What can be a solid, liquid, or gas depending on the temperature?

I would go so far as to say "matter" can be a solid, liquid, or gas depending on the temperature. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space (thus, it cannot be energy or light or things of that nature).

The temperature often refers to the average kinetic energy of the molecules of an object. Kinetic energy is the energy of things in motion. There's a theory called Kinetic Theory that states that all molecules of matter are always in motion. (This relates back to temperature). Solid atoms vibrate in place, liquids flow past one another, and gases are free to move and expand to fill the space. They're all moving. Now, let's relate kinetic energy to temperature. If you think of temperature as thermal energy, the more thermal energy matter has, the more kinetic energy it has, and the more it moves. So it makes sense that solids have less kinetic energy (because they only vibrate in place) and gases have the most kinetic energy (because they move the most).
What does this have to do with the 3 phases of matter? Well, the solid phase will always have the lowest thermal (and kinetic) energy and the gas phase will always have the most thermal (and kinetic) energy.
Take gold, for example. We recognize it as a solid, but you can heat it up to a point to where it becomes a liquid and if you heat it past its vaporization point, it turns to a gas.
We recognize carbon dioxide as a gas, but you can cool it into a liquid and then cool it further into a solid (dry ice).
For most items, you will want to refer to their melting and vaporization points. If the object is being heated, it will turn from solid to liquid at the melting point and from liquid to gas at the vaporization (boiling) point. If the object is being cooled down, it will turn from gas to liquid at the vaporization (boiling) point and then it will turn from liquid to solid at the melting point.
Click the link below for some more information.
http://zonalandeducation.com/mstm/physics/mechanics/energy/heatAndTemperature/changesOfPhase/changeOfState.html


A number of substances can exist as solid, liquid, or gas depending on the temperature.
Water is the most common among these substances. When the temperature is less than 0 degrees Celcius, the water exists as ice (solid). The ice melts at 0 degrees Celcius and converts to water (liquid). Water stays in the liquid form till the temperature rises to 100 degrees Celcius, beyond which it exists as water vapor (gas). Thus, water can exist as a solid (ice, temperature < 0 degrees Celcius), liquid (water, temperature between 0 degrees Celcius and 100 degrees Celcius), and gas (water vapor, temperature > 100 degrees Celcius).
Some other examples can be iron, oxygen, etc. Iron is solid at room temperature and converts to the liquid state at 2800 degrees Fahrenheit and the gaseous state at 5182 degrees Fahrenheit. Similarly, oxygen, which is a gas at room temperature, converts to the liquid state at -297 degrees Fahrenheit and the solid state at -362 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hope this helps.

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