โ† Learn
Physics ยท Lesson 6

States of Matter

Solid, liquid, gas. Same stuff inside โ€” different ways of holding hands.
Scene 1 ยท Three forms

Same atoms, three behaviours

Everything around you is made of tiny particles called atoms and molecules. They can be packed three different ways:

๐ŸงŠ
Solid
Particles holding tight. Keeps its shape.
๐Ÿ’ง
Liquid
Particles touching but moving past each other. Takes the shape of its container.
๐Ÿ’จ
Gas
Particles flying free everywhere. Fills any space.
Scene 2 ยท Heat changes everything

Add heat โ†’ particles speed up

The hotter something gets, the faster its particles wiggle. At low temperature they barely move, holding tight as a solid. Add heat โ€” they break loose and slide past each other (liquid). Add more heat โ€” they fly apart and zoom off (gas).

Take heat away and it goes the other way: gas โ†’ liquid โ†’ solid. Steam โ†’ water โ†’ ice.

๐ŸงŠ
Solid (ice)
โˆ’5 ยฐC
Slide to change the temperature of water.
Scene 3 ยท The water cycle in your kitchen

One thing in three forms

Water in your freezer = solid. Water in your bottle = liquid. Steam off your phแปŸ = gas. Same Hโ‚‚O atoms โ€” only the temperature differs.

This is why a glass of cold drink "sweats" on a hot day โ€” water gas in the air cools, slows down, becomes liquid, and lands on the cold glass. Condensation.

Scene 4 ยท A bonus state

Plasma โ€” the Sun's secret

Heat a gas hot enough and the atoms break apart. That's plasma โ€” the fourth state. You'd think it's rare, but actually almost everything in space is plasma. The Sun is a giant ball of plasma. Lightning bolts are streaks of plasma.

โ˜… The Big Idea

Heat = energy of motion

Cold things have slow particles. Hot things have fast particles. Add or take away energy and the same stuff can become a solid, a liquid, or a gas.

Look at the ice in your drink right now. Every cube is melting because the warmer air is giving its molecules a push. Same water โ€” being talked into a different form.