Question

Explain the factors which govern the state of matter.

(4 marks)

Answer 1

Temperature and pressure are the only factors responsible for change of state of matter

Temperature affects phase change by slowing down the movement in between the atoms, thus causing a change in kinetic energy, which in turn causes the atoms to undergo forms of combining or a type of disepersion.

Matter can exist in a solid, liquid or gaseousstate, and the state a substance is in can be largely determined by its temperature.

When you apply a high amount of pressure on a material, the particles in the material can’t move as freely compared to when the pressure was absent. So, the more pressure you put on a material, the closer it will be to a solid. If there is a low amount of pressure, then the particles in the material can move much more freely, so the less pressure on a material, the closer it will be to gas.