States of matter and the particle model
Solid, liquid or gas — the difference all comes down to how tightly particles are packed and how much they move.
Part of your national curriculum
- Chemistry: the particulate nature of matter: Understand the properties of the different states of matter in terms of the particle model, including gas pressure
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand the properties of the different states of matter in terms of the particle model, including gas pressure
Key learning points
- • Solids, liquids and gases
- • Explaining density and compressibility
- • Gas pressure
This lesson at a glance
- 24 minutes
- 14 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 14
Watch first
States of matter and the particle model
An English teaching video on this topic from James and Chris Science Videos. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
In a nutshell
Understand the properties of the different states of matter in terms of the particle model, including gas pressure
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 14
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Solids, liquids and gases
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 14
Learn
Solids, liquids and gases
In solids, particles are closely packed in a fixed arrangement, only vibrating, giving a fixed shape and volume. In liquids, particles are close but free to move past each other, giving a fixed volume but no fixed shape. In gases, particles are far apart and move fast in random directions, filling any container.
Explore the idea
Part 4 of 14
Learn
Explaining density and compressibility
Solids and liquids are hard to compress because particles are already close together. Gases are easily compressed because there is lots of empty space between particles. This also explains why gases are far less dense than solids or liquids.
Quick check
Part 5 of 14
Quick check
Why can gases be compressed easily but solids cannot?
Reset break
Part 6 of 14
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 2 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 7 of 14
Quick check
What causes gas pressure?
Learning cycle
Part 8 of 14
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Gas pressure
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 9 of 14
Learn
Gas pressure
Gas pressure is caused by gas particles colliding with the walls of their container. Heating a gas makes particles move faster and collide more often and harder, increasing pressure if the volume stays the same.
Quick check
Part 10 of 14
Quick check
What happens to gas pressure in a sealed container if you heat the gas?
Challenge round
Part 11 of 14
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 12 of 14
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
Gas ____ is caused by gas particles colliding with the walls of their container.
Mastery quiz
Part 13 of 14
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: States of matter and the particle model
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Which statement about particles in a gas is correct?
2. Why can gases be compressed easily but solids cannot?
3. What causes gas pressure?
4. What happens to gas pressure in a sealed container if you heat the gas?
Lesson round-up
Part 14 of 14
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Games
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Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
Why the school greenhouse failed
A science club grew tomato plants in the school greenhouse. In June the plants grew well: leaves were dark green and the fruit set quickly. In July the club went away for two weeks and left the greenhouse door shut. When they came back, the leaves were curled and pale and most of the fruit had dropped.
The club had a data logger inside. It showed the temperature reached 46 °C on several afternoons and the soil moisture fell close to zero. The club knew photosynthesis needs light, water and carbon dioxide, and that enzymes in a plant work best in a narrow range of temperature. Above that range the enzymes stop working properly.
The club repeated the summer with the door propped open and a water bottle drip on each pot. Temperature peaked at 31 °C and the plants survived.
Written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- Name the variable the club changed the second time, and one variable they kept the same.
- Explain, using the words photosynthesis and enzymes, why the plants were damaged in July.
- Write a conclusion for the club's report, saying how far the evidence supports it.
Method and results
WritingWrite the aim, what you changed, what you measured and what you kept the same, then record your results in a table.
1 page + results table
Conclusion
WritingExplain what your results show and why, using the scientific words from the lesson. Say how you know you can trust them.
6–8 sentences
Labelled diagram
DiagramDraw the apparatus or the process in pencil, label it fully, and photograph it.
1 labelled diagram
Reading and notes
ReadingRead the lesson text again and write the key ideas in your own words.
Half a page of notes
Saved as you type.
Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover
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Understand the properties of the different states of matter in terms of the particle model, including gas pressure