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Created 3/25/18. Updates available online.

States of Matter: Basics

States of Matter: Basics Screenshot
  • Atoms
  • Molecules
  • States of Matter
Java Logo Original Sim and Translations

About

Topics

  • Atoms
  • Molecules
  • States of Matter

Description

Heat, cool and compress atoms and molecules and watch as they change between solid, liquid and gas phases.

Sample Learning Goals

  • Describe characteristics of three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.
  • Predict how varying the temperature or pressure changes the behavior of particles.
  • Compare particles in the three different phases.
  • Explain freezing and melting with molecular level detail.
  • Recognize that different substances have different properties, including melting, freezing and boiling temperatures.
Version 1.0.2

For Teachers

Teacher Tips

Download teacher tips PDF Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ).

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Title Gold Star Contribution Contribution by PhET Authors Level Type
Using PhET in High School Chemistry- all my activities in pdf A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS		 Lab
Demo
HW
Intermolecular Forces and Molecules - Interactive Lecture Demonstration A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Ted Clark, Julia Chamberlain UG-Intro Demo
Concept Questions for Chemistry using PhET A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS
MS		 MC
States of Matter Basics A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
MS		 Demo
Lab
States of Matter Basics - Clicker Questions A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Robert Parson, Trish Loeblein UG-Intro MC
Intermolecular Forces and States of Matter - Interactive Lecture Demonstration A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Ted Clark, Julia Chamberlain UG-Intro Demo
Chemistry Theater A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. UTeach Middle School PhET Team MS
K-5		 Lab
Phases of Matter A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Dr. Wendy Adams MS
UG-Intro
HS		 Lab
Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS Other
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other
States of matter simulations Joko Susilo MS
HS		 Guided
HW
Lab
Discuss
MC
Demo
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer MS
HS		 Other
States of Matte Inquiry Jeff Drach MS
HS		 Guided
Gas laws simulation lab Dan Maley MS
HS		 Lab
ChemActivity: Phase Changes and Intermolecular Forces Mary van Opstal UG-Intro
HS		 Guided
States Of Matter Craig Reuter HS Lab
Preguntas de razonamiento para todas las simulaciones HTML5 A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Diana López HS
K-5
MS
UG-Intro
Grad
UG-Adv		 Discuss
HW

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Translations

Language Download or Run Tips
Belarusian All беларускі Run now Агрэгатныя станы рэчыва: асновы
Bosnian All Bosanski Run now Agregatna stanja: osnovni nivo
Bulgarian All български Run now Състояния на материята
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Run now 物质状态：基础
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Run now States of Matter: Basics_物質三態：基礎
Croatian All hrvatski Run now Agregatna stanja:osnove
Danish All Dansk Run now Stoftilstande: Basis
Dutch All Nederlands Run now Aggregatietoestanden: eenvoudig
French All français Run now Etats de la matière: les bases
German All Deutsch Run now Aggregatszustände: Grundbegriffe
Greek All Ελληνικά Run now Καταστάσεις της ύλης: Τα βασικά
Hindi All हिंदी Run now द्रव्य  की अवस्थाएँ - मूल बातें 
Hungarian All magyar Run now Halmazállapotok - alapok
Irish All Gaeilge Run now Staideanna Damhna: Buneolas
Italian All italiano Run now Stati della materia: introduzione
Kazakh All Kazakh Run now Заттың агрегаттық күйлері: Негіздері
Korean All 한국어 Run now 물질의 상태: 기초편
Latvian All Latviešu Run now Vielas agregātstāvokļi: Pamati
Marathi All मराठी Run now पदार्थांच्या अवस्था (प्राथमिक)
Persian All فارسی Run now حالت های ماده: مقدماتی
Polish All polski Run now Stany skupienia: podstawy
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Run now Estados da Matéria: Básico
Russian All русский Run now Агрегатное состояние вещества: основы
Serbian All Српски Run now Стања материје: основе
Slovak All Slovenčina Run now Skupenstvo látky: základy
Slovenian All Slovenščina Run now Agregatno stanje in fazni prehodi
Spanish All español Run now Estados de la Materia: Fundamentos
Spanish (Mexico) All español (México) Run now Estados de la Materia: Básico
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Run now Estados de la Materia: Fundamentos
Spanish (Spain) All español (España) Run now Estados de la materia: Fundamentos
Swedish All svenska Run now Materiens tillstånd: Grunder
Thai All ไทย Run now สถานะของสาร: เบื้องต้น
Tibetan All Tibetan Run now བེམ་གཟུགས་ཀྱི་གནས་འབབ། ༼རྨང་གཞི།༽
Ukrainian All українська Run now Стан речовини: Основи
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Run now Trạng thái của vật chất: Phần cơ bản

Software Requirements

Windows 7+ Mac OS 10.7+ iPad and iPad Mini with iOS Chromebook with Chrome OS
Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11, latest version of Firefox, latest version of Chrome.
Safari 9+, latest version of Firefox, latest version of Chrome.
Latest version of Safari
Latest version of Chrome

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Yuen-ying Carpenter (lead designer, HTML5)
  • Amy Rouinfar (lead designer, HTML5)
  • Paul Beale (lead designer, Java)
  • Sarah McKagan (lead designer, Java)
  • Emily Moore (lead designer, Java)
  • Noah Podolefsky (lead designer, Java)
  • John Blanco (lead developer)
  • Aaron Davis (developer)
  • Aadish Gupta (developer)
  • Wendy Adams
  • Jack Barbera
  • Amy Hanson
  • Kelly Lancaster
  • Ariel Paul
  • Kathy Perkins
  • undefined
  • Actual Concepts
English
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