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An introduction to the idea that everything around us is made of something called matter.
Look at your hands, your chair, and even the air you breathe. Did you know they are all made of the same 'magic' stuff called matter?
Everything in our world is made of matter. Matter is anything that takes up space. If you can touch it, see it, or even just feel it moving (like wind), it is matter! Imagine you have a toy box. When you put a toy inside, that toy takes up a 'spot' in the box. Because it takes up a spot, we know it is matter. Even you are made of matter! We can measure how much space something takes up, which we call its volume.
Quick Check
If you put a ball into a bucket, does the ball take up space?
Answer
Yes, the ball takes up space inside the bucket, so it is matter.
The first type of matter is a solid. A solid is special because it keeps its shape. If you put a wooden block in a cup, it stays a block. It doesn't turn into the shape of the cup! Solids are usually firm. Your desk, your shoes, and your favorite book are all solids. They don't flow or spread out on their own.
Let's look at a lunchbox: 1. An apple is a solid because it stays round. 2. A spoon is a solid because it stays straight and hard. 3. Both of these keep their own shape no matter where you put them.
The second type of matter is a liquid. Unlike solids, liquids do not have their own shape. They are 'flowy.' A liquid takes the shape of whatever container it is in. If you pour milk into a round bowl, the milk becomes round. If you pour it into a square glass, it becomes square! Water, juice, and rain are all liquids.
Quick Check
What happens to the shape of water when you pour it from a bottle into a bowl?
Answer
The water changes its shape to match the bowl.
The third type of matter is gas. Gases are very sneaky because they are often invisible! A gas does not have its own shape, and it spreads out to fill up all the space it can. The air inside a balloon is a gas. When you blow air into the balloon, the gas grows and grows to fill the whole balloon. Without gas, we wouldn't have air to breathe!
Think about a giant bouncy castle: 1. When it is flat, there is no air inside. 2. We pump gas (air) into it. 3. The gas spreads out to fill every corner of the castle until it is big and bouncy! 4. This shows that even though we can't see the air, it is matter because it fills the space.
Which of these is a solid?
What does a liquid do when you pour it into a new cup?
Air is matter even though we usually cannot see it.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, try to name one solid, one liquid, and one gas you see during breakfast!
Practice Activity
Go on a 'Matter Hunt' in your house. Find 3 things that are solids and 1 thing that is a liquid.