NCERT Solutions for Curiosity Chapter 7 Particulate Nature of Matter
Updated on 2026-09-05
About this chapter
All matter is made up of an extremely large number of constituent particles — the basic units that a piece of a substance is built from. They are so small that they cannot be seen even through an ordinary microscope, and breaking or grinding a substance never changes them; it only separates one group of them from another. The particles are held together by attractive forces called interparticle attractions . Their strength depends on the nature of the substance and on the interparticle distance — even a slight increase in that distance weakens the force drastically. The strength of these attractions decides the physical state . In a solid the particles are closely packed, the attraction is strongest, and they can only vibrate about fixed positions — hence a definite shape and volume. In a
- Chapter opener
- What Is Matter Composed of?
- What Decides Different States of Matter?
- Acharya Kanad and the idea of the Parmanu
- Solid state
- Liquid state
- Gaseous state
- How Particles Move in Different States of Matter?
- End-of-chapter question set (continues on page 114)
- Society–Science interdisciplinary projects
Exercises
- Chapter opener — Probe and ponder Page 98
- In-text Questions — What Is Matter Composed of? Page 99
- Activity 7.1: Let us explore — What Is Matter Composed of? Page 99
- In-text Questions — What Is Matter Composed of? Page 100
- Activity 7.2: Let us perform — What Is Matter Composed of? Page 100
- In-text Questions — What Decides Different States of Matter? Page 101
- Acharya Kanad and the idea of the Parmanu — Our scientific heritage Page 101
- In-text Questions — Solid state Page 102
- Activity 7.3: Let us find out — Solid state Page 102
- In-text Questions — Solid state Page 103
- In-text Questions — Liquid state Page 104
- In-text Questions — Gaseous state Page 105
- In-text Questions — How Does the Interparticle Spacing Differ in the Three States of Matter? Page 107
- Activity 7.6: Let us experiment — How Does the Interparticle Spacing Differ in the Three States of Matter? Page 107
- Activity 7.7: Let us observe — How Does the Interparticle Spacing Differ in the Three States of Matter? Page 108
- In-text Questions — How Does the Interparticle Spacing Differ in the Three States of Matter? Page 108
- In-text Questions — How Does the Interparticle Spacing Differ in the Three States of Matter? Page 109
- Activity 7.8: Let us experiment — How Particles Move in Different States of Matter? Page 109
- Think like a scientist — How Particles Move in Different States of Matter? Page 110
- In-text Questions — How Particles Move in Different States of Matter? Page 110
- Activity 7.9: Let us find out — How Particles Move in Different States of Matter? Page 110
- In-text Questions — How Particles Move in Different States of Matter? Page 111
- End-of-chapter question set (continues on page 114) — Keep the curiosity alive Page 113
- Society–Science interdisciplinary projects — Discover, design, and debate Page 115