YEAR 7 CHEMISTRY NOTES

Lesson objective: use ideas about particles to explain the behavior of

substances
States of matter
Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. It is a general name given to all the
things physically around us. Matter includes things so tiny you can’t see them with your
eyes. Matter has three states;
a) Solid,
b) Liquid and
c) Gas
Solids, liquids and gasses behave differently. The ways they behave are called properties.
All matter has physical and chemical properties
. Physical properties are characteristics that scientists can measure without changing the
composition of the sample under study, such as mass, color, and volume.
Chemical properties describe the characteristic ability of a substance to react to form new
substances.
PARTICLE (KINETIC) THEORY NOTES
To understand the matter, one can employ the kinetic particle theory. And virtually everything
around us is made of matter.
All matter is composed of numerous tiny particles that move randomly all the time.

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE THEORY

1. All matter is made of tiny particles.
2. The atoms of the same element are identical
3. Particles are attracted to one another.
4. There are spaces between matter particles

Solids
 Particles in solids are arranged in regular rows with the particles touching each other.
 They are highly dense and have a definite volume and shape.
 The particles are held firmly in place by forces of attraction. The particles can only
vibrate in place, they are unable to move or change places.
Liquid
 Particles in liquids are held together by weaker forces of attraction and the particles
can move freely past each other.
 Because the particles move and slide past one another, liquids take on the shape of a
container and can flow freely.
  In addition to having a set volume, liquids also take on the shape of the container.
Gases
 The particles in a gas are not attracted to each other and they can move freely.
 A large amount of space between the particles makes it possible to compress gases
into a very compact volume.
 Unlike liquids, which have an arbitrary volume, gases conform to the geometry of
the container.
 Gases are exceedingly light in weight.
 The particles are scattered widely, moving randomly at a high speed in all directions.
 They collide with one other and the container’s sides. (This is how pressure is
created inside a can of gas)

kinetic particle theory, states that all matter is composed of minute particles that move
continually and randomly. The term “kinetic particle theory” refers to the kinetic energy of
moving particles.
Diffusion
Diffusion, is the process resulting from random motion of molecules by which there is a net flow
of matter from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration.
When temperature increases, the kinetic energy of the particles has increased. Therefore, at
higher temperatures, the rate at which fluid particles will diffuse is faster than at lower
temperatures.
Diffusion in gasses
Particles move around randomly and so spread out evenly in a certain space. They do this by
moving from an area where there is lots of them (higher concentration) to an area where there
is few of them (lower concentration), down a concentration gradient.

Diffusion is the net movement of particles from an area of higher concentration to an area
of lower concentration.

Why is diffusion faster in gas than in a liquid?

Diffusion occurs quickly in a gas than in a liquid because the space between the
constituent particles in gases are higher than in liquids. Thus, particles in gas possess
higher kinetic energy and move with higher speeds.
Diffusion happens in both solutions and gases as the particles are free to move randomly.

Diffusion of water is called osmosis.

Rate of Diffusion

The rate of diffusion is simply how much substance is diffused in a given time.

The rate of diffusion is affected by:

a) Temperature – rate of diffusion is faster at higher temperatures because the particles

will have more kinetic energy, thus will move around faster.
b) Concentration gradient – the bigger the difference between the concentrations of each
side, the faster the rate of diffusion.
c) Surface area of the membrane – the larger the surface area, the faster the rate of
diffusion because more particles can pass through the membrane at the same time.