Question

Explain in terms of molecules, why it is possible to compress gas but not a liquid

Answer 1

Answer:

Gases are compressible because most of the volume of a gas is composed of the large amounts of empty space between the gas particles. At room temperature and standard pressure, the average distance between gas molecules is about ten times the diameter of the molecules themselves. When a gas is compressed, as when the scuba tank is being filled, the gas particles are forced closer together.

If we put pressure on a solid or a liquid, there is essentially no change in volume. The atoms, ions, or molecules that make up the solid or liquid are very close together. There is no space between the individual particles, so they cannot pack together.