Three States of Matter: Solids, Liquids, Gases

Water and all matter can exist in three different forms: solids, liquids, and gases. In a solid, the molecules are packed close together with little or no movement between the molecules. The molecules in a liquid are also closely packed, however, there is still movement of the molecules between each other. Gases, on the other hand, have large spaces between molecules and have much more freedom of movement.

So, in our example in the prior page, the white flurries that were hitting your face is water that is frozen in the solid form. In the hot, humid jungles of South America, although there were not any clouds in the sky, water was still in the air in the form vapor (gaseous). Although you can't see it in the air, with all of the vegetation surrounding you in the jungle, when the water vapor in the air hits your skin, it condenses to a form a liquid. In the last example, most people may have guessed the water pouring from the sky is in the form of rain, or liquid.