What phase of water is most common on Earth?
(classifying matter – 5 min) #1 Questions Why do we classify things? • Classification helps us organize things. • Classification makes study easier. What is classification based on? • Most classification systems are based on some visible characteristic. • Matter can be classified using physical characteristics like color, size, and shape. • One good use of classification is to take a large group of things and break it into smaller groups based on traits. Our emphasis will be on the classification of matter. We have an idea of what matter is and we know that there are many different traits of matter. There is really no “correct” way to group matter. But a system does exist for the classification of matter. Matter has both physical and chemical characteristics. Any characteristic of a material that can be observed without changing the substances that make up the material is a physical property. Any characteristic that describes how one material interacts with another material is a chemic
