Matter and Properties

Students are introduced to matter by investigating the properties of bouncy balls they make. Students then conduct an experiment with their bouncy balls to explore how temperature can affect the properties of materials. 

• Science is the search for explanations about the world around them, and scientists ask questions that will help guide them toward answers.  
• Scientists follow a process as they conduct experiments, which helps guide scientists as they move from a question to a data-based conclusion.
• A property is an observable or measurable characteristic of matter, and all matter can be described according to its properties. Matter is everything that is made up of atoms and takes up space, and it includes all of the solids, liquids, and gasses around us.
• We can tell whether something is a solid, a liquid, or a gas because each has specific properties that can be used to identify it. 

• Why is it important that scientists ask questions?
• Why are data an important part of experiments? How is an answer that uses data different from an answer based on opinion?
• Why is it helpful to follow a scientific process to answer questions?
• How can a specific object in the classroom be described by its properties? Or how would you compare objects in the visual according to the property highlighted?
• Why is it important to be able to identify an object’s properties?
• How is water from a faucet similar to glue? How is water from a faucet different from glue?  
• How would the shape of a solid (such as an apple) change if you put it into a bowl or a box? What would cause the shape of the apple to change?
• Why is air an example of matter? 

Misconception: Gasses are not matter because we cannot see them.

Fact: All gasses, including air, are matter because they are made up of atoms and molecules.

Misconception: Ice is a different substance from water.

Fact: Ice is the solid form of water. It becomes water when heat is added.

Absorbency :  the ability of a solid material to soak up a liquid

Flexibility:  the ability of a solid material to bend easily without breaking

Gas: matter that has no shape and spreads out, completely filling its container

Hardness: the ability of a solid material to keep its shape when an outside force is applied

Liquid:  matter that takes the shape of its container but has no shape of its own

Material:  any kind of matter that makes up objects

Matter:  everything that is made up of atoms and takes up space; includes all of the solids, liquids, and gasses around us

Property: an observable or measurable characteristic of matter

Science:  all knowledge learned from experiments

Solid: matter that holds its own shape until something changes it by force

Temperature: a measure of heat

Texture: – the way a material or object feels

Being A Scientist

Li took some mussels to his lab to study. He wanted to find the answer to a question: What material do mussels make that allows them to stick to rocks so well?

Li first did some research. Scientists know that blue mussels make their own kind of glue. Unlike most other glues, it works well in the water. It is so strong that the mussels stay put even when waves crash into them.

What is Matter?

Li studied the properties of the blue mussel’s glue. A property is an observable or measurable characteristic of matter.

Matter is what makes up all things. All matter is made up of tiny parts that are too small to be seen. These parts are called atoms. Blue mussels are made of matter. The glue the blue mussels make is also made of matter. Ocean water is made of matter. The air you breathe is made of matter.

Properties of Matter

There are many different kinds of properties. The ability to stick to different surfaces is one property. Another property is whether matter is a solid, a liquid, or a gas at a particular temperature. For example, wet glue is a liquid. A liquid has no shape of its own. It takes the shape of its container. It also flows. Some liquids are thick. They flow slowly. Other liquids are thin. They flow quickly.

Glue is a liquid until it dries. Then it turns into a solid. Solids are the only kind of matter with a shape of their own. They hold their shape until something changes them by force.

Like liquids, solids have different properties. Color is one property. Texture is another property. It describes the way a material or object feels. Some materials have a rough texture. Some materials have a soft texture. And some materials have a smooth or rubbery texture.

Students conduct an experiment to see how cooling their bouncy ball in a freezer changes the properties of the ball, affecting how high the ball can bounce. They use their data to construct an argument about the difference between reversible and irreversible changes to matter. Students are also introduced to cause-and- effect relationships as they investigate how the height that their ball can bounce is affected by its temperature.