States of Matter

Matter commonly exits in one of three states of matter, solid, liquid and gas. A solid sample, such as ice, will melt into a liquid and the boil into gas if the temperature is increased enough. Similarly a gas can be cooled into a liquid and then a solid. Some substances can transition directly between solid and gas states under certain conditions.

Solid

Typical state of matter at the coldest temperature.
Solids hold their shape and have a relatively fixed volume
Particles are close together and in a fixed pattern
Low particle movement
- Particles within solids are typically held in a fixed arrangement but can vibrate

Liquid

Typical state of matter at moderate temperatures
Liquids will adopt the shape of their container and have a relatively fixed volume
Particles are close together but can move around randomly. In other words they are not locked into a pattern like with solids.
Moderate particle movement
- Particles within liquids have the ability to move around, but remain adjacent to other liquid particles

Gas

Typical state of matter at the highest temperatures
Gases will expand to fill the shape of the container they are in. Additionally the are compressible. In other words the volume of gases is variable.
Gas particles are far apart and separated by relatively large distances. Particles move randomly throughout the container.
High particle movement
- Gas particles are allowed to move virtually independently of one another. The space between particles is significantly greater in gases compared to the space between particles in liquids or solids.
- In addition to internal vibrations, gas particles are typically moving within the container (imagine ping pong balls bounding around in a box)

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