Introduction To Nature Of Matter | Chemistry

Matter has been defined as anything that has mass and occupies space, and that all forms of matter are chemical substances. Matter is made up of one or more chemical substances.

A chemical substance is any form
of matter that is single in composition. It has its own characteristic qualities and behaviours called properties. physical and chemical. A chemical substance has two types of properties:

• Physical Properties

Physical properties are qualities or behaviours that can be determined at any time on the same substance, such as: state of the substance, its colour, odour, taste, density, melting point, boiling point and solubility. Based on physical properties, matter exists in three distinct states: solid, liquid and gas. Iron, wood, table salt and sand are solids; water, petrol and kerosene are liquids; while air and smoke are gases.

• Chemical Properties

Chemical properties are behaviours during which a substance undergoes a permanent change. During these processes, new substances, having different physical properties from the original substance are produced Forinstance. A matchstick will burn, once and for all, to produce charcoal (a black solid), smoke (a gas), light and heat. Combustion is a chemical process.

An iron nail will rust, when exposed to air and moisture. Rusting is a chemical process.
The food we eat in the form of carbohydrates, fats, oils and proteins decompose in our body into simpler substances.

Decomposition is a chemical process. Based on chemical properties, the three classes of matter are: elements, compounds and mixtures.

Any form of matter, which contains a single substance, is pure. Elements and compounds are pure substances. A mixture is composed of two or more substances hence, it is impure.