2006-10-02 15:38:56 · 6 answers · asked by jonathan k 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
1st, understand that solid metal is parallel layers of metal nuclei (protons and neutrons), all connected to each other in this real symmtrical web, with the electrons running around all of this web forming what's called a cloud of free electrons, 'cause their not reaaly attracted to a specific proton.
Now that we got that out of the way, when you heat metal and heat it, the particles become more energized and start to move around a little bit more now (up until now they were only vibrating a bit), causing those tight, parallel layers to basically fall apart. Mass can only be changed in the speed of light, according to Albert. Seeing as we're not there yet, it is possible to talk about mass per volume. When solid, metal particles, as you saw, are more cramped up, so there are more of them in, say one gallon, than there are of liquid metal, when it's just one crazy party where everyone jumps around and goes wherever. You can see that the metal particles themselves and the mass of each of them doesn't change, but the number of particles per volume and the strength of the connections between those particles does change with temperature.
One last thing I should probably mention is that when we're talking about mass of metal particles, it's okay to ignore the cloud of electrons because they're mass doesn't count (it takes about a billion electrons to equal the weight of one proton or neutron). Hope this helps.
2006-10-02 17:05:31 · answer #1 · answered by Yankuta118 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
When it is heated it expands. Then for some metals, at the heated state it oxidizes. When it oxidizes, it gains weight. This is because it has the metal atoms and the oxygen atoms forming a new molecule that has more mass than either one before.
2006-10-02 22:42:22 · answer #2 · answered by eric l 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mass is a property of a physical object that quantifies the amount of matter. In other words, how many atoms or molucules of the material there are in a sample.
Heating a sample may make it hotter or change shape or phase (solid to liquid), but it will not change the mass.
2006-10-02 22:41:09 · answer #3 · answered by DanE 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
metal changes form when it is heated. THis is called a physical change. In a physical change, matter is never created or destroyed. the only time this can occurr is in a nuclear reaction. So if no matter is created or destroyed, then your mass wont change either.
2006-10-02 22:41:22 · answer #4 · answered by me 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My physics teacher explained it by moving a flame near a student .. You see, It makes things move faster!
The atoms that make up the solid move faster when heated and that makes it take up more space. That is why liquid takes up more space (volumne) than solid, and why the Gas state takes up more space than Liquid
2006-10-02 22:50:07 · answer #5 · answered by upf_geelong 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Volumn changes, but not the mass.
2006-10-02 22:43:18 · answer #6 · answered by CherryBam.com 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋