Properties of Matter

Properties of Matter

Multiple Choice

Which statement do you think is true?

• You are heavier on the moon.

• You are heavier in space.

• You are lighter on the moon.

When you describe something using its color, texture, hardness etc., you are talking about its properties.
Properties are things that can be observed about an object.
Properties can tell about the amount of matter or what matter is like.

Matter - it is anything that has mass and takes up space.

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​Properties

It is the amount of matter in an object.

​Mass can be measured using a balance scale
Mass is measured in kilograms or grams.

Mass

Open Ended

If an elephant is in space, does its mass change? Why or why not?

It is how strongly gravity pulls on an object.
An object with more mass will have more weight.
It is measured in newtons.
Planets with more mass have stronger gravity

Weight

Open Ended

Which is heavier, one kilogram of iron or one kilogram of feathers?

It is the amount of space that matter takes up.
Generally, matter cannot take up the same space, so some of it gets displaced.
Volume is measured in liters or milliliters.

Volume

Choose a question

A) Why does a child who weighs 41 kg weigh only 6 kg on the moon?
B) Why is it difficult to play on the seesaw with your dad?
C) Claire has a cup half-filled with milk tea. She scooped some boba and put it inside the cup. The cup is now full. What happened?

Open Ended

What if you suddenly had thirty more new classmates?

It is the amount of matter per unit volume of a substance.
To get the density we divide a substance's mass by its volume.

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​Density

The density of water is 1 g/ml³. Any object with a lesser density will float on water. If the density is greater than water, it will sink.

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​Density

Open Ended

An egg was dropped in a glass full of water, and it sank into the bottom. Several spoonfuls of salt were added to the glass, then the egg started to float. Why do you think this happened?

The ability of a substance to sink or float is called buoyancy.
In water, when an object is more dense, it sinks. If it is less dense, it floats.

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Buoyancy

Liquid molecules "pull" on each other specially on the surface.
Surface tension acts like a "skin" on the surface of the liquid.

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​Surface Tension

Commonly, matter can be in one of three states: solid, liquid, or gas.
Solid- particles can barely move. Stays in a definite shape and volume.
It is the densest state of matter.

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​States of Matter

Liquid - the particles move more freelu. They can flow past each other.
They take the shape of their container.
It is the second densest state.

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​States of Matter

Gas - the particles are not close together. It has no definite volume or shape. Gases move around until they fill their container.
It is the least dense state of matter.

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​States of Matter