Question

State two characteristics of matter demonstrated by
a) Diffusion
b) Brownian motion.

Answer 1

Hint: Anything that occupies space and has a mass and volume can be termed as matter.Initially nothing much was known about how it behaves and interact.Hence various researchers started their studies to know more about it.

Complete answer:
(a) The movement of a substance from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration is termed as Diffusion. Diffusion occurs in liquids and gases since their particles move randomly from one place to another. During the initial days of study physicists used diffusion to study the various aspects to matter since very little was known about. With their research they concluded that the characteristic of matter are as follows:
1) Matter is made up of tiny particles.
2) The particles of matter are constantly moving.
However some physicist physicists were not happy with the finding hence they decided to carry out their independent studies.

(b) The random motion of particles suspended in a fluid (a liquid or a gas) resulting from their collision with the fast-moving atoms or molecules in the gas or liquid is termed as Brownian motion. This transport phenomenon is named after the botanist Robert brown.The physicists who studied matter from the perspective of Brownian motion stated the characteristics of matter as
1) Particles of matter are very small.
2) The particles of matter are in a constant state of motion.
This formed the basis of future research.

Note:
Although the findings about characteristics of matter obtained from Diffusion and Brownian motion are not quite different and point to the same thing it is important to note that during the initial days of research these findings were very useful.