All about Matter: Definition, States, Properties, Types and Key Facts

Our world is made up of matter. From tiny sand particles to the ice glaciers and giant sun everything is made up of matter. It cannot be created or destroyed but it can only be transformed from state to another. For example, water is naturally found in liquid state. When it freezes it turns into solid and when it evaporates becomes a gas. Understanding what matter is and how it behaves in different states helps us explore the world around us. Let’s learn some fascinating facts about matter, its different types, states and properties.

Table of Contents

• What is Matter
• Four States of Matter
• Properties of Matter
• Types of Matter
• Interesting Facts about Matter

What is Matter

Matter is defined as anything that has mass and takes up space. Atoms and molecules are the building blocks of matter. An atom is the smallest unit of the matter that retains its properties. Molecules are the particles made from two or more atoms. They are formed when atoms combine with each other in different ways. Depending on how molecules are combined inside a matter it can have different properties and states.

Four States of Matter

There are four different states of matter: solid, liquid, gas and plasma. The atoms and molecules in each of the states of matter are packed differently and are responsible for defining its physical and chemical properties.

• Solid: The type of matter that has a well-defined shape, mass and volume is called a solid. The molecules in a solid are closely packed together making it dense and hard to compress. The forces between the particles of a solid are strong and don’t allow them to move freely. These particles can only vibrate and a solid matter cannot change its shape unless it is broken. For example, wood, ice metal or glass are some solid matter we can find near us that are further classified into different types based on their internal structure.

• Liquid: The matter in this state takes the shape of the container it is poured in. It has definite volume but no defined shape as the intermolecular force is not too strong to give it rigidness. Some of the common examples of liquid matter are water, milk, oil and blood, etc.

• Gases: The matter in gaseous form doesn’t have a definite shape or volume. The molecules of liquid are loosely bonded with a weak force and they can move freely in any direction. 

• Plasma: It is a super-hot gas that glows just like our sun. When the gas particles are ionised due to heat or in the presence of an electromagnetic field it results in plasma. Glowing sun and stars are the common examples of this fourth state of matter.

Properties of Matter

Characteristics of each matter - also known as their physical and chemical properties - help us classify different types of matter. There are two types of properties of matter:

Physical Properties: The characteristics of a matter observed or measured without changing the chemical composition of the substance are called its physical properties. For example, colour, smell, density, melting point, boiling point, solubility, hardness, conductivity and state of matter.

Chemical Properties:  The characteristics of matter that depict its reactivity in the existence of another matter are known as its chemical properties. These properties define whether a substance reacts with other substances or not. For example, flammability is a chemical property and corrosion is also a chemical property.

Types of Matter

Depending on the chemical properties of matter they can be classified into two categories: pure matter and mixed matter. 

Pure Substance: Substance made of only one type of particle with uniform properties is called a pure matter. For example, elements like gold, iron and oxygen. When two elements combine they form compounds such as carbon dioxide(CO2). Both carbon and oxygen in carbon dioxide are in pure form and create a new compound called carbon dioxide.

Mixed Substance: Mixture is a combination of two or more substances that retain their individual properties. They are further divided into homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures. A homogeneous mixture that has the same composition throughout is called homogeneous mixture. For example, salt dissolved in water. On the other hand, heterogeneous mixtures have different compositions such as sand in water.

Interesting Facts about Matter

• Water is the only substance that can be found in all the three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.
• Matter never gets destroyed, it gets transformed from one form to another.
• Glass is an amorphous solid with irregular internal structure just like frozen liquids and not true crystals.
• Most of interstellar space, stars and sun are formed by plasma although it is not found commonly on earth around us.
• Mercury is the only liquid metal at room temperature.