States of Matter
Solid, liquid or gas?
Duration: 2:03
What are the three states of matter? Join our little explorer on a treasure hunt to find solids, liquids and gases!
In short
Matter is everything around us, and it comes in three main states. Solids, like ice or a stone, keep their own shape. Liquids, like water or juice, flow and take the shape of their container. Gases, like air or steam, spread out to fill all the space they can. Heat and cold make matter change state: heat turns ice into water and water into steam, and cold turns water back into ice.
What you will learn
- What matter is (it is everything around you!)
- Solids keep their own shape
- Liquids flow and take the shape of their container
- Gases spread out and fill all the space they can find
- How heat turns ice into water, and water into steam
- How cold turns water back into ice
Let's talk about it
Questions to ask after watching, at home or in class. Tap a question to see a short answer.
Can you name one solid, one liquid and one gas in your kitchen?
For example: a spoon is a solid, milk is a liquid, and the steam above hot soup is a gas.
Why does juice change shape when you pour it into a glass?
Because it is a liquid: liquids flow and take the shape of their container.
What happens to an ice cube if you leave it in the sun?
The heat melts it: the solid ice turns into liquid water.
