Kinetic/Particulate Theory of Matter

The Kinetic/Particulate Theory of Matter explains the properties of the different states of matter.
The particles in solids, liquids and gases have different amounts of energy. They are arranged
differently and move in different ways.

Solids

Properties Why they are like this

They have a fixed shape and cannot

The particles cannot move from place to place
flow

They cannot be compressed or The particles are close together and have no space to
squashed move into

Liquids

Properties Why they are like this

They flow and take the shape of their

The particles are free to move around each other
container

The particles are close together and have no space to

They cannot be compressed or squashed
move into

Gases

Properties Why they are like this

They flow and completely fill their

The particles can move quickly in all directions
container

The particles are far apart and have space to move

They can be compressed or squashed
into
Thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases

All three states of matter (solid, liquid and gas) expand when heated. The atoms themselves do
not expand, but the volume they take up does.

When a solid is heated, its atoms vibrate faster about their fixed points. The relative increase in
the size of solids when heated is therefore small. Metal railway tracks have small gaps so that
when the sun heats them, the tracks expand into these gaps and don’t buckle.

Liquids expand for the same reason, but because the bonds between separate molecules are
usually less tight they expand more than solids. This is the principle behind liquid-in-glass
thermometers. An increase in temperature results in the expansion of the liquid which means it
rises up the glass.

Molecules within gases are further apart and weakly attracted to each other. Heat causes the
molecules to move faster, (heat energy is converted to kinetic energy) which means that the
volume of a gas increases more than the volume of a solid or liquid.
However, gases that are contained in a fixed volume cannot expand - and so increases in
temperature result in increases in pressure.
 Changes of States of Matter

Evaporation is sometimes confused with boiling. They both involve liquids turning to gases, but
evaporation is different because:

• it occurs at any temperature - not just the boiling point

• it only happens at the surface of the liquid - not throughout like boiling
• boiling requires an energy input - whereas evaporation is the release of the molecules with the
highest energy

Evaporation cools liquids as a result of this energy loss. Evaporation is increased by higher
temperatures, a greater surface area or a draft over this surface area.

A substance must absorb heat energy so that it can melt or boil. The temperature of the substance
does not change during melting, boiling or freezing - even though energy is still being
transferred.
Heating Curves and Cooling Curves of Pure Substances
A heating curve is a graph showing the temperature of a substance plotted against the amount of
energy it has absorbed. You may also see a cooling curve, which is obtained when a substance
cools down and changes state.

The following is the heating curve for ice.

The temperature stays the same when a solid is melting or a liquid is boiling (changing state)
during a change of state, even though heat energy is being absorbed.
The temperature also stays the same while a liquid freezes, even though heat energy is still being
released to the surroundings.

Below is an example of a cooling curve.

Heating and Cooling Curves of Pure and Impure Compounds
Specific latent heat
The specific latent heat of a substance is a measure of how much heat energy is needed to melt or
boil it. It is the energy needed to melt or boil 1 kg of the substance.

Different substances have different specific latent heats. The specific latent heat of a given
substance is different for boiling than it is for melting. The table shows some examples:

Substance Melting (kJ/kg) Boiling (kJ/kg)

Water 334 2260

Lead 23 871

Oxygen 13.9 213

Investigating latent heat

The latent heat of water can be determined in the following way:
1. an electrical heater is used to melt ice for several minutes
2. the electrical energy used is calculated by multiplying the power of the heater by time
3. the mass of water melted is recorded and the relationship between energy input and mass is
calculated
4. the amount of heat needed to change one kilogram of ice (the latent heat) is then
determined
Here is the equation that relates energy to specific latent heat:
energy (J) = mass (kg) × specific latent heat (J/kg)
You will probably find your values close, but not identical, to those in the table above.
Differences between your value and those in the table are likely to result from energy loss to the
room you worked in.
The latent heat of steam is determined using a calorimeter and steam generator.
The latent heat of melting is sometimes called the latent heat of fusion, while the latent heat of
boiling is sometimes called the latent heat of vaporisation.
Brownian Motion

Brownian motion is the random movement of particles in a fluid due to their collisions with other
atoms or molecules. Even though a particle may be large compared to the size of atoms and
molecules in the surrounding medium, it can be moved by the impact with many tiny, fast-
moving masses. Brownian motion may be considered a macroscopic (visible) picture of a
particle influenced by many microscopic random effects.

Brownian motion takes its name from the Scottish botanist Robert Brown, who observed pollen
grains moving randomly in water. He described the motion in 1827 but was unable to explain it.
The Roman poet Lucretius described the motion of dust particles around the year 60 B.C., which
he used as evidence of atoms.

The transport phenomenon remained unexplained until 1905 when Albert Einstein published a
paper that explained the pollen was being moved by the water molecules in the liquid. As with
Lucretius, Einstein's explanation served as indirect evidence of the existence of atoms and
molecules. At the turn of the 20th century, the existence of such tiny units of matter was only a
theory. In 1908, Jean Perrin experimentally verified Einstein's hypothesis, which earned Perrin
the 1926 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his work on the discontinuous structure of matter."

What Is Brownian Motion?

Because the movements of atoms and molecules in a liquid and gas is random, over time, larger
particles will disperse evenly throughout the medium. If there are two adjacent regions of matter
and region A contains twice as many particles as region B, the probability that a particle will
leave region A to enter region B is twice as high as the probability a particle will leave region B
to enter A. Diffusion, the movement of particles from a region of higher to lower concentration,
can be considered a macroscopic example of Brownian motion.

Any factor that affects the movement of particles in a fluid impacts the rate of Brownian motion.
For example, increased temperature, increased number of particles, small particle size, and
low viscosity increase the rate of motion.

Examples of Brownian Motion

• The motion of pollen grains on still water

• Movement of dust motes in a room (although largely affected by air currents)
• Diffusion of pollutants in the air
• Diffusion of calcium through bones