Particles of a ______ move fast enough to overcome some of the attraction between them.

• A. Solid
• B. Gas
• C. Liquid
• D. Plasma

Answer: (B)

When particles have enough kinetic energy to overcome much of the forces pulling them together, they behave as a gas. In a gas, particles are far apart and move rapidly, colliding and spreading out to fill the space. The energy from heating increases their speed, so intermolecular attractions don’t hold them in place, unlike in solids (where strong attractions keep particles in fixed positions) and liquids (where attractions are weaker than in a solid but still keep a definite volume). Plasma is an even more energetic state where atoms are ionized, but the behavior described—rapid movement overcoming attractions—aligns with a gas.