Particles and States Lab
Free Year 7 Science practice. Model states, changes, diffusion, pressure, density and mass. No account needed.
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Using Particles and States Lab
Use selected particle-model questions to revisit states, changes of state, diffusion, pressure, density and conservation of mass. This is a KS3 recap game. The linked Year 9 lesson develops density and pressure further.
How to play
- Choose Pressure and density for the recap linked from the Year 9 lesson. The other challenges revisit states, state changes, diffusion and mass during physical change.
- Choose Practice to work without a timer. Read the conditions in each question before selecting an answer.
- Explain what stays the same and what changes. A drawn particle represents part of the model. It does not have every visible property of the whole substance.
Keep mass and volume separate
A solid sample has a mass of 24 g and a volume of 8 cm³. Its density is mass ÷ volume: 24 ÷ 8 = 3 g/cm³. A smaller sample of the same material can have the same density: 12 g ÷ 4 cm³ = 3 g/cm³.
Now think about a sealed gas. Compressing it reduces its volume while its mass stays the same, so its density increases. At the same temperature its pressure also increases: the particles collide with the walls more often. Density and pressure describe different things.
A mistake to look out for
A particle drawing is a model. It does not mean that a solid particle itself melts, that a gas has no mass, or that density and pressure are interchangeable.
After a round
Return to the Year 9 lesson to compare compression with warming. State which quantity is fixed before predicting what happens to density or pressure.
Learn about density and pressureTry the matching worksheet
Questions about this game
Why does a Year 9 lesson link to a Year 7 game?
The game is a KS3 recap of earlier particle ideas. The linked Year 9 lesson develops density and pressure. The game has not been renamed or presented as a complete Year 9 course.
Do particles get bigger when a substance warms?
In this simple model, explain changes in motion and spacing rather than making each particle grow. The visible bulk substance and a particle in its model are different things.
Are density and pressure the same?
No. Density compares mass with volume. Gas pressure relates to particle collisions with surfaces. Say what is kept fixed before predicting how either quantity changes.
Curriculum context
England’s KS3 Science programme includes particle models, changes of state, diffusion and gas pressure. This is a recap game supporting the linked Year 9 lesson, rather than a full course. Department for Education programme of study.
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