Any amount of salt, up to a maximum limit, can be dissolved in a given amount of water. Solutions are called homogeneous mixtures . A simple classification scheme for matter is shown in Figure B-1 . A solid has a definite volume, a definite shape, and no tendency to flow. A liquid has a definite volume, but flows readily to take the shape of its container.
Chemists are interested in the properties of substances.
Mass, volume, and termperature are examples of properties, to which we can assign numerical values via measurement. Doubling the amount of gas in a flask doubles the mass of gas. Temperature, in contrast, is an intensive property , which is a property the value of which is independent of the amount of substance present. The temperature of a block of dry ice is the same whether the block is the size of a pea or the size of a house. Intensive properties are generally considered to be more fundamental than extensive properties, because they are characteristic of substances under specified conditions, independent of the amount of substance available.