Anything that takes up space is called matter. Air, water, rocks, and even people are examples of matter. Different types of matter can be described by their mass. The mass of an object is the amount of material that makes up the object. A bowling ball, for example, has more mass than a beach ball.
Liquid
Atoms have many nearest neighbors in contact, yet no long-range order is present.
Solids
Particles in solids are held together very closely. This makes them strong and difficult to break apart. Solids can also hold their own space. The particles don't move around very much but simple vibrate in their spot.
Sublimation is a specialized change of state when a solid substance skips the liquid phase and moves directly into the gas phase. This occurs because the substance absorbs energy so quickly from the surroundings that melting never occurs.
Examples of sublimation 1. "Dry ice" or solid carbon dioxide sublimes.
Change of state
Solids, liquids and gases can of course change between each other simply by heating or cooling them.
The processes involved in changing each states are
|
Starting state |
Finishing state |
Process |
|
solid |
liquid |
melting |
|
solid |
gas |
sublimation |
|
liquid |
solid |
freezing |
|
liquid |
gas |
evaporation |
|
gas |
liquid |
condensation |
Gas
The spaces between gas molecules are very big.
Gas molecules have very weak or no bonds at all.
The molecules in "gas" can move freely and fast.
