Classifying
Matter
Ms. Grobsky
How Do You Begin Classifying
Matter?
 Matter
can be broken down into two
general categories:


Pure substances
Mixtures
Pure Substances
 Always
has the same composition
 Two types of pure substances:

Pure element
 Cannot
be separated (physically or
chemically) into simpler substances
 Examples: Gold, sodium, hydrogen, etc

Compound
 Can
be separated into simpler substances via
chemical means


Heat
Electrolysis
 Examples:
etc.
Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), NaCl,
Mixtures
 Matter
found in nature is typically a
mixture


Something that has variable composition
with two or more pure substances
Can be separated via physical means
 Some



examples include:
Wood
Soda
Tap water
Types of Mixtures

There are two types of mixtures:

Homogeneous
“Same throughout”
 Also known as a solution which is comprised of:


A solute


A solvent



What’s being dissolved
What’s doing the dissolving
Examples: Kool-Aid, metal alloys like steel, soap
Heterogeneous
Regions with differing properties
 Examples: Sand

Separating Components
of Mixtures
Via Physical Methods
Mixture of
solid and
liquid
Stirring
rod
Filtration
 Separates
a liquid
from a solid
Funnel
Filter paper
traps solid
Filtrate (liquid
component
of the mixture)
Filtration Example
Distillation
 Used
to separate or purify liquids by using
different evaporation rates of boiling points of
their components
Decanting
 Used
to separate
the liquid from the
denser solid(s) by
simply pouring the
liquid out from the
beaker
Centrifugation
 Spin
sample very rapidly
 Denser
bottom
materials go to
AFTER
Before
 Example
 Separate
blood into
serum and plasma
 Serum
(clear)
 Plasma (contains red blood cells
‘RBCs’)

Check for anemia (lack of iron)
Serum
Blood
RBC’s
A
B
C
Chromatography
 Consists
of a broad range of physical
methods used to separate and/or to
analyze complex mixtures



Gas
Liquid
Paper
Paper Chromatography
Separation by Chromatography
(Gas or Liquid)
sample
mixture
a chromatographic column
stationary phase mobile phase
selectively absorbs sweeps sample
components
down column
http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/matter/slides/sld006.htm
detector
Separation by Chromatography
(Gas or Liquid)
sample
mixture
a chromatographic column
stationary phase mobile phase
selectively absorbs sweeps sample
components
down column
http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/matter/slides/sld006.htm
detector