All substances around us consist of matter. Matter is the material mass that makes up the substance. The blackboard in the classroom, the chair that you are sitting on, the air you breathe, the food you eat, the plate and spoon, etc. are all made up of matter. To say it more grandiosely, everything in the Universe is made up of matter.
Substances exist in various forms or states.
They can be solids, liquids or gaseous. They can also exist in pure form or in combinations. We shall study some of these aspects in this chapter. Definitions of elements, compounds and mixtures 2. States of matter 1.