Particulate Nature of Matter

Syllabus tag: KCSE | Physics | Form 1 | Topic 5 Particulate Nature of Matter

Lesson objectives

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

• State the evidence that matter is made of tiny particles.
• Describe Brownian motion and explain what it shows.
• Describe diffusion and the factors affecting its rate.
• Describe the three states of matter using the kinetic theory.

Summary

Matter is made of tiny particles in constant random motion. The evidence is Brownian motion, where smoke particles are seen to jiggle irregularly, and diffusion, the spreading of one substance through another. The kinetic theory explains solids, liquids and gases by how strongly their particles are held and how freely they move.