What is matter?

• A. Anything that has weight and occupies space
• B. Energy
• C. Force
• D. Light

Answer: (A)

Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. Under gravity, that mass gives something weight, and “occupies space” means it has volume. Saying matter is anything with weight and space occupancy captures this idea: weight indicates mass, and occupying space shows it has volume. Energy, force, and light aren’t matter because they don’t consist of mass or occupy space in the same way—light is energy carried by massless photons, for example—so they aren’t described as matter.