WILSON LUCKY BLOG: January 2019

NATURE OF MATTER

Written By; WILSON UCHECHUKWU LUCKY AMAKODI.

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INTRODUCTION TO NATURE OF MATTER

In this article we shall be discussing on the nature of matter,it's classifications,states and properties.

Matter is made up of tiny particles called atom.

The atomic theory of matter assumes that all matter is made up of tiny particles called atoms and it is always at rapid state of motion.

The nature of this motion and it's activity depend upon the temperature of the matter and other factors.

The first hint that matter was electrical in nature came in 1834 when Micheal Faraday found that chemical changes would occur when an electric current was sent through certain solutions.

This process is known as electrolysis.

Atoms or ions in the solution carries the electric current through the solution.Other evidence came from the production of cathode rays by electric discharge through gases under high electric potential and low pressure.

The fundamental constituents of the atom are the proton and neutron located at the nucleus and the electrons moving in wave-like orbits around the nucleus.

Protons are positively charged,electrons are negatively charged and neutrons carries no charge.

Atom simply consists of two parts held together by electric forces.The two parts of the atom are-

a.The nucleus

b.The electrons

fund.particles - Structure of the atom - fig 1-1

The structure of Atom

The nucleus is the heavy portion of the atom and is located at it's center.It consists of two parts,the protons and the neutrons.

The neutrons carry a positive charge,the neutrons carry no charge.

The second part of the atom is the electron.The electrons are very light (1/1840 of the mass of the proton).

They are negatively charged,the lightness of electrons makes it easy to transfer them when two materials are made to rub against each other.

The electrons circle in orbits around the heavy nucleus and are held in place due to the electrostatic attraction between them and the protons of the nucleus.

In a neutral atom,the total charges due to the electrons must always balance the total charges due to the protons.

What is a Molecule.

A molecule is the smallest particle of a substance which can have a separate existence and still retain the properties of that substance.Molecules consists of combined atoms.

The molecules of any one substance are identical.They have the same mass and the same mechanical and electrical properties.

CLASSIFICATION OF MATTER

Matter can be classified into two groups namely-pure and impure matters.

1. PURE MATTERS

These are those substance that exists in the universe naturally(e.g carbon,oxygen,nitrogen,sulfur and gold),which can not be splitted by chemical means into simpler substance.Pure matters can be divided into two groups namely elements and compounds.

a. ELEMENTS

Elements are substance that cannot be changed or splitted into simpler substance either by physical or chemical methods.Elements can be divided into two namely-metals and non-metals.

i. METALS

Metals are defined as elements which give out electrons during chemical reactions.They are usually ductile,malleable,shining(lustrous)solids that conduct heat and electricity.

ii. NON-METALS

Non-metals are defined as elements that receive electron during chemical reactions.They are usually brittle,amorphous liquids or gases which do not conduct electricity,boil and melt at low temperature.

b. COMPOUNDS

A compound can be defined as a substance which contains two or more elements chemically combined together. e.g H2O (water),NH3 (ammonia), NaCL (sodium chloride-common salt).

2. IMPURE MATTERS

Impure matters can be defined as those substance that exists due to the mixture of two or more substances,either elements or compounds which are not chemically combined.

Mixture are formed by physical changes (methods) such as dissolving one substance in another.

A mixture has the physical and chemical properties of those of it's compounds and can be separated by physical methods such as filtration,decantation,centrifuging,distillation,evaporation,sublimation,crystallization and chromatography.

STATES OF MATTER

Matter can exist in three state-solids,liquids and gases.

1. SOLID MATTERS

The molecules that constitute a solid are very closely packed.They are held rigidly together by inter-molecular forces of cohesion.

2. LIQUID MATTERS

In liquids the molecules a freer to move about because the inter-molecular forces binding them are weaker than those in solid.The molecules of a liquid are closely packed together but can move about randomly.

3. GAS MATTERS

In gases,the cohesive forces binding the molecules are therefore very free to move about in all directions,restricted only by the walls of the container.Gases are more easily compressed than liquid and solid because the molecules are relatively far apart.

CHARACTERISTICS \ PROPERTIES OF MATTERS

There are several ideas concerning the nature of matter.Every matter has the following characteristics-

i.Particulate nature

ii.Kinetic (motional) nature

iii.Electrical nature

iv.Atomic nature

PARTICULATE NATURE OF MATTER

The particulate nature of matter proposes that matter is composed of fundamental particles that can not be divided without altering the nature of the substance.

KINETIC NATURE OF MATTER

The theory says that matter is always in continuous random motion.The nature of matter is to move about.

ELECTRICAL NATURE OF MATTER

Nature itself is polarized into two poles-positive and negative charges.Electrical nature of matter has been proved by the discovery of positive (proton) charges and negative (electron) charges of every component of matter.

Lord Rutherford discovered the proton that is a positively charged particle in 1913 while the electron,negatively charged particle was discovered by Sir J.J.Thomson in 1897.

ATOMIC NATURE OF MATTER

The atomicity of matter proposes that all matter is composed of small indivisible particles called atom.

In conclusion matter exist in the universe naturally and the universe is mostly made up of two common matters namely-luminous matters and non-luminous (dark) matters.

Luminous matters are those matters that emits light or reflects light in the universe (e.g sun or star,moon,fire-flies and some deep sea fishes).

Non-luminous or dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter that is thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe, and about a quarter of its total energy density. The majority of dark matter is thought to be non-baryonic in nature, possibly being composed of some as-yet undiscovered subatomic particles. some cosmological theories, non-luminous material that is postulated to exist in space and that could take any of several forms including weakly interacting particles ( cold dark matter ) or high-energy randomly moving particles created soon after the Big Bang ( hot dark matter ).

Dark matter emits no light, and cannot be directly observed, but scientists think that it and dark energy make up most of the mass of the universe.