Hobbies And Interests
Motion
All particles --- whether in a solid, liquid or gas --- are in constant motion. The vibrating particles in gas move freely, unlike the particles in liquids and solids. Attractions between the particles in liquids and solids keep them close together. The motion of a gas particle increases with higher temperature, and the speed of the particle keeps it bouncing off of other particles. The particle's speed prevents any lasting attractions from forming with other particles.
Volume
Gas particles are not as closely spaced as those of liquids or solids. In fact, the gas particles in the air around us only occupy about one tenth of a percent of the total volume, and the rest is empty space. Increasing the volume of a gas increases the empty space through which the particles move. Because gas particles are able to flow easily past one another without forming attractions, gas particles will expand to fill their container.
Shape
Just as gases can expand or contract to fill a container, they can also fill any shape. Because the gas particles move too quickly to allow attachments to form between them, they have no fixed structure. In this way, gases are similar to liquids, which can fill containers of any shape due to the loose bonds between particles. However, both are different from solids, which retain their own shape because of the fixed structure of their particles.
Compression and Pressure
Gasses are more easily compressible than either liquids or solids. The space between gas particles makes it possible to force a gas into a smaller container, reducing the space between particles. The pressure of a gas, or force per unit of area, is a measurement of the frequency with which particles hit the container's sides. If the pressure is high, that means that the molecules are hitting the sides more frequently. Changes in volume or temperature will affect the pressure of the gas.