Experiments:

matter:

• Crystalline Solids

  • Atoms are arranged in a highly ordered, repeating 3D pattern.

  • They have well-defined geometric shapes.

  • Sharp melting points because all bonds break at once.

  • Examples: Quartz, diamond, table salt.

    

• Polycrystalline Solids

  • Made of many small crystals (grains).

  • The grains are randomly oriented, so the overall structure is not continuous.

  • These materials may still be strong but lack the perfect symmetry of crystalline solids.

  • Examples: Iron, aluminium, most metals.

    

• Amorphous Solids

  • Atoms are randomly arranged, with no long-range order.
  • No definite melting point—they soften gradually when heated.
  • Often form when cooling is too fast for crystals to form.
  • Examples: Glass, polyethylene (plastic), rubber.

  

phases:

• Solute: A solute is an object that is dissolved into the solvent. In a solution a solute is present in a smaller amount, for example salt is the solute when dissolved in water

• Solvent: A solvent is a substance in which the solute dissolves in. Solvent is the substance that is present in the largest amount. For example water

• Phase: A phase is a physically distinctive form of matter such as solid, liquid or gas, phases are different points within states of matter. Matter can exist in different phases while being in the same state of matter. For example a solid is a solid phase, or a gas is in a gaseous state

• Filtrate: Filtrate is the liquid collected after using a separating funnel

• Residue: Residue is the solute collected after filtration

• Distillate: Distillate is the liquid collected after distillation

• Saturated solution: Saturated is a state of solution when the solvent cannot dissolve anymore solute at a specific temperature

• Unsaturated solution: An unsaturated solution is the state of solution where more solute can be dissolved by the solvent and it has not yet reached its saturation point, at a specific temperature

• Supersaturated solution: Contains more solute than normally possible at a given temperature. Usually achieved by heating and then slow cooling.

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Solubility increases with temperature because particles move faster, creating more space for solute particles.

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• Solution
  • Homogeneous mixture (uniform throughout).
  • Solute dissolves completely in the solvent.
  • Particles are too small to be seen, cannot be filtered.
  • Light does not scatter through the solution.
  • Example: Sugar dissolved in water.
• Suspension
  • Heterogeneous mixture with visible undissolved solid particles.
  • Particles are large enough to settle over time and can be filtered out.
  • Light scatters through the mixture.
  • Example: Muddy water, sand in water.
• Colloid
  • Tiny insoluble particles dispersed in a liquid or gas.
  • Particles are small enough to stay suspended, but do not settle.
  • Light is scattered (Tyndall effect).
  • Cannot be filtered with normal filters.
  • Examples: Milk, glue, fog.
  • Note: A dispersion is a general term for a mixture where fine particles are spread throughout another substance. Colloids are a type of dispersion.