States Of Matter

States Of Matter

Are water vapour, water in the form of liquid and ice cubes made up of water. However, all three have different physical properties. For example, if you place an ice cube in containers of various shapes, the shape of the ice cube will remains the same. But water in the form of liquid can take many shapes, depending on the shapes of the containers that it is kept it. In science, all the things around us can be classified into three main groups : solid, liquid and gas.

Solid - Ice

Liquid - Water

Gas - Air

Matter and Physical Characteristics

Matter is anything that has mass and occupies space. The particle theory of matter says that all matter consist of tint particles that are made up of atoms, ions and molecules. In gas, they are even closer than liquid, particles are closer together. In solid, they are even closed than liquid. Physical states of matter are called solid, liquid and gas. These can commonly be defined by their physical characteristics.

Solid, liquid and gas have fixed mass. Solid have fixed volume and shape; liquid have fixed volume but not fixed shape and gases have neither fixed volume not shape. Liquids and gases take up the shape of the container.

All liquids can flow or poured from one container to another. But some liquids flow faster than other liquids. The more viscose the liquid the more time it takes to flow because of the friction between its molecule. Water is an example of liquid that has low viscosity so the molecules are free to move easily.

Among the three states, gas is highly compressible compared to liquid, where as solid is incompressible. Solid and liquid have higher density than gas.

The particles of solid are not free to move the same way as the particles of gas or liquid. These particles are held together by forces that keep them close to each other. However, even the particles of solid exhibit constant movement. They vibrate back or forth as if they are attached to little springs. When heat is added to a solid, the particles speed up and exhibit bigger vibrations.

The particles of liquid remain closed together. It is because the forces among particles are stronger than those in gas but weaker than those in solid. The particles in gas on the other hand, can move freely because they are very far apart compared to solid and liquid.