General Chemistry 1 – Matter & Its States

Thirty fill-in-the-blank flashcards covering definitions, properties, and examples of matter and its various states, including classical phases, plasma, Bose–Einstein and fermionic condensates, intermolecular forces, and key physical concepts.

Chemistry is the study of the structure, function, and properties of matter and the changes it __.

undergoes

Matter is anything that has weight and takes up space or has __.

volume

The three classical states of matter are solid, liquid, and __.

gas

__ is the state of matter composed of free charged particles, such as those in lightning and auroras.

Plasma

In a solid, particles are tightly held, giving the substance a definite shape and definite __.

volume

Liquids have a definite volume but an __ shape.

indefinite

Gases have neither definite shape nor definite __.

volume

Compared with liquids and gases, solids are generally dense and __.

incompressible

Liquids are typically about __% less dense than their corresponding solids.

10

Liquids often exhibit surface tension, capillary action, and __.

viscosity

Mercury beads up easily when spilled because of its very high __ and surface tension.

cohesion

Water __ when it freezes due to hydrogen bonding.

expands

In gases, particles move in __ motion without being attracted to each other.

random

Gases are compressible and often have densities about __ times lower than liquids or solids.

1,000

At room temperature, fluorine, hydrogen, and __ are examples of gaseous elements.

helium

Gas particles colliding with the walls of a container exert __.

pressure

The unusual bonding responsible for water's expansion upon freezing is called __ bonding.

hydrogen

__ is a physical quantity that reflects the average kinetic energy of vibrating and colliding atoms in a substance.

Temperature

A boson is a subatomic particle with an integer spin, whereas a __ has a half-odd-integer spin.

fermion

The principle that forbids identical fermions from occupying the same quantum state is the __ exclusion principle.

Pauli

The Bose–Einstein condensate was first predicted by Satyendra Bose and __ Einstein in the 1920s.

Albert

In a Bose–Einstein condensate, extremely cold atoms merge into a single unified '__'.

super-atom

A Bose–Einstein condensate forms when a gas of bosons at very low densities is cooled to temperatures near absolute __.

zero

Absolute zero is 0 K, which equals __ °C.

−273.15

To form a fermionic condensate, fermions typically pair up to form composite __ that can then condense.

bosons

A fermionic condensate is described as a type of __.

superfluid

Plasma examples include fluorescent light and __ wind.

solar

Gases consist of __ separated molecules.

widely

In solids, particles mainly __ back and forth within fixed positions rather than moving freely.

vibrate

From solids to liquids to gases, the strength of intermolecular forces decreases from strong to __.

weak