In Aristotle 's book The Physics , Aristotle divided Ï Î Ï Î Î 1\/2 ( everything ) into three roughly analogous elements : matter ( the stuff of which the Universe is made ) , form ( the arrangement of that matter in space ) and change ( how matter is created , destroyed or altered in its properties , and similarly , how form is altered ) . In his book The Physics ( , from which we derive the word `` physics '' ) , Aristotle divided ( everything ) into three roughly analogous elements : matter ( the stuff of which the universe is made ) , form ( the arrangement of that matter in space ) and change ( how matter is created , destroyed or altered in its properties , and similarly , how form is altered ) .