What is plasma?

Study for the Georgia High School Physical Science Test. Prepare with flashcards and multiple-choice questions, detailed hints and explanations included. Get ready for your exam!

Multiple Choice

What is plasma?

Explanation:
Plasma is the ionized state of matter in which energy is high enough to strip electrons from atoms, creating a mixture of free electrons and positively charged ions. This ionization gives plasmas unique properties like electrical conductivity and responsiveness to magnetic fields, and it naturally occurs at extremely high temperatures, which is why the sun is made of plasma. The other descriptions don’t fit: a very slow moving collection of particles describes a cold, solid-like state; a gas at room temperature remains mostly neutral atoms; and a liquid with free electrons would not be an ionized gas.

Plasma is the ionized state of matter in which energy is high enough to strip electrons from atoms, creating a mixture of free electrons and positively charged ions. This ionization gives plasmas unique properties like electrical conductivity and responsiveness to magnetic fields, and it naturally occurs at extremely high temperatures, which is why the sun is made of plasma. The other descriptions don’t fit: a very slow moving collection of particles describes a cold, solid-like state; a gas at room temperature remains mostly neutral atoms; and a liquid with free electrons would not be an ionized gas.

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