States of Matter and Particle Theory Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the properties of solids, liquids, and gases, state changes, and the limitations of the simple particle model based on the lecture notes.

Solids

A state of matter where particles are packed together in a regular pattern with almost no spaces, allowing them to vibrate but not move from place to place, giving solids a fixed shape and making them extremely hard to compress.

Liquids

A state of matter where particles are close together with not many spaces, but can move around, allowing liquids to flow and take the shape of their container while remaining extremely hard to compress.

Gases

A state of matter where particles are widely spaced and move quickly and randomly, making gases extremely easy to compress and causing them to spread out and fill the space of their container.

Melting

The process of heating a solid into a liquid at its melting point, requiring energy input to break the forces of attraction between particles so they can move around.

Candle wax

A solid substance with relatively weak forces of attraction between its particles, giving it a relatively low melting point.

Sodium chloride

A solid substance with very strong forces of attraction between its particles, giving it a very high melting point.

Freezing

The process of cooling a liquid down to its melting point to convert it back into a solid, during which the forces of attraction between particles reform.

Boiling

The process of heating a liquid into a gas at its boiling point, requiring energy to break strong forces of attraction between particles.

Condensing

The process of cooling a gas down to its boiling point to convert it back into a liquid, during which the forces of attraction between particles reform.

Limitations of the simple particle model

The simple particle model incorrectly assumes that all particles are solid spheres (when they have different shapes and are not solid) and assumes there are no forces between particles.