Facts At Your Fingertips: Matter and materials – Atoms Atoms are the tiny building blocks that make up everything in the universe, including ourselves. They are far too small to be seen, even with the most powerful microscopes. Billions of them could fit on the dot of this “i.” Yet atoms are themselves made up … Read more
Facts At Your Fingertips: Matter and materials – Properties of matter Different substances have different properties. They might be hard or soft, flexible or rigid, flammable or not. Testing the properties of a particular substance helps in determining what it can, and cannot, be used for. Mass and density The amount of matter within an … Read more
Facts At Your Fingertips: Matter and materials – The water cycle Earth’s water is constantly changing state as it circulates between the sea, the land, and the sky. This process is known as the water cycle. Although water is always moving, the total amount of water in the world always stays exactly the same. Water … Read more
Facts At Your Fingertips: Matter and materials – Changing states A substance may not always remain in the same state of matter. It can change state when it is at different temperatures. For example, a solid can become a liquid if it becomes hot enough and a liquid may become a solid if it is … Read more
Pocket Genius Science: Matter and materials – States of matter Matter is everywhere, but you cannot always see it. There are four main types, or states, of matter—solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. Each state is made up of moving particles, but they look and behave very differently. Solids In solids, the particles are packed together … Read more
Facts At Your Fingertips: Matter and materials Everything on Earth is made from different types of matter, which behave in different ways, depending on the conditions. Rock, for example, can form solid mountains, but at high temperatures it melts and flows as lava. Exploring the way matter changes its form under different conditions of heat … Read more
Pocket Genius Science – Everyday science Science does not just take place in laboratories. It forms part of almost everything we do, whether it is cooking food, playing with plastic toys, speaking to a friend on the telephone, surfing the Internet, or traveling from one place to another. Play From plastic toys and computer games … Read more
Pocket Genius Science: Scientific advances Some scientific breakthroughs have changed the course of history. Inventions such as the wheel, penicillin, and the World Wide Web have transformed people’s lives, while the development of theories on the laws of motion and natural selection have helped build our understanding of the universe. Inventions and theories An invention … Read more
Pocket Genius Science – What is science? Science is the study of the universe and everything in it—from the tiny atoms that make up all matter to the forces that build stars and planets. Through the study of science, we have been able to figure out how our planet came to exist and how life … Read more
