CHAPTER 1 STATES OF MATTER

Everything is made up of particles in other terms all particles are made up of matter.
Rock, air, and water look different but they all one thing in common is particles.
The particles are the smallest substance, the we
 The particles in solids, the particles are not free to move. cannot break down further by chemical means,
 The particles in gas, liquids are free to move. are called atoms.
Evidence for particles:  In some substances, the particles are just
single atoms. For example argon, a gas
found in air, is made up of single argon
atoms.
 In many substances, the particles consist of
two or more atoms joined together. These
particles are called molecules. Water,
bromine, nitrogen, and oxygen are made up
of two or atoms that carry a charge. These
particles are called ions.

Cooking smells can spread out into the street. This is because
‘smells’ are caused by gas particles mixing with, and moving
through, the air. They dissolve in moisture in the lining of your
nose.

You often see dust and smoke dancing in the air, in

bright sunlight. The dust and smoke are clusters of
particles. They dance around because they are being
bombarded by tiny particles in the air.
Place a crystal of potassium manganate(VII) in a
beaker of water. The colour spreads through the
water. Why? First, particles leave the crystal – it
dissolves. Then they mix among the water particles

Place an open gas jar of air upside down on an open

gas jar containing a few drops of red-brown bromine.
The colour spreads upwards because particles of
bromine vapour mix among the particles of air.

1
WHAT IS MATTER
Matter is defined as a substance that has mass and takes up space.
WHAT ARE THE STATES OF MATTER AND THEIR PROPERTIES

1. SOLID STATE

(i) The particles are tightly packed held together and are arranged in a
regular pattern(orderly manner)
(ii)The particles can vibrate because the particles about a fixed
position
(iii) A solid cannot be compressed because the particles are close
together
(iv) a solid has a fixed shape and a fixed volume
(v) a solid cannot flow because the particles cannot move from one
place to another.
(vi) the particles in a solid have less kinetic energy than those in the liquid ans gaseous states.
2. LIQUID STATE

(i) the particles are less tightly together and are not arranged in a regular pattern (they are arranged
in clusters).
(ii) the particles cannot be compressed because the particles are close together.
(iii) a liquid also cannot be compressed because the particles are lose together.
(iv) a liquid can flow because the particles can move from one place to another.
(v) a liquid can take shape of any container.
(vi) the particles in a liquid have more kinetic energy than those in the solid but have less energy
than those in the gaseous state.

2
 3. GASEOUS STATE
(i) the particles are not held together by any force of attraction
(ii) the particles can vibrate, rotate and move freely anywhere in the
container.
(iii) a gas can
be compressed because the particles are far apart.
(iv) a gas can fill a container because the particles have higher
kinetic energy and so can move freely and randomly
anywhere in the container.
(v) a gas has neither fixed shape nor fixed volume
(vi) the particles in a gas have a greater kinetic energy than
those in the solid and liquid state.

CHANGES OF STATE
• melting point- it is the change from solid to liquid on heating

• freezing- it is the change from liquid to solid on cooling

• evaporation- it is the change from liquid to gas on heating

• condensation- it is the change from gas to a liquid on cooling.
• sublimation- it is the direct change from solid to gas on heating.
examples of substances that can sublime
(i) iodine crystals
(ii) ammonium chloride
(iii) solid carbon dioxide
• boiling- it defined where a liquid turns into a vapour when it is heated to its boiling point.

3
How much heat is needed?
The amount of heat needed to melt or boil a substance is different for every substance. That’s because
the particles in each substance are different, with different forces between them.

The stronger the forces, the more heat Is needed to overcome them. So the higher the melting and
boiling point will be.
REVERSING THE CHANGES
You can reverse those changes again by cooling. As a gas cools, its particles lose energy to lose energy
and more more slowly. When they collide, they do not have enough energy to bounce away. So they
stay close, and form a liquid. On further, the liquid turns to a solid.

What happens when gas is heated?

When the gas is heated, its particles gain kinetic energy which causes them to move faster and collide
more frequently with each other and the walls of the container.

Its pressure also increases, the temperature is proportional to pressure, the higher the temperature the
higher increase in pressure.
What happens when you squeeze a gas into a smaller space.
When you squeeze gas into a smaller, it is referred to as
compression. This process increases, the pressure of the gas and
decreases its volume, as the gas particles are forced closer
together.

4
HOW TO DETERMINE IF A SUBSTANCE IS PURE OR NOT ?
If a substance is pure, the temperature will remain constant and it will remain the same like for
example the temperature of sodium is 710 degrees Celsius, the temperature will stay the same.
WHAT IS DIFFUSION IN CHEMISTRY?
Diffusion is defined as a process in which two or more substances get mixed up together due to the
random movement of their particles. Diffusion always occur in a region of high concentration to a region
of low concentration.
Diffusion also means the spreading of a substance into another due to the random movement of their
particles.
The rate of diffusion increases with the increasing temperature.

NOTE; ATOMS with lower relative molecular mass of a gas, the quicker it will move inside a vessel.
example;
ammonia gas and concentrated hydrochloric acid
NH3(G) + HCI (G) ----> NH4CI(S)MR : 17 + MR: 36.5

When a gas with lower molecular mass is placed in a vessel along side a gas with higher molecular mass,
the lighter gas will diffuse more faster. This is because lighter molecules has a wider distribution of
speeds and , on average, move more quickly than heavier molecules, which more more slowly due to
their greater mass. Consequently, the gas with lower molecular mass will have a greater rate of diffusion
compared to he gas with higher molecular mass.
PURE SUBSTANCE AND IMPURITIES

A pure substance has no particles of any other substance mixed it.

In real life, very few substances are 100% pure.

For example water contains different particles( such calcium ions and chloride ions).

Distilled water is purer than water, but still not 100% pure.

5
How to determine if a substance is pure?
To determine if a substance is pure in chemistry, you can assess its physical properties, such as boiling
point, melting point, and density. A pure substance has consistent and fixed values for these properties.
For example, a pure liquid will have a constant boiling point, while impurities cause this point to increase.
Additionally, analyzing the composition of the substance can help; a pure substance consists of only one
element or one type of compound without any contaminants.

WHAT IS PHYSICAL CHANGE AND CHEMICAL CHANGE

• PHYSICAL CHANGE
A physical change is one in which new substances are not formed.
examples are melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation

• CHEMICAL CHANGE
A chemical change is a change in which new products are formed
Reactants--------> products
example :
1. combustion of fuel
2. burning of metals and non-metal
3. reaction if metallic oxides, hydroxides and carbonates with acids.