How do solids liquids and gases compare with shape and volume

Summary Three states of matter exist — solid, liquid, and gas. Solids have a definite shape and volume. Liquids have a definite volume, but take the shape of the container. Gases have no definite shape or volume. Which material is a solid at room temperature? Which material is a liquid at room temperature?

What happens to the motion of the particles as you increase the temperature? What happens to the motion of the particles as you decrease the temperature? Review Questions How many states of matter are there? What is a solid? A gas will change volume to fit the volume of the container.

In general, solids are denser than liquids, which are denser than gases. The particles in the solid are touching with very little space between them. The particles in a liquid usually are still touching but there are some spaces between them. The gas particles have big distances between them. This means that a liquid is not definite in shape but rather conforms to the shape of its container.

Its volume is usually greater than that of its corresponding solid water is a well-known exception to this rule. The highest temperature at which a particular liquid can exist is called its critical temperature. This process of a liquid changing to a gas is called evaporation. Gas molecules have either very weak bonds or no bonds at all, so they can move freely and quickly.

Because of this, not only will a gas conform to the shape of its container, it will also expand to completely fill the container. Gas molecules have enough kinetic energy that the effect of intermolecular forces is small or zero, for an ideal gas , and they are spaced very far apart from each other; the typical distance between neighboring molecules is much greater than the size of the molecules themselves. A gas at a temperature below its critical temperature can also be called a vapor.

A vapor can be liquefied through compression without cooling. It can also exist in equilibrium with a liquid or solid , in which case the gas pressure equals the vapor pressure of the liquid or solid. A supercritical fluid SCF is a gas whose temperature and pressure are greater than the critical temperature and critical pressure. In this state, the distinction between liquid and gas disappears.

A supercritical fluid has the physical properties of a gas, but its high density lends it the properties of a solvent in some cases. Liquids, because they flow, can occupy whatever shape their container has, so they do not have a fixed shape. Because the particles in liquids are very close together barely further apart than in solids liquids do not easily compress, so their volume is fixed. Gases can also flow, so occupy the shape of their whole container.

They do not have a fixed shape. Because the particles in gases are much further apart than in liquids or solids, they can be squeezed closer together. Gases therefore can be compressed or expanded.