Chapter 1

Introduction to Chemistry

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The Scientific Method

• Chemists use the scientific method to solve problems

• Make observations of nature
• Derive a hypothesis or build a model in response to observations
• Construct experiments to bolster or refute the hypothesis or model

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The Study of Chemistry

• The study of chemistry involves three levels of understanding or three

perspectives
• Macroscopic
• Microscopic
• Symbolic

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The Macroscopic Perspective (1 of 4)

• Matter is anything that has mass and can be observed

• Matter is observed through two types of changes
• Physical changes
• Chemical changes

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The Macroscopic Perspective (2 of 4)

• Physical properties are variables of matter that we can measure without

changing the identity of the substance being observed
• Include mass, density, color, viscosity, hardness, and temperature
• The density of an object is a ratio of its mass to its volume
• Example: Aluminum metal has a high malleability

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The Macroscopic Perspective (3 of 4)

• Chemical properties are determined only by observing how a substance

changes its identity in chemical reactions
• Pure aluminum metal reacts with acid, such as in soft drinks, to form an
aluminum salt and hydrogen gas
• The ability of a compound to burn in oxygen, or combustion, is another chemical
property
• The degradation of metals in the presence of air and moisture, or corrosion, is
another common chemical property

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The Macroscopic Perspective (4 of 4)

• There are three phases of matter

• Solids are hard and do not change their shapes easily at ordinary temperatures
• Liquids assume the shape of the portion of the container they fill
• Gases expand to occupy the entire volume of their containers

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The Microscopic or Particulate Perspective

• Matter is composed of minute particles called atoms that retain the chemical
identity of the element they represent
• An element is composed of atoms with identical physical and chemical
properties
• Molecules are groups of atoms held together by attractive forces whose
properties are distinguishable from those of the individual elements

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The Microscopic Perspective (1 of 3)

• Solid: Particles maintain a regular ordered structure

• Maintains size and shape
• Liquid: Particles remain close but no longer ordered
• Takes shape of container
• Gas: Particles are widely separated and move independently of one another
• Fills available volume of container
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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The Microscopic Perspective (2 of 3)

• During a physical change, chemical

composition does not change
• Heating liquid water to make gaseous
water or steam

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The Microscopic Perspective (3 of 3)

• During a chemical change, a chemical reaction that occurs changes the

chemical composition of the matter involved
• Using electricity to convert water into oxygen and hydrogen molecules
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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The Symbolic Representation (1 of 2)

• Symbols are used to represent the atoms, molecules, and reactions

• Pure aluminum, Al
• Aluminum oxide, Al2O3

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The Symbolic Representation (2 of 2)

Particulate-level representation of Particulate-level representation of

neodymium oxide, Nd2O3 neodymium magnet, Nd2Fe14B

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The Science of Chemistry: Observations, Models,
and Systems
• Chemistry is an empirical science and is studied by:
• Measuring physical properties and observing chemical reactions
• Creating models to explain observations and organizing collected data

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Observations in Science (1 of 5)

• Observations are recorded via measurements

• Accuracy: How close the observed value is to the “true” value
• Precision: The spread in values obtained from measurements

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Observations in Science (2 of 5)

• Measurements can have poor precision

and poor accuracy
• Darts are widely scattered and far away
from the target

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Observations in Science (3 of 5)

• Measurements can have good precision

and poor accuracy
• Darts are clustered together but are
clustered far from the bull’s-eye

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Observations in Science (4 of 5)

• Measurements can have good precision

and good accuracy
• Darts are clustered together and close to
the target

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Observations in Science (5 of 5)

• Types of errors in measurements

• Random error: May make a measurement randomly too high or too low
• Variation associated with equipment limitations
• Systematic error: May make a measurement consistently too high or too low
• The presence of an impurity

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Interpreting Observations (1 of 2)

• Inductive and deductive reasoning are used to interpret collected data and
observations
• Inductive reasoning begins with a series of specific observations and attempts to
generalize to a larger, more universal conclusion
• Deductive reasoning takes two or more statements or assertions and combines
them so that a clear and irrefutable conclusion can be drawn

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Interpreting Observations (2 of 2)

• Scientists and engineers use inductive and deductive reasoning to solve

problems in complex systems
• This is called systems thinking
• What are the components involved?
• How do those components interact or connect to each other?
• What is the ultimate function of the whole system?

Brown/Holme, Chemistry For Engineering Students, 4th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Models in Science

• Scientific model: Largely empirical description

• Gas pressure is proportional to temperature
• Scientific theory: Explanation grounded in some more fundamental principle
or assumption about the behavior of a system
• Relationship between gas pressure and temperature is explained using kinetic
energy
• Laws: Sufficiently refined, well tested, and widely accepted theories

Brown/Holme, Chemistry For Engineering Students, 4th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Numbers and Measurements in Chemistry

• Chemists quantify data, expressing collected data with units and significant
figures
• Units: Designate the type of quantity measured
• Prefixes: Provide scale to a base unit
• Significant Figures: Indicate the amount of information that is reliable when
discussing a measurement

Brown/Holme, Chemistry For Engineering Students, 4th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Units (1 of 2)
Property Unit, with Abbreviation
Mass kilogram, kg
Time second , s
Distance meter, m
Electric current ampere, A
Temperature Kelvin, K
Number of particles mole, mol
Light intensity candela, cd

• Base unit designates the type of quantity being measured

• SI units are the base units of science
• Some units comprise combinations of these base units and are termed derived
units
• 1 J = 1 kg m2 s −2
Brown/Holme, Chemistry For Engineering Students, 4th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Units (2 of 2)

• Prefixes are used with base units to report and understand quantities of any
size
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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
SI Prefixes

• Prefixes are based on multiples of 10

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Temperature

• Temperature is measured using the Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin

temperature scales
Brown/Holme, Chemistry For Engineering Students, 4th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Temperature Scale Conversions

°F (1.8 × °C) + 32
=
°C =(°F − 32)/1.8
K= °C + 273.15
°C= K − 273.15

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Numbers and Significant Figures (1 of 4)

• Scientific notation is used to easily write very small and very large numbers
• Numbers written using scientific notation factor out all powers of ten

4
54,000
= 5.4 × 10
−5
0.000042
= 4.2 × 10

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Numbers and Significant Figures (2 of 4)

• All digits reported are considered significant except for certain types of zeros
• When a zero establishes the decimal place, it is not significant
• 51,300 m: 3 significant figures
• 0.043 g: 2 significant figures
• A zero is significant when it follows a decimal point or when it occurs between
other significant figures
• 4.30 mL: 3 significant figures
• 304.2 kg: 4 significant figures
• All numbers are significant when written in correct scientific notation

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Example Problem 1.2

• An alloy contains 2.05% of some impurity. How many significant figures are
reported in this value?

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Numbers and Significant Figures (3 of 4)

• For calculated values, the number of significant figures should be consistent

with the data used in the calculation
• For multiplication and division, the number of significant figures in a result must
be the same as the number of significant figures in the factor with the fewest
significant figures
0.24 kg × 4621
= m 1100 kg m or 1.1 × 103 kg m
• For addition and subtraction, the number of significant figures is determined from
the position of the first uncertain digit
4.882 m
+ 0.3 m
5.2 m
Brown/Holme, Chemistry For Engineering Students, 4th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Example Problem 1.3

• Report the result for the indicated arithmetic operations using the correct
number of significant figures. Assume all values are measurements and not
exact numbers.
• 4.30 × 0.31
• 4.033 + 88.1
• 5.6 / 1.732 × 10 4

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Numbers and Significant Figures (4 of 4)

• When counting discrete objects, the result has no ambiguity

• Such measurements use exact numbers
• They have infinite significant figures
• Two pennies would be 2.000000…
• Exactly defined terms, such as metric prefixes, are also considered exact numbers

Brown/Holme, Chemistry For Engineering Students, 4th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Problem Solving in Chemistry and Engineering

• There are several categories of problems

• Calculations involving ratios
• Conceptual understanding of the particulate level
• Visualization of phenomena on different levels

Brown/Holme, Chemistry For Engineering Students, 4th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Using Ratios

• Ratios represent the relationship between two quantities and can be

expressed in two ways

$4.45
Price = = $0.89 per pound
5.0 pounds
5.0 pounds
= 1.1 pounds per dollar
$4.45

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Example Problem 1.4

• Suppose that your supermarket is offering 20-count shrimp for $5.99 per
pound. How much should you expect to pay for one dozen shrimp?

Brown/Holme, Chemistry For Engineering Students, 4th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Example Problem 1.5

• What is the wavelength, in meters, of orange light of wavelength 615 nm?

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be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Ratios in Chemistry Calculations

• Mass Density: Ratio of an object’s mass to its volume

• Temperature and compound specific
• Allows conversion between mass and volume

1000 mL 0.975 g
346 L × × =3.37 × 105 g
1L 1 mL

• Units of measurement can be used to determine how to write the appropriate ratio
by “canceling”out
• This type of reasoning is called dimensional analysis or the factor-label method

Brown/Holme, Chemistry For Engineering Students, 4th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Example Problem 1.6

• The density of water at 25°C is 0.997 g per mL. A child’s swimming pool
holds 346 L of water at this temperature. What mass of water is in the pool?

Brown/Holme, Chemistry For Engineering Students, 4th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not
be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.