Gerlynn got students to classify items into three categories: matter, non-matter and not sure. She then asked them why they categorised some items as matter and not others.
Their initial theories of matter were:
- “matter is anything that has mass and occupies space” (definition from the textbook)
- “matter is something that you can touch and see”
- “matter has weight”
- “you can see the three types of matter, solid, liquid and gas”