What is Matter

What is matter?

Matter is anything that can occupy space and has mass.

• Matter can be things that we can visibly see or not.
• For example, water versus air.
• The classifications of matter include substances, mixtures, compounds and elements (molecules and atoms).
• Substance: form of matter that contains a definite composition and distinct properties
• Example: silver, water
• Mixture: combination of two or more substances in which the substances maintain their distinct identities
• Example: air
• Types:
• Homogenous mixture: the composition of the mixture is same throughout.
• Heterogeneous mixture: the composition is not uniform.
• Mixtures are separated into pure substances by physical methods such as heating.
• Compound: A form of substance that is comprised of two or more elements chemically bonded in a fixed proportion
• Compounds can only be separated into pure elements by chemical methods.
• Element: simplest form of substance that can’t be broken down.
• Elements are represented in the periodic table by symbols of one or two letters. The first letter is always capitalized.
• Atom: the basic unit of an element
• Atoms are composed of three elementary particles:
• Proton
• Positive charged particle
• Electron
• Negative charged particle
• Neutron
• Particle with no charge
• Atoms are identified by:
• Atomic number: number of protons
• Mass number: sum of the number of protons and neutrons in an atom.
• In principle, all matter can exist in three different states: gas, liquid or solid.

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