- Solids
The solid state is when a material feels hard, and it is tangible. It may not feel strong, it may be brittle and it may be soft, but generally the material is tangible and you should be able to pick it up. Things like porcelain, ice and wood are obvious choices of matter that is in a solid state. In basic terms, the solid state is achieved when the object's particles are close together and can move around less. They are so packed together that they can barely move, making the structure much more stable than other states of matter.
- Liquids
Liquids are the next state of matter. Liquids have particles that are relatively close together, but aren't so packed that they cannot move. Instead, the particles can move around slightly and bounce off one another. It is evident that atoms are able to have many neighbors in contact, but no long-range order is present in this kind of structure. Obvious examples of liquids would be water and oil. They cannot be held easily in the hand and they flow, whereas solids cannot flow or be poured.
- Gases
Gases go one further than liquids. The particles, or atoms, are much further apart and don't always have neighbors in contact. They will be able to flow round more freely within the matter, meaning that the substance is much less tangible and cannot be held in the hand. Gases move around in the air, which is also a gas. Gases can combine and interweave, and can be classed as a fluid just like liquids can.