2.1.4

Properties of States of Matter

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Compression of Substances

Because of their different particle arrangements, solids, liquids and gases have different properties.

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Compression of solids

  • Solids cannot be compressed because the particles are already as close together as they possibly can be. So they cannot be pushed any closer.
  • Even if you squeeze very hard, a solid can never be compressed.
  • Some solids that contain pockets of gas can be compressed, such as a sponge.
    • Here, it is the gas that is being compressed; not the solid.
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Compression of liquids

  • Generally, liquids cannot be compressed because the particles are touching.
  • Although there are small gaps between the liquid particles, they are not big enough to allow compression. To make the gaps smaller, particles would have to overlap.
    • Because this is not possible, liquids cannot be compressed.
  • If a huge amount of force is used, then liquids can be compressed by a very tiny amount.
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Compression of gases

  • Gases can be easily compressed.
    • This is because there are large spaces between the particles.
  • When we try to compress a gas, the gaps between the particles just get smaller.

Shape of Substances

Because of their different particle arrangements, solids, liquids and gases have different properties. Solids always keep their shape, whereas liquids and gases can change shape.

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Solids

  • Solids have a fixed shape.
  • If you put them in another container, they will not change shape.
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Liquids

  • Liquids can flow and change shape.
  • You can pour a liquid from a container of one shape into a container of another shape.
  • This is possible because the particles in a liquid can move around each other, letting the liquid become different shapes.
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Gases

  • Gases can change shape.
  • Gases can change their shape to fit any container.
    • They even expand to fill a larger container.
  • This is because there are large gaps between particles. So if a force is applied, the gas can be squashed or put into any new shape.

Jump to other topics

1Biology

1.1Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2Reproduction & Variation

1.3Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4Digestion & Nutrition

1.5Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6Biological Systems & Processes

2Chemistry

2.1Particles

2.2Chemical Reactions

2.3Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4The Periodic Table

2.5Materials & the Earth

2.6Reactivity

2.7Energetics

2.8Properties of Materials

3Physics

3.1Energy

3.2Forces & Motion

3.3Waves

3.4Electricity & Magnetism

3.5Matter

3.6Space Physics

4Thinking Scientifically

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