Classification, Properties, and States of Matter

Comprehensive vocabulary review flashcards covering the classification of matter, physical and chemical properties and changes, and the states and phase transitions of matter.

Matter

Anything that takes up space and has mass; classified as either a substance or a mixture.

Substance

Matter in which all particles are identical, possessing a fixed composition.

Mixture

Two or more substances physically combined, possessing a variable composition.

Element

The simplest form of matter from which more complex substances are made, where all atoms that compose it are alike.

Compound

Two or more elements chemically combined in a fixed proportion, which can only be broken down by chemical reactions and possess different properties from their constituent elements.

Homogeneous Mixture

A mixture where components are evenly distributed out on a microscopic level, usually appearing blended (such as a solution).

Heterogeneous Mixture

A mixture where substances are not evenly spread out, meaning different components are easy to see or separate out over time.

Physical Properties

Properties that can be observed directly or measured without changing the chemical identity of the substance.

Melting Point

The temperature at which a solid becomes a liquid.

Boiling Point

The temperature at which a liquid becomes a gas.

Viscosity

A fluid's resistance to flow; a physical property exclusive to liquids that can change with temperature.

Solubility

A measure of how well a solute dissolves in a solvent.

Solute

The substance that is being dissolved in a solution.

Solvent

The substance that is doing the dissolving in a solution.

Solution

The homogeneous mixture resulting from a solute dissolving in a solvent.

Density

A measure of the compactness or consistency of a material, defined as mass per unit volume: $\text{Density} = \frac{\text{mass}}{\text{volume}}$.

Water Displacement

A method to find the volume of an irregularly shaped solid by subtracting the initial volume from the final volume in a graduated cylinder: $V = V_f - V_i$.

Chemical Properties

Properties that can only be observed or measured by changing the chemical identity of a substance, resulting in the formation of a new substance.

Combustibility

A chemical property measuring how easily a substance will set on fire.

Reactivity

A chemical property describing how easily a substance reacts, usually with an acid or base.

Oxidation

A chemical property describing how easily a substance reacts with oxygen.

Physical Change

A change in a substance that only affects its physical properties without altering its chemical identity.

Chemical Change

A change in a substance that affects its chemical properties, resulting in a chemical reaction and the creation of a new substance.

Chemical Reaction

The process by which the atoms of one or more substances are rearranged to form different substances.

Law of Conservation of Matter

The scientific law stating that matter is neither created nor destroyed during a chemical change; it only changes forms.

Precipitate

The sudden appearance of a solid resulting from a chemical reaction in a solution.

Thermal Energy

The sum of the kinetic and potential energy of particles within an object.

Kinetic Molecular Theory

The theory stating that all matter is made of small particles in constant random motion that collide with each other and the walls of their container.

Temperature

The measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in an object.

Solid

A state of matter with a fixed volume and fixed shape, characterized by particles held tightly in a rigid structure with low kinetic energy limited to vibration.

Liquid

A state of matter with a fixed volume but variable shape that conforms to its container, whose particles have enough kinetic energy to flow or slide past one another.

Gas

A state of matter with no fixed volume or shape, whose particles have high kinetic energy that overcomes attractive forces and move freely.

Diffusion

The spreading out of confined gas particles to fill the container they occupy.

Plasma

Matter composed of positively and negatively charged particles with extremely high kinetic energy, representing the most common form of matter in the universe.

Bose-Einstein Condensates

Atoms super-cooled to almost absolute zero that form a 'super atom' where all particles exist at the same energetic state.

Heat of Fusion

The amount of energy needed to turn a solid into a liquid at its melting point.

Heat of Vaporization

The amount of energy needed to turn a liquid into a gas at its boiling point.

Vaporization

The phase transition from liquid to gas, occurring via either evaporation or boiling.

Evaporation

A phase transition from liquid to gas caused by a pressure change that occurs only at the surface of a liquid.

Boiling

A phase transition from liquid to gas caused by a temperature change that occurs throughout the liquid.

Heating Curve

A diagram that shows the state transitions a substance undergoes as heat or energy is added to it over time.