• Question: what is gas

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      Asked by louis12345678910111213141 to Andrew, Jade, Jessica, Kevin, Lynn on 17 Jun 2015.
      • Photo: Andrew Fensham-Smith

        Andrew Fensham-Smith answered on 17 Jun 2015:

        Gas is all around us! Gas is a state of matter like solids and liquids. A solid is a material which can’t be compressed and doesn’t flow. A liquid can’t be compressed and can flow, whereas a gas can be compressed and can flow! You can also get other forms like plasma – which is kind of like a really hot gas where electrons are buzzing around in the mix too!

      • Photo: Jess Wade

        Jess Wade answered on 17 Jun 2015:

        There are three ‘states of matter’ that we talk about all the time, and it is about how the little molecules are arranged. If all the little molecules are super well ordered in neat rows on top of each other, we call it a solid. Solid water is ice! When we heat a solid up we give all the molecules a bit of energy. Then they start to wobble around, and the forces that held them in the ordered shape are broken- then we have a liquid. Liquids are disordered materials where the molecules all zoom around in different directions. But they are still stuck in one space- we call it being ‘confined’. When you heat the liquid up, it gets loads of energy, and it is no longer stuck in one place- this is a gas! We can think about it super clearly with water. Solid water is ice. When we heat ice above 0 C (take it out of the freezer) it melts- the bonds break and we get liquid water. When we heat the water above 100 C it boils! The water bonds break and we get steam! When a kettle whistles and steam comes out, that means the water is at 100 C.

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