What are the five states of matter?

The five states of matter include Bose-Einstein condensates, solids, liquids, plasmas and gases. Matter is anything that occupies space and has weight. Matter may change its state when energy is increased or decreased.

Matter is anything that can be seen, touched, smelled or felt. Below are some details regarding the five states of matter.

• Liquid state - liquids have a definite volume but take the shape of the container in which they occupy. This means liquids do not have shape. They are made up of vibrating particles that are held together by intermolecular bonds
• Gas state - gases have no shape and will assume the shape of the container in which they are placed. They are made up of tiny particles that are vastly separated and are in constant vibration. When liquids are heated, they tend to change into gases
• Solid state - solids have structural rigidity and a strong resistance to environmental changes. Solids have their own shape and will not take the shape of the container in which they are put. The tiny particles of a solid are compactly bound together
• Plasma state - similar to liquids and gases, plasma does not have a definite shape. It is created when energy is added to a gas
• Bose-Einstein condensate - this state of matter is apparent when gas is cooled to near absolute zero