ASL States of Matter for Kids

Dates of Matter for Kids. You may not think about it a lot, but everything in the world, including you, takes up space. The food you love to eat, the drinks you grab to quench your thirst when you come in from playing outside, the desk you sit at in your room, the pet you love, the bed you sleep in, and even the air you breathe. All of it takes up space. Of course, it doesn't all look the same and feel the same, smell the same, or even behave the same. And some stuff that takes up space, like the air you breathe, you can't see or touch at all. We have a word to describe all the stuff in the world that takes up space. Matter. Matter is all around us, whether you can see it, feel it, touch it, smell it, or not. And that's what today's lesson is all about. States of Matter. No, not states that matter. That's a geography lesson for another time. States of Matter. Okay, so think about it. How many different ways can matter exist? Some matter you can hold in your hand, like a ball or a book. Some matter you can feel but you can't really hold onto, like water or soda. And some matter, like air or helium in a balloon, you can't see or feel or touch at all. So there are three different states of matter. Solids, liquids, and gases. And it's pretty easy to tell them apart. I mean, you can't drink a solid, right? And you can't hold onto a liquid. And a gas? They're all around you. But you wouldn't even know it because you can't see them. You might be tempted to think that gases aren't as important as solids or liquids. But without gases, none of us would even exist. Do me a solid and think about the chair or couch you're sitting on right now. What's it like? Does it have a definite shape? Is it soft? Hard? A little of both? Can you pick it up? Does it make a sound if you tap on it? What about the computer or device you're watching this video on? Or the bread you ate last time you had a sandwich? Solids are things you can pick up, hold, and feel the shape of. Solids always have a shape. They can be hard, smooth, rough, or soft. They come in all different sizes, from as small as a marble to as big as a mountain. And you can hold them in your hands if they'll fit. Now let's talk about liquids. The most common liquid is water. But there are a lot of other liquids all around you. Ever had a bad cough and been given cough syrup? That's a liquid. So is vinegar, vegetable oil, chocolate syrup, and the cleaning fluids your parents might use to tidy up the house. The gasoline your parents put in their car or lawnmower? Yep, that's a liquid. So is the sweat that comes out of your body when you run around a lot. Of course, a lot of the liquids we just mentioned are partially water, but they're still liquids. So, can you tell me what all liquids have in common? First, they will always fill the bottom of a container if you pour them in. And they'll take the shape of that container as you continue to pour. They usually have a smooth surface. They can be really hot or cold or somewhere in between. And they don't have a specific size. A liquid like water can fill an entire ocean or the smallest crack in the sidewalk. Okay, now let's talk about gases. Gases are some of the most interesting of all types of matter because they're all around you but you can't see them. A gas is invisible, has no shape or size, can fill any size container, and has no surface and moves around easily. Oxygen is a gas that makes up part of the air around you that you breathe in. Other gases in the air are nitrogen and argon, not to mention CO2 or carbon dioxide, which is a gas that you breathe out. Carbon dioxide gas gets absorbed by the trees around us. Other gases you might be familiar with are helium and propane. Helium is used to fill balloons, and since it's lighter than air, a helium-filled balloon floats upward. If you've ever seen your parents cooking barbecue on a gas grill, the gas they're using is propane. It kind of goes without saying, but certain matter is easier to go through than other matter. You can swim in a liquid more easily than in a solid. Ever tried swimming in a ball pit? And you can run through a gas-like air much more easily than you can run through a liquid or a solid. Here's where the subject of states of matter gets even more interesting. Believe it or not, there's some matter that comes in all three forms. Think about water, for example. Most of the time you think of water as a liquid, but when you freeze it, what happens? It becomes ice, a solid. And what happens when water boils? Ever watched your mom cook a pot of pasta and see the steam rising from the pot? That's water as gas. Here are some other examples that you're probably familiar with. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had to rush on a hot day to quickly eat an ice cream cone or popsicle before it starts dripping down my arm. When a frozen treat melts, it's because it's transitioning from a solid to a liquid. You can actually smell things turning from a solid to a gas, too. Ever smelled mothballs from across the room? Those mothballs are a solid, but the smell hitting your nose? That's the gas that the mothballs are emitting. Same is true when you smell cookies baking or a candle burning. I don't know about you, but I prefer the smell of baking cookies to the smell of mothballs. So, there you have it. Now you're one step closer to understanding the matter that makes up all the stuff in the universe. Wasn't learning about states of matter a gas? Solid! Hope you had fun learning with us. Visit us at learnbright.org for thousands of free resources and turnkey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers.