The Three States of Matter (Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry: Double Science)

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States of matter

  • The three states of matter are solids, liquids and gases
  • A substance can usually exist in all three states, dependent on temperature (and pressure)
  • State changes occur at the melting point (solid to liquid, liquid to solid) and at the boiling point (liquid to gas and gas to liquid)
    • Melting and freezing occur at the melting point
    • Boiling and condensing take place at the boiling point

  • Individual atoms themselves do not share the same properties as bulk matter
  • The three states of matter can be represented by a simple model
    • In this model, the particles are represented by small solid spheres

Summary of the properties of the three states of matter

 

Solid

Liquid

Gas

Diagram

Diagram showing the regular arrangement of a solid in rows and columns Diagram showing how the particles in a liquid are arranged randomly and close together but not all touching Diagram showing how the particles in a  gas are far apart and moving quickly and randomly

Arrangement of particles

Regular arrangement

Randomly arranged

Randomly arranged

Movement of particles

Vibrate about a fixed position

Move around each other

Move quickly in all directions

Closeness of particles

Very close

Close

Far apart

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Changing states of matter

  • The amount of energy needed to change state from solid to liquid and from liquid to gas depends on the strength of the forces between the particles
  • The stronger the forces between the particles, the more energy that is needed to overcome them 
  • Therefore, the stronger the forces between the particles the higher the melting point and boiling point of the substance
  • Changing states is a physical change
    • The particles themselves remain the same, it is just the forces between the particles which change 

Melting

  • Melting is when a solid changes into a liquid
  • Heat / thermal energy absorbed by the particles is transformed into kinetic energy
  • This causes the particles to vibrate more and start to move / flow
  • Melting happens at a specific temperature, known as the melting point (m.p.) 

Boiling

  • Boiling and evaporation are both when a liquid changes into a gas
    • However, there is a key difference between boiling and evaporation
  • In boiling, heat / thermal energy causes bubbles of gas to form inside the liquid, allowing for liquid particles to escape from the surface and within the liquid
  • Boiling happens at a specific temperature, known as the boiling point (b.p.)

Freezing

  • Freezing is when a liquid changes into a solid
  • This is the reverse of melting and occurs at the same temperature as melting
    • So, the melting point and freezing point of a pure substance are the same
    • For example, water freezes and melts at 0 ºC
  • Freezing needs a significant decrease in temperature (or loss of thermal energy) and occurs at a specific temperature 

Evaporation

  • Evaporation occurs over a range of temperatures
    • It can happen at temperatures below the boiling point of the liquid
  • Evaporation occurs only at the surface of liquids where high energy particles can escape from the liquid's surface at low temperatures
  • The larger the surface area and the warmer the liquid surface, the more quickly a liquid can evaporate

Condensation

  • Condensation occurs when a gas changes into a liquid on cooling and takes place over a range of temperatures
  • When a gas is cooled its particles lose energy and when they bump into each other they lack the energy to bounce away again, instead, they group together to form a liquid

Sublimation

  • When a solid changes directly into a gas
  • This happens to only a few solids, such as iodine or solid carbon dioxide
  • The reverse reaction also happens and is called desublimation or deposition

Changing states of matter

Diagram showing the changes of state

State changes require a change in the energy of the particles

Examiner Tip

Questions may show state changes with a reversible arrow: ⇌, which means that the process can go forwards and backwards.

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Alexandra

Author: Alexandra

Expertise: Chemistry

Alex studied Biochemistry at Newcastle University before embarking upon a career in teaching. With nearly 10 years of teaching experience, Alex has had several roles including Chemistry/Science Teacher, Head of Science and Examiner for AQA and Edexcel. Alex’s passion for creating engaging content that enables students to succeed in exams drove her to pursue a career outside of the classroom at SME.