Introduction

Everything in the environment constitutes matter. Atoms and compounds are made up of tiny pieces of substance. These atoms make up the atoms that make up the items you see and touch every day. The matter is everything that has mass and fills space (volume).

Intermolecular forces exist between these matter particles, and their interaction determines “bulk” qualities of the states of matter– gas, solids, and liquids, and their state change. The chemical characteristics of a material do not change due to its physical condition, but its reactivity does.

Changes in the local environment, such as temperature, pressure, and other physical factors, cause physical changes in the states of matter. When the bonds between atoms in a substance are formed or broken, chemical reactions occur. When there is a physical change, the basic chemical structure usually does not alter. No molecule is exempted from disintegration in intense settings like the sun.

Solids have the smallest particle distances, whereas gases have the largest. The highest forces of attraction between particles are found in solids, whereas the smallest are found in gases. 

There are three physical states of matter:

• Gas: It is fluid with no definite volume or structure. It takes on the volume and form of the container it’s in, so it can be compressed to fit into a tiny container and expanded to fill a big one. Gases include oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, to name a few.
• Liquid: It has a definite volume but no distinct form. It takes on the shape of the container’s section that it occupies. Water, milk, oil, and alcohol are examples of liquids.
• Solid: It has a set volume as well as a defined form. Neither liquids or solids can be compressed to any significant degree. Solids include things like iron, wood, sugar, and ice.

The fourth state of matter is plasma. The temperature within the sun and stars is so great that the atoms split apart, resulting in a combination of unbound electrons and ions. The sun and other stars light because of this combination, known as plasma. Plasma is created when electricity is carried through gases (at extremely low pressures) in a glass tube. When electricity is carried through neon sign bulbs and fluorescent tubes, the gases become ionised and produce plasma. They glow because of the plasma.

When three scientists from the United States, Cornell, Ketterle, and Wieman, cooled gas with a very low density to an exceedingly low temperature, they discovered the Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC), the fifth state of matter.

States of Matter

Define solid state

Solids are one of the three fundamental forms of matter, with liquid and gas being the other two. When atoms take up a reasonably organised, three-dimensional structure, their energy drops, becoming a solid. Solids have distinct features that set them apart from liquids and gases. All solids can withstand forces applied perpendicular or parallel to a surface.

Specifications of the solid-state:

• Maintains a constant volume and rigid structure – particles are held in place.
• Unable to be compressed- a small amount of space between particles.
• Stiff/ rigid – particles cannot move/slide past one another – does not flow smoothly

Define liquid state.

At any pressure, a liquid is a relatively incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container while maintaining a (nearly) constant volume. The volume is fixed if the temperature and pressure stay constant. When a solid is heated past its melting point, and the pressure exceeds the triple point of the material, it becomes liquid. This suggests that the form of a liquid is determined by its container rather than the liquid itself.

Specifications of the liquid state:

• Particles can move/slide past one another because it takes on the form of the container it occupies.
• Unable to be compressed- a little amount of space between particles.
• Particles can readily move/slide past one another

Define gaseous state

The term “gas” refers to a material that may be compressed. Although gas has no particular shape or length, it fills the container’s total capacity in which it is held. A liquid can be converted to a gas by either warming it to the boiling point under constant pressure or lowering the pressure while maintaining the same temperature. The gas pressure matches the liquid’s vapour pressure when the vapour and liquid are in balance.

Specifications of gas state:

• Takes the container’s form and volume 
• There is a lot of open space between the particles that is compressible.

Changing the temperature or pressure can alter the physical condition of matter. The altering procedure is as follows:

(i) Melting is the process of transforming a solid into a liquid by heating it (or fusion)

(ii) Boiling is the process of converting a liquid to a gas by heating it (or vapourisation)

(iii) Condensation is the process of converting gas to a liquid by cooling it.

(iv) Freezing is the process of turning a liquid into a solid by cooling it.

Conclusion

The matter is known to be existing in several states, also called phases. The most common states of matter are- solid, liquid, and gas.

Atoms are the building blocks of all matter. The arrangement of these building blocks, i.e., Atoms determine whether a substance is solid, liquid, or gas. Water may exist as ice solid; it can also exist as a liquid; or it can exist as water vapour or steam, a gas. The energy of molecules and how water molecules assemble determine the characteristics of the three states of water. 

The same may be said for other compounds. The chemical qualities of a substance do not change due to changes in its physical state, but the pace of chemical reactions does.