Well, for starters, you are matter. Your hair is matter, your eyes and legs are matter, and the shoes you are (probably) wearing are matter. So too are stars, sailboats, and sand. You may recall learning that matter is “anything that has mass and takes up space”.
As we begin our study of solids, liquids and gases in Middle School Chemistry, we quickly learn that everything that exists is made up of atoms and molecules (and ions).
Then, we start to explore matter through two basic principles:
We further see that the motion that particles of a substance have are actually a measure of their temperature. The more movement of atoms and molecules a substance has, the higher its temperature. Less movement of atoms and molecules means a lower temperature.
