Explaining Changes in State

Heating Solids
 When solids are heated they expand (get bigger).
 The particles in solids are arranged in a fixed pattern.
 The particles are held together strongly and are tightly
packed.
 The particles in the solid vibrate.
 When the solid is heated, heat energy is transferred to
the particles in the solid.
Cont.
 The more energy the particles have, the more they
vibrate.
 As the particles vibrate more, they take up more space.
The solid is said to have expanded.
 The particles are still held in position by the attractive
forces between them.
Cont.
 When a solid is heated, the particles vibrate more and
take up more space.
Melting Solids
 When solids are heated more strongly, they melt and
become liquid.
 Heating more strongly means that even more heat energy
is transferred to the particles.
 The particles in a solid vibrate more and more as heat
energy is transferred to them.
 The particles vibrate so much that the attractive forces
between them are not strong enough to hold them in a
fixed pattern.
Cont.
 The particles can now slide past one another and can now
move, not just vibrate.
 The forces are still strong enough for the particles to stay
in touch with one another.
 The more the liquid is heated, the more energy is
transferred to the particles and the more the particles
vibrate and move.
Cont.
 The particles vibrate so much that some escape the strong
forces and can move around as a liquid.
Boiling Liquids
 When liquids are heated, they evaporate and boil.
 The particles in liquids touch each other.
 The particles are held together weakly.
 The particles move more as heat energy is transferred to
them until some particles have enough energy to break
the weak attractive forces holding them together.
 These particles can move freely and escape as gas
particles and the liquid is said to have evaporated.
 During boiling, rapid evaporation takes place.
Cont.
 The particles move so quickly that some escape as a gas.
Cooling Gases
 The particles in a gas are free to move anywhere and
spread out because there are no forces holding them.
 When a gas gets cooler it condenses to form a liquid.
 When gas particles reach a cold surface, some of the heat
energy from the particles is transferred to the surface.
 The particles move less and get closer together, therefore
form a liquid.
Cont.
 When the particles hit a cold surface, their movement
slows down leading to condensation.
Freezing Liquids
 When a liquid freezes it becomes a solid.
 The particles in a liquid can move and flow past each
other.
 As heat energy is transferred from the particles to the
surroundings, the particles move more slowly and the
liquid gets cooler.
 The cooler the liquid, the less energy the particles have.
 The less energy the particles have, the less able they are
to move or slide past one another.
 Eventually, the particles have so little energy, they cannot
move and flow anymore but can only vibrate hence
become arranged in a fixed pattern to form a solid.
Cont.
 Particles in a liquid (left). Particles in a solid (right).
Practice Questions
1) Explain why a solid expands when it is heated.
The particles get energy from the heat and move apart really fast because of the energy they have

2) Use particle theory to explain why solids and liquids

Liquids and solids cannot be compressed because they have a force holding their particles together and gases don't have a force
cannot be compressed (squashed into a smaller volume).
3) Use particle theory to explain why liquids and gases can
flow. They have a weaker force holding them together compared to solids so the particles can roll over each other

4) Use particle theory to explain how a liquid changes to a

gas. The particles get energy and vibrate fast and they move away from each other.

5) Use particle theory to explain how a liquid changes to

become a solid. The cold temperatures make the particles move slower and they freeze

6) Use particle theory to explain what happens when steam

in the bathroom hits a cold surface, such as a mirror.
The particles hit a cold surface and they move slower then it turns to liquid
Cont.
7) Copy this flow chart. The arrows represent the processes
involved when matter changes state. Add the name for each
process, A–D.

melting evaporation

freezing
condensations