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State Symbols

State symbols are letters that tell us what state of matter a substance is in. There are 4 different state symbols:

(s)

(s)

  • (s) is used for solids.
    • E.g. Mg(s).
    • E.g. Na(s).
(l)

(l)

  • (l) is used for pure liquids.
    • E.g. H2O(l).
    • E.g. Hg(l) (mercury is liquid at room temperature).
(aq)

(aq)

  • (aq) is used for aqueous solutions (substances dissolved in water), and therefore it is used more often than (l).
    • E.g. NaOH(aq).
    • E.g. H2SO4(aq).
(g)

(g)

  • (g) is used for gases.
    • E.g. H2(g).
    • E.g. CO2(g).
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2.6

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