What is Matter?
A student listed the following:
Only one item is not matter.
Sunlight
A chef pours soup into a bowl. The soup changes its shape to match the bowl. Which state of matter is the soup?
Liquid
A piece of chalk, a book, and a spoon are placed on a table. Even if they are moved to another place, they keep the same shape.
What property do these objects have in common?
They have a definite shape.
A student packed the following items for school:
Arrange the items according to their states of matter.
Water – Liquid; Pencil – Solid; Air – Gas
A sealed bottle containing liquid water is placed in a freezer. After several hours, the water becomes solid. The temperature inside the freezer is –5°C.
Which change of state occurred before the water reached –5°C?
Freezing
A student says that wind is not matter because it cannot be seen.
Evaluate the student's statement
The student is incorrect. Wind is moving air, and air is matter because it has mass and takes up space.
A student observes a substance that spreads throughout an empty room after a perfume bottle is sprayed. Which state of matter best describes the perfume particles in the air?
Gas
A student pours water into a bottle, then into a cup. The water looks different in each container.
Which property of water is shown?
It has no definite shape.
A rock is placed in a graduated cylinder. The water level rises from 45 mL to 63 mL.
Find the volume of the rock.
18 mL (or 18 cm³)
A student recorded the following observations while heating an ice cube:
Why did the temperature remain constant during the change?
The heat was used to change the ice into liquid water, not to increase its temperature.
Which group contains only matter?
A. Water, air, heat
B. Chair, oxygen, juice
C. Light, sound, smoke
D. Electricity, rock, water
B. Chair, oxygen, juice
Three samples are placed on a table: elmer's glue, candle wax, and steam. Arrange them according to their states of matter.
liquid, solid, gas
This property allows cooking oil, juice, and water to take the shape of any container they are poured into.
No definite shape.
A mini dresser measures 13 cm long, 7 cm wide, and 18 cm high.
Find its volume.
1,638 cm³
Two groups heated equal amounts of water.
Which group observed boiling, and what evidence supports your answer?
Group A, because boiling occurs at the boiling point and produces bubbles throughout the liquid.
A student made this rule:
"If you can touch it, it is matter. If you cannot touch it, it is not matter."
Give one example that proves the rule is incorrect.
Air (or oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor) because it is matter even though it cannot be touched easily.
A scientist found an unknown substance. It flows when poured but cannot fill an entire room by itself. Which state of matter is it?
Liquid
Two substances have the same volume. One keeps its own shape, while the other changes shape when poured into a container.
Which property makes them different?
Their shape.
A manufacturer needs a material to make electrical wires.
Which special property of solids is most important?
A. Brittleness
B. Hardness
C. Ductility
D. Elasticity
C. Ductility
A student claimed:
"The water droplets on the outside of a cold bottle came from water leaking through the bottle."
Based on the evidence, evaluate the student's claim.
The claim is incorrect. The droplets formed by condensation when water vapor in the air cooled and changed into liquid on the cold surface of the bottle.
Four students discussed whether a balloon contains matter before it is inflated.
Whose explanation is most scientifically accurate?
Ben
A student claims that steam is a liquid because it comes from boiling water. Evaluate the student's claim.
The claim is incorrect. Steam is water vapor, which is a gas.
Two objects are compared. One remains the same shape wherever it is placed, while the other changes shape to fit its container.
Which object has a definite shape?
A. Water
B. Juice
C. Air
D. Eraser
D. Eraser
Three liquids have the same volume.
Which liquid has the greatest density?
Liquid B
A teacher wrote these statements on the board.
I. Water freezes at 0°C.
II. Water boils at 100°C.
III. Sublimation changes a solid directly into a gas.
IV. Condensation changes a liquid into a gas.
Which statement is incorrect, and how should it be corrected?
Statement IV is incorrect.
Condensation changes a gas into a liquid.