Dedicated to PotterFreak_12
Potions Homework - Lesson One - States Of Matter.
Word count: 424 words
Quill: Eagle feather quill.
Parchment: 1 roll.
Ink: Black ink.
(The word count does not include the words in or above these brackets)

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The fine and beautiful art of potion-making, contrary to the conventional methods of magic-use, does not use the magical devices that chose each one of us at the start of our education of the magic world. These potions, elixirs, concoctions, all contain specific qualities that allow the consumer to experience so many various emotions and feelings which can either drag someone into the deepest darkest pits of hell, or ship them straight off to 'Cloud-9'.

The states of matter create an important factor of making potions. They are as follows;

Volume - The amount of space an object takes up.

Mass - The amount of atoms in an object.

Density - The degree of compactness of a substance.

Matter - What everything is made up of.

Particles - Minuscule portions of matter.

Atoms -The smallest particle of an element that can exist. Made up of protons, neutrons and electrons.

Molecules - Two or more atoms in a molecular bundle.

State Of Matter: The forms that matter can take. There are four states of matter - solid, liquid, gas and plasma.

Solid: A state of matter in which the particles of an object are packed tightly together and have definite volume and shape.

Crystalline: A solid with an orderly three-dimensional particle arrangement.

Amorphous: A solid without any specific particle arrangement.

Liquid: A substance that flows freely but is of constant volume, with particles still packed together but not so-much-so that it cannot move freely.

Surface Tension: The tension of the surface film of a liquid caused by the attraction of the particles in the surface layer by the bulk of the liquid, which tends to minimize surface area.

Viscosity: A liquid's resistance to flow.

Gas: The state of matter in which the particles are free to move around.

Vapor Pressure: The pressure of a vapor in contact with its liquid or solid form

Change Of State: The change of one physical state to another.

Freezing: When liquid is turned to solid, usually at temperatures below 0°C

Melting: When solid is turned to liquid.

Evaporation: When a liquid is set as a temperature so high that it transforms into a gas.

Condensation: Water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it. The conversion of a vapor or gas into a liquid.

Sublimation: When a solid turns into a gas without first becoming a liquid.

Exothermic: A change because energy is lost.

Endothermic: A change because energy is gained.

These states of matter, although simple, are very useful in potion-making and have very important definitions to learn.