Basic Chemistry - States and Properties of Matter

Vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, physical and chemical properties/changes, and states of matter from Chapter 3.2.

Solid State

A state of matter that has a definite shape and a definite volume, with particles held together by strong attractive forces in a fixed, rigid arrangement that vibrate slowly in fixed positions.

Liquid State

A state of matter that has a definite volume but no definite shape, containing particles that are close together in a random arrangement and move slowly around each other to take the shape of their container.

Gas State

A state of matter that has no definite volume and no definite shape, containing particles that are far apart, move rapidly at high speeds, and have essentially no attraction to each other.

Physical Property

A characteristic of a substance that can be observed or measured without affecting or changing the identity of the substance, such as color, shape, odor, luster, size, melting point, boiling point, or density.

Chemical Property

A characteristic that indicates the ability of a substance to interact with other substances and convert into a new substance.

Physical Change

A change in a physical property (such as state, size, or shape) where the identity and composition of the original substance are retained.

Chemical Change

A change in which the original substance is converted into one or more new substances with different physical and chemical properties.

Physical Properties of Copper

Characteristics including an orange-red color, solid state at $25\text{ °C}$, shiny luster, odorless nature, melting point of $1083\text{ °C}$, boiling point of $2567\text{ °C}$, and excellent conduction of heat and electricity.

Rust

A red-orange powder with the chemical formula $Fe_2O_3$ (iron oxide) formed when iron combines with oxygen in the presence of water during a chemical change.

Element

A pure, primary substance that cannot be broken down further into simpler substances by chemical means.

Compound

A pure substance containing two or more elements chemically combined, such as table salt ($NaCl$), which can be decomposed into its constituent elements.

Amethyst Structure

A purple solid form of quartz composed of silicon ($Si$) and oxygen ($O$) in an arrangement where particles are held in a rigid 3D lattice.

Decomposition of Sodium Chloride

A chemical change wherein the compound sodium chloride ($NaCl$) breaks down into sodium metal ($Na$) and chlorine gas ($Cl_2$).

Physical States of Water

The three physical states of water represented as (1) solid ice with fixed lattice arrangement, (2) liquid water with close mobile particles, and (3) steam/vapor gas with rapidly moving spread-out particles.