State of Matter-Basic

1 collaborator

lin xiang (Author)

WHAT IS IT?

This model represents the changes of state at the micro-particle level. By heating up and cooling down a set of particles, students can explore the fundamental features of three states. This model is particularly good at letting students identify visual evidence to describe different states and the changes and explore the relationships between particles' kinetic energy and the space they may take.

HOW IT WORKS

All the particles follow three rules: kinetic motion, attraction, and repulsion. The model starts with many randomly distributed particles. All particles have the same initial speed. When users "heat up" the particle, the speed increases. When users "cool down" the particle, the speed decreases. i.e., you add and remove kinetic energy.

Each particle is attracted to one of the other particles in a radius of 5, indicated by the fact that it moves towards the particle a little bit. Each particle is repelled by one of the other particles if the distance between the two particles is less than 1, indicated by the fact that it moves away from the particle a little bit if the distance is less than 1.

HOW TO USE IT

Choose "Number-of-particles" and "Particle-color" first. The colors do not indicate different types of particles. They are for fun.
Click on the button "start/reset" to confirm the setting, and then click "Run/Pause" to run the model.
Click the "heat up" or "cool down" buttons while running the model.

THINGS TO NOTICE

Can you identify the solid, liquid, and gas states in this model?
What evidence can you gather in the model for identifying each of the states?
Does the amount of matter change when the state changes?
What evidence can you gather in the model for determining whether the amount of matter changes?

OTHER MODELS

Check other models at http://3dsciencemodeling.com.

CREDITS AND REFERENCES

Dr. Lin Xiang created this module at the University of Kentucky in 2020. If you mention this model in a publication, we ask that you include the citations below.

Xiang, L. (2020). States of Matter-Basic. Department of STEM Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.

Comments and Questions

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Click to Run Model

turtles-own [step watched]
patches-own [occupied tt-here]
globals [ ]

to setup
clear-all

create-turtles number-of-particles
[set-color
 set size 2.25
 set shape "dot"
 set step 0.2
 set watched false
 setxy random-xcor random-ycor ]

  check-turtles-here

reset-ticks
end 

to check-turtles-here

  ask patches[
    ifelse any? turtles-here
    [set occupied true set pcolor 49 ]
    [set occupied false set pcolor white]
    if count neighbors with [occupied = true] > 5 [set occupied true set pcolor 49]
    set tt-here count turtles-here
  ]
end 

to go
  ask turtles [set-color]
    attraction
    repulsion
    kinetic-move
    check-turtles-here

  tick
end 

to kinetic-move
  ask turtles
    [ifelse step <= 0 [user-message "The molecules cannot be cooled any more." stop]
    [fd step
      rt random-float 360]
  ]
end 

to attraction

  ask turtles [
    let a-close-molecule one-of other turtles in-radius 5
    if a-close-molecule != nobody
     [ ifelse step >= 0.02
      [face a-close-molecule fd 0.01 rt random-float 360]
      [face a-close-molecule fd step rt random-float 360]
  ]]
end 

to repulsion
   ask turtles [
    let a-close-molecule one-of other turtles in-radius 1
    if a-close-molecule != nobody
     [face a-close-molecule
      fd -0.04
      rt random-float 360

    ]
  ]
end 

to set-color
  (ifelse
  Particle-color = "Red" [set color red]
  Particle-color = "Orange" [set color orange]
  Particle-color = "Brown" [set color brown]
  Particle-color = "Green" [set color green]
  Particle-color = "Cyan" [set color Cyan]
  Particle-color = "Blue" [set color blue]
  Particle-color = "Violet" [set color violet]
  Particle-color = "Pink" [set color Pink]
  Particle-color = "Magenta" [set color magenta]
  Particle-color = "Colorful" [ ])
end

There are 5 versions of this model.

Uploaded by	When	Description	Download
lin xiang	over 3 years ago	adjust the interface	Download this version
lin xiang	over 4 years ago	improve the visual for solid phase	Download this version
lin xiang	over 4 years ago	fix dimensions	Download this version
lin xiang	over 4 years ago	add the estimate of space	Download this version
lin xiang	over 4 years ago	Initial upload	Download this version

Attached files

File	Type	Description	Last updated
State of Matter-Basic.png	preview	Preview for 'State of Matter-Basic'	over 4 years ago, by lin xiang	Download

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