What is matter?
Matter is everything around you.
Matter is anything made of atoms and
molecules. Matter is anything that has a mass.
Matter is also related to light and
electromagnetic radiation. Even though
matter can be found all over the universe, you
usually find it in just a few forms.
Matter has states.
• As of 1995, scientists have identified five states of matter.
They may discover one more by the time you get old.
You should know about solids, liquids, gases, plasmas, and
a new one called Bose-Einstein condensates. The first four
have been around a long time.
The scientists who worked with the Bose-Einstein
condensate received a Nobel Prize for their work in 1995.
But what makes a state of matter? It's about the physical
state of molecules and atoms.
• Solids are usually hard because their molecules have been
packed together. The closer your molecules are, the harder
you are. Solids also can hold their own shape. A rock will
always look like a rock unless something happens to it. The
same goes for a diamond. Even when you grind up a solid
into a powder, you will see little tiny pieces of that solid
under a microscope. Solids like their shape.
In the same way that a solid holds its shape, the atoms
inside of a solid are not allowed to move around too
much. This is one of the physical characteristics of solids.
• What is a liquid? Water is a liquid. Your blood is a
liquid. Liquids are an in-between state of matter. They
can be found in between the solid and gas states.
• One characteristic of a liquid is that it will fill up the
shape of a container. If you pour some water in a cup,
it will fill up the bottom of the cup first and then fill the
rest. The water will also take the shape of the cup.
• Gas is everywhere. There is something called the
atmosphere. That's a big layer of gas that surrounds the
Earth. Gases are random groups of atoms. In solids, atoms
and molecules are compact and close together. Liquids
have atoms a little more spread out. However, gases are
really spread out and the atoms and molecules are full of
energy. They are bouncing around constantly.
• Gases can fill a container of any size or shape. That is one of
their physical characteristics. Think about a balloon. No
matter what shape you make the balloon it will be evenly
filled with the gas atoms. The atoms and molecules are
spread equally throughout the entire balloon. Liquids can
only fill the bottom of the container while gases can fill it
• Plasmas are a lot like gases, but the atoms are different because
they are made up of free electrons and ions of the element.
You don't find plasmas too often when you walk around. They
aren't things that happen regularly on Earth. If you have ever
heard of the Northern Lights or ball lightning, you might know
that those are types of plasmas, other examples of plasmas are
fluorescent light bulb, a neon sign and stars. Stars are big balls of
gases at really high temperatures.
It takes a very special environment to keep plasmas going. They
are different and unique from the
other states of matter.
Bose-Einstein Basics
This state of matter was the only one created while you
were alive. In 1995, two scientists, Cornell and Weiman,
finally created this new state of matter. Two other
scientists, Satyendra Bose and Albert Einstein, had
predicted it in the 1920. They didn't have the equipment
and facilities to make it happen in the 20s. Now we do. If
plasmas are super hot and super excited atoms, the
atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) are total
opposites. They are super-unexcited and super-cold
1. As of the 1990s, scientists have proved the
existence of how many states of matter?
a. Two
b. Three
c. Four
d. Five
2. what is the densest state of matter between
gases, liquids, and solids,?
a. Solids
b. Liquids
c. Gases
d. Plasmas
3.Because electrons have been stripped away from
atoms in plasma, plasmas have a negative charge.
a. True
b. False
4. The molecules in a gas are in constant motion.
a. True
b. False
5. Atoms in a liquid are farther apart than the atoms in
a gas.
a. True
b. False
Check your answers
1. (d) Scientists have now proven that there are five
states of matter.
Solids, Liquids, Gases, Plasmas, Bose-Einstein
2. (a) Of those three choices, solids are the densest state
of matter. The molecules in solids are more tightly
packed than either liquids or gases.
3. (b) Plasmas have a neutral charge. Even though the
electrons have been stripped from the atoms, the
positively charged nuclei remain. The positive charges
cancel out the negative charges.
4. (a) The molecules in a gas are in constant
motion. Actually, all molecules in solids,
liquids, and gases are in constant motion at
any temperature above absolute zero. The
molecules in a gas are just more active than
the molecules found in solids and liquids.
5. (b) Atoms in a gas are actually farther apart
than the atoms in a liquid. Solids are the
densest state of matter (of solids liquids, and
gases). Gases are the least dense and have
atoms that are the most spread out.
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