If the object has an irregular shape , the volume can be measured using a displacement can . The displacement can is filled with water above a narrow spout and allowed to drain until the water is level with the spout. As the irregular object is lowered into the displacement can, the water level rises.

Regularly Shaped Objects. To find the volume of a rectangular object, measure the length, width and height. Multiply the length times the width and multiply the result by the height. The result is the volume.

The volume of a solid is the measure of how much space an object takes up. It is measured by the number of unit cubes it takes to fill up the solid. Counting the unit cubes in the solid, we have 30 unit cubes, so the volume is: 2 units⋅3 units⋅5 units = 30 cubic units.

Changing the shape does not change its mass or volume, so density remains the same.

Solids have a definite shape and volume. Liquids have a definite volume, but take the shape of the container. Gases have no definite shape or volume.

Examples of solids are common table salt, table sugar, water ice, frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice), glass, rock, most metals, and wood. When a solid is heated, the atoms or molecules gain kinetic energy .

Solids can be classified into two types: crystalline and amorphous. Crystalline solids are the most common type of solid. They are characterized by a regular crystalline organization of atoms that confer a long-range order. Amorphous, or non-crystalline, solids lack this long-range order.

Examples of Solids

• Brick.
• Coin.
• Iron bar.
• Banana.
• Rock.
• Sand.
• Glass (no, it does not flow)
• Aluminum foil.

A solid is characterized by structural rigidity and resistance to a force applied to the surface. Unlike a liquid, a solid object does not flow to take on the shape of its container, nor does it expand to fill the entire available volume like a gas.

There are two main classes of solids: crystalline and amorphous.

Solids. A solid’s particles are packed closely together. The forces between the particles are strong enough that the particles cannot move freely; they can only vibrate. As a result, a solid has a stable, definite shape and a definite volume.

General Characteristics of Solid State

• Definite mass, volume, and shape.
• Short Intermolecular distance.
• Strong Intermolecular Forces.
• The constituent particles remain fixed at their positions and can only oscillate about their mean positions.
• Solids are incompressible and rigid.
• High Density.

Characteristics of Solids, Liquids, Gases

• strong intermolecular forces.
• particles vibrate in place.
• low kinetic energy (KE)
• definite shape.
• definite volume.
• incompressible.
• high density (as compared to same substance as a liquid or gas)
• low rate of diffusion (millions of times slower than in liquids)

Because most gases are difficult to observe directly, they are described through the use of four physical properties or macroscopic characteristics: pressure, volume, number of particles (chemists group them by moles) and temperature.

Characteristics of Gases

• Gases have neither definite shape nor definite volume. They expand to the size of their container.
• Gases are fluid, and flow easily.
• Gases have low density, unless compressed.
• Gases diffuse (mix and spread out) and effuse (travel through small holes).

Particles in a: gas are well separated with no regular arrangement. liquid are close together with no regular arrangement….Particles in a:

• gas vibrate and move freely at high speeds.
• liquid vibrate, move about, and slide past each other.
• solid vibrate (jiggle) but generally do not move from place to place.

Examples of Gases

• Air.
• Helium.
• Nitrogen.
• Freon.
• Carbon dioxide.
• Water vapor.
• Hydrogen.
• Natural gas.

The common things among the three states of matter are:

• They are made up of small tiny particles.
• They have a particular mass and can occupy space.
• These three states have volume in it.
• The atoms of these three states have force of attractions between them.

There are three common states of matter:

• Solids – relatively rigid, definite volume and shape. In a solid, the atoms and molecules are attached to each other.
• Liquids – definite volume but able to change shape by flowing. In a liquid, the atoms and molecules are loosely bonded.
• Gases – no definite volume or shape.