i.

Fundamental Definitions
a. Chemistry-The study of matter and its properties, the changes
that matter undergoes, and the energy associated with those
changes.
i. Basically studies everything about matter.
b. Properties of matter
i. Matter is anything that has mass and volume
ii. Most of the stuff in the universe is classified as matter
iii. Composition of matter- types and amounts of simpler
substances that make it up
iv. A substance is a type of matter that has a defined, fixed
composition
1. To identify a substance, chemists observe its physical
and chemical properties
a. Physical Properties-A substance shows these
properties by itself without changing into or
interacting with another substance
i. Examples include color, melting point,
electrical conductivity, and density
b. Physical change-A substance changes its
physical form, not its composition.
i. Basically it leads to a different form of
the same substance (same composition)
ii. Examples: Ice melting (still water),
hardness, density, and the ability to flow
c. Chemical property-A substance shows these
properties as it changes into or interacts with
another substance (or substances)
i. Examples include flammability,
corrosiveness, and reactivity with acids
d. Chemical change- (also known as a chemical
reaction) occurs when a substance (or
substances) is converted into a different
substance (or substances)
i. Water breaks down into hydrogen and
oxygen after an electric current runs
through it
c. Three states of matter
i. Matter is commonly divided into three different physical
forms called states: solid, liquid, and gas
ii. Solids
1. A solid has a fixed shape that does not conform to
the container shape
2. Solids are not defined by rigidity or hardness; they
can be hard or soft

ii.

3. Particles of solids lie next to each other in a regular,

three-dimensional array with a definite pattern
iii. Liquids
1. A liquid conforms to the container, but fills the
container only to the extent of the liquids volume.
2. Particles in the liquid also lie close together but move
randomly around one another
iv. Gasses
1. A gas also conforms to the container like a liquid, but
if fills the entire container
2. Gas particles have great distances between them as
they move randomly throughout the container
v. Most substances can exist in either of these states of
matter; the state depends on the temperature and
pressure of the surroundings
1. As the temperature increases, solid water melts to
liquids water, which boils to gaseous water (aka
water vapor). The reverse happens when cooled
2. Most substances behave in this way
d. Central theme in chemistry
i. Macroscopic behaviors and properties (stuff we can see
with our naked eye) are the results of submicroscopic
properties and behaviors that we cannot see.
ii. We study observable changes in matter to understand their
unobservable causes.
e. Importance of energy in the study of matter
i. Physical and chemical changes generally are accompanied
by energy changes.
ii. Energy is the ability to do work
1. All work involves moving something
iii. The total energy an object posse is the sum of its potential
and its kinetic energy
1. Potential energy-energy due to position of the object
2. Kinetic energy-energy due to motion of the object
iv. Energy is conserved; it may be converted from one form to
another, but it is not destroyed.
v. Nature prefers situations of lower energy over those of
higher energy
1. A rock elevated in the air has high potential energy
and is considered unstable
2. A rock at rest on the ground after having fallen is
considered more stable
3. Charged particles, like everything else in nature, also
move naturally toward a position of lower energy,
which is more stable
The Scientific Approach: Developing A Model

iii.

a. Scientific method
i. Observations
1. Observed facts about the universe we must explain.
2. Quantitative observations are called data
3. When the same observation is made by many
investigators in many situations with no clear
excetipns, it is called a natural law. Ex: law of mass
conservation
ii. Hypothesis-Whether derived from actual observation or
from a spark of intuition, a hypothesis is a proposal made
to explain an observation
1. It must be testable
iii. Experiment
1. Clear set of procedural steps that tests a hypothesis
2. Contains at least two variables, which can each have
more than a single value
a. A well designed experiment is controlled in that
it measures the effect of one variable on
another while keeping all others constant.
3. For experimental results to be accepted, they must
be reproducible by other people as well.
iv. Model
1. Formulating conceptual models, or theories, based
on experiments in what distinguishes scientific
thinking from speculation
2. As hypotheses are revised according to experimental
results, a model gradually emerges that describes
how the observed phenomenon occurs.
3. A simplified version of nature that can be used to
make predictions
Measurement in Scientific Study
a. General Features of SI Units
i. Based on seven fundamental units, or base units, that are
identified with a physical quantity
1. Mass (kilogram or kg)
2. Length (meter or m)
3. Time (second or s)
a. Based on atomic standard: microwave
radiation absorbed by cesium atoms
4. Temperature (Kelvin or K)
5. Electric current (ampere or A)
6. Amount of substance (mole or mol)
7. Luminous intensity (candela or cd)
a. a measure of the wavelength-weighted power
emitted by a light source in a particular direction per
unit solid angle

ii. All other units, called derived units, are combinations of

these seven base units.
1. Ex: speed=length/time or m/s
iii. Important Si units
1. Length L in meters (m)
a. A little longer than a yard (1 m=1.094 yd)
b. 1 inch=2.54 cm
2. Volume (V)
a. Amount of space that the sample occupies
b. Si Unit is cubic meter m^3
c. Also known as the mL or the Liter (1000 mL)
i. A liter is slightly larger than a quart
3. Mass
a. Unit is kilogram (kg)
b. Standard is a physical object- A platinum
iridium cylinder kept in France is 1 kg
c. It is also the only base unit whose name has a
prefix
4. Denisity (d) of an object is its mass/volume
a. M/V with Si units kg/m^3
b. Also commonly seen with units g/L and g/mL
c. 1 mL= 1 cm^3
d. Density is a characteristic physical property of
a substance and has a specific value
e. The density of liquid water at ordinary pressure
and room temperature (23 degrees Celsius) is
1.0 g/mL
f. Densities of gases are much lower than those
of liquids or solids
5. Extensive properties
a. Those dependent on the amount of substance
b. Examples: Mass, volume, and energy
6. Intensive properties
a. Independent of the amount of substance
b. Examples: Density, Temperature
7. Temperature
a. A measure of how hot or cold a substance is
relative to another substance
b. Temperature is not the same as heat
i. Heat is the energy that flows between
objects that are at different temperatures
ii. Energy flows from the object with the
higher temperature to the one with the
lower temperature until their
temperatures are qual.

1. Ex: When you hold an ice cube, its

cold isnt flowing into your hand.
The heat from your hand is flowing
into the ice cube.
c. Measured using a thermometer
i. Device that contains a fluid that expands
when heated
d. Temperature has 3 different scales: Celsius,
Kelvin, and Fahrenheit
i. Kelvin (K)
1. Si base unit of temperature
2. Has no degree sign
3. Known as the absolute scale and is
prefffered in all scientific work (tho
Celsius is used frequently)
4. The zero point in the kelvin scale, 0
K, is called absolute zero and
equals -273.15 degrees Celsius
5. All temperatures have positive
values in the kelvin scale
6. Water freezes at +273.15 K and
boils at +373.15 K
ii. Celsius
1. Based on the changes in the
physical state of water
a. 0 degrees is set at waters
freezing point and 100
degrees is set at its boiling
point (at normal atmospheric
pressure)
iii. Conversions between Celsius and Kelvin
scales
1. T (in K)= T(in C)+273.15
2. T (in C)= T (in K)-273.15
3. Remember that freezing point of
kelvin (273.15 K) is 273.15 greater
than the freezing point of Celsius (0
degrees Celsius)
iv. Farenheit
1. Water freezes at 32 degrees
Fahrenheit
2. Water boils at 212 degrees
Fahrenheit
v. Conversion between Celsius and Kelvin
1. T (in F)=9/5*T(in C)+32
2. T (in C)= 5/9*[T(in F)-32]

iv.

3. Remember that Fahrenheit is

greater than Celsius; 32 degrees
Fahrenheit (freezing point of water)
is greater than 0 degrees Celsius
(freezing point of water)
b. For quantities that are much larger or smaller than the base unit,
we use decimal prefixes and exponential (scientific) notation
Uncertainity in measurement: Significant Figures
a. Uncertainty
i. No quantity can be measured exactly due to limitations of
machines and humans, so every measurement has some
uncertainty.
ii. We always estimate the rightmost digit for uncertainty.
1. If a thermometer goes by increments of 1s, then
estimate to the nearest tenth. If you know a
temperature is between 32 and 33, estimate 32.5 or
something
b. Determining which Digits are significant
i. All digits are significant except zeroes that are not
measured but are used only to position the decimal point
ii. If there is a decimal point, start at the right and count
every digit until you reach a trail of 0s, 1 zero, or the last
digit
iii. If there is not a decimal point, start at the left and count
every digit until you reach a trail of 0s, 1 zero, or the last
digit
iv. When in scientific notation, count the sig figs only of the
number being multiplied by 10^x; dont multiply the
number out.
v. Note that 500 has 1 sig fig and 500. Has 3 sig figs; where
you start from matters.
c. Significant figures in calculations
i. In calculations, we have to keep track of the significant
figures in each quantity so we dont claim to know more
certainty in the answer than we actually did in our original
data
ii. If we have too many significant figures, we round off the
answer to obtain the proper number of them.
iii. When multiplying and dividing, the answer should have the
same sig figs as the least amount of sig figs in one of the
numbers
1. Example: 9.2cm*6.8cm*.3744cm=23 cm. Note that
the least amount of sig figs are 2 (9.2 and 6.8), so
those are the amount of sig figs we rounded off to in
our final answer

2. Multiplying by a constant (not a measurement) does

not affect the number of sig figs
a. 3.0 meters*2=6.0 The 2 is a constant and does
not affect the sig figs of our answer
b. However,
d. Precision, Accuracy, and Instrument Calibration