1. Properties of Matter

2. The Properties of Matter
As mentioned before, all matter has the same four general properties, which are:
-- mass
-- volume
-- weight
-- density

3. Mass Mass is the total amount of matter in an object
-- mass is not related to the size of an object, as large objects (like an inflated balloon) can have a very small mass and very small objects (like a lead weight) can have a large mass
Mass is measured in the metric unit of grams
We can measure the mass of an object using a triple beam balance or an electronic balance.

4. Volume Volume is the amount of space the matter in an object takes up.
The volume of an object is not related to the mass of an object.
Volume is measured in metric units of liters.
-- we can also measure volume in cubic centimeters (cm3), and 1 cm3 = 1 mL
The volume of a liquid can be measured using a graduated cylinder
The volume of a cube shaped solid can be measured using length x width x height
The volume of irregular solids is found using water displacement

5. Weight Weight is the force of gravity on the mass of an object
-- while mass never changes, the weight of an object can change when the force of gravity changes
Weight is found by multiplying the mass of an object by the force of gravity (g = 9.8 m/s2 on Earth)
The formula is W = m x g
-- MASS MUST BE IN kg WHEN YOU SOLVE!!!
Weight is measured in the metric units of Newtons (N)

6. Density
Density is how closely packed together the molecules are in a substance
-- the more tightly-packed the molecules, the greater the density of the object
Density is calculated by the following formula:
mass m
volume v
Density is measured in the units of grams per cubic centimeter, or g/cm3
Therefore, by measuring mass and volume, we can calculate weight and density!!!
Density = or D=

7. Practice Problems
A chair has a mass of 10 kg. What is the weight of the chair on Earth?
2. What is the mass of a chair with a weight of 45 N on Earth?

8. More Practice Problems
An ant has a mass of 2 grams and a volume of 5 cm3. What is the density of the ant?
4. The box below has a density of 48 g/cm3. What is the weight of the box on Earth?
2 cm
2 cm
2 cm

9. A Couple More Facts About Density. . .
The entire metric system is based off of this simple fact:
The density of water is equal to 1 g/cm3
So, if you know how many mL of water you have, you automatically know the mass.
We can also figure out the relative densities using this. If an object floats on water, it is less dense than water (its density is less than 1 g/cm3). If an object sinks in water, it is more dense than water (its density is more than 1 g/cm3)
This is true for all liquids, as more dense liquids will sink and less dense liquids will float.