Answer to Question #101279 in General Chemistry for Felix Samuel

Question

Explain the three main states of matter

Answer 1

The three main states of matter comprise gas, liquid, and solid.

In a gas, particles do not form a regular pattern, they are well separated and move with the high speed in any directions. Particles are not attached to each other and do not interact with strong forces. As a result, gases assume the volume of the container and can be compressed.

In liquids, particles are close to each other but do not form a regular pattern, whereas not all atoms are involved in the intermolecular forces. As a result, liquid particles vibrate and move. However, the movements are not free as most of the molecules or atoms interact with each other via weak interactions.

In a solid, particles are tightly packed due to strong and multiple forces. Mostly, the particles are packed in a regular pattern resulting in the formation of the maximal number of bonds. As a result, particles in solids do not move for long distances and are characterized by vibrations. Therefore, solids retain fixed volumes and shapes and they are hardly compressed.