Science CAT Notes
All solids, liquids and gases have mass. Every substance contains mass. Mass is the
amount of matter an object or substance contains. The more particles an object contains,
the greater its mass.
The only way to change the mass of an object is to add or remove particles. Adding
particles increases mass, removing particles decreases its mass. Particles cannot simply
appear or disappear, they are always being moved either from or to somewhere,
Mass is not the same as weight. Weight measures the force of gravity acting upon an
object. Measure in newtons, N. Weight is determined by two factors: The mass of the
object and the strength of gravity. Therefore, weight is only partially determined by
mass.
Heating a gas causes particles to move further apart, expands the gas, increasing the
volume. Cooling a gas causes the particles to move closer together. This compresses the
gas, decreasing the volume.
Volume is the three-dimensional space an object occupies. For example, 1000kg of water
has a volume of 1m3.
Solids and liquids have a definite volume, the only way to change the volume of a solid
or liquid is to add particles or remove particles.
Gases have a variable volume, so its easy to change the volume if you put it in a
different size container. The gas will change its volume to fit the container. Compressing
a gas reduces the spaces and decreases volume. Expanding a gas increases the spaces
and increases the volume.
Changing the temperature of a gas also changes its volume. Heating a gas causes the
particles to move farther apart, expands the gas, increasing volume. Cooling a gas
causes the particles to move closer, compresses the gas, decreases volume.
Finding the volume of an irregularly shaped solid, you use the water displacement
method (founded by Archimedes). Note the initial volume of water in a measuring
cylinder, place solid into water so that it is submerged and read final water level, Volume
of solid = Final volume – initial volume.
1000 grams = 1 kg, e.g.: 300 grams into kilograms is 0.3 kg. 500 grams converted is 0.5
kg. Cubic meters are used to measure the volume of solids and. Litres are used to
measure the volume of a gas. Millilitres and litres are used for liquids.
Cubic meters are height x depth x length = the cubic number. E.g. is a container was
filled with water and it had a length of 20 cm, a height of 5 cm and a depth of 4 cm you
would multiply all 3 together. 20 cm x 5cm x 4cm = 400 cm cubed,
Density = Mass/ Volume. If a cube has a height of 5 cm, a depth of 5 cm and a length of
5 cm, and its mass is 337.5g, and the cubic centimetres is 125, then its 337.5/125 = 2.5
grams per cubic centimetre.
Density is the amount of mass per unit volume. Mas is the amount of matter in a object.
Volume is how much three-dimensional space and object occupies. Density is usually
expressed kilograms per cubic metre. High density objects are described as heavy for
their size, because they have a large mass packed into a relatively small space. Low
density objects are described as light for heir size, because they may occupy a lot of
space but have very little mass.
To find the density of something you must divide the kg by the volume, or divide the
mass by the volume. Density means the mass of one metric cube of said substance
and/or object.