5th hour SG Chem 2

September 14-18

This past week my class focused on talking about the classifications of matter. We learned that matter is made up of atoms particles and molecules. Though they all sound like similar things, atoms do differ from particles, and molecules. An atom is a basic unit of an element. A particle can just be a simple element, or a grouping of elements. Particles can be an atom or a molecule. Lastly, a molecule is made of atoms that are chemically bonded. Matter can be classified as a pure substance, a mixture, or a compound. A pure substance is where all the particles are identical, a mixture is where there are different types of particles present, and a compound is pure substances made from two or more types of atoms. There also are elements, which is defined as a pure substance made from only one type of atom. Compounds have more than one type of atom in their code, and mixtures have atoms put together but an & sign in their code. We also look at the characteristics of mixtures and compounds. An example would be mixing iron and sulfur. When we mix them the particles still keep their characteristics. But, when they are in a compound form, they lose their own characteristics since they have been chemically combined.

We also did an experiment where we dissolved sugar in water and another liquid alcohol substance. We watched to see the sugar dissolve in water while in the other substance the sugar was just floating. We drew particle diagrams showing what the sugar looked like before and after being dissolved.

Another thing we did was we drew boxes with different molecules and combined them to make a final product. For example, we took hydrogen and combined it with oxygen to great a result of water. There were two boxes for hydrogen and one box for oxygen, because every oxygen molecule has two hydrogen molecules to it. In the end we reacted them to create water molecules with no left over gas. We did the same thing except we combined other elements. For example we combined hydrogen and chlorine to form hydrogen chloride, and nitrogen and hydrogen, to form ammonia.

All of these main ideas connect to give a good understanding of what makes up matter. Matter is a substance that takes up space and possesses mass. Something needs to make up matter and possess space, which was what we learned about. Everything is made up of atoms even though you cant see it. In solids the atoms are vibrating really quickly, in liquids they are moving slower than solids and in no order, and in gases atoms are moving freely.

After this week, I feel pretty confident that I can tell the difference between mixtures, compounds, and elements. I also just have a good understanding on matter in general. Since this was a review from SG Chem 1, I don't really have any new questions.