Question

Which of the following are the characteristics of liquid?
A ) It flows, has a fixed volume and an indefinite shape.
B ) It flows, has a fixed volume and a definite shape.
C ) It flows, has a indefinite volume and an indefinite shape.
D ) It flows, has a fixed volume and an indefinite shape and changes under pressure.

Answer 1

Hint: The volume of a liquid is fixed. It depends on the mass of liquid and its density. The shape of the liquid is not fixed. Liquid takes the shape of the container. Application of large pressure can compress the liquids.

Complete answer:
Write down the characteristics of liquids as shown below:
1) The volume of the liquid is fixed. At a given temperature, the density of a liquid is fixed. For a given mass of liquid having fixed density, the volume is also fixed. This is because the density is the ratio of mass to volume.
But the shape of the liquid is not fixed. If the same volume of liquid is placed in different containers having different shapes, then the shapes of liquids will be different.
A liquid flows. It can be easily transferred from one container to another container.
2) By applying a large amount of pressure, it is possible to compress the liquids. For gases, a small pressure is sufficient to cause the compression. But solids are practically incompressible.
3) The density of liquids is less than that of solids. The density of liquids is more than that of gases.
4) The strength of the intermolecular forces of attraction present in the liquid is in between that for solids and gases.
5) Significant space is present between liquid molecules/atoms. This space of liquid molecules is greater than that of solid molecules but smaller than that of gas molecules.
Thus, a liquid flows, has a fixed volume and an indefinite shape and changes under pressure.

Hence, the option D ) is the correct answer.

Note: By increasing the temperature or by decreasing the pressure, it is possible to convert a liquid in a gas. By decreasing the temperature or by increasing the pressure, it is possible to convert a liquid in a solid.