer name. Often the
symbol is one or two letters of the element’s name. The first letter is uppercase and if the
second letter, if present is lowercase.
For a few elements, the symbols are based on their Latin names or names from other
languages. Some recently synthesized elements are named after famous scientists or
locations.
Chemists represent compounds with formulas based on the symbols for the elements that are
combined in the compound. A chemical formula describes the composition of a compound
using the symbols for the elements that make up the compound. In writing the formula, the
elements that are to the left of the periodic table are written first followed by the one on the
right.
Subscript numbers show the relative proportions of the elements in the compound. If no
subscript number is given for an element in a formula, then you may assume that the element
has a relative proportion of one.
Naming Binary Compounds
A binary compound is made up of two elements, which is normally a combination of a metal
and a non-metal or two non-metals. Metal elements do not combine to form a compound.
C carbon K potassium
Ionic Compounds
Compounds that are made up of a metal and a non-metal are called ionic compounds (we
will be exploring more of this in the lesson on ionic bonding). Formulas for ionic compounds
can only tell us the ratio of cations to a nions i n a compound that give net charges of zero.
Ionic compounds are named by writing the name of the cation first (the metal), followed by
the name of the anion (the non-metal).
In naming ionic compounds, we do not consider the subscript present in the chemical
formula. We simply remove the word “ion” in their ionic names and combine them such that
we get the following:
Ca2N3 =
calcium nitride Al2O3 = aluminum oxide KF = potassium fluoride
Compounds that are made up of non-metals are called molecular compounds or covalent
compounds (this will be explored more on the lesson on covalent bonding). Formulas for
molecular compounds indicate the number of atoms of each element in a molecule of a
compound.
Greek Prefixes
1 – mono 6 – hexa
2 – di 7 – hepta
3 – tri 8 – octa
4 – tetra 9 – nona
5 – penta 10 – deca
The prefix mono is usually omitted when the first element in the formula has only one atom.
Examples:
Reference
Bauer: Introduction to Chemistry, Fourth Edition (2016) McGraw-Hill Education