Lesson 1

Requires: two regular balloons, shape balloons and a balloon pump (optional),
a liquid measuring cup, a clear cup, water, a tall thin container, and a short wide one,
a freezer (home assignment), marker or crayon
Defines matter and explores the characteristics of the states of matter: solid, liquid, gas and plasma

You will also need
a clean flat area to do the projects:

The air you breathe,

the ground
on which
you walk,

the water you drink,

are all made of SOMETHING.

the chair
in which
you sit

That something is called- -

Matter rhymes with

hatter

batter!

Remember:

MATTER!

Matter can be a SOLID--
hard or soft, cold or hot,
rough or smooth, heavy or light.

a pencil

a shovel

A solid is unchanging in shape and volume.

a bucket

a book

Pick out each item below that is a SOLID.

Can you name SOLID objects near you?

Can you think of other LIQUIDS?

Matter can be a LIQUID,
wet and flowing,
with no fixed shape of its own.

Let’s play with a liquid -- WATER.

Squeeze it into
different shapes.

Half fill
a balloon with water.

Tie it.

A liquid has no shape of its own.

Like the water in the balloon,
a liquid takes the shape of its container.
Look at the shape of the liquid in . . .

A liquid takes the shape of its container.

or a hole in the ground

blood vessels

a cup

Click for anwer.

Let’s measure the volume of a liquid --
the space it occupies.

Measure another cup
of water.

Pour it into a short,
wide container.

EVEN though one is tall and thin
and the other is short and wide,
THEY BOTH HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT: 1 CUP.
A cup is a cup is a cup.

WHICH container
has more water

Pour it into a
TALL glass or jar.

Measure one cup
of water.

a liquid takes up
the same space or volume,
NO matter where you pour it.

Tall or short,
contained or flowing...

Matter can be a gas.
AIR! AIR! AIR!
Air is made of gases.

You breathe air.
You use air to make
other gases all the time.

You belch
and burp
mostly air.

You must take in
or inhale
oxygen (O₂) gas.

You can
also outgas
methane - CH₄.

You breathe out
or exhale
carbon dioxide (CO₂).

WATCH as an adult SLOWLY blows up
the balloon.

NO! The air (gases) spreads throughout
the balloon.

Click for answer.

Does air go to the bottom
of the ballon, as the water did

How does air fill a container?

Start with
a balloon.

Can you twist
the balloon
into many shapes? WHY

A GAS has no definite shape or volume.

Leave room at the end.

What SHAPE does a gas have?
Let’s find out.

Tie it.

Use a pump to fill the long thin balloon with air.

Click for answer.

STATES of matter . . .

Now you know about THREE

Can water or other matter
be in MORE than ONE of these

YES!

Click for answer.

STATES

What happened?

Wait overnight or
at least a few hours.

Let’s change water from a liquid to a solid.

Find these items.

permanent marker
or crayon

Pour water or juice into a cup.

Mark the height
with a permanent marker or crayon.

Put
the cup
of liquid
into the
freezer.

You used the freezer to change
liquid (mostly water) into solid ice!

YES!
It EXPANDS.
It is bigger.

What do you think will happen if you fill a glass jar
or plastic container with water, seal it with a lid or cap and put it in the freezer

The glass may break as the water expands as it freezes!
The plastic tends to stretch.

Is the height
of the ice different from the marked height of water

You changed the STATE of water.

liquid

solid

Matter can be in all three states.

Water can
be solid ice.

Water can be a liquid.

Water can
be a gas, a vapor.

States of Matter

Lightning, neon signs and plasma balls generate plasma.

Plasma is a fourth state of matter.

PLASMA?

In fact, perhaps 99.999%
of the matter in the observable universe is

The matter inside
our own SUN
is neither a solid,
a liquid or a gas.

It is PLASMA!
Plasma particles are
highly charged
and extremely energetic.

PLASMA!

Recently, OTHER states of matter,
none of which are observed
under normal conditions here on Earth,
have been found.

Let's save these for another day!