Understanding Matter and Its Properties

Accuracy

The accuracy of a tool is the smallest value it is capable of measuring.

Variable

Each of the factors you chose in your hypothesis is called a variable.

Matter

If you look around you, you will see that all the objects that are visible to the naked eye are matter. Matter has dimensions, that is, it occupies space. Matter has inertia, that is, it offers resistance to changes in its state of rest or movement. Matter is the cause of gravity, which is the force of attraction acting on objects even though they are separated by great distances.

Physical Bodies and Systems

Every form of matter with its own clear boundaries is called a physical body. Every form of matter without its own morphology and whose boundaries are imprecise is called a physical system.

Direct Observation

Requires the use of the correct instruments, such as an optical microscope or the more modern scanning tunneling microscope.

Indirect Observation

Through observable experimental evidence at the macroscopic scale, we can derive models and establish laws and theories that describe the behavior of matter at a microscopic level.

Properties of Matter

The properties of matter that we can measure are called quantitative properties. The properties that we can't measure are called qualitative properties.