What causes changes in the states of matter?

Changes of state are physical changes in matter. They are reversible changes that do not involve changes in matter’s chemical makeup or chemical properties. Common changes of state include melting, freezing, sublimation, deposition, condensation, and vaporization. Energy is always involved in changes of state. Matter either loses or absorbs energy when it changes from one state to another. For example, when matter changes from a liquid to a solid, it loses energy. The opposite happens when matter changes from a solid to a liquid. For a solid to change to a liquid, matter must absorb energy from its surroundings. The amount of energy in matter can be measured with a thermometer. That’s because a thermometer measures temperature, and temperature is the average kinetic energy of the particles of matter.

Explanation:

So the answer is energy.

a and b sometimes have a positive value

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