Which of the following is NOT a type of matter?

Which of the following is NOT a type of matter?

• A. Element
• B. Compound
• C. Energy
• D. Mixture

Answer: (C)

Energy is not a type of matter. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space, and it comes in forms we classify as elements, compounds, or mixtures. An element is a pure substance made of one kind of atom, a compound is formed when elements chemically bond together, and a mixture is a physical combination of two or more substances that retain their own identities. Energy, on the other hand, is the ability to do work or cause change and exists as different forms—kinetic, potential, thermal, chemical, light, etc.—but it does not have mass and does not occupy space in the way matter does. Matter and energy are distinct, though energy often changes as matter changes.

Energy is not a type of matter. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space, and it comes in forms we classify as elements, compounds, or mixtures. An element is a pure substance made of one kind of atom, a compound is formed when elements chemically bond together, and a mixture is a physical combination of two or more substances that retain their own identities. Energy, on the other hand, is the ability to do work or cause change and exists as different forms—kinetic, potential, thermal, chemical, light, etc.—but it does not have mass and does not occupy space in the way matter does. Matter and energy are distinct, though energy often changes as matter changes.