Matter questions

By Interwoven Maths

Matter question collection

Review Matter questions for Physics, with correct answers shown and coverage across particle models of solids, liquids and gases; density calculations; changes of state.

Back to Matter practice Back to Physics

Question 1

What happens to mass when ice melts in a closed container?
  1. It stays the same
  2. It decreases as the ice disappears
  3. It increases as liquid forms
  4. It changes into thermal energy

Question 2

How are particles arranged in a solid?
  1. Closely packed, vibrating in fixed positions
  2. Widely spaced, moving randomly
  3. Closely packed, moving past one another
  4. Widely spaced, vibrating in fixed positions

Question 3

What does Brownian motion provide evidence for?
  1. Random motion of unseen particles
  2. Regular motion of particles in circles
  3. Bulk motion caused only by convection
  4. Stationary particles vibrating in a lattice

Question 4

What process spreads perfume molecules through still air?
  1. Diffusion
  2. Convection
  3. Condensation
  4. Freezing

Question 5

Which equation defines density \(\rho\)?
  1. \(\rho = \frac{m}{V}\)
  2. \(\rho = mV\)
  3. \(\rho = \frac{V}{m}\)
  4. \(\rho = m + V\)

Question 6

A block has mass \(3\,\mathrm{kg}\) and volume \(0.001\,\mathrm{m^3}\). What is its density?
  1. \(3000\,\mathrm{kg\,m^{-3}}\)
  2. \(300\,\mathrm{kg\,m^{-3}}\)
  3. \(30\,\mathrm{kg\,m^{-3}}\)
  4. \(30000\,\mathrm{kg\,m^{-3}}\)

Question 7

Which energy store includes particle motion and positions inside a material?
  1. Internal energy
  2. The object's kinetic energy
  3. Gravitational potential energy
  4. Elastic potential energy

Question 8

Which state has fixed volume but takes its container's shape?
  1. Liquid
  2. Solid
  3. Gas
  4. Plasma

Question 9

As ice melts at its melting point, what happens to internal energy and temperature, respectively?
  1. Increases; stays constant
  2. Decreases; stays constant
  3. Stays constant; increases
  4. Increases; decreases

Question 10

A gas is easier to compress than a liquid because its particles do what?
  1. Are farther apart
  2. Have no mass
  3. Are larger
  4. Stop moving

Question 11

Which change conserves both mass and chemical composition?
  1. Evaporation of water
  2. Burning paper
  3. Iron rusting
  4. Baking a cake

Question 12

When water condenses, what happens to the energy stored by the particles?
  1. It decreases
  2. It increases
  3. It stays the same
  4. It becomes zero

Question 13

Why does diffusion happen faster at higher temperatures?
  1. Particles move faster
  2. Particles move more slowly
  3. Particles become smaller
  4. Particles move only in one direction

Question 14

For most substances, how does particle spacing change when a solid melts?
  1. It increases slightly
  2. It decreases greatly
  3. It becomes as wide as in a gas
  4. It stays fixed until boiling

Question 15

Which state has particles sliding past each other while still touching?
  1. Liquid
  2. Solid
  3. Gas
  4. Plasma

Question 16

For a fixed mass, what usually happens to internal energy as temperature rises?
  1. It increases
  2. It decreases
  3. It stays constant
  4. It rises then returns to its starting value

Question 17

Which state change is the reverse of melting?
  1. Freezing
  2. Condensation
  3. Evaporation
  4. Sublimation

Question 18

What happens to the density of a fixed gas mass when it is compressed?
  1. It increases
  2. It decreases
  3. It stays the same
  4. It immediately equals the liquid's density

Question 19

Where in a liquid does boiling occur?
  1. Throughout the liquid
  2. Only at the surface
  3. Only against the container
  4. Only above the liquid

Question 20

In the particle model, what changes when a substance changes state?
  1. Particle arrangement and movement
  2. Particle identity and chemical formula
  3. Particle number and total mass
  4. Particle size and material type

Question 21

A sample has mass \(240\,\mathrm{g}\) and density \(3\,\mathrm{g\,cm^{-3}}\). What is its volume?
  1. \(80\,\mathrm{cm^3}\)
  2. \(720\,\mathrm{cm^3}\)
  3. \(0.0125\,\mathrm{cm^3}\)
  4. \(243\,\mathrm{cm^3}\)

Question 22

What is the change from liquid to gas at the surface below boiling point?
  1. Evaporation
  2. Condensation
  3. Freezing
  4. Sublimation

Question 23

Which particles are most likely to escape during evaporation?
  1. The highest-energy surface particles
  2. The lowest-energy surface particles
  3. Particles deepest inside the liquid
  4. All particles at exactly the same rate

Question 24

What happens to gas pressure when temperature rises in a sealed container?
  1. It increases
  2. It decreases because particles move more slowly
  3. It stays constant because the container is sealed
  4. The gas condenses at the same volume

Question 25

What happens to particles when a gas condenses?
  1. They slow and move closer together
  2. They speed up and spread farther apart
  3. They change into different atoms
  4. They stop moving and lose all spacing

Question 26

What makes a gas easy to compress?
  1. Large gaps between particles
  2. Particles shrinking under pressure
  3. Particles losing mass under pressure
  4. Particles condensing under any pressure

Question 27

How does particle motion change as a solid is heated but not melted?
  1. Particles vibrate more
  2. Particles vibrate less
  3. Particles leave their fixed positions
  4. Particles shrink while staying still

Question 28

Which process changes a gas directly into a solid?
  1. Deposition
  2. Melting
  3. Boiling
  4. Condensation

Question 29

A material has mass \(500\,\mathrm{g}\) and volume \(200\,\mathrm{cm^3}\). What is its density?
  1. \(2.5\,\mathrm{g\,cm^{-3}}\)
  2. \(0.4\,\mathrm{g\,cm^{-3}}\)
  3. \(100000\,\mathrm{g\,cm^{-3}}\)
  4. \(700\,\mathrm{g\,cm^{-3}}\)

Question 30

Why does a metal spoon feel colder than a wooden spoon in the same room?
  1. Metal transfers thermal energy from the hand faster
  2. Metal is at a lower temperature in the same room
  3. Wood transfers thermal energy from the hand faster
  4. Metal feels colder because it has greater density

About this topic

Review Matter questions for Physics, with correct answers shown and coverage across particle models of solids, liquids and gases; density calculations; changes of state.

This topic covers

Example question types