There are 4
states of matter - solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.
The state of a sample
of matter depends on its temperature.
(Move
the pointer over the pictures to see the effect of adding
heat energy.)
State of Matter
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Diagram
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Solid
Has
a definite shape and a definite
volume. This means it can hold its own shape and it takes up
a certain amount of space. The particles in a
solid move slower and the particles are
close together. Particles of a solid vibrate, but do not change
position.
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Liquid
Has a definite volume, but
doesn't have a definite shape. This means
it will take the shape of the container that it is in, but it takes
up a certain amount of space. The particles move
a little faster than those of a solid, but the spacing is similar
to that of a solid. Particles of a liquid are free to move around eachother,
therefore liquids can flow.
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Gas
Has no definite shape and
no definite volume. This means that a gas
will take the shape of the container that it is in and it will completely
fill that container. The particles move very fast
and the particle spacing is much greater than that of liquids. Like
liquids, the particles of a gas are free to move around eachother, therefore
gases can flow.
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Plasma
A gaslike mixture of charged (+ and -) particles. Plasma
is like a gas, but the particles move so fast
that they break apart into positive and negative smaller particles.
This causes a lot of energy to be released in the form of heat and/or
light.
Plasma is the most
common state of matter in the universe. Stars and the sun are all made
of plasma.
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Graph of Energy vs. Temperature of a Sample
of Matter
(Shows the changing from solid to liquid to gas)