CHEM101: General Chemistry I

5.2: Phase Changes

• 5.2.1: Liquid Phase Properties

  • Stephen Lower's "General Chemistry Virtual Textbook: Liquids and Their Interfaces"

    Read this webpage. This material takes a more in-depth look at the properties of liquids, which were previously introduced. Have you ever wondered why all soap bubbles are round? The concepts discussed here will explain.
    

  • Khan Academy: "Liquid Phase Properties Series" Page

    Watch these three videos. The material covered explains how to calculate the amount of energy associated with both temperature changes and phase changes of a particular substance.
    

• 5.2.2: Solid Phase Properties

  • 5.2.2.1: Crystalline Solids and the Unit Cell

    • Stephen Lower's "General Chemistry Virtual Textbook: Introduction to Crystals"

      Read this webpage, focusing on the section pertaining to the unit cell. While important, symmetry and spectroscopic terms are only introduced here. More advanced chemistry courses are offered for those who wish to study them further.
      

    • 5.2.2.1.1: Ionic Solids

      • Stephen Lower's "General Chemistry Virtual Textbook: States of Matter: Ionic and Ion-Derived Solids"

        Read this webpage. This material covers the class of solids that form from ions. The energetics of these compounds is also discussed.
        

    • 5.2.2.1.2: Crystal Packing Structures

      • Stephen Lower's "General Chemistry Virtual Textbook: Cubic Crystal Lattices and Close-Packing"

        Read this webpage. This material builds on the concept of the unit cell and describes the packing structures of simple cubic lattices.
        

• 5.2.3: Phase Diagrams

  • Stephen Lower's "General Chemistry Virtual Textbook: Changes of State"

    Read this webpage. This material describes the dynamic equilibrium between phases and introduces phase diagrams. There are six different processes by which phases can change from one to another. Some will be familiar to you, such as evaporation or freezing; others might be less familiar, like sublimation and deposition.
  • Khan Academy: "Phase Diagrams Series" Page

    Watch these five videos to reinforce the concepts covered in the reading assignment. Although we deal everyday with the three primary states of matter--gases, solids, liquids--we are often not familiar with their microscopic interpretations.