PhysicsCode 5054
Particle model
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- Describe, qualitatively, how the particles in solids, liquids and gases are arranged, linking each state's properties to the forces between its particles, the distances between them and the way they move (atoms, molecules, ions and electrons)
- Describe how the motion of particles is related to temperature, including the idea of a lowest possible temperature (−273°C), called absolute zero, at which particles have the least kinetic energy
- Describe how a gas creates pressure, and how that pressure changes, through the forces produced when particles strike surfaces, giving a force per unit area
- Explain qualitatively, using particles, the link between: (a) pressure and temperature when volume is constant; (b) volume and temperature when pressure is constant; (c) pressure and volume when temperature is constant
- Recall and use the equation p1 / V1 = p2 / V2, including a graph that displays how pressure and volume of a gas relate when its temperature is constant