Detailed Notes: Materials and Their Structure

2.1 Solids, Liquids and Gases

Introduction to Matter

●​ Everything you can see and feel is called matter

●​ Scientists classify matter into three groups or states: solids, liquids, and gases
●​ These states of matter behave in different ways, and these behaviors are called their
properties

Properties of Solids

●​ Solids maintain a fixed shape.

●​ They occupy a fixed amount of space and have a fixed volume.
●​ Solids generally cannot be compressed (squashed).
●​ Solids cannot be poured.
●​ Particles in solids vibrate but do not move from their positions.

Properties of Liquids

●​ Liquids adopt the shape of the container they are-in .

●​ Liquids can be poured
●​ Liquids cannot be compressed
●​ They occupy the same amount of space, regardless of the container's shape, meaning
their volume does not change
●​ Particles in liquids touch each other and can move past one another, allowing them to
change places

Properties of Gases

●​ Gases flow
●​ They will fill any closed container they are in.
●​ Gases are very easy to compress.
●​ The volume of a gas can change.
●​ Gases generally weigh very little.
●​ You typically cannot see or feel gases, but you can sometimes smell them (e.g., food
cooking in another room) and feel air moving on your-face.
●​ Particles in a gas do not touch each other and are far apart, moving freely in all
directions.
●​ Gases spread out by themselves to fill the space they are in, thus having no fixed shape
or volume.
Particle Theory

●​ Particle theory is the best theory to explain how matter behaves.

●​ All matter is composed of tiny particles that are too small to be seen.
●​ These particles are arranged differently in solids, liquids, and gases.
●​ Solids: Particles are arranged in a fixed, regular pattern, held strongly together and
tightly packed, which gives solids their fixed shape. They can only vibrate in place.
●​ Liquids: Particles touch each other, but are held together weakly. This allows them to
move past one another and enables liquids to flow.
●​ Gases: Particles are far apart and move freely in all directions, with no attractive forces
between them. This explains why gases have no fixed shape or volume and can be
easily compressed and spread out.
●​ A vacuum is a space with no particles at all.
●​ Attractive force is a pull or a "stickiness" between tiny particles that makes them
want to stay close together.

2.2 Changing State

Introduction to Changes of State

●​ Substances can change from one state to another (e.g., solid to liquid, liquid to gas).
These are called changes of state.

Melting

●​ When a solid is left in a warm place, it melts and becomes a liquid (e.g., ice to liquid
water).
●​ The temperature at which a solid melts is called the melting point.
●​ When solids are heated, their particles gain energy and vibrate more. As they vibrate
faster, they push each other slightly further apart, causing the solid to expand.
●​ When solids are heated more strongly, they melt, becoming liquid as the attractive forces
holding particles together become insufficient.

Evaporation

●​ Water on the ground can gradually disappear as it changes to water vapour (an invisible
gas). This process is called evaporation.
●​ The warmer the water, the more quickly it evaporates.

Boiling

●​ When water is heated until its temperature reaches 100 °C, it will boil.
●​ At boiling point, all of the water rapidly changes to steam, which is water heated to the
point that it turns into a gas.
●​ 100 °C is the boiling point of water.
Condensation

●​ If water vapour or steam comes into contact with something cold, it condenses and
changes back into liquid water.
●​ Steam (gas particles) lose energy when touching a cold surface, causing particles to
slow down and come closer together, forming liquid droplets .

Freezing

●​ If liquid water is put in a freezer, it freezes and becomes ice (a solid)

●​ When a liquid cools, its particles lose energy and move more slowly. Eventually, they
settle into fixed positions and form a solid

Measuring Volume

●​ To measure the volume of a liquid, a measuring cylinder is used

●​ The liquid in a measuring cylinder forms a curve at the top called the meniscus.
●​ The volume is measured from the bottom of the meniscus
●​ To ensure accuracy, the eye must be level with the meniscus when reading the
measurement

Measuring Temperature

●​ Temperature is measured using a thermometer.

●​ The liquid inside the thermometer expands as it gets hotter, causing it to rise.
●​ The temperature is read from the scale, ensuring the eye is level with the top of the liquid
in the thermometer.

2.3 Explaining Changes of State

Particle Theory and Heating Solids

●​ When solids are heated, they expand (get bigger).

●​ Particles in solids gain energy and vibrate more strongly.
●​ As particles vibrate faster, they push each other slightly further apart, causing the solid to
expand.
●​ If enough energy is transferred, the attractive forces holding the particles together
weaken, allowing the solid to change state and become a liquid (melt)

Particle Theory and Boiling Liquids

●​ When liquids are heated, they evaporate and boil.

●​ Particles in liquids gain more energy and move faster.
●​ Enough energy is transferred to some particles to break the weak attractive forces
holding them together, allowing them to escape as gas particles.

Particle Theory and Cooling Gases (Condensation)

 ●​ Particles in a gas move freely and are far apart.
●​ When a gas cools, particles lose energy and slow down, coming closer together to form
a liquid.
●​ This process is called condensation.

Particle Theory and Freezing Liquids

●​ When a liquid freezes, it becomes a solid

●​ Particles in a liquid lose energy and move slower. They eventually settle into fixed
positions, forming a solid
●​ The attractive forces become strong enough to hold them in a fixed pattern

2.4 The Water Cycle

The water cycle is a continuous system describing how water moves between lakes, oceans,
and the atmosphere. It is vital for all living things and has been recycling water for billions of
years. Our bodies are made up of at least 60% water. Water on Earth is constantly moving
between rivers, lakes, oceans, the atmosphere, and the land.

1. Water Moves into the Atmosphere

●​ Energy from the Sun heats water in rivers, lakes, and oceans, increasing its
temperature.
●​ Some liquid water forms water vapour, which moves into the atmosphere. This process
is called evaporation.
●​ Evaporation occurs because some liquid water particles gain enough energy to break
free from the forces holding them together and they change to a gas.
●​ Water can also evaporate into the atmosphere from plants; this is called transpiration.1

2. Water in the Atmosphere Cools Down

●​ As water vapour rises up into the atmosphere, it cools.
●​ It changes back into tiny droplets of water in the air, forming clouds. This process is
called condensation.
●​ Condensation happens because the water vapour particles lose energy and cannot
move so quickly.
●​ Air currents high in the atmosphere move the clouds around the world.

3. Water Falls from Clouds (Precipitation)

●​ When a lot of water has condensed, the water droplets in the clouds become too heavy
for the air to hold them.
●​ The droplets fall back to Earth as rain. If the drops become colder, they may form snow,
hail, or sleet.
●​ This process is called precipitation.

4.2 Water on the Earth and in the Ground (Run-off and Groundwater)
 ●​ Precipitation collects in rivers, large lakes, and oceans.
●​ Some precipitation falls directly onto these bodies of water and will evaporate, restarting
the cycle.
●​ If precipitation falls on plants, it may evaporate from the leaves (transpiration) or trickle to
the ground, where plant roots may absorb it.
●​ Some precipitation soaks into the soil and rocks as groundwater. Shallow groundwater
moves towards streams and rivers. Deeper groundwater refills underground stores.
●​ In cold climates, precipitation can build up as snow, ice, or glaciers. If temperatures rise,
this solid snow and ice melts into liquid water, which then soaks into the ground or flows
into rivers or the ocean.
●​ Water reaching the land surface may flow directly across the ground into rivers, lakes,
and oceans. This is called surface run-off.
●​ Excessive surface run-off can carry soil off the land and into rivers, causing them to
become silted up and blocked.

2.5 Atoms, Elements and the Periodic Table

This section introduces the fundamental building blocks of matter: atoms and elements, and
how they are organized in the Periodic Table.

1. What are Atoms?

●​ Over 2000 years ago, Democritus suggested everything was made of tiny, indivisible
pieces called atoms(meaning 'cannot be divided').
●​ Atoms are incredibly small, though some large atoms can now be seen using special
microscopes
●​ Carbon nanotubes are an example where atoms can be observed.

2. Different Types of Atom (Elements)

●​ There are many different types of atoms.
●​ Scientists have discovered 94 different types of atoms that occur naturally and have
made another 24 in laboratories.
●​ A substance made of just one kind of atom is called an element.
●​ Elements cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical means.
●​ Examples include carbon, gold, and silver.
●​ Each type of atom has different properties, which is why different elements have different
properties.

3. Atoms Joining Together (Molecules and Compounds)

●​ In some elements (like neon), atoms move around freely and are not attached to one
another.
●​ In most elements (like gold and other metals), atoms are packed closely together.
●​ In a small number of elements, such as oxygen and sulfur, atoms join together to form
small particles.3For example, an oxygen particle is made from two oxygen atoms, and a
sulfur particle from eight sulfur atoms.
●​ When two or more different types of atoms are joined tightly together (bonded), they
form a compound.
 ●​ For example, sodium atoms bond with chlorine atoms to form sodium chloride.

4. Arranging the Elements (The Periodic Table)

●​ Scientists arrange elements in a very useful way called the Periodic Table.
●​ The full Periodic Table contains 118 known elements (94 natural and 24 man-made).
●​ It is organized into horizontal rows called periods and vertical columns called groups.
●​ As you read across each row (period) from left to right, the atoms increase in mass (e.g.,
hydrogen < helium < lithium).

5. Chemical Symbols
●​ Each element has a unique chemical symbol, a useful shorthand.
●​ Symbols can be the first letter of the English name (e.g., Oxygen is O).
●​ They can be the first letter plus another letter from its name (e.g., Helium is He).
●​ Sometimes, symbols come from other languages (e.g., Sodium is Na, from Latin
'natrium').
●​ The first letter is always uppercase, and the second letter (if there is one) is always
lowercase.

2.6 Compounds and formulae

This section details what compounds are and how their properties differ from their constituent
elements, along with naming conventions and chemical formulae.

1. What is a Compound?
●​ An element is made up of only one type of atom.
●​ Many substances are made up of more than one type of atom.
●​ If different types of atoms are joined tightly together, the substance is a compound.
●​ The chemical term for atoms joining tightly together is bonding.
●​ In a compound, two or more different kinds of atoms are bonded. For example, sodium
atoms bond with chlorine atoms to form sodium chloride.

2. Properties of Elements and Compounds

●​ A compound is very different from the elements from which it is made.
●​ When two different elements are bonded4 to form a compound, they completely lose the
properties of the individual elements.
●​ The compound has totally new properties.
●​ For instance, sodium (an element) and chlorine (an element) combine to form sodium
chloride (common salt), which has completely different properties than either sodium or
chlorine. You would not want to eat sodium or chlorine, but sodium chloride is common
salt.

3. Naming Compounds
●​ Each compound has a chemical name that usually tells you the elements from which it is
made.
●​ Important rules for naming compounds:
 ○​ If the compound contains a metal, the name of the metal comes first in the name
of the compound.
○​ If the compound contains a non-metal, the name of the non-metal is usually
changed. For example,5a compound made from sodium (a metal) and chlorine (a
non-metal) is not sodium chlorine, but sodium chloride.
○​ When two elements form a compound, the name often ends in6 '-ide'.
●​
●​ Some compounds contain two different elements plus a third element—oxygen. These7
often have names ending with '-ate'. For example, calcium carbonate.

4. Particle Diagrams for Compounds

●​ Particle diagrams show which atoms make up a compound. For example:
○​ Carbon dioxide particles are made up of one carbon atom joined to two oxygen
atoms ('di' means two).
○​ Carbon monoxide particles are made up of one carbon atom joined to one
oxygen atom ('mon' or 'mono' means8 one).
●​ You can tell if a substance is a compound by looking at its particle diagram: if there are
different kinds of atoms bonded together, then it is a compound.

2.7 Compounds and mixtures

This section differentiates between compounds and mixtures, which is crucial for understanding
how substances combine.

1. Distinction Between Compounds and Mixtures

Feature Compound Mixture

Joining Elements are chemically Elements/compounds are

joined (bonded) physically mixed

Properties New substance with totally Components retain individual

new properties; original properties; mixture's
elements lose properties properties are a combination

Separation Requires chemical reactions Can be separated by physical

to break bonds means (e.g., filtration,
magnetism, evaporation)
Composition Fixed ratio of elements Variable ratio of components

Energy Change Often involves energy change Little to no energy change

(released/absorbed) during during mixing
formation

2. Examples
●​ Compound: Sodium chloride (salt) – its properties are entirely different from sodium and
chlorine.
●​ Mixture: Iron filings and sulfur powder – iron remains magnetic; can be separated by a
magnet.
●​ Air: A mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, etc. Components retain
properties (e.g., oxygen supports combustion). Proportions can vary.
●​ Mineral Water: A mixture of water and dissolved minerals. Minerals can be separated
by evaporating the water.