Monday, February 23, 2015

States of Matter







There aren't just three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas. . There are actually four which are solid, liquid, gas and plasma. Here are facts about them. 
solid has a definite volume and definite shape. Its particles are held together in a fixed positions and the motions are restricted. Most solids expand slightly when heated. This property makes solids such as wood, iron and cement suitable as construction materials. 
liquid has also a fixed volume but doesn't have a fixed shape. It takes whatever the shape of a container it is in. The particles are free to move anywhere inside the container. They are a little compressible. 
gas doesn't have a fixed volume and a shape because its particles are really far away and have complete freedom of motion to assume the shape of a closed container and to fill its entire volume. Gases are highly compressible. Under increase of pressure the volume of gas decreases. It allows a large volume of oxygen to be kept in big tubes. 
Chemical and Physical Properties of Matter
Physical properties are characteristics of a substance which can be observed without changing the composition of the substance. Some examples are boiling point, melting point, density color, order, hardness, electrical and thermal conductivity,  tenacity, elasticity and plasticity. Examples are breaking sticks into small pieces, cutting a piece of paper into bits, melting an ice to a water and also freezing it back. 
Chemical properties are characteristics that a substance exhibits when it undergoes change in composition. These properties are related to the kind of chemical changes that substances undergo during chemical reactions. For instance, when coal, which is mostly carbon, burns, it combines with oxygen gas to form the gaseous compound called carbon dioxide. There are two properties, intensive and extensive properties. 


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