Introduction
- Anything which occupies space and has mass is called Matter. For example : Air and water, sugar and sand, hydrogen and oxygen etc.
- Ancient Indian philosophers said that all the matter, living or non-living was made up of five basic elements (panchtatva): air, earth, fire, sky and water.
- Modern day scientists classify matter in two ways: on the basis of its Physical Properties and on the basis of its Chemical Properties.
- On the basis of Physical properties, Matter is classified as: (i) solids (ii) Liquids (iii) Gases
- On the basis of Chemical Properties, Matter is classified as: (i) Elements (ii) Compounds (iii) Mixtures