Which of the following is a state of matter with a definite shape and volume?

Which of the following is a state of matter with a definite shape and volume?

• A. Liquid
• B. Plasma
• C. Solid
• D. Gas

Answer: (C)

Understanding how matter behaves starts with how its particles are arranged. A solid keeps a definite shape and definite volume because its particles are tightly packed in a fixed arrangement and can only vibrate in place. That rigid structure gives the material its shape and prevents it from flowing or expanding to fill container space. Liquids, by contrast, have a definite volume but take the shape of their container, so their shape isn’t fixed. Gases have neither a fixed shape nor a fixed volume; they spread out to fill the space available. Plasma is a highly energized, ionized state of matter that behaves like a gas in many ways and also lacks a definite shape or volume under ordinary conditions. So the state that has both a definite shape and volume is solid.

Understanding how matter behaves starts with how its particles are arranged. A solid keeps a definite shape and definite volume because its particles are tightly packed in a fixed arrangement and can only vibrate in place. That rigid structure gives the material its shape and prevents it from flowing or expanding to fill container space.

Liquids, by contrast, have a definite volume but take the shape of their container, so their shape isn’t fixed. Gases have neither a fixed shape nor a fixed volume; they spread out to fill the space available. Plasma is a highly energized, ionized state of matter that behaves like a gas in many ways and also lacks a definite shape or volume under ordinary conditions.

So the state that has both a definite shape and volume is solid.