Join the debate.....by Parker

Lately in Physical Science we have been talking about the Nature of Matter. The three different types of matter are solids, liquids, and gases. Solids are rigid, have a fixed shape and a fixed volume. Liquids aren’t rigid, have no fixed shape and have a fixed volume. Gases aren’t rigid, and have no fixed shape or volume. There are two things matter can be, and that's pure, or impure. Matter is impure if it can be separated by physical means, it if can’t be separated by physical means then it is pure. Impure matter can be broken down even farther by deciding if it’s homogeneous, or heterogeneous. Pure can be broken down into whether it’s an element or a compound. Solids also have strong interactions, while liquids have medium interactions, and gases have no interactions. Atoms in all matter follow the Kinetic Theory. The Kinetic Theory is saying everything is made of atoms, atoms are always moving, and colliding.

One thing that I found really interesting is when Ms. Raino was discussing how she disagrees that cats are liquids.* I loved how she pointed out how they are gases cause they have no exact shape/volume and that they are squashable. It honestly really made me use metacognition to see where she was getting at.

Interesting facts

1.  Despite what the internet says cats are indeed gases.

2.  Just even a slight change in temperature can change the alterations in a volume of gas.

3. In laboratories scientists can create different plasmas making six different types of matter.

The question I will leave you with is are cats liquids or gases? What do you think? Join the debate.

*Ms. Raino was referring (in jest) to the internet meme shown above. In reality, cats have a mixture of solids, liquids, and gases making up their bodies, just like other animals.