Question

Both sand and water take the shape of the vessel in which they are placed,. yet sand is called a solid while water is called a liquid-Can you please explain

Answer 1

In the above case both sand and water take the shape of the container in which they are kept yet sand is called a solid and water on the other hand is called a liquid as particles of the sand are very small so they take the shape of a container but each of its particle has a fixed shape so it is a solid on the other hand water molecules are loosely packed and it can flow so it is a liquid.

Answer 2

Answer:

Both sand and water take the shape of the vessel because Sand has Small-Sized Molecules and Water has Loosely Packed Molecules.

Explanation

The sand "seems" to take the shape of the container, but in reality, it is not. The reason it looks like this and "flows" like water is that sand is considered "grainy" even though it is solid. Granular solids consist of very small solid particles. each grain of sand has and maintains its own shape. When we pour things like sand, salt, and sugar from a container, they form a pile on the floor or counter, as each grain has its own shape.

When liquids are poured onto the same surface, they cannot form a heap because they have no shape. Water on the other hand has loosely packed molecules so they take the shape of any container it is kept into.