James Le AP Chemistry Ms.

Gawle Gawlik 11/09/2011

Overview
Liquid, one of the three physical states in which matter

can exist. The other two states are solid and gaseous. Liquids and gases take the shape of their container, unlike solids, which keep their own shape. Liquids and solids maintain a definite volume, or size, while gases will expand to fill a container. Liquids, particularly water, are essential to life. Besides, they are also important in everyday activities.

Structural Model for Liquids

Liquids, like all substances, are made up of atoms or

bonded groups of atoms called molecules The physical state of any substancewhether the substance is a liquid, solid, or gasdepends on the arrangement of the molecules in the substance The molecules in a liquid are arranged tighter and more orderly than in a gas, but less orderly than in a solid Liquids have short-range order, or an orderly pattern only at very small distances (a few molecule lengths) from a given molecule Certain liquids, called liquid crystals, can have some longrange order, thought not as much as a solid

Structural Model for Liquids

Order in the molecules of any substance depends on

the forces of attraction and repulsion between the molecules intermolecular forces Intermolecular forces arise from electrical charges on molecules that attract or repel the charges on other molecules Intermolecular forces account for many of the physical properties of a liquid, such as its boiling point, freezing point, and surface tension They are also the reason a liquid can form from a gas or freeze into a solid

Physical Properties
Boiling Point: The boiling point of a liquid is the

temperature at which molecules escape from the liquid and enter the gaseous state At the boiling point, the vapor pressure of a liquid must equal the pressure of the atmosphere above the liquid The boiling point of a liquid is lower at higher elevations because atmospheric pressure decreases as altitude Different materials have different boiling points because the forces of attraction between their molecules differ

Physical Properties
Freezing point: The freezing point of a substance is the

temperature at which the liquid form of the substance becomes a solid The freezing point of a substance is essentially the same as its melting pointthat is, the point at which a solid becomes a liquid The viscosity of a liquid is a measure of how much the liquid resists flow A liquids viscosity depends on the structure of the liquids molecules and on the attractive forces between the liquids molecules Liquids with large intermolecular forces tend to be highly viscous

Physical Properties
To increase a liquids surface area, molecules must

move from the interior of the liquid to the surface Requires energy (some intermolecular forces must be overcome) The resistance of a liquid to an increase in its surface area is called the surface tension Liquids with large intermolecular forces tend to have high surface tensions

Physical Properties
Polar liquids exhibit capillary action, the

spontaneous rising of a liquid in a narrow tube Capillary action occurs when the attraction of a liquids molecules for themselves differs from their attraction for a solid that the liquid contacts Two different types of forces are responsible for this property: cohesive forces, the intermolecular forces among the molecules of the liquid, and adhesive forces, the forces between the liquid molecules and their container