Question

Arrange the three states of matter in increasing interparticle space:
A. solid, liquid, gas
B. solid, gas, liquid
C. liquid, gas, solid
D. None of the above

Answer 1

Interparticle space is the space that exists between small bodies of microscopic size, like atoms and molecules, in a microscopic body. It is present between all the particles of matter. In this space, we can also observe a force that is being exerted between the particles , called interparticle force, and this force tends to hold the particles together as a whole.

Complete step by step answer:
-Interparticle space is dependent on the intermolecular force that is exerted between the particles. When we consider solids, the intermolecular force is evidently maximum in solids. This implies that the spacing between particles is minimum.
-Liquids have lesser interparticle force and gases have the least force between the particles. This implies that gases have the maximum interparticle space and liquids have lesser space between the particles compared to our gases. From this we can conclude that both these states of matter have more interparticle space than solids.
Hence we can arrange the states of matter based on the order of interparticle space as follows:SolidsTherefore, option A is the correct answer among the four options.

Note: Potential energy that is stored, is capable of increasing the intermolecular space between the particles as it is dependent on the intermolecular force and the relative position of the molecules between each other at any point of time.