Further heating then adds energy to the liquid particles, increasing their speed, kinetic energy, and temperature. This is the second slope on the curve. Once the particles are energetic enough to completely break free of each other, they start to enter the gas phase. Boiling occurs at the second plateau of this curve, and the temperature at this point is referred to as the boiling point . Again, the added heat is being used to break up the interactions between particles instead of increasing their kinetic energy, so no temperature increase is observed until all particles are in the gas phase. Finally, adding even more energy will further speed up the gas particles, increasing the kinetic energy and temperature of the substance.
Context: A study was done on a species of flightless bird in the Amazon. Over recent years some of these birds have begun to learn to fly when previously this was impossible. Scientists later discover that a mutation has allowed some of these birds to be able to fly, allowing them extra safety from predators.
Question: Given a liquid and a gas made of the same particles, which has a lower kinetic energy, the liquid or the gas?