Particle Theory

Materials come in three forms: solids, liquids and gases. These are the three states of matter. They all have different properties and they all have their particles arranged in different ways.

Solids: Solid particles are held very tightly together. This makes solids strong and hard to break. The particles do not move, they only vibrate. This means that solids hold their shape. Solids can't easily be compressed as the particles are already tightly packed together.

Liquids: Liquid particles are close, but are free to move around each other. This allows them to flow. Liquids don't keep a definate space and feel the space in a conatainer. Liquids cannot be compressed easily as they are already quite closely packed in.

Gases: Gas particales are far apart and are not connected. Gases don't keep a definite shape or volume, but fill the shpae of a container. Gases can be compressed and have a very low density since there are not many particles in a large area