Materials, substances and particles
This Topic is About...
- I will find out the difference between materials, substances, and particles.
- I will show that particles move all the time.
- I will learn that the particle model of matter explains the differences between solids, liquids, and gases.
- I will describe the particle model for solids and liquids.
- I will play a game to show how solids and liquids are different.
You’re going to be a science explorer!
Key Words
- compare
- material
- particle
- substance
Tap to Learn the Meanings
- compare: To look at two things to see how they are similar or different.
- material: A substance or thing used to make something.
- particle: A very small piece of matter, like a tiny part of something.
- substance: A type of material with particular properties, like water or wood.
Well done learning these science terms!
Materials, substances and particles
Objects can be made of different types of materials. For example, a school desk can be made of wood and metal.
Plastic, wood, rubber and glass are also materials. All materials are made of matter. Matter is everything around us. A material is a certain type of matter.
Most materials are mixtures of different substances. A substance is a pure type of solid, liquid or gas. It is not a mixture. For example:
- Salt is a solid substance.
- Pure water is a liquid substance.
- Oxygen is a substance that is a gas.
Glass is a material. To make glass, people mix sand with substances, such as soda ash and limestone. When they are heated together, they form a clear liquid glass.
The liquid glass can be made into different shapes. The liquid glass goes hard when it cools. People can use glass to make window panes, bottles and light bulbs.
All matter is made up of particles. A particle is a very small part or bit of something. Some particles are big enough for us to see, such as particles of dust. Most particles are much too small for us to see.
FUN QUESTIONS
1. What is matter?
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2. Explain the difference between a material and a substance.
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3. Is glass a material or a substance? Say why.
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4a. How are sand and pure water similar?
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4b. How are they different?
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The particle model of matter
Because most particles of matter are very small, scientists use a model to explain how the particles form substances. The particle model describes the differences between substances that are solids, liquids, and gases.
Scientists have found out some important things about the particles that make up solids, liquids, and gases:
- The particles have spaces between them. When the spaces between the particles are small, the particles are held close together.
- The particles are always moving, even though we can’t see them move. The amount of movement of the particles decides whether the substance is a solid, liquid or gas.
Let’s Investigate!
Question: How can we demonstrate that particles of liquids move?
Equipment: A beaker or glass jar, water, liquid food dye or colouring, a measuring cylinder or measuring cup
Method:
- Measure 100 ml of cold water into a beaker.
- Shake a few drops of food colouring into the beaker of water.
- Do not stir the water or move the beaker. Observe what happens.
Follow-up Questions:
Tap to See Answers
- 1: In the beaker, you’ll observe that the food dye slowly spreads through the water.
- 2: The labels would identify the water, food dye, and the beaker or jar in the drawing.
- 3: The food dye moves because the particles in the water are constantly moving, and they carry the dye with them.
- 4: This is an example of a **scientific observation** and a **test** of how particles move in liquids.
Great job! You’ve demonstrated the movement of particles in liquids like a real scientist!
The particle model for solids and liquids
The drawings show scientists’ ideas about the particle model for solids and liquids.
In solids, the particles are packed tightly together in a regular pattern, with the same amount of space between each particle. The spaces between the particles are very small. This means the particles cannot move around much and are in a fixed position.
In liquids, the particles are also close together, but they are not packed in a regular pattern. There are bigger spaces between the particles. This allows the particles to slide past one another and change places.
