SOL 3.3 ~ Matter
The
student will investigate and understand that objects can be described by the
materials they are made of and their physical properties.
Key concepts include:
- objects are made of more than one material (SOL 3.3a)
- objects are made of materials that are often too small to see without magnification (SOL 3.3b)
- the physical properties of objects remain the same, even when the object is reduced in size (SOL 3.3c)
Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass .
Every object that takes up space is made of matter.
Objects can be described by the properties of the materials from which they are made. In other words, a property of matter is a way of describing the matter.
We can observe and describe the physical properties of objects:
- size - big, large, little, small
- weight - heavy or light
- shape - round, square, flat, puffy, wide, thin, long, short, etc...
- temperature - hot, warm, cold
- color - light, dark, blue, green, red, etc...
- texture and feel - rough, smooth, hard, soft, etc...
- their ability to react with other substances - dissolve, mix, separate, smoke, change color etc...
For example:
- a sheet of paper can be thin, rectangular, white
- an orange can be round, orange, juicy
- a piece of ice can be a cube, cold, slippery
Can you think of some other examples???
Physical properties can be measured using simple tools:
a
ruler
measures length or
how long, tall or short
an object is
a
balance or scale
measures mass
or
the weight of an object
a
thermometer
measures the temperature
or how hot or cold
an object is
We can measure the mass and the volume of matter.
Mass is the amount of matter is in an object.
Volume is the amount of space the matter occupies.
The matter objects are made of can be more than one kind of matter, such as paper, wood, or metal.
The material that an object is made of remains the same even when one of its physical properties changes.
For example:
- a sheet of paper is still paper, even when we change its physical shape by crumbling it up or cut it in smaller parts
- an ice cube is still ice even if we crush it into smaller pieces
- a piece of wood is still wood even if we grind it into sawdust
Can you think of some other examples???
Properties are Constantly Changing
All materials are composed of parts too small to be seen well with our eyes alone without magnification.
We can use a magnifying glass (hand lens) or a microscope to see the smaller parts that make up the object.