After students understand the different states of matter, it's important that they understand how the states change between each other. In this activity, students will create a storyboard that illustrates the particle arrangement for each state of matter and describe the changes between each state. Use this activity at the beginning of the lesson to provide students with a foundation of knowledge or at the end to see what they've learned.
An increase in thermal energy increases the average kinetic energy of the particles in a system. This can either increase the temperature of the system or can cause the state to change. The change will be from a solid to a liquid or a liquid to a gas. Conversely, a decrease in thermal energy will decrease the average kinetic energy of the system. This change will cause a change in state from a gas to a liquid or a liquid to a solid.
This can also be an interesting place to introduce your students to sublimation. Sublimation is the process in which a substance goes from the solid to the gas state without becoming a liquid. Carbon dioxide (CO2), or dry ice, is an example of a material that does this. The opposite of sublimation is known as desublimation deposition.
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Student Instructions
Illustrate the particle arrangement of the different states and identify and describe the different state changes.