In: Chemistry
Explain the important distinctions between each pair of terms:
(a) mass and weight;
(b) intensive and extensive properties;
(c) substance and mixture;
(d) systematic and random errors;
(e) hypothesis and theory.
(a) Mass is an intrinsic property of matter, and is determined by the total number of atoms making up the substance. Weight is the acceleration due to gravity imparted on the material, and can change depending on the gravitational field exerted on the material.
(b) An intensive property does not depend on the amount of material present (such as density), while an extensive property depends on the amount of material present (such as volume of the sample).
(c) Substance in simple terms is any matter with a definite chemical composition, whereas a mixture contains more than one substance.
(d) Systematic error is a consistent error inherent to the measurement (such as the scale with an offset), whereas random errors are not consistent and are most likely the result of the observer making mistakes during measurement.
(e) A hypothesis is a tentative explanation of a natural law.