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Copyright KAST 2010

The States of Matter
Everything in the room around you is made of matter. In order to study our world,
scientists sorted everything into two categories: matter and energy. Matter is
stuff, and energy is what moves the stuff. There are three main types of matter:
Solids Liquids Gases
Something with its own
shape and size:

Something without shape,
but with its own size:
Something that moves
around and changes shape:

Cool Fact: These are not the only states of matter. Another state of matter
is called plasma. It is a gas made up of charged particles.

Melting Evaporation
Solid

Melting is the change from a solid to a liquid. Evaporation is the change from a
liquid to a gas. Condensation is the change from a gas to a liquid. Freezing is the
change from a liquid to a solid.
Our definition of a solid is:

Our definition of a liquid is:

Our definition of a gas is:

Freezing Condensation
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Copyright KAST 2010

Now lets test those definitions!
We will use what we know about the properties of matter to investigate the
following substances.
Slime A (Oobleck)
Materials: water, cornstarch, cup or small bowl, and food coloring
Directions:
1. Slowly mix the water and starch in the cup or small bowl.
2. Feel the mixture with your fingers, or poke it with the
spoon.
3. Squeeze it tightly in your hand, or try scooping it quickly with the spoon.
What happens?
4. Now add some food coloring and mix it around. How does the color spread?
Substance X
Materials: glue, borax, spoon, two cups or small bowls
Directions:
1. Mix one part glue with one part water in one cup or bowl.
2. Add a small spoonful of borax to about half a cup of water in the
other cup or bowl, and stir so that some of the borax dissolves.
3. While stirring the glue-water mix with the spoon, slowly pour some
of the borax-water mix into the glue-water mix. You should notice
the glue beginning to congeal.
4. Finally, mix the resulting Substance X with your hands.
So what are they?
Substance X is a viscoelastic liquid, because it is primarily a liquid but also has
properties of an elastic solid (think rubber band).
Substance A (Oobleck) is a non-Newtonian fluid, which means that it properties
change depending on the conditions. Under normal pressure conditions it is a liquid,
but under high pressure (when you squeeze it) it becomes more like a solid.