Question

Give two reasons to justify.

(a) Water at room temperature is a liquid.
(b) An iron almirah is a solid at room temperature.

Answer 1

Water is a liquid at room temperature because of the following reasons:

1. Interparticle forces of attraction between the water particles are weak.
2. Interparticle spaces among the water particles are large due to which particles are in constant motion.

Thus, water has fluidity due to which it does not have definite shape.

An iron almirah remains a solid at room temperature because of the following reasons:

1. Interparticle forces of attraction between the iron particles are very strong.
2. Interparticle spaces between the iron particles are almost negligible due to which particle motion is also negligible.

Thus, the iron particles are held very tightly, due to which iron almirah has a definite shape and a definite volume, and hence a solid.