Four students complete the table below, ranking states of matter by potential energy. Which student is correct?

Question

Student name, Henry Jasmine, Lucas, Tasha Potential Energy rating lowest to highest, gas liquid solid, gas solid liquid, solid gas liqud, solid liqud gas

(1 point)
Responses

Jasmine
Jasmine

Tasha
Tasha

Lucas
Lucas

Henry

Answer 1

To rank states of matter by potential energy from lowest to highest, we need to consider the arrangement and energy of particles in each state:

1. Solid: Particles are closely packed together in a fixed arrangement, resulting in low potential energy.
2. Liquid: Particles are less tightly packed than in solids and can move around each other, leading to higher potential energy than solids but lower than gases.
3. Gas: Particles are far apart and move freely, which means they have the highest potential energy.

Based on this reasoning, the correct ranking from lowest to highest potential energy is:

• Solid (lowest)
• Liquid
• Gas (highest)

Thus, the correct answer is Tasha, who ranked it as solid → liquid → gas.