Question

Perform an experiment to show that liquids do not have a fixed shape, but have a fixed volume.

Answer 1

Step-1:

Liquids:

1. In liquids, the particles are loosely packed.
2. In liquid, the spaces between the particles are slightly more than that in a solid.
3. Though, there is a quite strong force of attraction between the particles of a liquid which holds the particles together.

Examples of Liquids:

Water, kerosene, petrol, alcohol, benzene, milk

Step-2:

An experiment to show that liquids do not have a fixed shape, but have a fixed volume:

1. Take some water in a beaker and mark the level of the water. We observe that water takes the shape of a beaker.
2. Now, if we pour this water into the vessels or containers of different shapes, one by one, we will find that the same water takes the different shapes of vessels in which it is poured.
3. This experiment shows that liquid has no fixed shape of its own; it takes the shape of the container in which it is poured.
4. If we pour the same water into the beaker back, we can observe that there is no change in the volume of the water when it is poured into different containers. This shows that a liquid has a fixed volume.

Step-3:

The figure of the experimental set-up shows that liquids do not have a fixed shape: