Notes on Matter
Matter – anything that has mass and takes up space
Mass – is the measure of how much material makes up the object
Weight – measure of the force of gravity on an object
Volume – amount of space an object takes up
Properties of Matter – Property is something about an object that can be observed such as
its size, shape, color, smell, or sound
States of Matter – 3 forms solid, liquid, gas
Solid – person, ice, puppy, flowerpot
Liquid – water, juice, coffee
Gas – air, carbon dioxide
What makes up Matter?
Atoms – tiny particles or building blocks of matter, smallest unit of matter
 Composed of 3 primary particles
 Protons – carries positive charge
 Neutrons – carries neutral charge
 Electrons – carries negative charge and is smallest particle of atom
Nucleus – central part of an atom and contains nearly all the mass of the atom
 2 kinds of particles are found in nucleus and they are protons and neutrons
 particles called electrons move around nucleus in paths called orbits
Molecules – 2 or more atoms lightly attached to one another and act as a unit
Does matter change?
Physical Change – changes in the size and shape of an object
Evaporation – when a liquid changes to a gas
Water Vapor – is water in its gas form
Condensation – Cooling air causes water vapor to change to a liquid
Chemical Change – a change that causes matter to become a new kind of matter
Mixtures and Solutions
Mixture – 2 or more substances are combined and each substance stays the same
Solution – mixture has some composition and appearance throughout
Element – a substance that cannot be separated into simple substances by chemical means
Compound – a combination of 2 or more elements which can be separated by chemical
means but cannot be separated any other way
Mixture Examples
 breakfast cereal (grains, nuts, raisins)
 granite (quartz, hornblende, feldspar)
 Muddy water
Solutions
 hot chocolate (cocoa in milk)
 ocean water (salt, minerals in water)
 Tincture of Iodine (iodine in alcohol)
 Limestone
 Salt
 Conglomerate rock
Solute – gets dissolved (salt in water)
Solvent – does the dissolving
Filtration – separates sediment from water
Mixture – easily separated
Solution – evenly spreads molecules