Asked by yj

Three grams of the same substance in different phases are stored in three different containers. Each container is barely large enough to hold the substance.

Which statement can be known about the behavior of the atoms in each container?

The atoms in the solid would be moving vigorously around the container.
The atoms in the liquid would be vibrating in position.
The atoms in the solid would be vibrating in position.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Only the third statement is correct.

- Correct: "The atoms in the solid would be vibrating in position." In a solid the atoms (or molecules) are held in fixed positions in a lattice and mainly vibrate about those equilibrium positions.
- Incorrect: "The atoms in the solid would be moving vigorously around the container." Solids do not flow to fill the container; their atoms do not travel around the container.
- Incorrect: "The atoms in the liquid would be vibrating in position." Liquids have atoms/molecules that can move past one another and flow; they are not fixed to vibration about fixed sites.