UNIT 2: THE MATTER AND THEIR PROPERTIES
1.- WHAT IS THE MATTER?Everything that occupies space and has mass is matter. Therefore, everything around us is matter and has mass and volume.Matter can exist in three physical states: solid, liquid and gas.
2.- PROPERTIES OF MATTER
General or extensive properties: these are the properties common to all the
matter and they depend on the size. General properties allow us to recognize matter. They are MASS and VOLUME.– MASS IS THE QUANTITY OF MATTER.– VOLUME IS THE SPACE THAT OCCUPIES
THIS MATTER.
Specific or intensive properties:
there are characteristics that allow us to differentiate some materials from others and they don´t depend on the size. Thus, they can be used to identify and describe matter. Some specific properties are: colour, shine, hardness, density, …
You can see that matter has too many properties. We´ll study just three of them: mass, volume and density. They are going to be the most important properties to us and all of these properties can be measured.
EJERCISE 1:
Which of these properties are general or specific properties:
Colour, mass, smell, shine, taste, volume, density, size, hardness, shape
3.- MEASURE OF MATTER.
MAGNITUDE IS ANY PROPERTY OF MATTER THAT YOU CAN MEASURE.
TO MEASURE IS TO COMPARE A MAGNITUDE WITH THE UNIT.
To compare measurements, however, everyone needs to use the same units. The most common system is the International System of Units (SI).
• DIFERENCE AMONG LENGTH, SURFACE AREA AND VOLUME.
• LENGTH: Is the distance between two points. In the S.I. length is measured in metres.
• SURFACE AREA: is the space occupied by the length and width of a body. In the S.I. surface is measured in square metres (m2). For measuring the surface area of regular shaped objects we use the mathematical equation corresponding to the shape.
• VOLUME of a solid is the amount of space it occupies. Volume is measured in cubic metres (m3).
• Capacity: is the amount of liquid a container can be hold when it is full. Capacity is measured in litres (L).
• If you want to measure the volume of a solid you can use a measuring cylinder. Submerge the body in water, then measure the amount of water displaced. You can also use the corresponding mathematical formula for regular geometric solids.
• MASS is the amount of matter in a body. Mass is measured in kilograms (kg). Electronic scale or balance is used to measure mass.
Equivalent metric units of mass:
• DENSITY is the relationship between the mass and the volume of a body, that is how concentrated the mass is in a specific volume.
The density of an object is often measured in grams per cubic centimetre (g/cm3).
So to measure the density of an object you would put it on a balance to measure how many grams it is (the object's mass) then divide that number by the amount of space the object takes up (its volume).
• The density of something stays the same wherever you take it, on Earth, Mars, or anywhere in the universe.
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