Solids, Liquids, and Gases Topics in Depth
Matter
What's the Matter?What do Justin Bieber, a pickle, and your pet gerbil have in common? They're all matter. Matter is physically present stuff. It is tangible and takes up space. Your phone is made...
Phases
A phase describes the physical state of matter. The key word to note is physical. Matter only moves from one phase to another through a physical change. If energy is added (such as increasing the t...
Solids
Solids have both a fixed volume and shape. The particles remain locked in place, moving only slightly around their positions. In fact, solids (and liquids) are often referred to as condensed phases...
Liquids
The liquid phase is the middle child of the phase family, wedged in between the solid and gas phase. At the microscopic level, liquids exhibit some order, but that order is short-range and does not...
Gases
The most common terms associated with gases are temperature and pressure. Temperature is a measurement of the average kinetic energy of the molecules in a system, usually measured with a thermomete...
Gas Laws
Wacky Gaseous Behavior Boyle's LawRobert Boyle.Boyle's Law, named after physicist Robert Boyle2 (that cool dude with the hair shown above), is all about the relationship between gaseous pressure an...
Solutions
When you hear the word solution what do you think about? The first thing that probably comes to mind is that math quiz on Friday. Or perhaps you thought of a solid like salt or sugar that is comple...
Colligative Properties
Colligative Properties are the properties of a solution that depend on the numberof particles in solution. These properties don't care what solutes are in the solution, only how many of them there...
Phase Changes
Be honest, at some point in your life you've needed an air freshener. Perhaps you've thrown a citrus scented de-stinker into the back of your gym locker or on the counter in the bathroom. Or maybe...
Test Your Knowledge
Matter1. A glass of pure water is classified as:a) a heterogeneous solutionb) a homogeneous solutionc) an elementd) a compounde) an ionic solution2. Mixtures are divided into two classes. What are...