Grades 6, 7 and 8 - Science - Middle School - Solids Liquids and Gases — Flashcards

Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects are made. The three states of matter are solids, liquids and gasses. Each of these behaves in a different way.  For example, it is not possible to cut a gas or to pour a solid.  Matter can change state, moving from gas to liquid or liquid to solid - and vise versa.  This is because the particles in gasses have more energy than those in liquids and so can move aroud much more.  The particles in liquids have less energy than those in gasses but more than those in gasses and so move less than in gasses but more than in solids.  The particles in solids barely move at all.  We can give energy to the particles by heating them up.  That's how ice melts into water and water evaporates into steam.