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Article: Q: What causes the different states of matter?(Science 101: Background boosters for elementary teachers)
- Article from:
- Science and Children
- Article date:
- December 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 National Science Teachers Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A: The answer to this could be really simple or really complicated, depending on how deeply we cover the issue. I'll dispense with the really complicated by limiting the discussion to solids, liquids, and gases. There are many other states of matter, including plasmas, superfluids, and Bose-Einstein condensates(!). Because this is a column and not a book, you'll have to look up those other states of matter elsewhere. Even though we're staying simple, you might get a surprise or two, such as the fact that it's possible for iron to be a gas, and it's possible to have liquid or even solid hydrogen.
It's the Molecules
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