How do the 3 states of matter differ from one another?

Consider preschool-aged children. Their energy levels fluctuate throughout the day.

They behave like liquids in the classroom, remaining calm despite having enough energy to move around and engage with one another because they are confined in a small area.

They are in a high state of energy, dispersed all over the playground, interacting with each other before darting across it in a chaotic manner. They behave like gasses, running in all directions and never stopping.

Then, as the day wears on, they reach nap time. By this time, they are in a low energy state and are only moving in their personal space; they are all positioned next to one another but remain motionless in the room, acting as a solid mass.

Some liquids, such as water, expand at lower energies; note that the arrangement may vary.

The three states of matter—solid, liquid, and gas—differ in terms of their molecular arrangement and energy levels. Solids have a fixed shape and volume, with closely packed molecules. Liquids have a definite volume but take the shape of their container, with more loosely arranged molecules than solids. Gases have neither a fixed shape nor volume, with widely spaced and highly energetic molecules.