Solid Stronghold
How tightly particles are packed in each state.
What this lesson covers
Why it matters
Squeeze a steel ball and nothing happens. Squeeze air in a syringe and it gives easily. The difference is how much space sits between the particles.
Predict first
Why is a solid so hard to squash?
In a solid, particles are packed closely in fixed positions with the smallest gaps, so it keeps its shape and barely compresses. Liquids have small gaps; gases have the largest gaps, so gases squash easily.
- Its particles are packed tightly with almost no gaps — correct
- Its particles are large and heavy
- It has no particles at all
What you do
Arrange the three states by the gaps between their particles, smallest first.
Check yourself
Solids keep a fixed shape because their particles…
Solid particles vibrate in place but can't move past one another, so the shape stays fixed.
Which state squashes the most?
Gases have the largest gaps between particles, so they compress the most.
- are held in fixed positions and only vibrate — correct
- fly around freely
- vanish when pushed
- A gas — correct
- A solid
- A liquid