Sta tes of Ma tte r

Read ing Previ ew

Key Conce pts
What Are Solids, Liqui d 5 ,
• What are the characteristics
of a solid ? and Gases?
• What are the characteristics 1. Break an antacid tablet (fizzing type)
of a liqu id? into three or four pieces. Place them
• What are the characterist ics inside a large, uninflat ed balloon .
of a gas? 2. Fill a 1-liter plastic bottle about
halfway with water. Stretch the
Key Terms mouth of the balloon over the top of the bottle, tak ing care
• sol id • crystall ine solid to keep the tablet pieces inside the balloon .
• amorpho us sol id • liquid
3. Jiggle the balloon so that the pieces fall into the bottle.
• fluid • surface tens ion
Observe what happens for about two minute s.
• viscosity • gas
4. Remove the balloon and exam ine its conten ts.

~ Targe t Readi ng Skill Think It Over

Buildin g Vocabu lary A Forming Operati onal Definiti ons Identify exampl es of the
definitio n states the meaning of a differen t states of matter -solids , liquids, and gases- that you
word or phrase by telling about its observed in this activity. Define each of the three states in your
most importa nt feature or own words.
funct ion . After you read the
section, reread the paragrap hs that
contain definitio ns of Key Terms. It's a bitter cold January afterno on. You are practJ.cmg ice
Use all the inform ation you have hockey moves on a frozen pond. Relaxing later, you dose your
learned to write a definitio n of
eyes and recall the pond in July, when you and your friends
each Key Term in your own words .
jumped into the refreshing water on a scorch ing hot day. Was
the water in July made of the same water you skated on this
afterno on?. Pe~haps, but you're absolut ely certain that solid
water and hqmd water do not look or feel the same. Just imag-
ine trying to swim in an ice-covered pond in January or play
hockey on liquid water in July!

FIGURE 1
A Wintry Solid
As a so li d, water makes a great
surface for ice hockey.
Observiny What useful propert y
does the frozen water have here?

42 ♦ K
 Your everyday world is ftill of substances that
can be classified as solids, liquids, or gases. (You .

-. .
will read about a less familiar form of matter, \ \

called plasma, in a later chapter.) Solids, liquids, II ,

and gases may be elements, compounds, or mix- r ~• ...- •
tures. Gold is an element. Water is a compound ~ ..;,,
you've seen as both a solid and a liquid. Air is a
"' .•"",· ,
...
• f • • .,. :._.

mixture of gases. Although it's easy to list exam-

ples of these three states of matter, defining them "t
is more difficult. To define solids, liquids, and
gases, you need to examine their properties. The
familiar states of matter are defined not by what
they are made of but mainly by whether or not
they hold their volume and shape.

Solids
What would happen if you were to pick up a
solid object, such as a pen or a comb, and move it
from place to place around the room? What
would you observe? Would the object ever
change in size or shape as you moved it? Would a
pen become larger if you put it in a bowl? Would
a comb become flatter if you placed it on a table-
top? Of course not. A solid has a definite shape
and a definite volume. If your pen has a cylindri-
cal shape and a volume of 6 cubic centimeters,
then it will keep that shape and volume in any
position and in any container.
FIGURE 2
Liquid Lava, Solid Rock
Hot, I iqu id lava flows from a
volcano . When it cools to a solid,
new rock will be formed .
FIGURE 3
Particle View of a Solid
Particles in a Solid The particles that make up
.. a soJ·d
are packed ve r! closely to~e~ Ii er. Inh_addfix1t10n, each Particle '.
~
Particl es of a sol id vibrate back tightly fixed 111 one pos1t10n . T 1s ed, closely p is
and fo rth but stay in pl ace. . I 'd
arrangement of particles causes a so 1 to have a d acked ~-.
e U1Ite 1

shape and volume.

Are the particles in a solid completely mo tionless? N
. . . h h
really. The par ticles vibrate, meanm g t at t ey move backo, not
. . . . and
fo rth slightly. Thi s motion 1s s1m 11ar to a group of people
. k . run.
nin g in place. Th e particles that m a . e up a sohd stay in ab
.b . ] out
the same position, butthey v1 rate mp ace.

Types of Solids In many solids, the particles form a regular,

repeating pattern. These patterns create crystals. Solids that are
I
1
made up of crystals are called crystalline solids (KRIS tuh Jin).
Salt, sugar, and snow are examples of crystalline solids. When a
crystalline solid is heated, it melts at a specific temperature.
In amorphous solids ( uh MAWR fus), the particles are not
arranged in a regular pattern. Plastics, rubber, and glass are
amorphous solids. Unlike a crystalline solid, an amorphous
solid does not melt at a distinct temperature. Instead, it mav
become softer and softer or change into other substances. ·
~ L Reading
~ Checkp~inJ ) How do crystalline and amorphous solids differ?

FIGURE 4
Types of Sol ids
Sol ids are either crystalline
-t/1 '
/::;1'
◄ Quartz is a crystall ine
solid . Its particles are
or amorphous. arranged in a regular
pattern .

. ,- •"
-.#
1 ◄ Butter is an arnorP
.
solid. Its particles a
hOUS

re
..,. - C not arranged in a
regular pattern .

44 ♦ K
Liquids FIGURE 5
Equivalent Volumes
A liquid has a definite volume but no shape of its own.
A liquid takes the shape of its
With out a container, a liquid spreads into a wide, shallow container but its volume does
puddle. Like a solid, ho~ever, a liquid does have a constant not change .
volume. If you gently tned to squeeze a water-filled plastic
bag, for example, the water might change shape, but its vol-
ume would not decrease or increase. Suppose that you have
100 milliliters of milk in a pitcher. If you pour it into a tall
glass, you still have 100 milliliters. The milk has the same ~ .---- 1Q0mL
volume no matter what shape its container has.

Particles in a Liquid In general, the particles in a liquid

are packed almost as closely as in a solid. However, the parti- ,

des in a liquid move around one another freely. You can 1

compare this movement to the way you might move a group

of marbles around in your hand. In this comparison, the I
solid marbles serve as models for the particles of a liquid. 1
100 ml
The marbles slide around one another but stay in contact. 1

Because its particles are free to move, a liquid has no definite I

shape. However, it does have a definite volume. These freely
moving particles allow a liquid to flow from place to place.
For this reason, a liquid is also called a fluid, meaning «a I
substance that flows."

0
1

FIGURE 6
Particle View of a Liquid
Particles in a liquid are packed
close together but move freely,
allowing liquids to flow.
Comparing and Contrasting How
are liquids and solids alike? How
do they differ?
t':l
' I
\ '
\ \

( _

Chapter 2 K ♦ 45
 FIGURE 7
Surface Tension
Water beads up on a leaf due to
attractions between the water
molecules. Surface tension in
water is strong enough to support
the weight of an insect.

Properties of Liquids One characteristic property of liquids

is surface tension. Surface tension is the result of an inward pull
among the molecules of a liquid that brings the molecules on the
surface closer together. Perhaps you have noticed that water
As Thick as Honey forms droplets and can bead up on many surfaces, such as the leaf
You can compare the shown in Figure 7. That's because water molecules attract one
viscosity of two liquids. another strongly. These attractions cause molecules at the water's
1. Place on a table a clear surface to be pulled slightly toward the water molecules beneath
plastic jar almost filled the surface.
with honey and another Due to surface tension, the surface of water can act like a
clear plastic jar almost
sort of skin. For example, a sewing needle floats when you place
filled with vegetable oil.
Make sure that the tops of
it gently o~ the surface of a glass of water, but it quickly sinks if
both jars are tightly closed . you push it below the surface. Surface tension enables the water
2. Turn the jars upside down strider in Figure 7 to «walk" on the calm surface of a pond.
at the same time. Observe . ~o~er ~roperty of liquids is viscosity (vis KAHS uh tee)-
what happens. a hq~id s resistance to flowing. A liquid's viscosity depends on
3. Turn the two jars right-side the size and shape of its particles and the attractions between
up and again watch what th_e pai:ticle~. Some liquids flow more easily than others. Liqui?s
happens.
~th high vi~cosity flow slowly. Honey is an example of a liq~id
Drawing Conclusions Which
with a particularly high viscosity. Liquids with low viscos1ty
fluid has a greater viscosity?
What evidence leads you to flow qmckly. Water and vinegar have relatively low viscosi ties.
this conclusion? I' ~ Reading
~ Checkpoint What property of liquids causes water to form
droplets?

46 ♦ K
----Gases
. . Unlike
. a fluid
Like a liquid, a gas is . a liquid , howeve r·, a gas ca n
change volume ve t_y eas1l_ y. l! yo u put a gas in a dosed con -
tainer, the gas particles wi ll etth_e r spread apa n or be squeezed
together as they fill that co ntam er. Take a deep breath. Your
chest expands, and yo ur lungs fill with a ir. Air is a mix tu re of
gases that acts as one gas. \Nhen yo u breathe in, a ir moves from
your moutl_1 to yo ur windpipe to yo ur lungs. In each place, th e
air has ~ different shape. When yo u breathe out, the changes
happen 111 reverse.
. \,\That abo ut the volume of the air? If you could see the par-
FIGURE 8
t.1~les ~1at make up _a gas, you would see them moving in all
Modeling Gas Particles
direct10ns. The particles are no longer limited by the space in The part icles of a gas can be
your bod:'' so they move through_out the room. As they move, 1
squeezed into a smal l volume .
gas particles spread apart, filling all the space available. Predicting What will happen if
the container lid is removed?
Thus, a gas has neither definite shape nor definite volume.
You will read more about the behavior of gases in Section 3.
rl Read i ng How does breathing demonstrate that gases are
'\J!J Checkpo!._nt fluids?

Section ( 1 Assessment
~ Target Reading Skill 3. a. Reviewing What determines the shape and
Building Vocabulary Use your definitions to help volume of a gas inside a container?
answer the questions below. b. Applying Concepts Use what you know
about the particles in a gas to explain why a
Reviewing Key Concepts gas has no definite shape and no definite
1. a. Listing What are the general characteristics volume.
of solids?
b. Comparing and Contrasting How do
/\
crystalline solids differ from amorphous
solids?
c. Drawing Conclusions A glass blower can
it~ef4§U•)nfi;f! fM3 >i------
bend and shape a piece of glass that has been Squeezing Liquids and Ga5es Show your
heated. Is glass a crystalline or an family how liquids and gases differ. Fill the
amorphous solid? Explain. bulb and cylinder of a turkey baster with
2. a. Describing How may liquids be described in water. Seal the end with your finger and hold
terms of shape and volume? it over the sink. Have a family member
b. Explaining How do the positions and . squeeze the bulb. Now empty the turkey
movements of particles in a liquid help to baster. Again, seal the end with your finger
explain the shape and volume of the liquid? and have a family member squeeze the bulb.
Did the person notice any difference? Use
c. Relating Cause and Effect Explain why a
what you know about liquids and gases to
~ewi ng n eedle can float o n the surface of
explain your observations.
water in a gla ss.

Chapter 2 K ♦ 47