Table of Contents Defining Matter 4 How Much How Heavy How Many 11 Building Blocks of Matter 17 Periodic Table of Elements 24 States of Matter and Physical Change 31 Chemical Change 40 Activities 44 Glossary 46 Index 47 Show What You Know 47 Websites to Visit 47 About the Author 48
Defining Matter Everything in the world is made of matter Water oxygen body cells and gold are all made of matter Matter is anything that takes up space and has a certain amount of material in it called mass Mass is the basic property of an object The space it takes up has a number value to show the amount of material it has in it 4
The idea of matter has been around for a long time The ancient Greeks believed that all matter was made of fire air water earth or some combination of these basic elements Empedocles first suggested a theory to describe matter Empedocles believed that all matter was made of these four elements The proportion of the elements in each thing accounted for the different kinds of matter Stone was composed mostly of earth A rabbit had more fire and water forming it so it was softer and alive Empedocles lived in Sicily between 492 BCE and 432 BCE He was a Greek philosopher poet and politician Empedocles 490 430 BCE 5
