Matter Is Made of Particles
Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen, and that this explains properties of solids, liquids, and gases
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe matter as made of particles too small to see with the naked eye
- Use a particle model to explain differences: particles tightly packed (solid), loosely arranged (liquid), spread far apart (gas)
- Use the particle model to explain a state change (e.g. heating makes particles move faster and spread apart)
The lesson
Look around you. Your desk, the water in your cup, even the air you breathe. All of it is matter, and all matter is built from tiny particles. These particles are so small that no eye, not even with a magnifying glass, can spot a single one.
Ice, water, and steam are all made of the same particles. In ice (solid), the particles are packed in a tight pattern. When it melts into water (liquid), the same particles stay close but can slide past each other. When it boils into steam (gas), the particles fly far apart and spread through the room.
You already know how to draw solid, liquid, and gas particles. Remember: the particles don't change size when something melts or boils. Only the space between them changes.
Everything is made of particles too small to see, and how tightly packed they are decides whether something is a solid, liquid, or gas.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.