The model you described appears to depict a change of state, possibly from solid to liquid or from liquid to gas. The correct relationship between energy and state change in the context provided would be:
Atoms gain energy as a liquid changes to a gas.
In this process, when a liquid is heated, energy is absorbed, allowing the molecules to overcome the forces holding them together, leading to a change from liquid to gas (evaporation or boiling).
The other scenarios you mentioned are not accurate:
- Atoms do not gain energy as a solid changes to a gas; they typically transition from solid to gas in a process called sublimation, which also involves energy absorption, but this process is less common in typical state changes.
- Atoms lose energy as a gas changes to a liquid (condensation), and this transition occurs when gases cool down and lose energy.
- Atoms lose energy as a liquid changes to a solid (freezing).
Thus, the best answer is that atoms gain energy as a liquid changes to a gas.
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