| States of water |
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Water can exist in three different forms, known as States. These states refer to the form that water takes depending on what is happening to the water molecules. Water molecules change from one state to another when heat energy is added or lost. The three states of water are Liquid (flowing water), Gas (steam), and Solid (ice). Below freezing point water is a solid (ice or snowflakes), between freezing and boiling water is a liquid, and above its boiling point water is a gas. Water changing from solid to liquid is said to be melting and changing from liquid to solid is called freezing. When it changes from liquid to gas it is evaporating. Water changing from gas to liquid is called condensation. Frost formation is when water changes from gas directly to solid form. When water changes directly from solid to gas the process is called sublimation.
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Gas State
The bond between the hydrogen and oxygen that form the water molecules is a weak attraction. When water is heated to boiling, and steam begins to form, the molecules separate and are no longer attached. This causes a gas to form. In this gaseous state, the water molecules have been heated by energy and are moving very fast. Water in the form of gas also forms when it evaporates from a liquid. This occurs in the water cycle as oceans, seas, lakes, and smaller bodies of liquid water evaporate in the heat of the sun. |
Liquid State
Water in the liquid state flows. In a liquid state the molecules are moving more slowly than they move in the gaseous state because they have lost some of the heat energy.
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