Matter – Definitions
matter – Anything that has mass and takes up space.
property – A characteristic of matter that can be observed or
measured.
mass – The amount of matter making up an object.
volume – A measure of how much space the matter of an object takes
up.
buoyancy – The upward force of a liquid or gas on an object.
solid – A state of matter that has a definite shape and volume.
liquid – A state of matter that has a definite volume but no definite
shape. It takes the shape of its container.
gas – A state of matter that has no definite shape or volume.
metric system – A system of measurement based on units of ten. It is
used in most countries and in all scientific work.
length – The number of units that fit along one edge of an object.
area – The number of unit squares that fit inside a surface.
density – The amount of matter in a given space. In scientific terms,
density is the amount of mass in a unit of volume.
weight – The measure of the pull of gravity between an object and
Earth.
gravity – A force of attraction, or pull, between objects.
physical change – A change that begins and ends with the same type of
matter.
change of state – A physical change of matter from one state – solid,
liquid, or gas – to another state because of a change in the energy of
the matter.
evaporation – The process of a liquid changing to a gas.
rust – A solid brown compound formed when iron combines chemically
with oxygen.
chemical change – A change that produces new matter with different
properties from the original matter.
tarnish – Discoloration of metal by exposure to air.
mixture – Two or more types of matter that are blended together and
keep their own properties.
solution – A mixture in which one or more kinds of matter are mixed
evenly in another kind of matter.