Particle Model of Matter (AQA)

Solid

A state of matter with a fixed shape and volume, where particles are tightly packed in an orderly structure.

Melting

The process where a solid changes into a liquid due to an increase in temperature.

Liquid

A state of matter with a definite volume that takes the shape of its container, where particles can move past one another.

Freezing

The process in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature decreases.

Gas

A state of matter that has neither a fixed shape nor a fixed volume, with particles spread far apart and moving freely.

Evaporation

The process that turns a liquid into a gas, occurring at the surface of a liquid at any temperature.

Condensation

The process when a gas cools down and turns into a liquid.

Sublimation

The process where a solid changes directly into a gas without becoming a liquid first.

Deposition

The process where a gas changes directly into a solid without becoming a liquid.

Density

A property of matter that determines the amount of mass present in a given volume.

Specific heat capacity

The energy required to raise one kilogram of a material by one degree Celsius.

Specific latent heat

The amount of energy required to change the state of 1 kilogram of a material without changing its temperature.

Internal energy

The total amount of kinetic energy and chemical potential energy of all the particles in a system.

Gas Pressure

The force that gas particles exert when they collide with the walls of their container.

Ideal gas law

The equation PV = nRT, relating pressure, volume, and temperature of an ideal gas.

Water displacement method

A method used to measure the volume of an irregular solid by observing the change in water level when the object is submerged.

Heating water

The process where water molecules gain kinetic energy and speed up, requiring more energy to raise the temperature of larger volumes.