Chemistry: A Molecular Approach

Sixth Edition

Chapter 1
Matter, Measurement, and
Problem Solving

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Atoms and Molecules
• Atoms and molecules determine how matter
behaves; if they were different, matter would be
different.
– The properties of water molecules determine
how water behaves; the properties of sugar
molecules determine how sugar behaves.
• Atoms are the submicroscopic particles that
constitute the fundamental building blocks of
ordinary matter.
• Free atoms are rare in nature; instead they bind
together in specific geometrical arrangements to
form molecules.

• Chemistry is the science that seeks to understand

the behavior of matter by studying the behavior of
atoms and molecules.

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Atoms and Molecules (5 of 5)
• Small differences in atoms and
molecules can result in large
differences in the substances
that they compose.
• Graphite and diamond are
both made of carbon.
• The atoms in graphite are
arranged in sheets. By
contrast, the carbon atoms in
diamond are all bound
together in a three-
dimensional structure.

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The Scientific Approach to
Knowledge (1 of 2)

• The approach to scientific knowledge is empirical—it is

based on observation and experiment.
• The scientific method is a process for understanding
nature by observing nature and its behavior, and by
conducting experiments to test our ideas.
• Key characteristics of the scientific method include
observation, formulation of hypotheses,
experimentation, and formulation of laws and theories.

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The Scientific Approach to
Knowledge (2 of 2)

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Observations
• Observations are also known as data.
• They are the descriptions about the characteristics or
behavior of nature.
– Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794) noticed that there was
no change in the total mass of material within the
container during combustion.
• Observations often lead scientists to formulate a
hypothesis.

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Hypothesis
• A hypothesis is a tentative interpretation or explanation of
the observations.
– For example, Lavoisier explained his observations on
combustion by hypothesizing that when a substance
burns, it combines with a component of air.
• A good hypothesis is falsifiable.
– The results of an experiment may support a hypothesis
or prove it wrong, in which case the scientist must
modify or discard the hypothesis.

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A Scientific Law
• A brief statement that summarizes past observations and
predicts future ones.
– Law of conservation of mass—“In a chemical
reaction, matter is neither created nor destroyed.”
• Allows you to predict future observations.
– So you can test the law with experiments
• Unlike civil or governmental laws, you cannot choose to
violate a scientific law.

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Theory (1 of 2)
• One or more well-established hypotheses may form the
basis for a scientific theory.
• A scientific theory is a model for the way nature is and
tries to explain not merely what nature does, but why.
• Theories are validated by experiments.
• Theories can never be conclusively proven because
some new observation or experiment always has the
potential to reveal a flaw.

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Theory (2 of 2)
• General explanation for the characteristics and behavior
of nature
• Models of nature
– Dalton’s atomic theory
• Can be used to predict future observations
– So they can be tested by experiments

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The Classification of Matter
• Matter is anything that occupies space and has mass.
• We can classify matter according to its state (its physical
form) and its composition (the basic components that
make it up).

• The state of matter

changes from solid to liquid
to gas with increasing
temperature.

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Solid Matter (1 of 2)
• In solid matter, atoms or molecules pack close to each other
in fixed locations.

• Although the atoms and molecules in a solid vibrate, they do

not move around or past each other.

• Consequently, a solid has a fixed volume and rigid shape.

– Ice, aluminum, and diamond are examples of solids.

• Solid matter may be crystalline, in which case its atoms or

molecules are in patterns with long-range, repeating order.
– Table salt and diamond are examples of crystalline solid
matter.

• Others may be amorphous, in which case their atoms or

molecules do not have any long-range order.
– Glass and plastic are examples of amorphous solids.

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Liquid Matter
• In liquid matter, atoms or molecules pack about as
closely as they do in solid matter, but they are free to
move relative to each other.
• Liquids have fixed volume, but not a fixed shape.
• Liquid’s ability to flow makes it assume the shape of its
container.
– Water, alcohol, and gasoline are all substances that
are liquids at room temperature.

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Gaseous Matter
• In gaseous matter, atoms or molecules have a lot of space
between them.
• They are free to move relative to one another.
• These qualities make gases compressible.

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 The Classification of Matter by Components
• Matter can also be classified according to its composition: elements, compounds, and mixtures.

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Classification of Matter by Components

• The first division in the classification of matter is between

a pure substance and a mixture.
• A pure substance is made up of only one component,
and its composition is invariant.
• A mixture, by contrast, is a substance composed of two
or more components in proportions that can vary from
one sample to another.

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Classification of Pure Substances (1 of 2)
• There are two types of pure substances.
– Elements
▪ Basic building blocks of matter
▪ Composed of single type of atom, like helium
– Compounds
▪ Substance composed of two or more elements in
fixed definite proportions.
• This categorization depends on whether or not they can
be broken down (or decomposed) into simpler
substances.

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Classification of Mixtures
• Mixtures can be categorized into two types:
– Heterogeneous mixtures
– Homogeneous mixtures
• This categorization of mixture depends on how
uniformly the substances within them mix.

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Heterogeneous/Homogenoeus Mixtures
• A heterogeneous mixture is one • A homogeneous mixture is one
in which the composition varies made of multiple substances but
from one region of the mixture to appears to be one substance.
another.
• All portions of a sample have the
– Made of multiple substances same composition and properties
whose presence can be seen (like sweetened tea).
– Example: a salt and sand
mixture • Homogeneous mixtures have
uniform compositions because the
▪ Portions of a sample of
atoms or molecules that compose
heterogeneous mixture
them mix uniformly.
have different composition
and properties.

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Separating Mixtures
• Mixtures are separable because the different components
have different physical or chemical properties.
• Various techniques that exploit these differences are used
to achieve separation.
• A mixture of sand and water can be separated by
decanting—carefully pouring off the water into another
container.

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Separating Mixtures

• A homogeneous mixture of
liquids can usually be
separated by distillation, a
process in which the mixture is
heated to boil off the more
volatile (easily vaporizable)
liquid.
• The volatile liquid is then
recondensed in a condenser
and collected in a separate
flask.

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Separating Mixtures
• A mixture of an insoluble
solid and a liquid can be
separated by filtration—a
process in which the
mixture is poured through
filter paper in a funnel.

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Physical and Chemical Changes
Physical Change:
• Changes that alter only
the state or appearance
of a substance, but not
composition, are physical
changes.
• The atoms or molecules
that compose a
substance do not
change their identity
during a physical change.

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Chemical Change
• Changes that alter
the composition of
matter are chemical
changes.
• During a chemical
change, atoms
rearrange,
transforming the
original substances
into different
substances.
• Rusting of iron is a
chemical change.

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Physical and Chemical Changes

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Physical and Chemical Properties
• Physical property is a • Chemical property is a
property that a substance property that a substance
displays without changing displays only by changing
its composition. its composition via a
– The smell of gasoline chemical change (or
is a physical property. chemical reaction).
– Odor, taste, color, – The flammability of
appearance, melting gasoline, in contrast, is
point, boiling point, a chemical property.
and density are all – Chemical properties
physical properties. include corrosiveness,
acidity, and toxicity.

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Energy: A Fundamental Part of Physical
and Chemical Change

• Energy is the capacity to do work.

• Work is defined as the action of a force through a distance.
• When you push a box across the floor or pedal your bicycle
across the street, you have done work.

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Energy
• Kinetic energy is the energy
associated with the motion of an object.
• Potential energy is the energy
associated with the position or
composition of an object.
• Thermal energy is the energy
associated with the temperature of an
object.
– Thermal energy is actually a type
of kinetic energy because it arises
from the motion of the individual
atoms or molecules that make up
an object.

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The Units of Measurement
• In chemistry, units—standard quantities used to specify
measurements—are critical.
• The two most common unit systems are as follows:
– Metric system, used in most of the world
– English system, used in the United States
• Scientists use the International System of Units (SI),
which is based on the metric system.
– The abbreviation SI comes from the French, phrase
Système International d’ Unités.

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The Standard Units
Table 1.1 SI Base Units

Quantity Unit Symbol

Length Meter m
Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s
Temperature Kelvin K
Amount of substance Mole mol
Electric current Ampere A
Luminous intensity Candela cd

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The Meter: A Measure of Length
• The meter (m) is slightly longer than a yard (1 yard is 36
inches, while 1 meter is 39.37 inches).

• 1 meter = 1/ 10,000,000 of the distance from the equator

to the North Pole (through Paris).
– The International Bureau of Weights and Measures
now defines it more precisely as the distance light
travels through a vacuum in a certain period of time,
1/ 299,792,458 second.
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The Kilogram: A Measure of Mass
• The mass of an object is a measure
of the quantity of matter within it.
• The SI unit of mass = kilogram (kg)
– 1 kg = 2.205 lb
• A second common unit of mass is
the gram (g).

– One gram is 1/ 1000 kg.

• The weight of an object is a

measure of the gravitational
pull on its matter.

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The Second: A Measure of Time
• Measure of the duration of an event
• SI units = second (s)
• 1 s is defined precisely as the duration of 9,192,631,770
periods of radiation emitted from a certain transition in a
cesium-133 atom.

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The Kelvin: A Measure of
Temperature

• The kelvin (K) is the SI unit of temperature.(absolute

scale)
• Absolute zero is -273.15 C or -459F.
• The temperature is a measure of the average amount of
kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules that compose
the matter.
• Temperature also determines the direction of thermal
energy transfer, or what we commonly call heat.
• Thermal energy transfers from hot to cold objects.

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A Measure of Temperature
• The Fahrenheit degree is
five-ninths the size of a
Celsius degree.

• The Celsius degree and

the kelvin degree are the
same size.

• Temperature scale
conversion is done with
these formulas:
(F − 32)
C =
1.8
K = C + 273.15
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Prefix Multipliers
The International System of Units uses the prefix multipliers with the standard units.

Table 1.2 SI Prefix Multipliers

Blank

Prefix Symbol Multiplier

(1018 )
10 raised to the eighteenth power

exa E 1,000,000,000,000,000,000
(1015 )
10 raised to the fifteenth power

peta P 1,000,000,000,000,000
(1012 )
10 raised to the twelfth power

tera T 1,000,000,000,000
(109 )
10 raised to the ninth power

giga G 1,000,000,000
10 raised to the sixth power

mega M 1,000,000 (106 )

(103 )
10 raised to the third power

kilo k 1000
(10 −1 )
10 raised to the negative first power

deci d 0.1
(10 −2 )
10 raised to the negative second power

centi c 0.01
(10 −3 )
10 raised to the negative third power

milli m 0.001
 (10 −6 )
10 raised to the negative sixth power

micro Greek letter mu

0.000001
(10 −9 )
10 raised to the negative ninth power

nano n 0.000000001
(10 −12 )
10 raised to the negative twelfth power

pico p 0.000000000001
(10 −15 )
10 raised to the negative fifteenth power

femto f 0.000000000000001
(10 −18 )
10 raised to the negative eighteenth power

atto a 0.000000000000000001
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Derived Units: Volume and Density (1 of 2)

• Derived unit is a combination of other units.

• Volume is a measure of space; it has units of length cubed

(i.e., cm3 ) or liters (L).

• Density is the ratio of a substance’s mass to volume; it

has units of mass/volume.
• Density affects if a substance will sink or float in another.
The less dense substance floats.

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Derived Units: Volume and Density (2 of 2)
Table 1.4 The Density of Some Common Substances at 20 C
3
Substance Density (g /cm ) g per c m cubed

Charcoal (from oak) 0.57

Ethanol 0.789
Ice 0.917 (at 0 °C)
0.917 (at 0 degrees Celsius)

Water 1.00 (at 4 °C)

1.00 (at 4 degrees Celsius)

Sugar (sucrose) 1.58

Table salt (sodium chloride) 2.16
Glass 2.6
Aluminum 2.70
Titanium 4.51
Iron 7.86
Copper 8.96
Lead 11.4
Mercury 13.55
Gold 19.3
Platinum 21.4

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Intensive and Extensive Properties
• An intensive property is a characteristic that is
independent of the amount of substance.
– Density is an intensive property.
• An extensive property is a characteristic that is
dependent on the amount of substance.
– Mass is an extensive property.

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The Reliability of a Measurement:
Significant Figures
• Scientific measurements are reported so that every digit is
certain except the last, which is estimated.

• Significant figures deal with writing numbers to reflect precision.

• The precision of a measurement depends on the instrument

used to make the measurement.

• The preservation of this precision during calculations can be

accomplished by using significant figures.

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Counting Significant Figures (1 of 2)
• The greater the number of significant figures, the greater
the certainty of the measurement.
• To determine the number of significant figures in a
number, follow these rules (examples are on the right).

Significant Figure Rules Examples

1. All nonzero digits are significant.
28.03 0.0540
2. Interior zeroes (zeroes between 408 7.0301
two nonzero digits) are significant.

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Counting Significant Figures (2 of 2)
Significant Figure Rules Examples
3. Leading zeroes (zeroes to the left of the
first nonzero digit) are not significant. They
only serve to locate the decimal point.
4. Trailing zeroes (zeroes at the end of a
number) are categorized as follows:

– Trailing zeroes after a decimal point are 45.000 3.5600

always significant. 140.00 2500.55
– Trailing zeroes before a decimal point (and 1200 ambiguous
after a nonzero number) are always
1.2  10
1.2 times 10 cubed3
significant. 2 significant figures
– Trailing zeroes before an implied decimal 1.20  10
1.20 times 10 cubed 3
3 significant figures
point are ambiguous and should be
1.200  103
1.200 times 10 cubed
4 significant figures
avoided by using scientific notation.
– Decimal points are placed after one or 1200. 4 significant figures
more trailing zeroes if the zeroes are to be
considered significant.
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Exact Numbers
• Exact numbers have an unlimited number of significant
figures.
– Accurate counting of discrete objects
– Defined quantities
– Integral numbers that are part of an equation
• Some conversion factors are defined quantities, while
others are not.

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Significant Figures: Rules for Calculations
Multiplication and Division Rule:
• In multiplication or division, the result carries the same number of
significant figures as the factor with the fewest significant figures.

Addition and Subtraction Rule:

• In addition or subtraction the result carries the same number of
decimal places as the quantity with the fewest decimal places.

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Rules for Calculations
Rules for Rounding: • Rounding to two
• When rounding to the significant figures:
correct number of significant 5.37 rounds to 5.4
figures,
5.34 rounds to 5.3
– round down if the last
(or leftmost) digit 5.35 rounds to 5.4
dropped is four or less; 5.349 rounds to 5.3
– round up if the last (or
Notice in the last example that only
leftmost) digit dropped is
the last (or leftmost) digit being
five dropped determines in which
or more. direction to round—ignore all digits to
the right of it.

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Rounding in Multistep Calculations
• To avoid rounding errors in multistep calculations round
only the final answer.
• Do not round intermediate steps. If you write down
intermediate answers, keep track of significant figures by
underlining the least significant digit.

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Precision and Accuracy
• Accuracy refers to how close the measured value is to the actual
value.
• Precision refers to how close a series of measurements are to one
another or how reproducible they are.

• Consider the results of three students who repeatedly weighed a lead block known to have
a true mass of 10.00 g (indicated by the solid horizontal blue line on the graphs).

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Precision and Accuracy
• Measurements are said to be
– precise if they are consistent with one another.
– accurate only if they are close to the actual value.

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Solving Chemical Problems
• Many of the problems you will solve in this course are
unit conversion problems.
• Using units as a guide to solving problems is called
dimensional analysis.
• Units should always be included in calculations; they are
multiplied, divided, and canceled like any other algebraic
quantity.

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Dimensional Analysis
• A unit equation is a statement of two equivalent quantities, such as

2.54 cm = 1 in.
• A conversion factor is a fractional quantity of a unit equation with
the units we are converting from on the bottom and the units we are
converting to on the top.

• Most unit conversion problems take the following form:

Information given  conversion factor(s) = information sought

desired unit
Given unit  = desired unit
given unit

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Dimensional Analysis
Units Raised to a Power:
• When building conversion factors for units raised to a
power, remember to raise both the number and the unit to
the power. For example, to convert from in2 to cm2 , we
construct the conversion factor as follows:
2.54cm = 1 in
(2.54cm)2 = (1 in)2
(2.54)2 cm2 = 12 in2
6.45cm2 = 1 in2
6.45cm2
2
=1
1in
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Interpreting Data
• Learning to analyze and interpret data is an important scientific skill.

• You get the following results:

Sample Mass of Water Mass of Mass of Oxygen Mass Oxygen

Mass oxygen over mass hydrogen

Sample Hydrogen Formed Mass Hydrogen

Formed
A 20.0 g 2.2 g 17.8 g
8.1
B 50.0 g 5.6 g 44.4 g 7.9
C 100.0 g 11.1 g 88.9 g 8.01

• Do you notice any patterns in these data?

• The sum of the masses of oxygen and hydrogen always sum to the mass of the water
sample.

• A less obvious pattern is that the ratio of masses of oxygen to hydrogen is the same
for each sample. The ratio is 8, with small variations due to experimental error.

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Interpreting Graphs
• Data are often visualized using
graphs or images.

• Scientists must constantly analyze

and interpret graphs.
– Carbon dioxide is a
greenhouse gas that has
been rising as result of the
burning of fossil fuels.

• First examine the x and y axes to

understand what each represents.

• Also examine the numerical range

of the axes.

• Note that the y axis does not begin at zero to better display the changes. The increase in
carbon dioxide has not been constant over time.

• The rate of increase—represented by the slope of the line—has intensified since about 1960.
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Interpreting Graphs (4 of 4)
• The increase in
carbon dioxide has
not been constant
over time.
• The rate of
increase—
represented by the
slope of the line—
has intensified since
about 1960.

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