Rain on the street

Rain leaving a print on my sweater

Rain collected in a puddle on the street

"I realized that the question wasn’t really 'Isn’t water an object?' but more likely 'Is water a substance that can become a material, like how cement is made from water and other ingredients?'."


Substance: A substance is a type of matter that has a specific chemical content, like water (H₂O), oxygen (O₂), or iron (Fe).
So it’s about what the matter is made of.

Material: A material is something we can use that is made of one or more substances.
So it’s about the matter’s properties and how we use it.

Whether water is considered a substance or a material depends on the context. Chemically, it’s a substance. When we use it for something, like drinking, cooling, or making ice, it’s a material.

Now that I’m studying water, does that mean every type of water I study becomes useful to me, and does it therefore change from a substance into a material?