SCIENCE PROJECT 2

The three states of matter are solid, liquid, and gas. In a solid, atoms are tightly packed and have a definite shape and volume. In a liquid, atoms are loosely packed and have no definite shape but a definite volume. In a gas, atoms are not connected and have no definite shape or volume. An atom is the basic building block, a molecule is two or more atoms combined, a compound is two or more different atoms combined, and an extended structure is a repeating chain of molecules with at least 1,000 molecules. Thank you, Mr. O'Keefe! No problem. I have time for just one more question. What are the three states of matter, and what do they look like at the atomic level? Well, the three states of matter are solid, liquid, and gas. In a solid state, atoms are tightly packed together and are connected by bonds to every atom around them. They move a little bit and have a little bit of kinetic energy. A solid also has a definite shape and a definite volume. This means that the solid shape never changes, and its volume, or the space it takes up, never changes. In a liquid state, atoms are not that loosely packed together and are connected to one other atom around them. They move more than a solid and have more kinetic energy, but they are not going the fastest. A liquid has no definite shape, but it does have a definite volume. This means that when you pour water into a cup, it changes shape to match the shape of the inside of the cup, but it doesn't lose any space that it takes up. In a gas state, atoms are not connected to any other atom. The atoms move very fast and have tons of kinetic energy. Gas has no definite shape and no definite volume. This means that if you out them in a container, the gas molecules would just jump out and there would be no shape and a different volume than when it first went in. Thank you for having me. Of course, it was my pleasure. As always, we will end with a little fan mail. This one here is from Nick in Little Rock, Arkansas. His question was, what is the difference between an atom, a molecule, a compound, and an extended structure? Well, an atom is the basic building block of life and every atom is made up of one element. A molecule is any two or more atoms combined. A compound is any two or more different atoms combined. Remember that all compounds are molecules, but not all molecules are compounds. An extended structure is a repeating chain of molecules that maintains a consistent ratio of atoms and has to have at least 1,000 molecules in it. Sadly, that is all we have time for folks today. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Quantum Conversations. And as always, be safe, be quiet, be kind, and be well.