States of Matter

Concept 1: States of Matter

Success Criteria & Vocabulary

Click this drop-down menu to see the Success Criteria.

  • I can describe that everything is made of atoms.

  • I can describe the properties of solids, liquids, and gases, using the particle nature of matter.

  • I can classify everyday objects into solids, liquids, and gases.

  • I can identify and describe the six state changes of matter between solids, liquids, and gases.

Click this drop-down menu to see the list of Vocabulary.

Atom: Smallest unit of matter - all matter is made of this.

Boiling: The process whereby particles in a liquid gain energy quickly and produces lots of bubbles as it becomes a gas.

Bonds: Attractive forces that hold particles together.

Compress: To use pressure to flatten or squeeze something.

Condensation: The process whereby particles in a gas lose energy and become a liquid.

Density: The amount of particles per volume.

Deposition: The process whereby particles in a gas lose energy and become a solid.

Energy: The capacity to do work, like particles moving around.

Evaporation: The process whereby particles in a liquid gain energy slowly and become a gas, without producing bubbles.

Freezing: The process whereby particles in a liquid lose energy and become a solid.

Gas: The state of matter in which the particles are far apart. The particles are very weakly held together and will fill all the space of its container.

Liquid: The state of matter in which the particles are closely packed but able to move around each other. It will take the shape of its container.

Matter: A substance that occupies space and has mass. The scientific word for 'thing'.

Melting: The process whereby the particles in a solid gain energy and become a liquid.

Solid: The sate of matter in which the particles are closely packed, is unable to be poured, and does not take the shape of its container.

Sublimation: The process whereby particles in a solid gain energy and become a gas.

Common Misconceptions & Shortcomings

Student does not link the particle nature and arrangement back to strength of forces/bonds between particles or energy.

  • Make sure that when you describe the distance between particles, you link it back to strength of forces/bonds. E.g. particles in a solid are tightly packed together because they are held tightly by very strong forces/bonds.

  • Make sure that when you describe the speed of movement of particles, you link it back to energy. E.g. particles in a solid can only vibrate because they have low energy.

When explaining a state change, student does not link to change in energy and change in strength of forces/bonds.

  • Make sure that when you explain how a state changes into another state, that you link it back to the change in energy and change in strength of forces between particles. E.g. when a solid melts into a liquid, the particles gain energy which weakens the forces/bonds between particles. This causes particles to be more spaced apart, move faster, and take the shape of the bottom of the container.

Students don't know about or they don't know the difference between sublimation and deposition.

  • Make sure you know each of the SIX state changes, including sublimation and deposition.

  • Sublimation describes the change from solid directly to gas (without going through the liquid state).

  • Deposition describes the change from gas directly to solid (without going through the liquid state).

Tasks

Learn the 16 keywords using Quizlet:

Complete Education Perfect:

Task called 'States of Matter'.

States of Matter

(Work on your copy on Google Classroom).
Worksheet_ States of Matter.docx

Matter Circus

(Work on your copy on Google Classroom).
Matter Circus.pptx

Changes in States of Matter - Easy

(Work on your copy on Google Classroom).
Changes in States of Matter.pptx

Practical Investigation

(Work on your copy on Google Classroom).
Investigating State Changes.pptx

Changes in States of Matter - Hard

(Work on your copy on Google Classroom).
Changes in States of Matter - Hard.pptx

Concept 1: Support Notes

Everything is made up of atoms.

Literally, everything is made of ATOMS - including you! The scientific word for “things” is MATTER.

So, all matter is made of atoms.

Atoms are tiny particles that are far too small to see, even with a microscope. We usually imagine atoms as being tiny balls.

The 3 States of Matter

SOLID

LIQUID

GAS

All matter is either solid, liquid, or gas.

All MATTER can be found as either a SOLID, LIQUID, or GAS, depending upon the temperature. Each type of matter has its own specific temperature ranges that it will exist in each of these three states.

Water as a solid, liquid, and gas.

Water is unusual because it can be found on Earth naturally as a solid, liquid, and a gas.

In a solid state, it forms the ice at the poles and covers land in winter and high mountains. In a liquid state, it fills our oceans and lakes, as well as creates ground water stored for thousands of years. As a gas, water is found in our atmosphere. The amount is known as the air humidity.

Models for particle arrangement for solids, liquids, and gases.

  • Solid particles are packed closely and only vibrate in a fixed position (with low ENERGY).

  • Liquid particles are also packed closely, but the particles move around (more energy than solid particles).

  • Gas particles have a lot of space between them and move around quickly (particles contain a large amount of energy).

Atoms are held together by attractive forces called bonds.

BONDS are attractive forces that hold particles together. The strength of bonds between particles is different in all 3 states of matter.

  • Particles in solids are held together by very strong bonds, so the particles are cannot move past one another.

  • Particles in liquids are held together by pretty strong bonds, so the particles can flow over each other.

  • Particles in gases are held together by weak bonds, so the particles can move freely away from each other.

Properties of Solids, Liquids, and Gases

Spreading

All particles move.

  • Gas particles move more than liquid and solid particles, so they spread out from each other to completely fill a container (the volume of gas increases).

  • Liquid particles move past each other and spread to fill a container from the bottom up (the volume of liquid does not increase).

  • Solid particles do not move apart from each other so DO NOT spread to fill a container.

Compressibility

To COMPRESS means to push particles closer together and makes the overall volume smaller that the matter takes up.

  • Particles in a solid are very close together and cannot be compressed.

  • Particles in a liquid, although being able to move past each other, are also very close so cannot so cannot be compressed.

  • Particles in a gas have large spaces between them so CAN be compressed.

Density

DENSITY is a measure of the number of particles per unit volume. If a substance has more particles in the same volume than another, it is said to be denser. A substance that is in a solid and liquid state is denser than when it is in a gas state.

Note: different substances have different densities, but the general pattern is that: solid is the most dense, and gas is the least dense state.

Shape

The shaped of a substance is linked to its state and the strength of the forces between particles.

  • Solids remain in a fixed shape - the particles vibrate (shake in one spot) but remain tightly joined to each other with strong forces holding them together.

  • Liquids take the shape of the container - the particles can move past each other but are still joined, just with forces that are weaker.

  • Gases fill any container they are in - the particles move fast and are not joined to each other due to the very weak forces between particles.

The 6 Changes of States

Substances can change state, usually when they are heated or cooled.

This is because when substances are heated, they gain energy.

When they are cooled, they lose energy.

A change of state is a physical reaction and it is reversible.

Here are some videos you should watch:

If matter is Heated, it GAINS Energy

When a solid gains energy, it MELTS into a liquid. When a liquid gains energy, it BOILS and EVAPORATES into a gas.

By heating the matter, energy is transferred to the particles in the matter. This energy is used to break some of the bonds between particles.

Some solids can go directly from solid into gas state through a process called SUBLIMATION.

Solid to Liquid = Melting

Particles of substances vibrate (move on the spot) faster as they change in state from solid to liquid. This means that the bonds between the particles between to get weaker.

At the point when the particles change from a solid to a liquid, called melting point, the forces holding the particles together is partly overcome and the particles start to slide past each other. The temperature at which a substance changes from a solid into a liquid is called its melting point.

Liquid to Gas = Boiling

Particles of substances move around even faster as they change in state from liquid to gas. This means that the bonds between the particles get even more weaker.

At the point when the particles go from a liquid to gas, called boiling point, the forces holding the particles together is completely overcome and the particles move away from each other freely. The temperature at which a substance changes from a liquid into a gas is called its boiling point.

Changing the State of Water

Melting point of water.

The melting point of water is 0°C . This is the temperature where the water molecules have enough movement to overcome the forces holding particles in a fixed position of a solid state and the particles start sliding past each other in a liquid state.

Boiling point of water.

The boiling point of water is 100°C. This is the temperature where the water molecules have enough movement to completely overcome the forces holding particles together and they break away from each other and form a gas.

Melting and boiling points of other substances.

Different types of substances have different melting and boiling points - these are determined by how strong the bods are between particles or molecules. When a molecule melts or boils it is the bonds between the molecules that break not the bonds inside a molecule holding the atoms together.

The boiling point and melting point of a substance depends upon the strength of the force holding the particles together. If it is a strong force, then the boiling and melting points are high. If it is a low force, then the melting and boiling points are much lower.

Each type of substance has its own melting and boiling point.

If matter is Cooled, it LOSES Energy

When a gas loses energy, it CONDENSES into a liquid. When a liquid loses energy, it FREEZES into a gas.

By cooling the matter, energy is transferred from the particles in the matter, to the surroundings. This is because cooling makes the forces between the particles stronger.

Some gases can go directly from gas into solid state through a process called DEPOSITION.