Solid substance A has a melting point of 100°C. Liquid substance B has a freezing point of 110°C. For each substance, identify its state of matter and describe the motion of its particles when the substance is at 115°C.
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At 115°C, substance A, which has a melting point of 100°C, will be in the liquid state because the temperature is above its melting point. At this temperature, the particles of substance A have absorbed enough heat energy to overcome the forces holding them together in the solid state, allowing them to move past one another freely, although they are still attracted to each other. This free movement of particles is characteristic of the liquid state.
Substance B, with a freezing point of 110°C, will also be in the liquid state at 115°C since it is still above the temperature at which it would solidify (freeze). Similar to substance A, the particles in liquid substance B will be moving around, slipping past one another because they have not cooled down enough to lock into the fixed positions of a solid.