Solids, Liquids, and Gases :: essays research papers

Solids, liquids, andgases ar the three main, or fundamental phases ofmatter. Each cardinal has a different density and adifferent level of stability. What determines thestability of each phase is the oblige between itsatoms. The tighter the bond between its atoms themore changeless that phase of matter is. Solids atomic number 18 themost stable form of matter, followed by liquids,and then gases. Solids have a definite shape anddo not scoop up the shape of their container. Liquidsdo not have any definite shape and do take theshape of their container, the same is true withgases. Once again it is the bond between theatoms of liquids, and gases that make it have nodefinite shape. The first phase of matter is solids.Solids are the most stable form of matter. Solidsare more stable than liquids and gases. One typeof solid is a Crystalline solid. The particles in acrystalline solid have a regular repeating pattern.The types of crystalline solids are metals, alloys,salts, valence crys tals, molecular crystals,polymers, and plastics. Most elementscrystalize asmetals. Some solids can also be frozen liquids.The atoms in a solid are tightly bonded which meat it has a definiteshape. The second phase ofmatter is liquids. Liquids have no definite shape.Liquids are less orderly than solids but moreorderly than gases. Liquids can pass very easily.Liquids also take the shape of their container.Most liquids are very good conductors. Mostliquids are also good solvents. Some solids float inliquids depending on their density. If the solid isless dense than the liquid then it floats on theliquids surface. If the solid is more dense than theliquid then it sinks in the liquids. For example an testis normally sinks in water because its density ishigher than waters density. When you add salt tothe water the density of the water becomes higherthan the eggs density so the egg floats. The threeand final fundamental phase of matter is gas.Gases are the least orderly of the three phas es ofmatter. Gases take the shape of their containerbecause of the very weak bond between theiratoms. Gases are also very low in density. Theaverage gas is 1000 times less than that of theaverage liquid. The volume of gas varies withmany things including temperature and pressure.These are explained in Charless and Boyles laws.Boyles law states that the volume of gas variesindefinitely with the pressure applied to it.