Cambridge IGCSE

Prepared by:
Dr. Azza Hassan
 CHAPTER 1

The Particulate Nature of Matter

 KEY TERMS

Matter: Anything that has mass and takes up space.

Melting: The process that occurs when a solid turns into a liquid.

The temperature at which a substance melts. Each substance has a

Melting point:
specific melting point.

Boiling: The process that occurs when a liquid turns into a gas.

The temperature at which a substance boils. Each substance has a

Boiling point:
specific boiling point.

Freezing: The process that occurs when a liquid turns into a solid.

The temperature at which a substance freezes. This has the same

Freezing point:
value as the melting point.

The process that occurs at the surface of a liquid as it turns into a

Evaporation: gas. Evaporation can occur at temperatures lower than the boiling
point of a liquid.

Condensation: The process that occurs when a gas turns into a liquid.

The process that occurs when a solid turns into a gas without first
Sublimation:
turning into a liquid.

Brownian The random motion of visible particles caused by bombardment by

motion: much smaller particles.

The process that occurs when particles move from a region of high
Diffusion:
concentration to a region of low concentration.
 The kinetic molecular theory

 The main points of the theory are:

1) All matter is made up of tiny particles, invisible to the naked eye.

2) Different substances have different types of particles (atoms, molecules or ions)

which have different sizes and different intermolecular spaces.

3) The particles move all the time. The higher the temperature, the faster they move on

average.
4) Heavier particles move more slowly than lighter ones at a given temperature.

5) The difference in physical properties between the states of matter results from the

differences in particles arrangement, their ability to move & the intermolecular

spaces.
6) The pressure of a gas is the result of collisions of the fast-moving particles with the

walls of the container.

Brownian motion
 Brownian motion: is the random motion of particles suspended in a liquid or
gaseous medium.
 Smaller particles move faster than larger particles (pollen grains, smoke particles).
 Smaller particles collide with larger particles in different directions which causes
them to move in random directions.
 States of matter

Physical state Shape Volume Fluidity Density

Solid definite definite Doesn’t flow High

Liquid Indefinite (takes definite Flows Moderate to

the shape of the high
container)
gas Indefinite Indefinite flows low
(takes the shape (expands to fill
of the container) the container)

Notes
 Liquids and gases are called fluids.
 when drawing the particles of solids → must be arranged in a tight lattice (regular geometric
arrangement)
 When drawing the particles of liquids → slightly loose arrangement with some particles touching

each other.
 Properties of states of matter
Solids

 Have strong forces of attraction between particles.

 Particles are packed very closely together in a fixed and regular pattern (lattice)
 Atoms vibrate in position but can’t change position or move.
 Solids have a fixed (definite) volume and shape & high density.
 Solids have surface boundary → because the strong forces of attraction between
particles prevent them from escaping.

Liquids

 Have weaker forces of attraction than solids.

 Particles are close together in an irregular, unfixed pattern.
 Particles can move & slide past each other which allows them to flow and take
the shape of the container.
 Liquids have a definite volume & indefinite shape & a moderate to high density.
 Liquids have surface boundary → because the forces of attraction between liquid
particles are strong enough to prevent most particles from escaping.

Gases

 Have very weak to no intermolecular forces.

 Gaseous particles are in constant and random motion in all direction: this is the
reason they have no fixed shape or volume & have no surface boundary.
 Gases have low density and can be compressed easier than liquids.
 Gas pressure is caused by the continuous movement and hitting of gas molecules
against the wall of the container (atmospheric pressure has the same principle)
 As the temperature increases, the kinetic energy of gas particles increases causing
it to move faster and hit harder against the container’s walls.
 Therefore an increase in gas temperature causes an increase in its pressure.
 Decreasing the temperature has the opposite effect → decrease gas pressure.
 Changes of state

Melting

 Melting occurs when a solid turns into a liquid by heating.

 Melting requires heat energy which transforms into kinetic energy, allowing the
particles to move further from each other (from solid arrangement to liquid
arrangement)

 The melting point is the temperature at which a substance melts.

 Each substance has a specific melting point that is sharp and unique for pure solid
materials.

 Melting point = freezing point (e.g. water melting point= water freezing point= 0)

Freezing

 Freezing occurs when a liquid changes into a solid by cooling.

 Freezing requires a significant decrease in temperature (or loss of thermal energy)

which decreases the kinetic energy of particles and decreases their movement
and intermolecular spaces which changes their state from liquid to solid
arrangement.

 Freezing is the reverse of melting and occurs at the same temperature.

The metal gallium has a melting point just above

room temperature. It will melt in the hand.
Boiling

 Boiling occurs when a liquid turns into a gas by heating

 Boiling requires heat which increases the kinetic energy of liquid particles
allowing it to move more freely apart from each other and escape from liquid
surface into gas state.

 The temperature at which a substance boils is the boiling point.

 The boiling point is unique and specific for any pure liquid.

Sublimation

 Occurs when a solid changes directly into a gas without passing by liquid state.

 This happens to only a few solids such as iodine or solid carbon dioxide

 The reverse reaction is also called sublimation = deposition = desublimation.

 Sublimation occurs at a specific temperature which is unique for a pure

substance.

Evaporation

 Evaporation occurs only at the surface of liquids as it turns into gas.

 Evaporation can occur at temperatures lower than the boiling point of a liquid.

 At the liquid surface the high energy particles can escape from the liquid’s surface
at temperatures lower than the boiling point.

 The rate of evaporation increases by increasing the liquid surface area and at
warmer temperatures (wide range of temperatures).

Condensation

 It occurs when a material changes from gas into liquid state by cooling.

 When a gas is cooled, its particles lose energy and move much slower away from
each other. The molecules have lower kinetic energy and bump into each other
with less bouncing ability, so they group together to form a liquid.

 No energy is required for condensation &It takes place over a wide range of
temperatures.
Note: Avoid confusion between boiling and evaporation:

 Boiling occurs at a specific temperature and requires heating.

 While evaporation can take place at a wide temperature ranges all below the boiling
point and can take place without heating.

Sublimation of solid carbon dioxide

 Heating and cooling curves
 They are plots of the temperature change against time that shows the change in
physical state of a pure or non-pure material.
 A heating curve: shows the effect of increasing temperature on the physical state of
a specific material. It begins with solid state and ends with gas state.
 A cooling curve: shows the effect of decreasing temperature on the physical state of
a specific material. It begins with gas state and ends with solid state.

Heating curves

Cooling curve
 Diffusion

 Diffusion is the movement of particles from a region of high concentration to a

region of low concentration due as a result of the Brownian motion of particles.
 Diffusion can take place only in liquid or gas medium.
 Diffusion is considered the practical evidence of Brownian motion.

Factors affecting the rate of diffusion

1) the molecular mass of matter

- Molecules of lower molecular mass (light weight) will diffuse faster than molecules
of larger molecular mass (heavy weight), Why?
→ because lighter molecules move faster than heavier molecules.

 Hydrogen chloride (HCl) particles are heavier than ammonia gas (NH3), so it
diffuses slower than ammonia, a white cloud of ammonium chloride (NH4Cl)
forms closer to HCl than to ammonia.

2) The temperature
 The higher the temperature, the faster the rate of diffusion. Why?
→ because at higher temperature the kinetic energy of particles increases and so
the Brownian motion increases, so particles move faster.
 Diffusion in liquids

 Examples:
- Slow dissolution of potassium permanganate (violet) in a cup of water
- Slow dissolution of nickel(II) sulfate (green) in a cup of water

Diffusion in gases:

 Examples:
 You can smell perfumes when passing by a perfumery.
 Diffusion of bromine gas from one glass tube to fill the other one.