Solids and Plasmas Quiz

Substance X has a fixed volume, and the attraction between its particles is strong. Substance Y has widely spread out particles and can be compressed. What can most likely be concluded about these substances?

Substance X is a solid, and substance Y is a plasma.

Which best explains why a crystal is incompressible?

There is little, if any, space left between its adjacent molecules.

Keisha makes a table to compare plasmas and solids. Which labels belong in the cells marked X and Y?

X: High Y: High

A group of students are wandering around a room. When their teacher claps, the students sit down wherever they are. This situation best models the formation of which type of solid?

an amorphous solid because the particles do not have a regular structure

Which is an example of plasmas in nature?

auroras

Which state of matter is characterized by ionized particles, no definite shape or volume, and good electrical conductivity?

plasma

What are thermal plasmas?

plasmas that reach a temperature equal to their surroundings

Which low-energy state of condensed matter is characterized by structural rigidity and resistance to changes of shape or volume?

solid

The repeating subunits that are responsible for the shape of a crystal are known as

unit cells.

Which description best characterizes the motion of particles in a solid?

vibrating around fixed positions