Properties of Matter
What is Matter?
If you look around a classroom, you will see things made of many different types of materials. You may see objects made of wood, metal, glass, or plastic. Even though these these objects look different and have different properties, they have one thing in common: they are all made up of matter. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. In fact, everything you see around you is made up of matter, and even the air you are breathing, which you cannot see, is made up of matter.
In chemistry, a substance is matter with a composition that is always the same
All matter is made up of small particles called atoms. An atom is the basic particle from which all elements are made. Some types of matter, such as aluminum foil, are made up of only one kind of atom, while other types of matter, such as water, are made up different kinds of atoms.