States of Matter
There are three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.
Solid
Matters which have fixed volume and shape are called solids. Examples: stone, wood, brick, ice, sugar, salt, coal, etc. All metals are solid except mercury and gallium.
Properties of solids
- Solid has fixed volume.
- Solid has fixed shape.
- Solid has high density.
- Solid does not flow.
Quiz
See Answer
1: (a) Brick, 2: (b) Oil, 3: (d) Air, 4: (a) Stone, 5: (b) Oil, 6: (c) Air, 7: (d) Salt, 8: (a) Air, 9: (a) Air, 10: (c) Dumbbell
Liquid
Matters which have fixed volume but indefinite shape are called liquids. Examples: milk, water, petrol, kerosene, alcohol, oil, etc. Since liquid can flow, it is also called fluid.
Properties of liquid
- Liquid has definite volume.
- Liquid has no definite shape.
- Liquid gets the shape of container in which it is kept.
- Liquid cannot be compressed much.
- Liquid has less density compare to solid.
- Liquid flows and hence is called fluid.
Gas
Matters which have indefinite shape and volume are called gases. Examples: air, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon-dioxide, etc.
Properties of gas
- Gas has indefinite shape
- Gas has no fixed volume.
- Gas gets the shape and volume of container.
- Gas fills the container completely.
- Gas has very low density.
- Gases can flow easily and hence are called fluid.
Cause of different physical states of matters
The physical states of matter depend upon three main factors:
- The force of attraction between particles.
- The space between the particles.
- The kinetic energy of particles.
Solid:
- The force of attraction between the particles of solids is very strong.
- There is minimum space between the particles of solids.
- The particles of solids have minimum kinetic energy.
Because of great force of attraction particles of solids are closely packed together. This makes the space between particles of solids almost negligible. The lowest kinetic energy of particles does not allow the movement of particles.
The great force of attraction, the least space between particles of solids and the lowest kinetic energy of particles keep the particles at fixed places. Because of the combination of these characters certain matters exist in the solid state.
Liquid:
- The force of attraction between particles of solid is strong but weaker than in solids.
- The space between particles is in liquid more than that in solid.
- The kinetic energy of particles in liquid is greater than that in solid.
- The kinetic energy of particles in liquids is greater than that in solids.
Because of more space between particles and more kinetic energy the particles of liquid slide over one another. These characters make certain matters to exist in the liquid state. Liquid can flow because its particles can slide over one another.
Gas
- The force of attraction between particles of gas is almost negligible.
- The space between particles of solid is the greatest.
- The particles of gases have the greatest kinetic energy.
The particles of gases are loosely packed, and move at high speed. These characters enable certain matters to exist in the gaseous state.
- A matter exists in solid state because of greatest force of attraction between its particles which makes the particles closely packed.
- A matter exists in liquid state because of less force of attraction between its particles than a solid, which makes the particles closely packed but allows them to slide over one another.
- A matter exists in gaseous state because of almost negligible force of attraction between its particles, which is unable to keep the particles bound together.
Other states of matter
Plasma and BEC
Plasma and BEC (Bose-Einstein Condensate) are considered as states of matter other than solid, liquid and gas. These are known as the fourth and the fifth states of matter.Plasma
It is considered as the fourth state of matter. Plasma is similar to gas. Particles of plasma are made of free electrons and ions.
- Plasma does not have a definite shape or a definite volume unless enclosed in a container.
- Plasma may be defined as an electrically neutral medium of positive and negative particles.
Plasma is one of the most commonly occurring states of matter in the universe. Plasma occurs naturally in the stars. All stars are made of plasma. Stars glow because of the presence of plasma. Plasma is formed because of nuclear fusion in stars. Our sun glows because of the presence of plasma.
Plasma TV got its name because of the presence of plasma in it. Plasma is also found in fluorescent light or neon sign. Plasma is formed when electricity is passed through a fluorescent tube or neon sign, which makes them glow.
Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC)
It may be considered as the fifth state of matter. Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein predicted about this state of matter, that’s why it got its name as Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC).
Plasma and BEC are have opposite characters. Plasma is a super hot and super excited atom while Condensate has super cool and super unexcited atoms.
BEC had been obtained by cooling the vapor of rubidium-87 at super low temperature by Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman on June 5 1995. After that, Wolfgang Ketterle also obtained BEC from sodium-23 at MIT, USA. Cornell, Wieman and Ketterle got Nobel Prize in Physics for this achievement in 2001.