CHAPTER II 



MATTER AND ENERGY THE FOUNDATION OF 

 ALL SCIENCE 



Nature is the greatest of magicians. She takes matter, 

 which means any material, and energy, which is respon- 

 sible for any force, and makes them seem to disappear. 

 Vapor is matter; sound is energy. But what becomes of 

 the vapor and the sound from the whistle of an engine? 



For centuries men really believed that matter and 

 energy ceased to exist when Nature made them disappear. 

 At last, however, they discovered what actually happens. 

 Instead of ceasing to exist, both matter and energy are 

 merely changed into other forms. Nature cannot destroy 

 either matter or energy. 



Remember there are two things that can never be destroyed. 

 One is matter, of which everything, whether lifeless or alive, is 

 made. The other is energy, which causes all changes in matter, 

 such as changes in position, shape, quality, or temperature. To- 

 gether, matter and energy make up our earth, keep it in its path 

 in the heavens, and make possible all growth and life upon it. 



So we begin our study of General Science with matter and 

 energy, because in these lies the foundation of all our special 

 sciences. 



Everything is made of material of one sort or another. A chair 

 may be made of wood, a stove of iron, a bottle of glass, or a moun- 

 tain of rock. The bottle that appears to be empty is full of air. 

 Wood, iron, glass, air, and all other substances are classed as 

 matter. Matter, then, is any material of which things are made, 

 or which occupies space. 



Matter is divided into two classes, organic, and inorganic. Or- 

 ganic matter has or once had life. All living animals and plants, 

 with the substances they produce, are organic matter. Flesh, 

 wood, flour, linen and leather are examples of organic matter. 

 All substances which do not come from living things are inorganic 



12 



