Matter Basics
What is the definition of matter?
Anything that has mass and takes up space.
Describe how particles are arranged and move in a solid.
They are packed tightly together and vibrate in place.
What is mass?
The amount of matter (stuff) inside an object.
What is buoyancy?
The ability of an object to float in water or another liquid.
What is the name of the upward pushing force that water exerts on an object?
Buoyant force.
What are the three main states of matter?
Solid, Liquid, Gas
Describe how particles move in a liquid.
They are close together, but they can slide and flow past each other.
What is volume?
The amount of space an object or liquid takes up.
What is compressibility?
How easily a substance can be squeezed into a smaller space.
Why does a giant steel ship float when a small steel pebble sinks?
The ship is hollowed out and filled with air, which spreads its weight over a large volume, making its overall density less than water.
Which state of matter has its own fixed shape and its own fixed volume?
Solid
Describe how particles move in a gas.
They are far apart, move very fast, and bounce around in all directions.
What is the difference between mass and volume?
Mass is how heavy or full of matter something is; volume is how much 3D space it fills.
Out of solids, liquids, and gases, which one is the easiest to compress?
Gas (like air in a syringe).
If an object hovers in the middle of a tank of water without sinking to the bottom or floating to the top, what does that mean?
Its density is equal to the water (neutral buoyancy).
Which state of matter takes the shape of its container, but keeps the same volume?
Liquid
What does the Particle Theory of Matter tell us?
That all matter is made of tiny particles that are always moving.
What is density?
A measure of how tightly packed the particles are inside a space.
Why are some objects buoyant (able to float) in water?
Because they are less dense than water!
If you pour maple syrup, water, and oil into a cup, which liquid sinks to the bottom and why?
Maple syrup, because it is the densest liquid.
Which state of matter expands to fill whatever container or room it is in?
Gas
What happens to particles when you heat a liquid up?
They move faster and spread farther apart.
If you take a lump of clay and roll it into a ball, then flatten it into a pancake, does its mass or volume change?
Neither! The amount of matter (mass) and the space it fills (volume) stay the same. Only its shape changed.
Why is air easy to compress in a syringe, but water is almost impossible to compress?
Air particles have lots of empty space between them to squeeze together, but water particles are already packed close together.
When you push the plunger down on a closed syringe full of air, do the air particles get smaller?
No! The particles stay the same size, they just get pushed closer together.