Teachers taught us the 3 states of matter, but there’s a 4th called plasma. Why weren’t we taught all 4 around the same time?

Question

Teachers taught us the 3 states of matter, but there’s a 4th called plasma. Why weren’t we taught all 4 around the same time?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Because then we would be having this same conversation about the 5th state of matter, the Bose-Einstien condensate.

Showing the 3 phases of matter with water is so much easier for a child to grasp. Water can’t really exist as a plasma, rather the hydrogen and oxygen would be the plasma. Breaking down of molecules is a bit advanced for a child.