Difference between Materials and Substances

Materials & substances are the two most common terms used very often in chemistry and it is found that children are not able to understand the difference between them. So, let’s find out what is the difference between materials and substances.

Stones, Air, Rice grains, Television, Books, Water, Chair, toys – different types of substances

There are so many things around us. There are things that you can see and touch like – stones, air, rice grain, television, books, water, chair, toys, etc., and there are things that you cannot see, and can only feel their presence around you, like – air. All of these are known as substances or materials in chemistry.

Normally, there is no difference between materials and substances, but the word material is specifically used for those things, which you use for making different types of other substances.

Let’s take two examples to understand better.

Example – 1:

For the construction of any type of house or building we need, bricks, cement, wood, sand, and steel. As we use bricks, cement, wood, sand, and steel to build a house, thus we call them materials.

Example -2:

Materials for the construction of a house or a building

To make tea you need four different substances – water, sugar, tea leaves, and milk. Thus we call water, sugar, tea leaves, and milk as materials.

A few examples of common substances or materials around us are –

• Natural materials such as salt, marble, petroleum, air, etc.
• Metallic materials such as gold, iron, silver, copper, etc.
• Animal products such as milk, cheese, butter, etc.
• Vegetable products such as fruits, vegetables, grains, etc.
• Man-made products such as cement, sugar, glass, plastic, steel, medicine, etc.

So, when we use substances for making new items, then we call them materials.

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