States of Matter

Science — Second Preparatory

Common mistakes

Comparison aspect	Main idea	Keywords
Mistake	thinking that gas particles are still. Correct: gas particles are always moving fast and randomly	thinkingparticlesstillCorrect
Mistake	thinking that a liquid takes the shape of its container because its particles have that shape. Correct: liquid particles slide over each other so the liquid takes the shape of the container it is poured into	thinkingliquidtakesshape
Mistake	thinking that a gas has no mass. Correct: a gas is matter and has mass although the mass is small compared with its volume	thinkingmassCorrectmatter
Mistake	thinking that a solid is always denser than its liquid. Correct: water is an exception because ice is less dense than liquid water so ice floats	thinkingsolidalwaysdenser

States of Matter · 6 / 7