Warming them up
An ice cube on a warm plate turns to water. Boil the water and it turns to steam. Steam is water vapour, water as a gas.
Step 1 of 4
- Cold ice: particles are packed and vibrate a little.
- Warmer: they vibrate harder. At last they leave their places.
- Liquid water: particles slide past each other.
- Hotter: particles break away and fly off as vapour.
New words
- Melting point — the temperature at which a solid becomes a liquid.
- Boiling point — the temperature at which a liquid becomes a gas.
The rule
Warm a solid and its particles vibrate more. At the melting point, they leave their places. The solid becomes a liquid. At the boiling point, they move far apart. The liquid becomes a gas.
| Solid | Melts at |
|---|---|
| Ice | 0 °C |
| Tin | 232 °C |
| Copper | 1085 °C |
Water boils at 100 °C. That is its boiling point.
Water also turns to vapour slowly below its boiling point. That is evaporation.
Slide the temperature. Watch the particles.
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