(a) Tabulate the differences in the characteristics of states of matter. (b) Comment upon the following: rigidity, compressibility, fluidity, filling a gas container, shape, kinetic energy and density.

-Nandita Bhattacharya , subject matter expert.

Answer: As we know that generally there are three states of matter that are solid, liquid and gas. These three states of matter differ in the properties. So, in the following table we will discuss about the characteristics of these three states of matter.

PROPERTIES	SOLID	LIQUID	GAS
Rigidity	Very rigid	Less rigid than solids	Not rigid at all
Compressibility	Negligible compressibility	More compressible than solids	High compressibility
Fluidity	Cannot flow	Can flow easily	Can flow most easily
Filling a gas container	Can only fill a gas container up to its original volume	Can only fill a gas container up to its original volume	Can fill the gas container completely
Shape	Definite shape	Do not have a definite shape, will take the shape of the container.	No definite shape
Kinetic energy	Least energetic	More energetic than solids	Most energetic
Density	Highly dense	Moderately dense	Least dense