Chemistry is the study of matter. But what is matter? Simply put, matter is “stuff!” Grab a plate, a stuffed animal, a piece of paper, a cup of water, and a plastic Ziploc bag that you have blown up and snapped shut. Lay those out on the table in front of you and ask yourself, what do all these things have in common?

All these items have different “properties.” Properties are characteristics of the item. Some have the property of being hard, some are soft. Items all have different colors, textures, sizes and shapes. Some items are solids, others liquids or gases. But they all have some properties that are common to all. What properties do you think these are?

All the items on your table have mass and take up space. In fact that is the definition of matter. But there is another common property of which you might not be aware. This is the property that all matter is made up of particles.

If you took a piece of paper and cut it half, could you then cut the smaller piece of paper in half again? Could you cut that piece of paper in half again? How many times could you cut that paper in half? Some people thought that you could keep cutting it in half indefinitely. Democritus, an ancient Greek philosopher, was the first person to suggest that at some point, you would get to the smallest bit of matter that was paper and not be able to cut it in half again. He suggested that matter was made up of tiny particles or atomos.

In our lesson this week, we are going to explore these tiny particles of matter by looking at an amazing substance, water! Head to the classroom now to continue your exploration of matter.

Lesson Contents

• Instructions for students including, background information/resources
• 2 activities using materials found at home
• data chart templates for these activities
• In your notebook exercises
• Teacher-parent guide with suggested answers and sample data