As a result, one prediction of Kinetic Molecular Theory is that if we continue to decrease the energy (measured as temperature) of a substance, we will reach a point at which all molecular motion stops. Conversely, decreasing energy results in less molecular motion. Atoms and molecules that have relatively small amounts of energy (and movement) will interact strongly with each other, while those that have relatively high energy will interact only slightly, if even at all, with others.Īs we have seen, increasing energy leads to more molecular motion. Unlike simple billiard balls, many atoms and molecules are attracted to each other as a result of various intermolecular forces such as hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, and others. An important point that follows this is that the amount of energy that atoms and molecules have (and thus the amount of movement) influences their interaction with each other. The more energy a substance has, the more molecular movement there will be, and the higher the perceived temperature will be. In other words, atoms and molecules are constantly moving, and we measure the energy of these movements as the temperature of the substance. One of the basic concepts of the theory states that atoms and molecules possess an energy of motion that we perceive as temperature. Kinetic Molecular Theory has many parts, but we will introduce just a few here. To understand the different states in which matter can exist, we need to understand something called the Kinetic Molecular Theory of Matter. We now know that water is not the fundamental substance of the universe in fact, it is not even an element. But these same Greeks, in particular the philosopher Thales (624 – 545 BCE), incorrectly suggested that since water could exist as a solid, liquid, or even a gas under natural conditions, it must be the single principal element in the universe from which all other substances are made. The ancient Greeks were the first to identify three classes (what we now call states) of matter based on their observations of water. The different states of matter have long confused people.
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