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Chapter 2 Natural World

A Rocky Problem

-IntroductionClassification of Substances
If you are given a mixture of rocks and shells
and asked to separate them into two groups
you could probably do it without a lot of
problems. You know what rocks and shells
are from experience. They look like
rocks and shells that you have seen before.
The problem arises when things dont look
like what you have seen before.

For example, everyone would look at a potato


and recognize it as a potato. If you mashed
the potato then it begins to look like other
mashed vegetables.
So how could you see if it is a potato? You
could taste it and see if it still tasted like a
potato. The property of taste does not change
when the potato is mashed. This is called an
intrinsic property. They do not change
despite the fact that the shape of the potato
changed. The shape of the potato changing is
called an extrinsic property.

Intrinsic Properties
Intrinsic properties are those that cannot be
changed. An intrinsic property is a property
that an object or a thing has of itself. These
are properties that are not changed when
things such as the shape of an object is
changed. Specifically, the atoms that make
up a substance. If the atoms are the same
then the chemical reactions of the substance
will remain the same.

Extrinsic Properties
Extrinsic properties are those that can be
changed. These include things like, size,
shape, texture. Extrinsic properties can be
changed and will frequently cause an object
to not be easily recognized.

Special and General Properties


General properties are those that all matter
has in common. These are MASS and
VOLUME.
If an object has mass and volume then it must
also have Density (since density is mass
divided by volume) and it must have weight
(the effect of gravity on mass).

Special vs. General Properties


Special properties of matter are used to
differentiate one type of matter from
another. These include color, odor, size,
shape, texture, and hardness.
General properties describe the similarities of
matter. General properties include mass,
weight, volume, and density.

Special properties are those used to


separate one substance from
another. Special properties of
matter depend on the internal
structure of the substance. These
include things like:
Ductility, elasticity, hardness,
malleability.

Mass
Mass is matter. Specifically it is a measure of
the amount of matter that makes up a solid,
liquid, or gas. Matter is defined as
anything that has mass and volume.

Mass vs. Weight


The mass of an object is different from the
weight of an object. An objects mass is
constant unless it has been physically
altered. Weight, however, is a function of
gravity. An object may have the same mass
yet have different weights depending on the
location where it is being weighed.

Weight
Three things determine the weight of an
object:
A. The mass of the object
B. The mass of the planet
C. The distance from the center of the
object to the center of the planet.
Change any of these and you change the
weight.

Chemistry
Chemistry is the study of matter and the
changes that it undergoes in the presence
of new matter.
Chemical reactions are intrinsic or special
properties.

Objectives for Chapter 2 NW


The objective for the chapter was to separate
objects and classify them as being either
rocks or shells. This is difficult when you
are presented substances that are crushed.
Chemical properties of substances do not
change when an extrinsic property is
changed.

Chemical Properties
Chemical properties of a substance do not
change because changing the size, shape, etc.
does not alter the atoms. When you chew
food, you dont magically get a new food or
new taste because the food now looks
different. The fact that NATURE IS
CONSISTENT is the reason that we can use
chemical tests to identify matter.

For example:
Whole Rock + HCl ----->
Crushed Rock + HCl ---->
will both yield the same products.
Whole Shell + HCl ----->
Crushed shell + HCl ---->
will both yield the same products.

Conclusions:

Since the intrinsic properties do not change,


you will be able to compare the reactions of
the unknown substances to the reactions of
the known substances. Those that have the
same reactions must have similar atoms
that make it up, since nature is consistent.

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