Sorting Matter by Its Properties

Today you will learn how to compare and contrast matter by looking at its physical properties.

Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass, which is the amount of stuff inside an object. Everything around you is matter. A physical property is something you can measure, test, or observe about matter without changing what it is made of. Properties help you tell one kind of matter from another.

Think about a picnic at a park in Texas. On the table you have an ice chest, a can of soda, a paper plate, a metal spoon, and a spoonful of sugar. Each item has properties you can check. The ice cubes are solid, the soda is liquid, and the air in the balloon tied to the chair is gas. Solid, liquid, and gas are the three physical states you will see most often.

You can test more properties right there. Hold a magnet near the metal spoon and near the paper plate. The spoon may stick because some metals have magnetism, but paper never does. Stir the sugar into a cup of water and it disappears into the water, so sugar is soluble in water. Drop an ice cube in the water and it floats, so ice is less dense than water. A rock would sink, so it is more dense than water.

Thermal energy and electric energy give you two more tests. The metal spoon gets hot fast because metal conducts thermal energy well. The plastic handle stays cool because plastic insulates, which means it slows energy down. Metal wires also conduct electric energy, while rubber and plastic insulate it, which keeps you safe.

You can also measure volume, the amount of space something fills, using a container marked with numbers.

Try it: A plastic spoon and a metal spoon look alike, so name two properties you could test to tell them apart.