Living Things and Non-living Things

Back to: Jss1 Basic Science (BST)

Introduction

Everything you see, both living and nonliving things, is made of matter. Living things are different from things that don’t have life. Things that can see, breathe, eat, and feel are alive. You are alive because you can do all of these things. Things that don’t live don’t have life because they can’t do all these things. A stone is an example of something that is not alive. You will learn about matter, living things, and things that don’t live in this lesson.

Meaning Of Matter

The matter has mass, which gives it the ability to resist changes in speed or direction of motion and to be affected by gravitational force.

Matter is everything that takes up space and has mass. Matter makes up both living and nonliving things. Matter can thus be divided into:

• Living things: Even though they have life, living things are made of matter. People, cows, dogs, birds, snakes, worms, etc. are all examples of living things.
• Non-living things: These things don’t have any life. Things that are not alive include stone, wood, sand, paper, etc.

Identification Of Matter

Matter can be identified in so many ways, such as;

•                    Texture
•                    Colour,
•                    Size
•                    Shape
•                    Taste
•                    Overall appearance
•                    Physical state at room temperature

Classification Of Matter

Matter can also be put into groups based on how easy it is to physically or chemically separate them. People physically separate things by filtering, evaporating, distilling, decanting, and crystallising. Some ways to separate chemicals are to heat them to break them up and replace a part of one substance with a more active one. Matter can be solid, liquid, or gas.

Solid

The particles in a solid are close to each other. So, a solid has a definite shape and size. So, a solid cannot flow.

1.  Forces of cohesion keep the particles close together and tightly packed.
2. The force of cohesion is what controls how much the particles can’t move around.
3. The particles can only move around a fixed point and rotate and vibrate around it.
4. Solids are hard to break up and have shapes that don’t change.

Examples include rubber, wood, stone, ice cubes, bottles, etc.

Liquid

In liquid, the particles are not as close together as they are in solids. Because of this, a liquid can move, but a solid can’t. A liquid doesn’t have a set shape. Instead, it takes the shape of the container it’s in.

1. Compared to solids, the particles are a bit farther apart.
2. The particles rotate, move, and vibrate,e. They are unable to move around freely.
3. Even though they have volume, they don’t have a distinct shape. Instead, they take on the shape of the container in which they are put.
4. It’s hard to pack liquid.

Examples include kerosene, gasoline, and water.

Gas

The pieces that make up the liquid don’t stick together very tightly. You can’t guess anything about them. Gas doesn’t have a specific shape or size, but once it is poured into a container, it will fill it up.

1. Compared to a liquid, the space between the particles is a lot bigger.
2. The particles move around and vibrate, and they also move in relation to each other. The particles can move quickly and in any direction they want without being stopped.
3. The wall of the container is what keeps the particles inside.
4. Gases can take many different shapes and forms.
5. They use up all of the room in the container.
6. Gases are not hard to squeeze together.

There are many examples, such as oxygen, carbon(IV) oxide, ammonia, hydrogen, nitrogen, and others.

PARTICULATE  MATTER

All of the parts that make up matter are made up of tiny particles. When a substance is heated, the particles gain more kinetic energy. However, when the substance is cooled, the particles lose their kinetic energy and become less energetic. Matter can change from one state to another when heated to a certain temperature. When you heat or cool something, the state of that thing changes. Any substance can be solid, liquid, or gas.

Water can be in all three states at the same time. When water is in a solid state, we call it ice. When it is in a liquid state, we call it liquid water. When it is in a gaseous state, we call it steam. Candles and camphor are two more things that can be found in all three states at the same time.

The Transition Between the States of Matter

Matter states can move from one to the other.

1. The process of converting a liquid to a solid is known as freezing. An example is when water turns to ice.
2. Melting is the transformation of a solid into a liquid. An example is when the ice melts to form liquid water.
3. Vaporization is the process by which a solid transforms into a gas. An example of a substance that can change directly to gas is camphor.
4.  When a liquid turns into steam, this is called boiling. One example is when the temperature of the water goes above 100″C and it turns into steam.
5. Condensation is the transformation of a gas into a liquid. When steam is cooled, it converts to liquid water.
6. Deposition: This process is also called “desublimation.” It is a process by which gas changes back into a solid without going through the liquid state. One example is when water vapour in the air that is below freezing turns straight into ice without going through the liquid state. This is how clouds make snow.