States of Matter

What is Matter?

Look around you. Maybe you see a clock. Maybe you see a desk or a shelf of books. These are examples of matter. Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass. You cannot alwyas see it, like air molecules, but when the wind blows you can certainly feel it.

All matter is made up of tiny particles called atoms. These particles are always moving and are attracted to one another. A materials state of matter is determined by the movement of the particles. The more energy they have, the further apart they want to get from each other.

Solids

A solid is the state of matter that has the least amount of energy. It has a definite shape

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and volume. The particles of a solid are packed close together. Believe it or not, the particles of a solid are moving, vibrating back and forth, but they don't have enough energy to break away from one another.

 

Liquid

A liquid is matter that has a definite volume but no definite shape. A liquid takes the shape of its container but keeps the same volume. The best tools to measure the volume of a liquid is a graduated cylinder or beaker. The particles in a liquid move more freely than those in a solid, but do not have enough energy to move apart from one another.

Gas

Gas is matter that does not have a definite shape or volume. The particles in a gas are far apart and move quickly in all directions. A gas can expand or be compressed much easier than a liquid and a solid. When you think of a gas, you can think of water vapor, which is a the gas state of water. Think of a balloon fille dwith air. What happens if you squeeze the air into a smaller part of the balloon? The gas particles orrandom groups of atoms, get closer together. Most gases are invisible, such as the air you breathe.

 

PLASMA

Plasma, the 4th state of matter, only happens at very high temperatures. Plasma is a lot like a gas, except for the fact that electrons get stripped from neutral atoms of the element. It does not occur naturally on Earth, but can be found in neon signs, fluorescent lights, plasma tv's, and lightening. Most of the visible universe is in the state of plasma, such as stars, which are big balls of gases (hydrogen & helium) at really high temperatures.