Matter Its Properties and Changes What is matter

Matter Its Properties and Changes

What is matter? Matter: anything that has mass and takes up space Examples: fruit, softballs, tools, animals, rain, flowers, and even air. Mass: the amount of matter in an object

Matter has a variety of characteristics or properties that can differ. They fall into 2 different groups used to identify, describe and classify matter: 1. Physical 2. Chemical A single kind of matter that has distinct physical and chemical properties is called a substance.

Physical Properties A physical property can be observed without changing the substance into something else. Odor Taste Hardness Texture Color Boiling Point Melting Point Solubility: dissolves Malleability: ability to be shaped into something else Luster: Shine Conductivity (thermal or electrical) Density (mass/volume)

Chemical Properties A chemical property is observed when a substance interacts/reacts with another substance. Flammability: burn Reactivity: Is there a reaction between two substances Rusting Tarnishing Combustibility: explode

Checkpoint What is an example of a physical property of a candle? Chemical property?

Changes in Matter There are 2 types of changes that matter goes through: physical and chemical. Physical change: a change that alters the form or appearance of a material but does NOT make the material into another substance. Examples: chopping wood, bending a copper wire, molding clay. Matter has 4 principal states: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. A change in state is an example of a physical change.

A chemical change or reaction is a change in matter that DOES produce new substances with properties different from the original substance. Elements may combine to form a compound or compounds may be broken down into elements. Examples: souring of milk, burning of wood

Gold and Density During the California gold rush, miners needed a way to remove Gold from a mixture that also contained dirt and sand. Gold can be separated from other materials in a mixture because of its density. (It has a higher density than most other materials including fool’s gold. ) They used the method of panning using a shallow pan and water. Because gold is more dense, it stays in the bottom of the pan when the less dense materials (water, dirt, sand) are poured off.

Checkpoint How could you tell the difference between fools gold and real gold?