Different Types of Matter: Solid, Liquid, Gas

✅ Matter is everything around us that takes up space and has weight.

✅ The three main states of matter are solids, liquids and gases.

Create a model to see how solids, liquids and gases change state!

Supplies Needed:

• Ice cubes
• A small pan
• A stove or hot plate
• A metal lid
• A bowl of ice water

Steps:

• Step 1: Place an ice cube (solid) in the pan.
• Step 2: Heat the pan on the stove or hot plate until the ice melts into water (liquid).
• Step 3: Keep heating the water until it boils and turns into steam (gas).
• Step 4: Hold the metal lid above the steam to see the steam condense back into water droplets (liquid).
• Step 5: Collect the water droplets on the lid and place them in the bowl of ice water to freeze back into ice (solid).

Observations:

Watch how the ice melts into water, how water boils into steam and how steam condenses back into water. Notice how water can return to ice. This shows the changes between different states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.

✅ A solid is a state of matter that has a definite shape and volume.

✅ A liquid is a state of matter that takes the shape of its container and has a definite volume.

✅ A gas is a state of matter that spreads out to fill any space and has no definite shape or volume.

✅ During melting, a solid changes to a liquid.

• Ice cream is a solid that can melt into a liquid!
• Balloons are filled with gas, like helium or air.
• Water is the only substance that naturally exists in all three states: solid, liquid and gas.
• Clouds are made of tiny liquid water droplets.
• Plasma TVs use plasma to create pictures.

Matter is everything around us that takes up space and has weight.

The main states of matter are solid, liquid and gas.

A solid is a state of matter that has a definite shape and volume.

A liquid is a state of matter that takes the shape of its container and has a definite volume.

A gas is a state of matter that spreads out to fill any space and has no definite shape or volume.

Melting is the process of changing from a solid to a liquid.

Freezing is the process of changing from a liquid to a solid.

Plasma is a state of matter like a gas but with charged particles.