CHAPTER 1

States of Matter
Matter
all the substances and materials of which the universe is composed

Solid Liquid Gas

NOTE
• Liquids and gases are able to flow, they are fluids.
• The effect of temperature and pressure is much bigger for a gas than
for a solid or a liquid.
Changes in State
At atmospheric pressure, these changes can occur by raising or
lowering the temperature of the substance.

At normal temperature, the pressure must be increased to condense a

gas into a liquid.

Sublimation

• a process changing directly from solid to gas on heating

e.g. Dry ice to gas, Heating solid iodine

Deposition

• a process changing directly from gas to solid on cooling

e.g. water vapor to frost

Melting

• a process changing from solid to liquid on heating

Freezing

• a process changing from liquid to solid at a particular temperature

Evaporation
• a process occurring at the surface of a liquid, the change of state from
a liquid into a vapour
Condensation

• the change of a vapour or a gas into a liquid

Boiling

• the process of changing from liquid to gas at a specific temperature,

bubbles of gas appear inside the liquid – gas molecules escape from
the body of a liquid
Volatile

• term that describes a liquid that evaporates easily

Melting point

• the temperature at which a solid turns into a liquid

Boiling point

• the temperature at which a liquid boils, when the pressure of the gas
created above the liquid equals atmospheric pressure
NOTES
Sublimation, melting, freezing and boiling takes place at a specific/ fixed/
definite/ particular temperature.

Evaporation and condensation take place over a range of temperature.

The melting point and freezing point of a substance are same.

The larger the surface area/ the warmer the liquid, the faster it evaporates.

Volatile liquids have low boiling point.

The boiling point of a liquid can change if the surroundings pressure

changes. (P∞ T)
 Pure Substance
• A single chemical element or compound without any contaminating
impurities. It melts and boils at definite temperature.
MP/BP → gas < liquid < solid

Given temperature < melting point solid

Given temperature > boiling point gas

Boiling point > given temperature > melting point liquid

Effect of impurities
Impurities affect the value of the melting or boiling point of a substance.

 An impure substance sometimes melts or boils over a range of temperatures.

 E.g. Seawater freezes at a temperature below the freezing point of pure

water (0ºC) and boils at a temperature above the boiling point of pure water
(100ºC).

Freezing point may be lower or depressed.

Boiling point may be higher or elevated.

Heating Curve
On heating, the temperature rises and the particles have enough energy to
break the forces holding the lattice.

The solid starts to melt. The temperature stays constant until all the solid has
melted.

Then the temperature rises as the liquid warms further. Some evaporation takes
place.

Heating is continued until the boiling point is reached.

At this point, the intermolecular forces between the particles break up.

The particles move very fast and separate from each other. The temperature
stays the same all the liquid has completely evaporated.
Main points of the kinetic particle theory

All matter is made up of very small particles ( atoms, molecules or ions)

Particles are moving all the time.

The freedom of movement and the arrangement of the particles is different

for the three states of matter.

The pressure of a gas is produced by the atoms or molecules of the gas

hitting the walls of the container.

The more often the particles collide with the walls, the greater the pressure.
The organization of the particles in the three states of matter
Explanation about changes in physical state applying Kinetic
Particle Theory
Evaporation and Boiling
On heating, the particles move faster and the liquid expands.
Some particles have enough energy to escape from the surface.
Evaporation takes place.
As the temperature rises, more particles have enough energy to escape.
Evaporation is faster.
At the boiling point, the particles have enough energy to break the
intermolecular forces between them.
The particles move very fast and separate from each other. The liquid
boils.
Melting
When the temperature is raised, the particles gain energy and vibrate
more strongly.
The particles occupy more space and the solid expands.
Eventually, the particles have enough energy to break the forces
holding the lattice. The solid melts.
Explain why the volume of a gas is much more easily changed by
conditions of temperature and pressure.
If the temperature is raised, the gas particles move faster and
more freely.
The attractive force between the particles is weaker.
The gas expands to occupy a greater volume.
If the temperature is lowered, the gas particles move slowly.
They are closer together.
The attractive force between the particles is stronger.
The gas contracts to occupy a smaller volume.
If the pressure is increased, the gas particles move closer
together.

The attractive force between the particles is stronger.

The gas particles occupy a smaller volume.

If the pressure is decreased (lowered), the gas particles occupy a

greater space.

The attractive force between the particles is weaker.

The gas particles occupy a greater volume.

Cooling Curve
When a substance is cooled, the particles move less rapidly and
interact more strongly with each other.

In region A, the temperature is falling.

The particles move more slowly and interact with each other
more strongly.

As the intermolecular forces increase between the particles,

energy is given out.

The temperature is staying constant until condensation is

complete.
In region B, the temperature falls again.

The particles in the liquid slow down and interact with each other
more strongly.

As the intermolecular forces increase between the particles,

energy is given out (The solid begins to form and energy is given
out).

The temperature stays the same until freezing is complete.

After the solid has formed, the temperature falls again. The
particles in the solid vibrate less strongly.
Intermolecular forces → the weak attractive forces that act
between molecules

Condensation and freezing are exothermic changes (energy is

given out).

Melting, evaporation and boiling are endothermic changes

(energy is taken in).
Mixture of substances and Diffusion
Mixture
Two or more substances mixed together but not chemically combined –
the substances can be separated by physical means
Solution
is formed when a substance (solute) dissolved into another substance
(solvent)
Solute
the solid substance that dissolves in a liquid (solvent) to form a
solution
Solvent
the liquid that dissolves the solid solute to form a solution
Soluble
If a substance dissolves in a solvent, it is said to be soluble. (e.g. Salts
and sugars are soluble in water.)
Insoluble
If a substance does not dissolve in a solvent, it is said to be insoluble.
(e.g. Sand is insoluble in water.)
Miscible
If two liquids form a completely uniform mixture when added together,
they are said to be miscible. (e.g. Alcohol and water are completely
miscible.)
Saturated solution
a solution that contains as much dissolved solute as possible at a
particular temperature
Solubility
amount of a solute ( in gram ) that dissolves in 100g of solvent to
form a saturated solution at a particular temperature
e.g. At 25ºC , sodium chloride (36g) dissolves in 100g of water to
form saturated solution. So the solubility of sodium chloride is
said to be 36 at 25ºC.
Concentration
 a measure of how much solute is dissolved in a solvent to make
a solution
A concentrated solution contains a high proportion of solute (low
proportion of solvent)
A dilute solution contains a low proportion of solute (high
proportion of solvent)
Alloys
are mixtures of metals. They are made by mixing the liquid
metals together before solidifying the alloy
Note
The concentration of solute in a saturated solution is the solubility of
the solute at that temperature.

The solubility of most solids increases with temperature.

 The solubility of gases increases with pressure.

Gases become less soluble in water as the temperature rises.

Diffusion in Fluids
Diffusion
The process by which different fluids mix as a result of the random
motions of their particles. (OR) The spreading of solute particles
throughout the liquid is diffusion.

e.g. 1. Dissolving of potassium manganate (VII) crystal in water

2. Movement of oxygen from the lungs to the blood and of carbon

dioxide from the blood to the lungs
The main ideas involved in diffusion are
Particles move from a region of higher concentration towards a region
of lower concentration ; eventually the particles are evenly spread.
Their concentration is same throughout.

The rate of diffusion in liquids is much slower than in gases.

Diffusion does not takes place in solids as the particles cannot move
from place to place.
Diffusion of gases

Gases diffuse to fill all the space available to them.

The atoms or molecules in gases move at high speeds.

The pressure of a gas increases the collision of fast moving particles

and these frequent collisions slow down the overall rate of diffusion.

Speed (rate) of diffusion of a gas depends on the mass of the particles

involved.
Heavier gas particles move slower than lighter particles at the
same temperature.

Larger molecules diffuse more slowly than smaller ones.

The rate of diffusion is inversely related to the mass of the

particles.

The average speed of the particles increases with an increase in

temperature.
Diffusion of potassium manganate(VII), KMnO4 , in
water. After a few hours the concentration of KMnO4 is
the same throughout the solution
Diffusion & Molecular Mass
Diffusion occurs much faster in gases than in liquids as gaseous
particles move much quicker than liquid particles

At the same temperature, different gases do not diffuse at the

same rate.

This is due to the difference in their relative molecular masses

Lighter gas particles can travel faster and hence further, therefore
the lower its relative mass the faster a gas will diffuse
This can be demonstrated in the reaction between ammonia, NH3 ,
and hydrogen chloride gas, HCl, inside a long glass tube

Where the two gases meet a white smoke of ammonium chloride,

NH4Cl, is formed

This does not occur in the middle of the tube as you might expect,
but much closer to the end with the hydrogen chloride (Mr = 36.5)
and the ammonia (Mr = 17) molecules are smaller and lighter
NH3 molecules have less mass than the HCl molecule, so diffuse
faster, hence the product (a white smoke of NH4Cl) forms closer to
the end where the HCl is