What does it mean that a chemical has a definite composition?

What does it mean that a chemical has a definite composition?

A chemical substance may well be defined as “any material with a definite chemical composition” in an introductory general chemistry textbook. According to this definition a chemical substance can either be a pure chemical element or a pure chemical compound.

What does definite and constant composition mean?

In chemistry, the law of definite proportion, sometimes called Proust’s law, or law of constant composition states that a given chemical compound always contains its component elements in fixed ratio (by mass) and does not depend on its source and method of preparation.

What is matter that has a definite composition?

A substance is a kind of matter that has a uniform and definite composition.

What is the definite composition of carbon?

Carbon (from Latin: carbo “coal”) is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes up only about 0.025 percent of Earth’s crust.

What does a fixed composition mean?

What does “fixed composition” mean with regard to chemical compounds? Whenever the same two elements form more than one compound, the different masses of one element that combine with the same mass of the other element are in the ratio of small whole numbers.

What does constant composition mean?

definite proportions
(1) The law of constant composition states that the proportions of the elements in a compound are always the same, no matter how the compound is made. It is also called the law of constant proportions or definite proportions.

What is a variable composition?

In Mixtures and Pure Substances. A mixture is a substance with a variable composition, meaning that it is composed of molecules or atoms of differing types. These may have intermolecular bonds, or bonds between molecules, but such bonds are not nearly as strong as those formed when elements bond to form a compound.

What is an element composition?

An elemental composition expresses which and how many atoms constitute a particular chemical compound. Although each elemental composition has an unique molecular weight (mass), a molecular weight does not have a unique elemental composition.

What is the composition of substance?

Composition of a substance The chemical composition of a pure substance corresponds to the relative amounts of the elements that constitute the substance itself. It can be expressed with a chemical formula, such as an empirical or molecular formula.

What does molecule of a compound mean?

Molecule is the general term used to describe any atoms that are connected by chemical bonds. Every combination of atoms is a molecule. A compound is a molecule made of atoms from different elements. Water (H2O) can be called a molecule or a compound because it is made of hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms.

What is fixed and definite composition?

The Law of Definite Composition: In different samples of any pure compound, elements combine always in the same, fixed, proportions by mass. compound has some definite mass composition].