Materials and matter
I can describe materials, sort solids, liquids and gases, and name changes we can and cannot undo.
For grown-ups: this lesson in words
Ages 7 to 11 · Science
Materials and matter: I can describe materials, sort solids, liquids and gases, and name changes we can and cannot undo.
Everything around us is made of materials. This can is made of metal.
This chair is made of wood.
The bottle is made of plastic, and the jar is made of glass.
The jar is an object. Glass is its material: what it is made of.
Picture: Sorting into 4 groups: Metal, Wood, Plastic, Glass. Metal: Can (metal can). Wood: Chair. Plastic: Bottle (plastic bottle). Glass: Jar (glass jar).
A property tells us what a material is like. Is it waterproof, or does it soak up water?
Plastic and glass are waterproof. Water cannot soak into them.
Paper and cotton soak up water, so they are not waterproof.
Picture: Sorting into 2 groups: Waterproof, Soaks up water. Waterproof: Plastic (plastic bottle), Glass (glass jar). Soaks up water: Paper (sheet of paper), Cotton (T-shirt).
Your turn: Leila needs a raincoat that keeps the rain out. Which material should it be made of?
Choose one:
- Paper: sheet of paper
- Plastic: plastic bottle
- Cotton: T-shirt
Answer
The answer: Plastic
Plastic. It is waterproof, so it keeps the rain out.
Words to know
- property:
- What a material is like, such as waterproof or see-through.
- solid:
- A material that keeps its own shape.
- liquid:
- A material that flows and takes the shape of its container.
- gas:
- A material that spreads out to fill all the space it is in.
- reversible:
- A change that can be undone, like ice melting into water.
- irreversible:
- A change that makes a new material and cannot be undone, like cooking an egg.
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