The Properties of Matter
Matter is anything that has mass.
Mass: the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field (mass = the amount of
matter in an object).
Volume: the amount of 3-dimensional space that an object takes up.
Energy: the ability to do work (chemical, light, heat, nuclear ...)
There are two types of matter
1 . Living Matter: (Plants, Animals, Bacteria ...)
2 . No n -Living Matter: (Rocks, Plastic, Water ...)
Qualitative Property: is a characteristic of a substance that can be described but not measured.
Taste
You use your five senses to make qualitative observations.
You can describe matter using the following terms. Since qualitative properties are
not specific o r characteristic to any type of m atter, the more terms you us e to
describe a substance the better.
To describe a ll substances:
·clarity - transparent (clear), translucent (cloudy), opaque
·colour - colourless, red, orange, blue, white, etc
·odour - odourless, sweet, sour, burnt, aromatic, fragrant,
nauseating, sharp, acrid, choking
To describe solids only:
·texture - crystalline, granular, waxy, flaky
·lustre - shiny, dull, metallic, greasy, glassy
·hardness - hard, soft, flexible, brittle
To describe liquids only: viscosity
Smell
Hearing
Sight
Touch
