Changes of state at the particle level Original Scenario-Based Download PDF

Questions

1. 1.

   A miniaturized research probe named the Cryo-Wanderer explores the interior of a sealed vessel containing a pure solid substance. As heat is added, the probe observes the tightly packed, orderly particles leave their fixed vibrating positions and begin to slide past one another while still touching. If the heating continues until this liquid completely vaporizes, what will the probe observe regarding the particles and their behavior in the resulting state?

   • A) The individual particles will swell to many times their original size and slow down as they break into separate atoms.
   • B) The particles will form rigid chemical bonds that lock them permanently into a wider, motionless crystalline grid.
   • C) The particles will separate widely from one another and move rapidly and independently in random directions.
   • D) The particles will lose their kinetic energy entirely and condense into a dense, motionless cluster at the ceiling.