Question

Compare the compressibility of liquids and gases.

Answer 1

A substance is compressible only if there is enough space between particles of the substance.

Compressibility of liquids: In liquids, there is some space between the particles and is compressible, but it requires a high amount of pressure to compress them.

Compressibility of gases: In gases, there is a large space between the particles and hence is highly compressible.

Gases are more compressible than liquids. Gases are compressible because most of the volume of a gas is composed of the large amounts of empty space between the gas particles.