Matter Vocabulary
Matter: anything that has mass and takes up space
Mass: a measure of the amount of matter in an object
Volume: a measure of how much space an object takes up
Weight: the force of gravity between Earth and an object
Density: a measure of how tightly packed the matter in an object is
Conductor: allows energy to flow through it easily (metals)
Insulator: doesn't allow energy to flow through (plastic, wood, rubber)
Solid: a form of matter that has a definite shape and takes up a definite amount of space
Liquid: A form of matter that takes up a definite amount of space and has no definite shape.
Gas: A state of matter that does not take up a definite amount of space and has no definite
shape.
Melting Point: The temperature at which a substance changes state from a solid to a liquid.
Boiling Point: The temperature at which a substance changes state from a liquid to a gas.
Freezing Point: The temperature at which a substance changes state from a liquid to a solid.
Contracting: the shrinking of materials when they get colder
Expanding: the spreading of materials when they get hotter
Physical Changes: A change of matter in size, state, or shape without any change in identity.
Chemical Changes: A change of matter that occurs when atoms link together in a new way,
creating a new substance different from the original substance (formation of a gas, light/heat,
and or color change)
Reactants: an original substance at the beginning of a chemical reaction
Products: A new substance produced by a chemical change
Matter: anything that has mass and takes up space
Mass: a measure of the amount of matter in an object
Volume: a measure of how much space an object takes up
Weight: the force of gravity between Earth and an object
Density: a measure of how tightly packed the matter in an object is
Conductor: allows energy to flow through it easily (metals)
Insulator: doesn't allow energy to flow through (plastic, wood, rubber)
Solid: a form of matter that has a definite shape and takes up a definite amount of space
Liquid: A form of matter that takes up a definite amount of space and has no definite shape.
Gas: A state of matter that does not take up a definite amount of space and has no definite
shape.
Melting Point: The temperature at which a substance changes state from a solid to a liquid.
Boiling Point: The temperature at which a substance changes state from a liquid to a gas.
Freezing Point: The temperature at which a substance changes state from a liquid to a solid.
Contracting: the shrinking of materials when they get colder
Expanding: the spreading of materials when they get hotter
Physical Changes: A change of matter in size, state, or shape without any change in identity.
Chemical Changes: A change of matter that occurs when atoms link together in a new way,
creating a new substance different from the original substance (formation of a gas, light/heat,
and or color change)
Reactants: an original substance at the beginning of a chemical reaction
Products: A new substance produced by a chemical change