Solid, liquid, or gas?

An ice candy left on the table becomes a puddle.

The idea

Most things are a solid, a liquid or a gas.

• A solid keeps its own shape.
• A liquid takes the shape of its container, like a glass. The amount of liquid stays the same.
• A gas spreads out to fill its container.

Heat can change a solid to a liquid. Heat can change a liquid to a gas. Ice is solid water. Warm it and it melts and becomes liquid water.

Liquid water slowly becomes a gas too. This is evaporation. The gas is water vapour. You cannot see it.

Try the lab to finish this lesson.