Which statement about liquids is false?

Which statement about liquids is false?

• A. Slight compressibility
• B. High density
• C. Indefinite shape
• D. Very high compressibility

Answer: (D)

Liquids are dense and nearly incompressible, and they take the shape of their container while keeping a definite volume. The reason the statement about very high compressibility is false is that liquids resist compression much more than gases do; their molecules are closely packed and intermolecular forces hold them together, so applying pressure only reduces their volume by a small amount. In other words, liquids have slight compressibility, not high compressibility. The other true ideas line up with how liquids behave: they have high density, and they don’t have a fixed shape of their own—they flow and assume the shape of the container.

Liquids are dense and nearly incompressible, and they take the shape of their container while keeping a definite volume. The reason the statement about very high compressibility is false is that liquids resist compression much more than gases do; their molecules are closely packed and intermolecular forces hold them together, so applying pressure only reduces their volume by a small amount. In other words, liquids have slight compressibility, not high compressibility.

The other true ideas line up with how liquids behave: they have high density, and they don’t have a fixed shape of their own—they flow and assume the shape of the container.