This chapter discusses the fundamental concepts of matter and chemical changes. It defines matter as anything that has mass and takes up space, and describes its three main states as solid, liquid, and gas. Properties of matter are classified as either intensive or extensive. Physical and chemical properties are distinguished. Mixtures and compounds are introduced, where mixtures maintain the properties of the individual components and compounds exhibit new properties. Elements are defined as pure substances made of only one type of atom that cannot be broken down further by chemical means. Chemical changes, in which the reactants are converted into products with different compositions, are described along with clues that indicate a chemical change has occurred. The law of conservation of mass, whereby the mass of the reactants equals the mass