Classification of Matter

Matter and Measurement Home

    Matter is observed in 3 different states or phases.

• Solids - Have a ridgid shape and a  fixed volume that changes very little as temperature and pressure change.
• Liquids - Have a fixed volume, but a liquid takes on the shape of its container, because it has no form of its own.
• Gases - Can have different volumes, because it is determined by the size of the container and the temperature and pressure that the gas is under.

    At low temperatures virtually all matter is found in the solid state. As temperature is raised most solids melt to form liquids. If these liquids are heated up enough they will become gases.

     -In the gas phase, atoms or molecules, move rapidly over large distances, and there is very little interaction between these particles.                                             

        - In a liquid state atoms and molecules are much closer together and interact with each other. The motion  of these particles is evident except they move over a much smaller distance.

        -The particles of a solid are even closer together than that of a liquid, and are almost if not totally restricted in their movement.

        Sample Problem

                What phase is Mercury, Hg in, in its standard state?

a) solid             b) liquid             c) gas