Matter
What is matter?
Moira Whitehouse PhD
Matter includes everything
around us-•Computer
•Couch
•Bed
•Food
•Drink
•Animals
•People
Yes!
Everything is
MATTER!
Matter on Earth is usually in
one of three states.
solids
We know when matter is a solid
because solids:
• Keep their shape unless they arebroken
• Do not flow orpour
liquids
We can tell when matter is a liquid because
liquids:
•Do not keep their own shape; they takethe
shape of the container they arein.
And...liquids flow or pour.
Then what about sand,
sugar and salt? Don’t
they pour, flow and
take the shape of the
container they are in?
If you magnify
sand or sugar,
you can see
that they are
not liquids.
Sand, salt, and
sugar are made
up of verysmall
particles that
have a definite
shape .
Then there is that third state of matter:
gas
A balloon or a bubble is a
container that can hold a gas.
The air we breathe is made of
gas particles.
A gas takes the
shape of its
container, or flies
freely around you.
Gas particles are not connected
to each other and take up
whatever space is available.
Most gases are invisible—you
simply cannot seem them.
However, you do know air is there
when it moves things such as this
windmill.
Or when you use the gas in your
lungs to blow out acandle.
Can you name the three states of
matter?
Can you tell the difference
between these three states?
Bubbles hold
an invisible
gas called
water vapor