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Created 3/29/16. Updates available online.

States of Matter: Basics

States of Matter: Basics Screenshot
  • States of Matter
  • Atoms
  • Molecules

About

Topics

  • States of Matter
  • Atoms
  • Molecules

Description

Heat, cool and compress atoms and molecules and watch as they change between solid, liquid and gas phases.

Sample Learning Goals

  • Describe characteristics of three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.
  • Predict how varying the temperature or pressure changes the behavior of particles.
  • Compare particles in the three different phases.
  • Explain freezing and melting with molecular level detail.
  • Recognize that different substances have different properties, including melting, freezing and boiling temperatures.
Version 1.10

For Teachers

Teacher Tips

Download teacher tips PDF Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ).

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Title Gold Star Contribution Contribution by PhET Authors Level Type
States of Matter Basics - Clicker Questions A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Robert Parson, Trish Loeblein UG-Intro MC
States of Matter Lecture Demonstration A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Robert Parson, Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 Demo
Intermolecular Forces and Molecules - Interactive Lecture Demonstration A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Ted Clark, Julia Chamberlain UG-Intro Demo
Using PhET in High School Chemistry- all my activities in pdf A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 Demo
HW
CQs
Lab
Intermolecular Forces and States of Matter - Interactive Lecture Demonstration A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Ted Clark, Julia Chamberlain UG-Intro Demo
Concept Questions for Chemistry using PhET A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein MS
UG-Intro
HS		 CQs
States of Matter Basics A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
MS		 Demo
CQs
Lab
Phases of Matter A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Dr. Wendy Adams UG-Intro
HS
MS		 Lab
States of Matter Compare Matrix A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Kristin Michalski MS Lab
Heat it Up A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Doug Spicher MS Lab
Boiling, Freezing, and Melting Points A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Kristina Smith K-5 Lab
Chemistry Theater A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. UTeach Middle School PhET Team MS
K-5		 Lab
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other
Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS Other
States of Matter Modeling Chuck Faber MS Lab
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer HS
MS		 Other
States of Matter - Lab Simulation - student procedures and questions Taylor Jacobsen HS
MS		 Guided
Lab
Other
The Speed of Particles in the Different States of Matter Marlene Mosley K-5 Lab
Using the particle model to explain states of matter George Ramos MS Lab
States of Matter Joyce Kechner K-5 CQs
Lab
States of Matter Christine Samuel K-5 Lab
States of Matter: Basics Katherine Sarantis K-5 Other
De fasen van een stof Azzedine Toutouh HS
UG-Intro		 HW
MC
Demo
Lab
물질의 상태(기초) SIM 사용지침서 이화국(Wha Kuk Lee) HS
MS		 Demo
Lab
Inquiry activity about State of Matter: Basic Flávio Silva HS Guided
Laboratorio- Materia-Energía Paola Cárdenas HS Lab

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Translations

Language Download or Run Tips
Albanian All shqipe Run now States of Matter: Basics
Arabic All العربية Run now حالات المادة: الأساسي
Arabic (Saudi Arabia) All العربية (السعودية) Run now حالات المادة: الأساسيات
Basque All Basque Run now States of Matter: Basics
Belarusian All беларускі Run now Стан рэчыва: асновы
Bosnian All Bosanski Run now Agregatna stanja: osnovni nivo
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Run now 物质的基本形态
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Run now States of Matter: Basics 物質的狀態:基礎的
Croatian All hrvatski Run now Stanje materije: osnovno
Czech All čeština Run now Stavy hmoty: Základy
Danish All Dansk Run now Tilstandsformer: Indledning
Dutch All Nederlands Run now De fasen van een stof: grondbeginselen
Estonian All Eesti Run now Aine olekud: põhiline
Finnish All suomi Run now States of Matter: Basics
French All français Run now States of Matter: Basics
Galician All Gallegan Run now Estados da materia: Básicos
Georgian All Georgian Run now States of Matter: Basics
German All Deutsch Run now Aggregatzustände (Grundlagen)
Greek All Ελληνικά Run now Καταστάσεις της Ύλης. Τα βασικά
Hebrew All עברית Run now מצבי צבירה: בסיס
Hungarian All magyar Run now Halmazállapotok - alapok
Indonesian All Bahasa Indonesia Run now States of Matter: Basics
Italian All italiano Run now Gli stati della Materia: fondamenti
Japanese All 日本語 Run now States of Matter: Basics
Kannada All Kannada Run now ದ್ರವ್ಯ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಗಳು
Kazakh All Kazakh Run now Заттың түрлері:Негіздер
Khmer All Khmer Run now States of Matter: Basics
Korean All 한국어 Run now 물질의 상태: 기초편
Kurdish All کوردی Run now دۆخه‌کانی مادده ‌
Kurdish (Turkey) All Kurdish (Turkey) Run now Rewşên Made: Bingehîn
Macedonian All македонски Run now Состојба на материјата: Основи
Malay All Bahasa Melayu Run now Keadaan Jirim: Asas
Marathi All मराठी Run now पदार्थांच्या स्थिती
Norwegian Bokmal All Norsk bokmål Run now States of Matter: Basics
Persian All فارسی Run now حالت های ماده: مقدماتی
Polish All polski Run now Stany materii: podstawy
Portuguese All português Run now States of Matter: Basics
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Run now Estados da Matéria: Básico
Romanian All română Run now Stări de agregare - Introducere
Russian All русский Run now States of Matter: Basics
Serbian All Српски Run now Агрегатна стања : основни ниво
Slovak All Slovenčina Run now Skupenstvo látky. základný kurz
Slovenian All Slovenščina Run now Agregatna stanja snovi: Osnove
Spanish All español Run now Estados de la Materia: Básico
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Run now Estados de la Materia:Básico
Swedish All svenska Run now States of Matter: Basics
Thai All ไทย Run now สถานะของสาร: พื้นฐาน
Turkish All Türkçe Run now States of Matter: Basics
Turkmen All Turkmen Run now Maddanyň hallary: Esasylar
Uzbek All Uzbek Run now States of Matter: Basics
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Run now Trạng thái của vật chất: Những điều cơ bản

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later
OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Wendy Adams
  • Paul Beale
  • John Blanco (developer)
  • Sarah McKagan
  • Emily Moore
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Noah Podolefsky
  • Trish Loeblein
  • Piccolo
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