Summer Science Lesson: States of Matter



Summer Science Lesson Plan: States of Matter

Overview/Motivation:

• Reveal to the students what the already know about the states of matter

• Show them that not all things are solids, liquids, and gases

Materials:

• Materials for making slime

o Borax/Water Mixture

o Water

o Glue

o Bowls to mix in

o Spoons for stirring

o Food Coloring

o Newspaper (pick up a few free newspapers from the T stop)

o Ziplock bags to keep slime in at end

Goals:

• Students should leave with a basic understanding of the states of matter and things in each state they see every day

• They should know that not all things are solids, liquids, and gases

Vocabulary:

• Solid

o Properties: hard, holds its own shape without a container

• Liquid

o Non-compressible, molds to shape of its container, maintains constant volume

• Gas

o Compressible, expands to fill its container

Introduction:

• Ask the kids if they know the 3 main states of matter

• List them on the board

• Ask for characteristics of each (list)

• Fill in any that they miss

• Give examples from everyday life

o “What kind of matter is this desk?”

o “What is the air we're breathing?”

o Walk over to window: “What about this window?”

▪ Trick question! It's a liquid! Glass is actually a very slow-moving liquid. If you look at old windows, they are thicker at the bottom than the top, proof of the liquid character of glass.

▪ Say that if you go up to a very old window, you can see it's sunk a bit toward the bottom

• Ask for examples of each state of matter from everyday life (list)

• Tell them we are going to make something that will test their knowledge

Demonstration:

• Tell the kids we are going to make something cool that will make them think about the states of matter

o Making the slime:

▪ Mix 1/8 cup (1/4 of the small plastic cup) glue with 1/8 cup water and put in the bowl

▪ Stir to mix the water and glue

▪ Add a drop or two of food coloring to color

▪ Pour the saturated borax solution into the bowl while the student stirs until all of the glue has become slime

▪ Let the kid pick up the slime out of the bowl (it will be wet)

▪ As the kid plays with the goop, it will take on slime consistency (water needs to drip/evaporate off)

• Should have slime

Discussion:

• Ask the kids what they think the slime is (solid, liquid, gas)

• Talk about the fact that not all things are solids, liquids, or gases, that there are some things in between with characteristics of multiple states

• Talk about Jello, the slime, etc

• Talk about how temperature causes phase change:

o Ice -> Water -> Steam

▪ Ask the kids if they know the temperatures

▪ Melting: 0 degrees Celsius, 32 degrees Fahrenheit

▪ Evaporation: 100 degrees Celsius, 212 degrees Fahrenheit

o Metal

▪ Gold melts at 1800 degrees F!

o Rocks -> Lava

▪ Lava is around 2200 degrees F!

o Name a metal that is a liquid at room temperature

▪ Mercury (used to be used in thermometers)

• Thermal expansion

o Matter expands when it gets very hot or very cold

o Ever put a can of soda in the freezer? (kids: do not try this at home)

o Ice cubes are usually bigger than the water you put in there originally

o Cracks in sidewalks are there to allow for thermal expansion

• What is the hardest solid?

o Diamonds (well, they recently invented something stronger)

o Spider silk is among the toughest solids known to man based on weight. It has been estimated that a sting of the silk spiders use in making their webs that is as thick as a pencil could stop a Boeing 747 jet (we just think it's soft to the touch)

• Random facts

o If you put a cup of hot coffee and of cold water in the freezer at the same time, which will freeze first?

▪ Answer: they'll both freeze at the same time, because the heat will transfer to the other cup (think MC-delta-T)

Q/A:

• See if they have any questions

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