Particle Nature of Matter

All matter is made up of particles that are too small to be seen. For example, water is made up of tiny water particles and butter is made up of tiny butter particles.

Many gases can't be seen with our eyes, which might make us think they are made of nothing. However, gases are a type of matter. Gases are made up of particles of matter that move around and spread out to fill space. Gas particles move freely and take the shape of their containers.

No. Particles of matter are too small for our eyes to see. They are about 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

If an inflated balloon is moved to a cold area, the gas particles slow down and move closer together making the balloon smaller. If the balloon is then put in a warm area, the particles spread out again and the balloon feels full again.

A soccer ball that is filled with air can go flat when air particles in it take up less space. This can happen if you inflate the ball indoors but then play outside in cold weather.

The smallest possible unit of matter is called a particle. Particles of matter are 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. They cannot be seen, but we can detect them.

The liquid volume decreased because the water particles can fit into the spaces between the larger alcohol particles. This makes them take up less space (volume). To model this difficult concept, Dr. Jeff uses ping pong balls to represent large molecules and red beads to represent smaller particles that can fill the space between the ping pong balls.

Liquid nitrogen is extremely cold. When the carbon dioxide gas inside the balloon gets very cold it contracts, meaning the particles get closer together. In this case they got so close together it formed a solid.

When Dr. Jeff cuts open the balloon that Izzy placed in the liquid nitrogen, solid carbon dioxide falls out. The presence of solid carbon dioxide is evidence that the carbon dioxide gas is made up of particles. The solid carbon dioxide had to come from somewhere. (It is important to note that carbon dioxide is a unique material that can change directly from a solid to a gas without becoming a liquid first.)

During the demonstration, carbon dioxide gas was cooled, causing the particles of carbon dioxide gas to come together and form solid carbon dioxide. This causes the balloon to deflate. Zoe’s soccer ball was filled with air, which is also a gas. By leaving it outside, the cold air caused the air particles in the ball to move closer together. It didn’t come together enough to form a solid, but it did make the ball deflate a little.

Before the vacuum pump is turned on, the chamber contains the balloon AND lots of air particles. When the pump is turned on, the air particles surrounding the balloon are removed, leaving space for the particles inside the balloon to spread out further and fill up the extra space.