1 The Particulate Natire of Matter

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1.1.1 Kinetic Theory
Solids, Liquids & Gases

Solids
• Solids have a fixed volume and shape and they have a high density
• The atoms vibrate in position but can’t change location
• The particles are packed very closely together in a fixed and regular pattern
Liquids
• Liquids also have a fixed volume but adopt the shape of the container
• They are generally less dense than solids (an exception is water), but much denser than gases
• The particles move and slide past each other which is why liquids adopt the shape of the
container and also why they are able to flow freely
Gases
• Gases do not have a fixed volume, and, like liquids, take up the shape of the container
• Gases have a very low density
• Since there is a lot of space between the particles, gases can be compressed into a much smaller
volume
• The particles are far apart and move randomly and quickly (around 500 m/s) in all directions
• They collide with each other and with the sides of the container (this is how pressure is created
inside a can of gas)
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Summary of the Properties of Solids, Liquids and Gases
Exam Tip
You can explain the differences in the physical properties of solids, liquids and gases by referring to
the arrangement and motion of particles. This is called the kinetic theory of matter.
1.1.2 States of Matter

State Changes
Melting
• Melting is when a solid changes into a liquid

• Requires heat energy which transforms into kinetic energy, allowing the particles to
move
• Occurs at a specific temperature known as the melting point (m.p.)
Boiling
• Boiling is when a liquid changes into a gas

• Requires heat which causes bubbles of gas to form below the surface of a liquid, allowing
for liquid particles to escape from the surface and within the liquid
• Occurs at a specific temperature known as the boiling point (b.p.)
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Freezing
• Freezing is when a liquid changes into a solid

• This is the reverse of melting and occurs at exactly the same temperature as melting,
hence the melting point and freezing point of a pure substance are the same. Water, for
example, freezes and melts at 0 ºC
• Requires a significant decrease in temperature (or loss of thermal energy) and occurs at a
specific temperature
Evaporation
• Evaporation occurs when a liquid changes into a gas and occurs over a range of
temperatures
• Evaporation occurs only at the surface of liquids where high energy particles can escape
from the liquid's surface at low temperatures, below the b.p. of the liquid
• The larger the surface area and the warmer the liquid surface, the more quickly a liquid
can evaporate
Condensation
• Condensation occurs when a gas changes into a liquid on cooling and it takes place over
a range of temperatures
• When a gas is cooled its particles lose energy and when they bump into each other they
lack the energy to bounce away again, instead they group together to form a liquid
Sublimation
• When a solid changes directly into a gas, without going through the liquid stage
• This happens to only a few solids such as iodine or solid carbon dioxide
• The reverse reaction also happens and is called deposition or desublimation
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Interconversion of solids, liquids and gases
Exam Tip
Questions on the particle theory of matter show interconversion of states with a reversible arrow:
⇌, which means that the process can go forwards and backwards. Read the question carefully
and pick the direction of the change in state that the question refers to.
Changes in State & Kinetic Theory

EXTENDED
• When substances are heated, the particles absorb thermal energy which is converted into
kinetic energy. This is the basis of the kinetic theory of matter
• Heating a solid cause its particles to vibrate more and as the temperature increases, they
vibrate so much that the solid expands until the structure breaks and the solid melts
• On further heating, the now liquid substance expands more and some particles at the
surface gain sufficient energy to overcome the intermolecular forces and evaporate
• When the b.p. temperature is reached, all the particles gain enough energy to escape and
the liquids boils
• These changes in state can be shown on a graph called a heating curve
• Cooling down a gas has the reverse effect and this would be called a cooling curve
• These curves are used to show how changes in temperature affect changes of state
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Heating curve for water with interconversions of state
Pressure & Temperature in Gases

• Gaseous particles are in constant and random motion
• An increase in temperature increases the kinetic energy of each particle, as the heat
energy is transformed to kinetic energy, so they move faster
• Decreasing the temperature has the opposite effect, so the particles slow down
• As the temperature increases, the particles in the gas move faster, impacting the
container's walls more frequently
• The pressure that a gas creates inside a closed container is produced by the gaseous
particles hitting the inside walls of the container
• So, when there is an increase in temperature this also causes an increase in gas
pressure
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Moving particles of gas colliding with each other and the container walls
1.1.3 Brownian Motion

Brownian Motion
• Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist who first observed the random motions of pollen
grains in water seen under a microscope
• He first thought it might be due to the pollen grains being alive, so he boiled them and
repeated his observations which showed the same effect
• Although he could not provide an explanation for what he saw, it later provided evidence
for the existence of particles in motion in the kinetic theory of matter
• Brownian motion is the random movement of particles in a liquid or a gas produced by
large numbers of collisions with smaller, often invisible particles
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Large particles show jerky and erratic movement caused by many collisions with smaller
particles
Explaining Brownian Motion

EXTENDED
• Almost eighty years after Robert Brown's observations, the physicist Albert Einstein
explained that the jiggly movement of pollen grains in water were being caused by
individual water molecules
• He was able to model the effect in one of his first scientific contributions
• The force of the bombardment is constantly changing as water molecules hit the pollens
grains randomly from different directions
• The effect can also be seen in smoke particles under a microscope where their jerky and
erratic motion is due to being hit by the unseen molecules in the air
• In all cases, larger and visible particles are caused to move by the random bombardment
of smaller, invisible particles
1.1.4 Diffusion
Diffusion
Diffusion
• This is the process by which different gases or different liquids mix and is due to the
random motion of their particles
• Diffusing particles move from an area of high concentration to an area of low
concentration
• Eventually the concentration of particles is even as they spread out to occupy all of the
available space
• Diffusion happens on its own and no energy input is required although it occurs faster at
higher temperatures
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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

EXTENDED
• 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

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1

1.1.1 Kinetic Theory

Solids, Liquids & Gases

Summary of the Properties of Solids, Liquids and Gases

1.1.2 States of Matter

• Melting is when a solid changes into a liquid

• Boiling is when a liquid changes into a gas

• Freezing is when a liquid changes into a solid

Interconversion of solids, liquids and gases

Changes in State & Kinetic Theory

Heating curve for water with interconversions of state

Pressure & Temperature in Gases

1.1.3 Brownian Motion

Explaining Brownian Motion

Diffusion of potassium manganate(VII), KMnO4 , in water. After a few hours the

Diffusion & Molecular Mass

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