States of Matter

• Matter

  Exists in three states: solid, liquid, and gas
• Solid

  Particles are close packed, touching each other
• Liquid

  Particles are in clusters, some touching, some not
• Gas

  Particles are far apart
• Solid particle arrangement

  Arranged in regular rows
• Liquid particle arrangement

  Random or irregular arrangement
• Gas particle arrangement

  Random arrangement
• Solid particle movement

  Vibrating in a fixed position
• Liquid particle movement

  Moving around each other
• Gas particle movement

  Fast, free, random motion
• Compressible

  Ability to bring particles closer together
• Gases are the only compressible state of matter
• Fixed volume

  Solids and liquids have fixed volume, gases take the volume of the container
• Fixed shape

  Solids have a fixed shape, liquids and gases take the shape of the container
• Melting

  1. Heating a solid to change it to a liquid

  2. Occurs at the melting point temperature
• Melting point

  The temperature at which a solid changes to a liquid
• Boiling

  1. Heating a liquid to change it to a gas

  2. Occurs at the boiling point temperature
• Boiling point

  The temperature at which a liquid changes to a gas
• Evaporation

  The change from liquid to gas that occurs at any temperature, only on the surface of the liquid
• Condensation


  Cooling a gas to change it to a liquid
• Freezing

  Cooling a liquid to change it to a solid
• Sublimation

  The change from solid directly to gas, or gas directly to solid, without passing through the liquid state
• Diagram showing changes of state

  • Liquid to gas (boiling/evaporation)
  • Gas to liquid (condensation)
  • Liquid to solid (freezing)
• Heating a substance


  Particles gain kinetic energy, move faster, overcome attraction forces, move further apart
• Cooling a substance

  Particles lose kinetic energy, move slower, come closer together
• Diffusion

  The movement of particles from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration, down the concentration gradient
• Factors affecting rate of diffusion

  • Particle mass (lighter particles diffuse faster)
  • Temperature (higher temperature increases kinetic energy and diffusion rate)
  • Nature of medium (diffusion faster in gases than liquids, no diffusion in solids)
• Examples of diffusion


  • Potassium permanganate in water
  • Bromine vapor in air
  • Ammonia and hydrochloric acid meeting to form ammonium chloride