1.6.2

Pure Substances

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Pure Substances

Matter can be classified into several categories. Two broad categories are mixtures and pure substances. A pure substance has a constant composition.

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What are pure substances?

  • All specimens of a pure substance have exactly the same makeup and properties.
    • Any sample of sucrose (table sugar) consists of 42.1% carbon, 6.5% hydrogen, and 51.4% oxygen by mass.
    • Any sample of sucrose also has the same physical properties, such as melting point, color, and sweetness, regardless of the source from which it is isolated.
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Pure substances - elements

  • Pure substances may be divided into two classes: elements and compounds.
  • Pure substances that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical changes are called elements.
    • Iron, silver, gold, aluminum, sulfur, oxygen, and copper are familiar examples of the more than 100 known elements.
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Compounds

  • Pure substances that can be broken down by chemical changes are called compounds.
    • This breakdown may produce either elements or other compounds, or both.
  • Mercury(II) oxide, an orange, crystalline solid, can be broken down by heat into the elements mercury and oxygen.
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Compounds - 2

  • The properties of combined elements are different from those in the free, or uncombined, state.
    • For example, free sodium is an element that is a soft, shiny, metallic solid. Free chlorine is an element that is a yellow-green gas.
    • Sodium and chlorine combine to form sodium chloride (table salt), a compound that is a white, crystalline solid.

Effects of Impurities in a Sample

Chemically pure substances have exact and specific melting and boiling points. Adding impurities affects these values.

Reduces range of temperatures

  • Reduces the range of temperatures at which the sample melts or boils.

Jump to other topics

1Structure - Models of the Particulate of Matter

2Structure - Models of Bonding & Structure

3Structure - Classification of Matter

3.1The Periodic Table: Classification of Elements

3.2Periodic Trends

3.3Group 1 Alkali Metals

3.4Halogens

3.5Noble gases, group 18

3.6Functional Groups: Classification of Organic

3.7Functional Group Chemistry

3.8Alkanes

3.9Alcohols

3.10Halogenoalkanes

4Reactivity - What Drives Chemical Reaction?

5Reactivity - How Much, How Fast & How Far?

6Reactivity - The Mechanisms of Chemical Change

7Measurement, Data Processing & Analysis

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