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 Matter
is all around you. Your computer is matter. Air is matter. Water is matter.
You are matter. In fact, you are made of the 3 major states of matter; solid,
liquid and gas.
If you're curious about matter you've come to the right place! |
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 The
kind of science that deals with the study of matter
is called physical science. |
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Matter
is anything that takes up space and has mass.
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Before we look at the
states of matter we need to study a few vocabulary words:
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COMPOUND
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MIXTURE
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a substance that cannot be separated into a simpler substance. Elements
are made of atoms. |
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the smallest particle of an element that has the properties
of that element. |
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a substance made of 2 or more elements that are chemically joined.
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2 or more substances that are mixed but not chemically joined. |
 Examples:
Gold, Copper, Silver |
Examples:
salt, water, sugar |
Example:
fruit salad |
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What
is matter made of?
Now
we can answer this question. All matter is made of atoms.
Matter is made of either the atoms of one element
or more than one element. ( Silver is made of one kind of atom while water
is made of two kinds of atoms called oxygen and hydrogen.)
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There
are 90 naturally occurring elements. Scientists have been able to make
about 25 more elements ! This link shows all the elements in the Periodic
Table of the Elements
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Matter
has Properties. They can be chemical
or physical properties
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The
3 States of Matter
There
are three main states of matter. They are SOLID,
LIQUID, and GAS. Each of these states is also known as a phase.
Each state has different properties. The state that matter is in depends
on how much energy atoms have.
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SOLID
 Atoms
that don't have much energy tend to stay in place and form a solid. A
solid has a definite size and shape. Atoms in a solid vibrate or jiggle
but do not move from place to place.
To view an example
of this, click on this Flash animation
which shows the structure of ice crystals.
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 LIQUID
Liquids
are formed when temperature is increased and atoms gain energy. The atoms
then move faster and spread
out. Liquids
don't have a definite shape but take the shape of the container they're
in. If you pour liquid into a bottle, it will take the shape of that container.
In this Flash animation
you'll see that liquid has particles that move past each other.
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 GAS
You can feel gas when the wind blows. Air is made
of many gases and is all around you. A gas is matter that has no
shape, size or color of its own. As the temperature of a gas increases
(when energy is added) the atoms move quickly, become widely separated
and spread out in all directions. The atoms spread out equally in any
container it is in. Think of a balloon. The atoms are spread equally throughout
the entire balloon.
In this Flash animation
you'll see that a gas can really spread out.
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A
Table of the Properties of The
3 States of Matter
microscopic
views
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SOLID
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LIQUID
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GAS
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Particles in a solid... |
1.
Particles in a liquid... |
1.
Particles in a gas... |
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...are tightly
packed, usually in a regular pattern
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...are close
together with no regular arrangement
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...are well
separated with no regular arrangement
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...vibrate (jiggle)
but generally do not move from place to place
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...vibrate,
move about, and slide past each other
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...vibrate and
move freely at high speeds watch
this
http://www.falstad.com/gas/
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| 2.
A solid... |
2.
A liquid... |
2.
A gas... |
...retains
a fixed volume and rigid shape
...has particles locked into place... does not flow easily
...is not easily compressible |
...assumes
the shape of the part of the container which it occupies
...has particles which can move and slide past one another... flows
easily
... is not easily compressible |
...assumes
the shape and volume of its container, and expand or compress
to fill the whole container
...has particles that can move past one another...flows easily
... is compressible |
Watch this
comparison
of all three states of matter.
Or this one...http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/states_of_matter/
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Change
of State
 A
compound or element can move from one state to another, but can still
be the same substance. A change of state, also called a phase change,
is a physical change from one state of matter to another, for example,
from solid to liquid or from liquid to gas.
How can this happen?
The answer lies in the motion of the atoms
in matter. If a physical force such as temperature or pressure
changes, the state can change. If energy,
in the form of temperature, is added atoms move faster. If energy (temperature)
is taken away, atoms move slower.
Explore
this idea further.
 Let's
use water as an example of how matter can exist in different states. You
can see water vapor over boiling water.
That vapor, a gas we call steam, can cool and condense
and become a drop of water, a liquid. If you freeze that drop, it can
become ice, a solid. This website
explains more.
Diagram
No matter what state
it is in, it is always water and has the same chemical properties.
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Did you know that there are more phases of matter ? We
aren't as familiar with them nor do we see them everyday. They include:
plasmas and quark-gluon plasmas, Bose-Einstein condensates and fermionic
condensates, strange matter, liquid crystals, superfluids and supersolids
and the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases of magnetic materials.
You'll have to keep studying your physical science to learn more about
these states of matter.
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