STATES OF MATTER
Solids, liquids & gases
Solids
● Solids have a fixed volume and shape and they have a high density.
● The atoms vibrate in position but can’t change location
● The particles are packed very closely together in a fixed and regular pattern
Liquids
● Liquids also have a fixed volume but adopt the shape of the container
● They are generally less dense than solids (an exception is water), but much
denser than gases
● The particles move and slide past each other which is why liquids adopt the
shape of the container and also why they are able to flow freely
Gases
● Gases do not have a fixed volume, and, like liquids, take up the shape of the
container
● Gases have a very low density
● Since there is a lot of space between the particles, gases can be compressed
into a much smaller volume
● The particles are far apart and move randomly and quickly (around 500 m/s) in
all directions
● They collide with each other and with the sides of the container (this is
how pressure is created inside a can of gas)
Summary of the properties of solids, liquids and gases
Solid Liquid Gas
Diagram
Arrangem Regular arrangement Randomly arranged Randomly arranged
ent of
particles
Movement Vibrate about a fixed Move around each Move quickly in all
of position other directions
particles
Closenes Very close Close Far apart
s of
particles
Density High Medium Low
Energy of Low energy Greater energy Highest energy
particles
State changes
● State changes occur when:
o Solids become liquids
o Liquids become gases
o Gases become liquids
o Liquids become solids
● Each state change requires a change in the energy, arrangement and movement
of the particles
The state changes
Melting
● Melting is when a solid changes into a liquid
● Requires heat energy which transforms into kinetic energy, allowing the particles
to move
● Occurs at a specific temperature known as the melting point (m.p.)
Freezing
● Freezing is when a liquid changes into a solid
● This is the reverse of melting and occurs at exactly the same temperature as
melting, hence the melting point and freezing point of a pure substance are the
same. Water, for example, freezes and melts at 0 ºC
● Requires a significant decrease in temperature (or loss of thermal energy) and
occurs at a specific temperature
Boiling
● Boiling is when a liquid changes into a gas
● Requires heat which causes bubbles of gas to form below the surface of a liquid,
allowing for liquid particles to escape from the surface and within the liquid
● Occurs at a specific temperature known as the boiling point (b.p.)
Evaporation
● Evaporation occurs when a liquid changes into a gas and occurs over a range of
temperatures
● Evaporation occurs only at the surface of liquids where high energy particles can
escape from the liquid's surface at low temperatures, below the b.p. of the liquid
● The larger the surface area and the warmer the liquid surface, the more quickly a
liquid can evaporate
Condensation
● Condensation occurs when a gas changes into a liquid on cooling and it takes
place over a range of temperatures
● When a gas is cooled its particles lose energy and when they bump into each
other they lack the energy to bounce away again, instead they group together to
form a liquid
State changes & kinetic theory
Extended tier only
● When substances are heated, the particles absorb thermal energy which is
converted into kinetic energy
o This is the basis of the kinetic theory of matter
● Heating a solid causes its particles to vibrate more
o As the temperature increases, the particles vibrate so much that the
solid expands until the structure breaks
o This is when the solid melts into a liquid
● Heating a liquid causes its particles to move more and spread out
o Some particles at the surface gain sufficient energy to overcome the
intermolecular forces
o This is when a liquid starts to evaporate
o When the boiling point is reached, all of the particles gain enough energy
to escape and the liquids boils into a gas
● These changes in state can be shown on a graph called a heating curve:
A heating curve showing the states, state changes and temperature changes as
time progresses
● Cooling down a gas has the reverse effect and this would be called
a cooling curve:
A cooling curve is like a heating curve, but is the mirror image
● Heating and cooling curves are used to show how changes in temperature affect
changes of state
● The horizontal sections occur when there is a change of state but there is no
change in temperature