The properties of matter
Mrs. Trotter’ 8th Grade Science
 Three




ordinary types of matter
Solid
Liquid
Gas
There is also a fourth state of matter called
plasma

Plasma only exists at extremely high temperatures
such as those found on the sun. You actually create
plasma in a fluorescent lamp when you turn it on. It
consists of high energy, electrically charged particles.
 Most
of the matter in the universe is in the
form of plasma
 More than 99% of the visible matter in the
universe is plasma
 It is rare on earth, but found mainly in
lightning, fluorescent bulbs and laboratories
 Have
a definite shape & volume
 Have
a definite shape but no definite
volume
 Does
not have a definite shape or volume
 It fills whatever space it is placed in
 All
matter on earth is made up of elements
 There are 100 known elements on earth
 All
matter is made of tiny particles
 The particle are in constant motion
 Anytime
motion
you hear the word kinetic- think
 The
more heat you put into a substance- the
faster the particles will move
 The
faster the particles move, the higher the
temperature becomes
 The
particles of a solid are packed very close
together
 The higher the temperature the faster the
motion
 The motion and spacing of these particles
determines the state of matter
 Most
solids form crystals- like salt, sugar and
diamonds
 The
particles of liquids are very close to one
another
 The particles have just enough energy that
the forces between them cannot hold them
into fixed positions anymore
 The particles slip freely past one another

Viscosity- is the property of a liquid that we
use to describe how it pours. Water flows
freely. How does tar pour?
 The
particles have so much energy that they
move rapidly in straight lines filling up empty
space
 The particles of a gas only change direction
when they strike the walls of their containers
or other particles
 The
energy that causes the particles of a
substance to move faster
 Is
the measure of the average kinetic energy
(energy of motion) of all the particles in a
substance
 When
you add heat to matter, its thermal
energy increases
 Remember we said particles move faster
when you add heat to them? Well when they
move around and hit each other, the
particles can move farther apart.
 Thus the volume of a heated material will
increases

Watch this ball and ring demonstration
 1.
List the three ordinary states of matter.
 2.
Describe the fourth state of matter.
 3.
State the kinetic theory.
 4.
If you melt paraffin wax, the melted wax
takes up only a little more space than did the
solid wax. How can you use the kinetic
theory of matter to explain this observation.
 When
one substance changes from one state
of matter to another
 All
phase changes are reversible
 When
 If
a gas changes into a liquid
you put a cold cover over a pot of boiling
water the steam condenses on the cover
 Changing
from a solid to a gas WITHOUT
going through the liquid phase
 How
does this happen???
 The
opposite of sublimation
 Gas becomes a solid without going through
the liquid stage
A
liquid changing into a gas without boiling
 Page
52 Physical Properties of Matter