Phases of matter question?

Question

Consider equal volumes (say 1 L ) of a substance in the solid, liquid, and gas phases.

Arrange them in order of decreasing mass. If the mass difference between samples is relatively small, rank the items as equivalent.

1 L of substance in the liquid state
1 L of substance in the solid state
1 L of substance in the gas state

Please help, I'm confused about this question.

Answer 1

The answer would usually* be:



1 L of substance in the solid state

1 L of substance in the liquid state

1 L of substance in the gas state



If you find it confusing, it's helpful if you apply the question to something tangible. For example, which has less mass--a bottle of water, or a bottle of air? The air, of course.



More generally, you can just apply the basic formula, Density = Mass/Volume. For a fixed volume, density is proportional to mass. Thus lower density equals less mass in the same volume.



* One exception is water. Very cold water is actually more dense than ice, so one liter of cold liquid water has more mass than a liter of ice.

Answer 2

1 L of substance in the liquid state & 1 L of substance in the solid state are equal with having the greatest mass and 1 L of substance in the gas state is least becasue gas always has least mass.

Answer 3

You mention volume and mass, so the logical property to look at would be density (mass divided by volume = density).



The most dense state is solid (water being an exception), followed by liquid, then gas.



So a liter of solid would contain the most mass, liquid comes a close second (possibly ranked equal to solid), followed by gas.

Answer 4

if it is the same substance, just in all phases, then it should all be equivalent mass because according to the law of conservation of mass, mass can't be created or destroyed. therefore, by that logic, if all are 1 L, then all have equal mass.

Answer 5

the liquid and solid are equal and then the gas is least. new2itall is correct.