PRATIGYA COACHING INSTITUTE, BALLIA

Class- 9th
Matter in Our Surroundings ( Notes) By- Aditi Ma'am

Matter:-
Anything that has mass and takes up space is referred to as matter. hydrogen and oxygen,
sugar and sand, air and water, etc. Small, minuscule particles make up matter. Due to the
space between them, matter particles are attracted to one another.
Constituents of Matter
According to the early Indian philosophers, every living and non-living thing is made of five
basic elements called the Panchtatva – Air, Water, Earth, Sky, and Fire. Therefore, matter is a
composition of these five constituents.

States of Matter
Matter can be classified as solid, liquid or gas on the basis of interparticle forces and the
arrangement of particles.
These three forms of matter are interconvertible by increasing or decreasing pressure and
temperature. For example, ice can be converted from solid to a liquid by increasing the
temperature.
Atomic View of the Three States of Matter
Solid

Liquid
Gas

•Physical Nature of Matter

A physical property is an aspect of matter that can be observed or measured without
changing its nature or composition.
It is independent of the amount of matter present.
Physical properties include appearance, colour, odour, density, texture, melting point, boiling
point, solubility, etc.
•Characteristics of Particles of Matter
Matter
Matter is anything that has mass and occupies space.
•Everything that we can touch, see, hear, taste and also smell is matter.
•It is made up of really tiny particles which cannot be seen through the eye.

•Physical Nature of Matter

Is matter continuous or particulate?

Matter is particulate in nature. This means that matter consists of particles as you can see in
the microscopic image of a cube above.
For Example, If we put a drop of red colour in water the colour of the water turns red. This
happens because the particles of red colour mix with the particles of water.

What is the size of these particles?

The size of the particles of matter is very small.:-

They can be broken into further particles as well. For Example, On dilution of a colourful
solution, as shown in the figure below, we can still see the colour. This means there are
millions of particles present in the colour which just divide themselves on dilution.
Which of these is matter – happiness, air, sandwich, thoughts, juice, and eraser? Air,
sandwich, juice, and eraser as they have mass, occupy space and can be broken into further
particles.

Characteristics of Particles of Matter:-

Particles of matter have three characteristics:
•Particles of matter have spaces between them
•Particles of matter are moving all the time
•Particles of matter attract each other

Particles of Matter have spaces between them

Have you ever wondered what causes salt to get dissolved in water?
Salt gets dissolved in water because its particles have spaces between them. The particles of
the salt get in between the spaces between the particles of water and a mixture is formed.

We cannot see these particles through naked eyes.

Particles of Matter are continuously moving:-

Particles are continuously moving
Particles of matter are in motion all the time. Hence, they possess kinetic energy.
Kinetic Energy – Energy due to motion
The particles of a matter intermix on their own with other particles of a matter. For Example,
Salt in water, Various gases in the air, Ink in water.
Diffusion – The process of mixing two different types of particles together is called
diffusion. Diffusion becomes faster on heating.

The kinetic energy of particles also increases on heating.

Particles of Matter attract each other:-

•The particles of matter are always held together because of a force of attraction between
them.
The amount of this force between the particles varies in different forms of matter, as shown
in the figure below:
Solids have the highest force of attraction. That is why we cannot move our hands through a
solid object. The particles are so tightly bound.
Similarly, particles of gases have the least force of attraction in them. We can move our
hands easily in the air, can’t we? This is because the particles of air are loosely bound.
We can arrange the force of attraction between different types of matter (solids, liquids, and
gases) in increasing order as:
We can also move our hands through water or liquid matter but not as freely as we can in the
air. This means that they are also loosely bound to some extent.
Gas < Liquid < Solids

• Particles of matter have a force of attraction between them. Based on

this criterion, matter is present in three different states: solid state,
liquid state, and gaseous state.

The Solid State

Solids are the objects that have these three properties:
They have a specific shape.
They have distinct boundaries.
They have a volume.
There is less kinetic energy among the particles in solids. They are generally arranged in
order. Thus they possess a fixed shape. They cannot be compressed.
The force of attraction is the maximum among the particles of solids. There is not much
space between the particles. Therefore, they cannot be compressed.
Which of these are solids: Rubber band, Sponge, Salt?
All of them are solids. All of these follow the properties of solids. A rubber band and sponge
change their shape only when we apply force on them. It might appear to you as if salt is
taking the shape of the container in which you put it but actually each grain has its own
definite shape.

The Liquid State:-

Liquids have the following properties:
Liquids have a fixed volume
Liquids do not have a fixed shape.
The force of attraction in liquid particles is less than in solids. Therefore, there is a space
between the particles of liquids and they can flow easily. They cannot be compressed. That is
why they are also called fluids.
Particles of liquids arrange each other and are not fixed. You might have seen that liquids
take the shape of the container in which we put them. This is because the particles of liquids
have high kinetic energy, they always keep on moving.
Can other matter diffuse into liquids?
Yes, other matter can diffuse into liquids whether it is solids, liquids, or gases. This is so
because there is a space between the particles of liquid so particles of other matter can slip
into those spaces.
Diffusing solids into liquids: Mixing sugar in tea
Diffusing liquids into liquids: Mixing ink in water
Diffusing gases into liquids: The presence of oxygen and carbon dioxide in water

The Gaseous State:-

Gases have the following properties:
They do not have a fixed volume.
They do not have a fixed shape.
The particles of gases have the least or almost no force of attraction between them.
Therefore, the particles have a large number of spaces between them and they can freely
move in any direction.
Also, they can be easily compressed and put into a small container, unlike solids and liquids.
Since there is a lot of space between the particles, different gases can diffuse into each other
easily.
The kinetic energy between the particles is the maximum in the case of gases. Therefore, the
particles move around freely at high speed and there is no fixed shape of gases.

•Can Matter Change its State?

Water exists in three states:
Ice – solid
Water – liquid
Water Vapour – Gas
This is an indication that matter can change its states.

•Effect of Change of Temperature

What happens to matter when we heat it?
1. Solids:
As we heat solids, the kinetic energy between the particles of solids increases which
decreases the force of attraction between them.
They start vibrating and changing their positions. Slowly, due to heat the particles become
free and a solid converts into liquid.
Melting Point – The temperature at which solid melts to become a liquid at atmospheric
pressure. For Example, the melting point of ice is 273.16 Kelvin.
Fusion – The process of melting a solid into liquid is called Fusion.
In the melting process, once a solid reaches its melting point, its temperature does not
increase further. So where does all the heat go? The heat present in the solid at the time of
melting is used by the particles to diminish the force of attraction between each other. The
heat energy is therefore considered hidden.
Latent Heat – The heat energy which is used to break the force of attraction between the
particles of matter is known as latent heat. Since the heat is hidden therefore it is called
Latent Heat.
Latent Heat of Fusion – The amount of heat energy required to change 1 kg of a solid into
liquid at atmospheric pressure at its melting point is known as the Latent Heat of Fusion.
Atmospheric Pressure – Pressure exerted by the weight of the atmosphere.
2. Liquids:
Just like in solids, the kinetic energy of particles of liquid increases, the force of attraction
among them decreases and they start moving freely.
As we keep on supplying the heat, a point comes when the particles overcome the forces of
attraction completely.
This is when a liquid starts changing into gas.
Boiling Point - The temperature at which a liquid starts boiling at the atmospheric
pressure is known as its Boiling Point. For Example, The boiling point of water is 373 Kelvin.
Latent Heat of Vaporisation – the amount of heat energy required to change 1 kg of a
liquid into a gas at atmospheric pressure at its boiling point is known as Latent Heat of
Vaporisation.

What happens when we decrease the temperature?

1. Gases:
The kinetic energy between the particles decreases and they turn into a liquid state.
Condensation / Liquefaction – The process of converting gas into a liquid by cooling down its
temperature. For Example, The formation of clouds is due to the condensation of water
vapour from Earth.

2. Liquids:
The kinetic energy between the particles decreases and they turn into a solid-state. For
Example, The formation of ice.
Sublimation – change of state of gas directly into solid and vice-versa is known as
sublimation. For Example, Camphor is a solid that directly evaporates into the air without
changing to a liquid state.
Therefore, by increasing or decreasing the temperature we can change the states of matter
into one another. Here is a diagram that sums this up.
Effect of change of Pressure
By applying pressure, we can bring the particles of matter close to each other thereby,
increasing the force of attraction among the particles.
When we compress and decrease the temperature of a gas, the gas changes into a liquid.
Dry Ice – Carbon dioxide in solid form is known as Dry Ice. It can directly turn into a gas by
decreasing the pressure to 1 atmosphere.

Evaporation;-

We already know that –

Particles of matter are never at rest
Particles of matter possess different amounts of kinetic energy
The particles of liquids have more kinetic energy. Therefore, they are able to overcome the
forces of attraction and convert into vapour without any external forces.
Evaporation – The phenomenon of change of a liquid into vapours at any given temperature
below its boiling point is called Evaporation. Evaporation is different from boiling, as shown in
the figure below.
How evaporation causes cooling?
The process of evaporation uses the energy of the liquid particles. Therefore, the particles
absorb energy from the surroundings in order to compensate for the energy that is being lost
in the process of evaporation. This results in the cooling of the surrounding area.
For Example:
Our palms feel cool when we put some acetone (nail paint remover) on it
People sprinkle water on their roofs or ground on sunny days to cool the area
We are able to sip hot tea faster in a saucer than in a cup

•Why do people wear cotton clothes in summer?

We sweat more in summer. As the sweat evaporates it takes energy from our body surface
and keeps our body cool. Cotton can absorb the sweat easily and exposes it to the
atmosphere causing evaporation to take place easily. This, in turn, keeps us cool on summer
days.

•Why do water droplets appear in the surroundings of glass with ice-

cold water?
There are water vapours present in the air. When they come in contact with the walls of the
glass that has ice-cold water in it they condense. As a result, their state changes from the
gaseous state to liquid state thus forming tiny water droplets on the walls of the glass.

The Five States of Matter;-

By far we have discussed the three states of matter – Solid, Liquid, Gas.
But, scientists have discovered that there are two more states of matter –
Plasma
Bose-Einstein Condensate

Plasma:-
It is a state of matter in which the particles are super excited and super energetic. They are in
the form of ionised gases.
For Example – Fluorescent tubes and neon light bulbs consist of plasma
The neon bulbs contain neon gas and there is another gas such as helium in the fluorescent
tube. As electricity is passed in the tube or the bulb, these gases get ionised and this creates
the plasma inside them that glows.
In fact, the Sun and the stars glow because plasma is present in them. Here are some
examples of Plasma:
Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC)
It is the fifth state of matter discovered by Albert Einstein based on the studies conducted by
an Indian scientist Satyendra Nath Bose.
BEC is formed by condensing gases of extremely low densities to much lower temperatures.
Latent Heat
Definition;- Latent heat is the amount of heat absorbed or released by a substance during a
phase change without a change in temperature. It plays a crucial role in various physical
processes, such as melting and boiling.

Types of Latent Heat

1. Latent Heat of Fusion
Definition-: The latent heat of fusion is the heat energy required to change a substance
from solid to liquid at its melting point without changing its temperature.

Example-: When ice melts to form water at 0°C, it absorbs heat but remains at the same
temperature until all ice has melted.

2. Latent Heat of Vaporisation

Definition-: The latent heat of vaporisation is the heat energy required to change a
substance from liquid to gas at its boiling point without changing its temperature.

Example-: When water boils to form steam at 100°C, it absorbs a large amount of heat but
remains at the same temperature until all water has vaporised.

Key Concepts
Phase Changes-: In any phase change, the temperature remains constant while the
substance absorbs or releases heat.
Importance in Daily Life-:
Cooling Systems-: Refrigerators use the latent heat of vaporisation to cool the interior.
Weather Patterns-: The latent heat of vaporisation is crucial in processes like evaporation
and condensation, affecting weather and climate.
Energy Transfer-: The energy involved in phase changes is critical for understanding
energy transfer in natural systems.
Practical Applications
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning-: Use the principles of latent heat to absorb heat from
the environment.
Meteorology:- Helps in understanding phenomena like cloud formation and precipitation.

Cooking-: Boiling and melting processes utilize latent heat to transform food.

Summary:-
Latent Heat- is vital for understanding thermal energy transfer during phase
changes.
Latent Heat of Fusion-: Energy needed for solid to liquid transition.
Latent Heat of Vaporisation-: Energy needed for liquid to gas transition.