A General introduction to states of matter

Matter is defined as anything that has mass and fills space. To put it another way, matter is something you can weigh and measure the volume of. Everything that satisfies the following two conditions: mass and volume, is considered matter. As we all know, atoms make up everything around us. Atoms are made up of matter since they have mass and take up space. As a result, we can define matter as anything made up of atoms. Pens, bananas, phones, cars, rockets, milk, water, and air are all instances of matter.

We are also made up of matter because we are made up of atoms. Not everything seen in nature is made up of matter. Photons, for example, are subatomic particles with no mass. Furthermore, subatomic particles are not ordinary things with classical laws governing their behaviour and qualities; quantum principles govern their behaviour and properties. These particles aren’t allowed to be included in matter.

Water begins to freeze in the chilly winter months, forming a layer of ice on the surface. In colder locations, this phenomenon can be seen in rivers and lakes. Boiling occurs when a vessel filled with water is placed on a kitchen stove. The water vapour is visible leaving the vessel. As a result, water exists in three states: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (vapour).

Let us see the three different states of matter:

SOLID:Constituent particles of solids are quite close to one another. Solids have limited freedom of movement. This is due to the particle’s strong attraction forces. Thus, solids have a definite volume and a specific shape. When a solid is subjected to an external force, it deforms. Amorphous (or non-crystalline) and crystalline solids are two types of solids. The particles in amorphous materials are randomly organised; there is no repeating pattern. Rubber, chalk, and plastic are examples of amorphous solids. The particles in crystalline solids are arranged in a symmetrical pattern to form a unit cell. This cell is found throughout the crystal. Sodium chloride, ice, sugar, diamonds, rubies, metals, and other substances are examples of this type.

LIQUID:Solids and gases are separated by liquids. In liquids, the constituent particles are close together. They are not, however, as close as they are in solids. When compared to gases, intermolecular forces between particles are stronger, but when compared to solids, they are weaker. Liquid particles can easily move around one another. Liquids have a specific volume but no specific shape. They take on the shape of the container they are placed in. The vast majority of liquids are incompressible. Some of the qualities connected with liquids are density, flowability, conductivity, viscosity, refractive index, surface tension. The vaporisation process turns liquids into gases when heated. However, when they are frozen, they solidify.

GASEOUS:Gases do not have a definite volume or shape. They absorb the volume and shape of the container they are kept in. The constituent particles of gases are separated by a large distance. The intermolecular attraction force is extremely weak. The particles have complete freedom of movement in any direction. In comparison to liquids and gases, the velocity of particles in gases is substantially higher. There is a lot of vacant space between the particles in gases since they are so far away. As a result, they are easily compressible. In comparison to solids and liquids, gas has the lowest density. Density, pressure, temperature, and viscosity are some of the qualities of gases. Under compression or cooling, gases can liquefy. Condensation of liquids is the term for this phenomenon.

Comparison among the  states of matter:

Law of conservation of mass:

The Law of conservation of mass states that, the mass of the involved species is conserved throughout a chemical reaction or physical transformation, meaning it cannot be formed or destroyed in an isolated system. In a chemical reaction, the mass of the products generated is always equal to the mass of the reactants.

When a candle melts,  the mass of the soot and gases equals the mass of the wax and oxygen when they initially react. As a result, the mass of the substances before and after a chemical reaction is the same. i.e. the mass of the produced products is the same as the mass of the reacting species.

A reactant is a material that takes part in a chemical reaction that results in the formation of two or more new substances known as the product.

Formula of Law of Conservation of Mass

The Law of Conservation of mass can be expressed as-

Mass of products = mass of reactants

Law of Conservation of Mass Examples:

The number of atoms participating in a chemical reaction to generate new products must be the same, according to the Law of Conservation of Mass, i.e. the number of atoms on the reactant side must always be equal to the number of atoms on the product side.

For example-

1.In the production of a water molecule, hydrogen and oxygen mix in a 2:1 ratio to produce two moles of water.

2.Carbon forms two moles of carbon monoxide when it reacts with oxygen in a 2:1 ratio.

 Conclusion:

Every day, scientists discover new states of matter! Other states of matter include superfluid, Bose-Einstein condensate, fermionic condensate, Rydberg molecules, quantum Hall state, photonic matter, and dropleton, in addition to the four primary states of matter.

Reactants change to generate products in chemical reactions, which are commonly represented in terms of chemical equations. Chemical equations are a simplified form of a chemical reaction expressed in terms of atoms and molecules. The number of atoms reacting is always equal to the number of atoms created in a chemical equation. This means that in a chemical equation, the right and left sides of the arrow should have the same amount of atoms, resulting in a balanced chemical equation.