Solids

Liquids

Liquids

(i) Solids have distinct boundaries which helps them to maintain a fixed shape and volume.

(i) Liquids do not have distinct boundaries and have no fixed shape. Liquids have fixed volumes. They take the shape of the container in which they are placed.

(i) Gases have neither a fixed shape nor a fixed volume. They acquire the shape and volume of the container in which they are kept.

(ii) Solids cannot be compressed much. They have a tendency to maintain their shape when subjected to outside force. The forces of attraction between the particles are maximum.

(ii) Like solids, liquids cannot be compressed much. The forces of attraction between the particles are moderate.

(ii) Gases can be compressed easily (into a small volume). The force of attraction between the particles of gas are minimum as compared to solids and liquids.

(iii) Solids have high densities. They are heavy.

(iii) Liquids have moderate to high densities. They are usually less dense than solids.

(iii) Gases have very low densities. A gas is much lighter than the same volume of a solid or a liquid.

(iv) Solids do not fill their container completely. The particles in solids are packed closely and are not able to move freely. They have fixed positions.

(iv) Liquids do not fill their container completely. The particles in liquids are moderately packed. They have a fixed volume.

(iv) Gases fill their container completely. The particles in a gas do not have fixed positions and are able to move freely. Because of weak forces of attraction among the particles, they do not have fixed volumes. As a result, gases fill their container completely.

(v) Solids do not flow because they have rigid boundaries.

(v) Liquids generally flow easily because they are not rigid and take the shape of the container in which they are kept.

(v) Gases flow easily. They do not have rigid shape and fixed volume.