Classification of Matter - Video Tutorials & Practice Problems
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Chemistry is the study of matter and the changes it undergoes, with the atom being its basic functional unit.
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Introduction to Chemistry Channel
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Hey, everyone. Welcome to the general chemistry channel in Pearson plus. My name is Jules, and I'll be your main guide through our course. Now my job is to help you actually understand concepts from lecture, so that you can ace your exams. I have my bachelor's degree in chemistry, and I've been helping college students in chemistry for nearly 15 years. And because of that, I'll be able to pass along tips and insights that'll help you succeed and better excel this semester. In this chemistry course, we'll cover common topics such as dimensional analysis, stoichiometry, the quantum mechanical view of the atom, Lewis nonstructures, chemical equilibrium and so much more. We've developed this course with you in mind, so you can use it along with your textbook. So Jules, how does this work? Well, you're going to watch our concept videos where we talk about these topics in detail. We're going to explain concepts, equations, and problem solving techniques that you need to know. We always make sure to do real problems within our lessons, Helping you to build up your skill and confidence, so that you can eventually do these on your own. Now, our lessons are built to be engaging. So you're not just gonna be watching, you're gonna have a downloadable copy that you can write along and follow along with me. That's right, I'm gonna be there with you working on examples, helping you, preparing you for your homework and eventually exam day. If you ever need additional help, feel free to reach out to the team by leaving a comment on the video and we'll get back to you. So again, welcome to the general chemistry channel here on Pearson Plus. I'm super excited to have you here and whenever you're ready, let's begin.
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concept
Classification of Matter
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Hey, everyone. In our journey to understand chemistry, it's first important to define what chemistry is. Now chemistry is the study of matter and the changes it undergoes with the atom being its basic functional unit. Now matter itself is anything that occupies space and has mass, and when it comes to matter, we can group it under 3 types. We're gonna say the first one is the simplest type of matter that is composed of one kind of atom. That would be our elements. Okay. Now we're gonna say element, you might have heard of it. If you've taken chemistry before, you might have heard of the periodic table of elements. We'll go into that in greater detail later on, but just realize that when we're talking about an atom, we're oftentimes referring to those elements on the periodic table. Next, we have matter composed of 2 or more different elements that are chemically bonded together. So here we're talking about 2 or more elements, that means we're talking about compounds. So a compound is when you have 2 or more elements connected together chemically. Then finally, we have matter that is composed of elements and or compounds that are physically mixed together. The keyword here being mixed. So here, this would be our mixtures. So mixture would be the 3rd type of matter. Now that we've grouped matter into these 3 types, let's continue onward and further talk about these groupings.
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concept
Classification of Matter
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So when it comes to the classification of matter, it all begins with its composition. We ask ourselves, is it a single composition or a variable composition? Now if it has a single composition, that means it's composed of a single type of substance. It's not mixed with another one. And if we're dealing with a single composition form of matter, then we label that a pure substance. Next, we ask ourselves, is this separable into simpler substances? If the answer is no, then it represents an element. Now, remember, from up above, an element is a type of matter composed of one kind of atom. Now a good example of this would be carbon. Carbon uses the symbol c. We'll learn about the symbols and element names later on, but for right now, carbon uses the letter c. It is an element because it's made up of one kind of atom, a carbon atom. Now, oxygen exists as o 2 and although there's 2 oxygens there, it's still an element because it's still made up of only one kind of atom, oxygen atoms. There just happens to be 2 of them. We also have phosphorus, which in nature is P4 and sulfur, which is S8. The natural forms of these elements we'll also talk about later on when discussing the periodic table. But for now, realize all of these are elements because each of them is composed of only one kind of atom. Some of them are by themselves like carbon, and in the others, there could be multiple of that same kind of atom. Now if our pure substance is separable into simpler substances, then we'll say that it's a compound. A compound is composed of 2 or more different elements chemically connected together. A good example is something we know, water. Remember water is h two o. It's made up of 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom. We also have, carbon dioxide, which we breathe out, which is made up of 1 carbon atom and 1 and 2 oxygen atoms. Then we have something a little bit less known, a natural sugar, glucose. Glucose is C6H1206. It's made up of different elements together, carbon atoms, carbon elements, hydrogen, and oxygen. So glucose would fall under the definition of a compound. Now if our matter is composed of variable composition, that means it's different substances mixed together with the keyword being mixed. This means that we're dealing with mixtures. With mixtures, we ask ourselves, does it have a uniform composition where everything looks the same in the mixture or is it not uniform? If it's not a uniform mixture, it'll be composed of different substances and we can tell them apart. This would be called a heterogeneous mixture. A great example is oil and water. The saying is oil and water don't mix. That's because if you were to take some water and pour some oil in it, shake it up, and then, we lie it down on a table or lay it down on a table, eventually be able to tell what part of the mixture is oil and what part is water because, again, oil and water don't mix. We can tell the different parts involved within the mixture. Now if it has a uniform composition, then it is a homogeneous homogeneous mixture or homogeneous mixture. A great example of this is all around us, air. Air is a homogeneous mixture because air is composed of a lot of different things, but all of it looks the same to us. It's composed of oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, as well as other things. It's a lot of different components, but everything looks the same. That is what a homogeneous mixture is. So remember, when it comes to classification of matter, looking at it from a macro view, we look at its composition first. From there, we go into pure substances and mixtures, which will help us identify the 3 major types of matter we talked up talked about above. Now that we've gone over matter, let's go on to the next video.
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example
Classification of Matter Example 1
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So if we take a look at this example question, it says, consider the following substances. We have Gatorade, crystalline sugar, lead wire, and salsa. And it looks like all our option choices are talking about pure substances or homogeneous mixtures. So let's go through each one and identify what we have. Gatorade. We all know that this is an energy drink, and it looks like just a single colored liquid, sometimes white, sometimes blue, sometimes red, even yellow. But if we look closer into Gatorade, we'll see that Gatorade is composed of water, sugar, and, of course, what's important, electrolytes. But all of it looks the same. It has a uniform composition. We can't tell them apart. So Gatorade is an example of homogeneous mixture. Next, we have a crystalline sugar. Don't get confused by the word crystalline. That really isn't important. It's just talking about the organized structure of the sugar itself. Now up above we talked about biological sugar in the form of glucose. Right? So crystalline sugar is pure sugar, you can think of glucose as a good example. Up above we said that glucose was a compound, but more importantly it was a pure substance. Here we're assuming that it's just pure sugar here by itself, not mixed with anything. Lead wire. Here, we're just dealing with one type of atom, lead. We're not dealing it mixed with anything else. The entire wire is made up of just lead, so this would be an element, more importantly, a pure substance. Finally, we have salsa. So salsa can come with a lot of different things besides the base tomato part of it. We could have corn in there or green peppers or onions. All we know is that when we look at salsa, no matter what it is, we can tell it has different components in it, and because we can see the different parts of it, it is a heterogeneous mixture. From our choices, we can see a doesn't work because 1 and 2, 2 is a pure substance, but not 1. 1 and 2 are homogeneous mixtures. No. Only 1 was a homogeneous mixture out of the 2. 2 and 3 are pure substances. We did say that. 1 is a homogeneous mixture. We said that too. D can't be the answer because we found out that option c was the correct choice. So, remember, when it comes to classification of matter, think of it in terms of composition. From there, we can separate it further into the 3 main typings that we talked about above. Now that we've done this example question, let's move on forward and continue our discussion on matter and its classifications.
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Problem
Problem
Which of the following statements is true?
A
Compounds can only be broken down by chemical means.
B
Gasoline is a pure substance.
C
Only elements are pure substances.
D
Milk is an example of a homogeneous mixture.
E
Concrete is an example of a homogeneous mixture.
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Problem
Problem
Choose the homogeneous mixture from the list below.
A
Soda
B
Smog
C
Trail mix
D
Bowl of cereal with milk
E
Pure oxygen and nitrogen gas
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Problem
Problem
Choose the homogeneous mixture from the list below.
A
Chicken noodle soup
B
A cup of black coffee
C
Sand (unfiltered)
D
Fruit salad
E
Seawater (unfiltered)
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Problem
Problem
Classify each of the following as an element, compound or mixture.