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Pressure

Because of their different particle arrangements, solids, liquids and gases have different properties. Some cause pressure, others don’t.

Pressure

Pressure

  • Pressure means how much force is applied to something divided by the area it is applied over.
Solids

Solids

  • Solids cannot cause pressure because their particles cannot move off their fixed positions.
Liquids

Liquids

  • Liquids can cause pressure sometimes. For example, when a water pipe bursts.
Gases

Gases

  • Gas particles move quickly in all directions.
  • They do not travel far before they bump into each other or the walls of their container.
  • Each time a particle hits the wall of a container, it causes pressure.
  • The more often gas particles hit the walls of their container, the higher the pressure.
  • The harder gas particles hit the walls of their container, the higher the pressure.
  • If the pressure gets too high, the container will burst.
    • E.g. squashing a balloon raises the pressure and bursts it.
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