The Three States of Matter
Matter
is anything that has weight and takes up space.
Matter exists in three different states.
SOLID
• has a definite shape
The shape of a solid
will not change unless
we do something to it,
e.g. moulding a ball
of plasticine, folding a
piece of paper etc.
• has a definite volume
It occupies a fixed
amount of space
and cannot be
compressed.
• has weight / mass
We can find out how
heavy an object is
by weighing it on an
electronic balance or
beam balance.
GAS
LIQUID
• has a definite volume
• has no definite volume
plunger
water
The plunger cannot be
pushed further into the syringe
because the water inside the
syringe has a definite volume
and cannot be compressed.
• has no definite shape
Water takes the shape of
the container it is in. The
water in each part of the
communicating vessel above
takes the shape of the
container but the water level
remains the same throughout.
• has weight / mass
We can find out how heavy
a liquid is by weighing the
empty container on an
electronic balance or beam
balance before weighing the
container filled with liquid.
The difference in the two
readings is the weight of the
liquid only.
air
The plunger can be
pushed further into the
syringe because the air
inside the syringe has no
definite volume and can be
compressed.
• has no definite shape
The air inside the three
balloons takes the shape
of the balloons.
• has weight / mass
When the balloon on one
side bursts, the rod tilts
because the balloon that is
still filled with air is heavier.
This shows that gases have
weight.
Adapted:
PSLE Science Partner A Complete Guide to L&U Block
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Book 1.indb 14
10/12/2016 10:45:36 AM