General Chemistry Online: Companion Notes: Matter: Classifying matter

2. A blue crystalline material is heated strongly in a test tube. A clear liquid condenses around the mouth of the tube and the crystals gradually lose their blue color and become white powder. Every gram of blue crystal produces 0.36 g of clear liquid and 0.64 g of colorless powder. The same weight relationships are observed for samples of the crystals taken from many different sources. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the blue crystals are:

a compound

a solution

an element

a heterogeous mixture

a wet salt

3. Vanillin contains 63.15% C, 5.30% H, and 31.55% O whether it is extracted from vanilla beans, synthesized chemically from clove oils, or extracted from wood pulp wastes. Vanillin is most likely to be:

	a heterogeous mixture of elements		a homogenous mixture of elements
	a solution of C in H and O		a compound of C, H, and O

4. The meteorite ALH84001 contains tiny bubbles of gas trapped in the rock. The chemical composition of the gas in these bubbles matches the composition of the Martian atmosphere as determined by Viking spacecraft in the 1970's. The meteorite is an example of a(n)

solution

binary compound

homogeneous mixture

heterogeneous mixture

element

5. A solid melts gradually between 85°C and 95°C to give a milky, oily liquid. When a laser beam shines through the liquid, the path of the beam is clearly visible. The milky liquid is likely to be:

a heterogenous mixture

a compound

a solution

an element

General Chemistry Online! Classifying matter