IFAP - Properties of Solids and Liquids (Lesson)
Properties of Solids and Liquids
One of the primary factors that determines what phase of matter a substance is in is the kinetic energy of its particles. No matter the form - solid, liquid, or gas- matter retains the same chemical properties.
Types of Solids
Select the plus sign on the images below to learn more about ionic, molecular, metallic, and covalent network solids.
You Try It!
Identify the type of solid represented by each chemical formula. Click on the plus sign to check your answer!
QUESTION: You have a box of Epsom salts at home and your sister hypothesizes that this solid would be a good conductor of electricity since the label says it contains magnesium. She just learned in middle school that Mg is a metal and all metals are good conductors.
Do you agree or disagree with your sister? Justify your claim and remember to use Claim Evidence Reasoning to answer free response questions like this. Click the plus sign below to check your answer!
Properties of Solids
Solids have:
- Very strong interactions between particles
- Definite shape and volume
- Regular, crystalline structure or amorphous
- Fixed arrangement of particles - cannot slide past one another
- Vibration degree of freedom - vibrate in place
In solids, the particles (molecules or atoms) are fixed in position. They are not free to move past one another yet have energy to vibrate in place. Most solids have a closer packing than the liquid form of the material. A great exception is water, thanks to the strong dipole-dipole forces between the molecules.
Properties of Liquids
Liquids have greater kinetic energy than solids and therefore have enough energy to overcome the intermolecular forces holding them in place allowing them to slide over and past one another. The particles are free to move past one another and do not hold a rigid shape.
The boiling point of a compound is the temperature at which a compound turns from a liquid to a gas or a gas to a liquid. This temperature is a true measure of the forces of attractions between molecules as molecules separate from one another when they turn from a liquid to a gas. The stronger the attractions between particles, the more difficult it will be to separate the particles. So, the stronger the intermolecular attractions (IMFs), the higher the boiling point.
Greater kinetic energy is necessary for a substance to be converted into the gas phase. This greater energy allows the particles to break all intermolecular forces holding them together and allows them to move in straight lines randomly between collisions. Because of the energy that the gas phase possesses there is a greater space between the particles than in the solid and liquid forms.
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