Physical States of Matter

Three Physical States of Matter:

1. Solids
2. Liquids
3. Gases

Substances may exist in any physical state and those physical states may be altered by manipulation of temperature.

Processes Which Change Physical States by Increasing Temperature:

1. Melting: converting solid to a liquid
2. Boiling/Vaporization: converting a liquid to a gas
3. Sublimation: converting a solid to a gas directly, bypassing the liquid phase

Processes Which Change Physical States by Decreasing Temperature:

1. Freezing: converting a liquid to a solid
2. Condensation: converting a gas to a liquid
3. Deposition: converting a gas to a solid directly, bypassing the liquid phase

Characteristics of Physical States:

Physical states differ from one another in terms of their level of molecular attraction, which affects the extent of molecular spacing. The greater the attraction, the closer the particles are to one another. This then affects other properties such as density, compressibility, volume, and shape.

The following table summarizes the characteristics of the three physical states: