Matter-Its Nature and Behaviour | Part 1

INTRODUCTION

Matter

· Anything that occupies space , possesses mass and exert pressure is called matter.

Element

· An element is a substance which cannot be split up into two or more simpler substances by the any chemical and physical methods of applying heat, light or electric energy.

· There are 114 elements known at present, out of which 92 elements occur in nature, while remaining 23 elements have been prepared artificially.

Types of Elements

 Metals

· The elements which have a tendency to form positive ions (by loss of electrons) are known as metals e.g. silver, tin, zinc etc.

· Metals are elements having lustre ductility, malleability, conductivity etc.

· Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the earth crust.

Non-metals

· The elements which have a tendency to form negative ion by gain of electrons are called non-metals e.g. hydrogen oxygen, sulphur etc.

· Oxides of non-metals are neutral (in low oxidation state) or acidic (in higher oxidation states) in nature.

· They are in powder or gaseous form under normal conditions.

· Bromine is the only the non-metal which is liquid under normal conditions.

Metalloids

· They are the elements whose properties fall between those of metals and non-metals. E.g. germanium, arsenic, selenium and tellurium etc.

Symbols

· The short form used in place of full name of an element is called its symbol.

· The symbol of an element is the ‘first letter’ or the ‘first letter and another letter’ of the English name or Latin name of the element. Symbols derived from English name of the elements.

English name of the element	Symbol	English name of the element	Symbol
Argon Bromine Hydrogen Helium Krypton Lithium	Ar Br H He Kr Li	Manganese Neon Phosphorus Silicon Zinc Magnesium	Mn Ne P Si Zn Mg

Symbols derived from Latin names of elements

English name of the element	Symbol	Latin name of the element
Copper Gold Iron Lead Mercury Potassium Silver Sodium Tin Tungsten	Cu Au Fe Pb Hg K Ag Na Sn W	Cuprum Aurum Ferrum Plumbsum Hydrargysum Kalium Argentum Natrium Stannum Wolfarm

Mixture

· A mixture is a substance which consists of two or more elements or compound not chemically combined together e.g., air milk, ink, brine, lime water, glass paints, soil, food, wood, kerosene etc.

Types of Mixture :

Mixtures are of two types.

Homogeneous mixture :

A homogeneous mixture has a same composition throughout its mass. It has no visible boundaries of separation between the various constituents e.g., solution of sugar in water, solution of salt in water, a mixture of alcohol and water etc.

Heterogeneous Mixture :

A heterogeneous mixture which does not have a uniform composition throughout its mass. A heterogeneous mixture has visible boundaries of separation between the various components. E.g., solution of K₂Cr₂O₇ in water, solution of CaCO₃ in water, solution of oil in water, gun powder, soil, etc

· A mixture which boils at a definite boiling point are called azeotrpic mixtures.

Properties of a Mixture

· A mixture can be separated into its components by physical methods like, filteration, evaporation, sublimation, distillation, magnet etc.

· A mixture shows the properties of all the constituents present in it.

· Energy is usually neither given out not absorbed during the preparation of a mixture.

· The composition of a mixture is variable i.e. the constituents can be present in any proportion by weight.

· A mixture does not have a definite melting point, boiling point etc (except azeotrpic mixture).

Methods of Separation of Mixture

1. Crystallization :

This method is based on the difference in the solubility of the various compound and in a solvent. E.g., a mixture of KNO₃ and NaCl can be separated by this process.

2. Distillation :

This method is used for the purification of liquids which boil without decomposition and contain non-volatile impurities e.g., pure water can be obtained from sea water by distillation.

3. Fractional distillation :

This process is used to separate a mixture of two or more miscible liquids which have boiling point close to each other. e.g., petrol, diesel, kerosene.

4. Sublimation :

This process is used for the separation of those solids which sublime from a non-volatile solid. This process is generally used for the separation of naphthalene anthracene, benzoic acid, camphor, NH₄Cl, iodine etc.

5. Distillation under reduced pressure :

It is used for liquids which decompose below their boiling point. It is also called vacuum distillation e.g., glycerol can be separated by this method.

6. Steam distillation :

It is used for the separation and purification of liquids which are appreciably volatile in steam from non-volatile components of mixture e.g., o-nitrophenol and p-nitrophenol are separated by this method. Aniline is also purified by this method.

7. Evaporation :

It is the process by which soluble solids can be obtained from their solution by allowing the solvent to vaporize e.g. salt can be obtained from salts solution be evaporation.

8. Chromatography :

Chromatography is a modern method proposed by Iswett in 1903. This method is based on the difference in the rates at which the components of a mixture are adsorbed on a suitable adsorbent. This method has been used to separate ortho and para-nitrophenol, to separate blue and red dyes, to separate plant pigment sand other natural products.

9. Atmolysis :

It is used for separating the mixture of gases. This method is based on the difference in their rates of diffusion.