General Chemistry/Properties of Matter/Changes in Matter

There are two types of change in matter: physical change and chemical change. As the names suggest, physical changes never change the identity of the matter, only its size, shape or state. In a physical change, atoms are not rearranged and the matter's physical and chemical properties are unchanged. Chemical changes, on the other hand, rearrange the atoms of matter in new combinations, resulting in matter with new physical and chemical properties.

Chemical changes are also known as chemical reactions. The "ingredients" of a reaction are the reactants, and the end results are called the "products". The change from reactants to products can be signified by an arrow.Chemical changes are mostly irreversible

A Chemical Reaction

Reactants → Products

Note that the number of reactants and products don't necessarily have to be the same. However, the number of each type of atom must remain constant. This is called the Law of Conservation of Matter. It states that matter can never be created or destroyed, only changed and rearranged. If a chemical reaction begins with 17 moles of carbon atoms, it must end with 17 moles of carbon atoms. They may be bonded into different molecules, or in a different state of matter, but they cannot disappear.

When changes occur, energy is often transformed. However, like atoms, energy cannot disappear. This is called the Law of Conservation of Energy. A simple example would be putting ice cubes into a soft drink. The ice cubes get warmer as the drink gets colder, because energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred. Note that energy can be "released" or "stored" by making and breaking bonds. When a plant converts the energy from sunlight into food, that energy is stored in the chemical bonds within the sugar molecules.

Chemical change or Physical change?

Is blending together a smoothie a physical or chemical change?

Physical changes do not cause a substance to become a fundamentally different substance. Chemical changes, on the other hand, cause a substance to change into something entirely new. Chemical changes are typically irreversible, but that is not always the case. It is easier to understand the difference between physical and chemical changes with examples.

State changes are physical.	Phase changes are when you melt, freeze, boil, condense, sublimate, or deposit a substance. They do not change the nature of the substance unless a chemical change occurs along with the physical change.
Cutting, tearing, shattering, and grinding are physical.	These may be irreversible, but the result is still composed of the same molecules. When you cut your hair, that is a physical change, even though you can't put the hair back on your head again.
Mixing together substances is physical.	For example, you could mix salt and pepper, dissolve salt in water, or mix molten metals together to produce an alloy.
Gas bubbles forming is chemical.	Not to be confused with bubbles from boiling, which would be physical (a phase change). Gas bubbles indicate that a chemical reaction has occurred.
Precipitates forming is chemical.	When dissolved substances are mixed, and a cloudy precipitate appears, there has been a chemical change.
Rotting, burning, cooking, and rusting (for example) are chemical.	The resulting substances are entirely new chemical compounds. For instance, wood becomes ash and heat; iron becomes rust; sugar ferments into alcohol.
Changes of color or release of odors (i.e. release of a gas) might be chemical.	As an example, the element chromium shows different colors when it is in different compounds, but a single chromium compound will not change color on its own without some sort of reaction.
Release/absorption of energy (heat, light, sound) is generally not easily categorized.	Hot/cold packs involve dissolving a salt in water to change its temperature (more on that in later chapters); popping popcorn is mostly physical (but not completely).