Matter & Materials

Properties of materials, mixtures, elements and compounds

What is Matter?

Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. All matter is made of tiny particles. Matter exists in three states: solid, liquid and gas. The state depends on how fast the particles move and how far apart they are.

Elements, Compounds and Mixtures

• An element is a pure substance made of one type of atom (e.g. gold, oxygen, iron). • A compound is formed when two or more elements are chemically bonded (e.g. water = H₂O, salt = NaCl). • A mixture is two or more substances physically combined — they can be separated (e.g. sand and water).

Example

Separating Mixtures

• Filtration — separating sand from water using a filter (the sand stays behind) • Evaporation — heating salt water until the water evaporates, leaving salt • Magnetism — using a magnet to remove iron filings from sand • Sieving — separating large stones from fine sand

Note

Key Idea

In South Africa, mining companies use separation techniques to extract gold and platinum from rock. Understanding matter and mixtures is essential to many industries.

Key Vocabulary

MatterAnything that has mass and takes up space

ElementA pure substance made of only one type of atom

CompoundA substance made of two or more elements chemically bonded

MixtureTwo or more substances combined but not chemically bonded

FiltrationSeparating a solid from a liquid using a filter

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