atoms, molecules, or ions) exist in close contact and (unlike those in a gas or

liquid) do not move about but oscillate or vibrate about fixed sites. This explains
the rigidity of a solid. And, of course, the compact structure explains its
incompressibility.
Figure 11.2 compares the gaseous, liquid, and solid states in kineticmolecular
terms.
Recall that gases normally follow closely the ideal gas law, PV nRT. The simplicity
of this equation is a result of the nearly negligible forces of interaction
between molecules and the nearly negligible molecular size compared with the total
volume of gas. Still, to be accurate we should account for both of these quantities,
and the van der Waals equation, which we discussed in Section 5.8, is one attempt
to do this.
(P
n2aV2)(V nb) nRT

In this equation, the constants a and b depend on the nature of the gas. The constant
a depends on the magnitude of the intermolecular forces; the constant b depends on
the relative size of the molecules.
No such simple equations exist for the liquid and solid states. The size of the
particles making up the liquid and solid states cannot be neglected relative to the
total volume or accounted for in a simple way. Similarly, the forces of interaction
between particles in the liquid and the solid states cannot be neglected; indeed,
these
forces of interaction are crucial when you describe the properties of the liquid and
solid states.
Some of the most important properties of liquids and solids are concerned with
changes of physical state. Therefore, we begin with this topic. In later sections, we
will look specifically at the liquid and solid states and see how their properties
depend
on the forces of attraction between particles.

420 11 States of Matter; Liquids and Solids

FIGURE 11.2

Representation of the states of matter

In a solid, the basic units (atoms, ions, or

molecules) are closely packed and vibrate
about fixed sites. In a liquid, molecules are
rather closely packed, similar to those in a
molecular solid, but can slip by one another
and are in constant random motion. In a
gas, molecules are widely spaced and,
similar to those in a liquid, are in constant
random motion. Solid Liquid Gas

Changes of State
In the chapter opener, we discussed the change of solid carbon dioxide (dry ice)
directly to a gas. Such a change of a substance from one state to another is called
a change of state or phase transition. In the next sections, we will look at the different
kinds of phase transitions and the conditions under which they occur. (A phase
is a homogeneous portion of a systemthat is, a given state of either a substance or
a solution.)

11.2 Phase Transitions

In general, each of the three states of a substance can change into either of the other