Understanding the different forms of matter

The earth and its objects are composed of many different kinds of matter. In this section I will list the different types of matter and identify reasons why they are different. There are several factors to keep in mind when distinguishing between different types of matter. For example, is it homogeneous or heterogeneous, is its composition definite or variable, are there more than one atom or element involved, and is a substance chemically or physically combined? Here I will define and explain these terms.

Starting off, the earth is made of two very different forms of matter. These are matter and radiant energy. One of the most important differences between these two are the rate at which they travel. Matter travels less than the velocity of light and radiant energy travels with the velocity of light. The velocity of light is a fundamental constant in which is 2.9979 x 10E8. One interesting similarity between the two is that both matter and radiant energy contain mass. Everything that has mass is influenced by the force of gravity. It was once thought that only matter contained mass but in 1905 Albert Einstein discovered that radiant energy also has mass. After this finding the law of conservation of matter and the law of conservation of energy were both replaced by the law of conservation of mass which states that the mass of the reactants or starting material must equal the mass of the products. (Pauling 1-2)

MATTER
The word material is generally used to describe any type of physical matter. Materials are next classified by whether or not they are pure substances or mixtures.

SUBSTANCES
Substances are different types of matter that are homogeneous and have reasonably definite chemical compositions. Substances cannot be broken down by physical processes. The word substance is often used loosely to describe lots of different materials but is correctly defined when referring to a particular kind of matter consisting of uniform properties.

Elements are made of atoms which can be broken down further into subatomic particles. There are three distinct subatomic particles. These are known as the proton (which carries a positive charge), the neutron (which is neutral), and the electron (which carries a negative charge). Each element is composed of only one type of atom.

Molecules are groups of atoms that are tied in a definite arrangement and are different from compounds because they are composed of more than one atom, but not more than one element. All compounds are molecules but not all molecules are compounds.

Compounds consist of two or more elements that have a definite chemical composition making them a homogeneous material that is chemically combined.

Minerals are made of any chemical element, compound, or other homogeneous material that occur naturally as a product of inorganic processes.

MIXTURES
Mixtures contain different kinds of matter that are physically mixed but not chemically combined.

The homogeneity or heterogeneity of a material is an important part in classification when referring to mixtures. Homogeneous materials have the same properties throughout. This means that one scoop of the material would contain the same properties throughout. Heterogeneous materials are not uniform throughout. They may have localized areas with different properties.

Solutions are similar to mixtures because they also contain different kinds of matter, however solutions are always homogeneous. Substances as we know are also homogeneous. Solutions are different from substances because they contain more than one kind of matter and the composition is variable.

Works Cited:
Pauling, Linus. General Chemistry. New York: Dover Publications INC, 1988. Print.