Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
22 Chemistry: Matter and Change
Solving Problems: A Chemistry Handbook
SOLVING PROBLEMS:
A CHEMISTRY HANDBOOK
CHAPTER
3
g. Diamond dust can be used to cut or grind most other
materials.
h. Rocks containing carbonates can be identified because they
fizz when hydrochloric acid is applied.
Under ordinary conditions, matter exists in three different physical
forms called the states of matter—solid, liquid, and gas. Solid matter has a definite shape and a definite volume. A solid is rigid and
incompressible, so it keeps a certain shape and cannot be squeezed
into a smaller volume. A solid has these properties because the particles that make up the solid are packed closely together and are held
in a specific arrangement.
Liquid matter has a definite volume, like a solid, but flows and
takes the shape of its container. A liquid is virtually incompressible
because its particles are packed closely together. A liquid flows
because the particles are held in no specific arrangement but are free
to move past one another.
Like a liquid, a gas flows and takes the shape of its container,
but has no definite volume and occupies the entire space of its container. Gaseous matter has these properties because its particles are
free to move apart to fill the volume of the container. Also, because
of the space between its particles, a gas can be compressed to a
smaller volume. A vapor is the gaseous state of a substance that is a
liquid or a solid at room temperature.
Practice Problems
2. Identify each of the following as a property of a solid, liquid, or
gas. Some answers will include more than one state of matter.
a. flows and takes the shape of its container
b. compressible
c. made of particles held in a specific arrangement
d. has a definite volume
e. always occupies the entire space of its container
f. has a definite volume but flows
22 Chemistry: Matter and Change
Solving Problems: A Chemistry Handbook
SOLVING PROBLEMS:
A CHEMISTRY HANDBOOK
CHAPTER
3
g. Diamond dust can be used to cut or grind most other
materials.
h. Rocks containing carbonates can be identified because they
fizz when hydrochloric acid is applied.
Under ordinary conditions, matter exists in three different physical
forms called the states of matter—solid, liquid, and gas. Solid matter has a definite shape and a definite volume. A solid is rigid and
incompressible, so it keeps a certain shape and cannot be squeezed
into a smaller volume. A solid has these properties because the particles that make up the solid are packed closely together and are held
in a specific arrangement.
Liquid matter has a definite volume, like a solid, but flows and
takes the shape of its container. A liquid is virtually incompressible
because its particles are packed closely together. A liquid flows
because the particles are held in no specific arrangement but are free
to move past one another.
Like a liquid, a gas flows and takes the shape of its container,
but has no definite volume and occupies the entire space of its container. Gaseous matter has these properties because its particles are
free to move apart to fill the volume of the container. Also, because
of the space between its particles, a gas can be compressed to a
smaller volume. A vapor is the gaseous state of a substance that is a
liquid or a solid at room temperature.
Practice Problems
2. Identify each of the following as a property of a solid, liquid, or
gas. Some answers will include more than one state of matter.
a. flows and takes the shape of its container
b. compressible
c. made of particles held in a specific arrangement
d. has a definite volume
e. always occupies the entire space of its container
f. has a definite volume but flows