Physical and Chemical
Changes in the State of Water
Group 5
Ruben Barkley
Stephanie Gauthia
Felicia Humphries
Georgia Performance Standards
5th Grade Science

S5P2. Students will explain the difference between a physical change and a
chemical change.

a. Investigate physical changes by separating mixtures and manipulating (cutting,
tearing, folding) paper to demonstrate examples of physical change.

b. Recognize that the changes in state of water (water vapor/steam, liquid, ice) are
due to temperature differences and are examples of physical change.

c. Investigate the properties of a substance before, during, and after a chemical
reaction to find evidence of change.
Print Reference Sources

REF 423 SCH
Scholastic Children’s Dictionary
This is a kid-friendly resource for defining unknown words or terms.

500 CRA
The Usborne Science Encyclopedia
Students can research key terms and ideas using unit vocabulary as search terms.

REF 031. WOR
The World Almanac for Kids 2009
A collection of tables, charts, graphs, diagrams, and articles that feature related ideas. Articles
related specifically to this unit include: The Atom and Albert Einstein.

REF 920 WOR
World Book’s Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists
Profiles of scientists who have contributed to the fields of Physical Science and/or Chemistry.
Print Reference Sources

REF 507.8016
Science Experiments Index for Young People
Students can use this reference to locate water related experiments in other publications.

REF 423 Hel
The American Heritage Children’s Thesaurus
This resource is likely to meet the needs of a range of students. There are photographs and other
text features that make this thesaurus very user friendly. Students are given multiple suggestions
for alternate words as well as examples of the words in context.

REF
Merriam Webster’s Intermediate Dictionary
This is dictionary for advanced readers at the elementary school level. The definitions included
are more detailed.

Ref 031 Dor
Dorling Kindersley Children’s Illustrated Encyclopedia
This resource highlights a variety of topics in very detailed photographs. Captions share most of
the information with readers. The vocabulary is often highly specialized and readers may need to
have some prior knowledge about subjects.
Print Reference Sources

Ref 031 Sch
Scholastic Children’s Encyclopedia
This is an all-in-one encyclopedia.
Passages are short but give a good
overview of topics. There is a lot of
visual support which might be
appealing to struggling readers.

Ref 503 Wor v.13
The World Book Student Discovery Science
Encyclopedia
Students will enjoy the using this easy to read
reference. Articles are well written and offer
suggestions of other subjects to read about within
the series. An index is included to easily access
information across volumes.
Print Sources

What are Solids, Liquids, and Gases? By Richard and Louise Spilsbury
This book explores the different states of matter. Information and activities are
included that relate to water.

Solids and Liquid By Peter Riley
This book shares general information about solids and liquids. Detailed information is
included water and how it melts and freezes.

Just Add Water – Scholastic
This is a book of experiments related to water. Several explore it’s changing states.

All About the Water Cycle -Schlessinger Media
This video explores the different steps in the water cycle.

How Water Changes (States of Matter) Weekly Reader Early Learning Library
By Jim Mezzanotte
This is popular magazine has articles and activities about the different states of
matter.
Print Resources

Water as a Solid / Water as a Liquid
/ Water as a Gas / The Water Cycle
(Water Series) By Helen Frost
Water in its different states are
explored in this series. This series of
books is also available in Spanish.

Water, Water Everywhere: A Book
About the Water Cycle (Discovery
Readers) – By Melvin Berger, Gilda
Berger and Bobbi Tull.
The different stages of the water cycle
are reviewed in this book.
Websites

http://www.chem4kids.com
This website explores chemistry concepts in a kid-friendly way. Photographs, illustrations, and
diagrams help students understand concepts discussed. When you search the topic matter and
several related concepts will also appear. You can take a quiz after reading a short passage of
information on each page. Related concepts featured: States - Phase Changes - ChemicalPhysical - Solids - Liquids - Evaporation - Gases - Plasmas - BE Condensate - Solutions Mixtures I - Mixtures II - Mixture Examples

http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/sci/A0861884.html
This page is found on the FactMonster encyclopedia web site and explores the liquid form of
matter. This is a part of a series so there are links to access related concepts. Some of the other
articles feature underlined words which students can click on for definitions. Students can find
definitions to highlighted terms by clicking on them. This is a good site for students with strong
reading skills.
Websites

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/hyd/evap.rxml
This site features a diagram to visually illustrate evaporation. It is most likely to be
helpful for students who have difficulty understanding water in its gaseous state. A
short passage of information follows the diagram.

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/water_trivia_facts.html
This is a just for fun website with interesting facts related to water. Students can
learn about the temperatures at which it changes state or about how much of our
bodies are made up of water.

http://www.miamisci.org/af/sln/phantom/index.html
This is a site for advanced students who want to learn more about the molecular
concepts of water and its ability to change states. The site features interactive
activities and games.

http://www.valdosta.edu/~lamartin/topic.html
This is a website designed especially for the 5th grade GPS standards related to
water. Many of the websites in this pathfinder are included but this site has additional
resources and experiments.
Websites

http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science/sciber00/8th/matter/sciber/change.ht
m
This website shares information about physical changes.

http://www.mcwdn.org/chemist/pcchange.html
This is an article about physical and chemical changes.

http://www.fordhamprep.org/gcurran/sho/sho/review/rev15b.htm
This is an interactive quiz where students have to determine if a physical or
chemical change has occurred.

http://virtual.yosemite.cc.ca.us/lmaki/Chem15099/chapters/chapter1/lessons/phys_chem/phy_c_5.htm
This is an interactive quiz where students have to determine if a physical or
chemical change has occurred.
References

Fact Monster. Retrieved April 13, 2009 from http://www.factmonster.com/

Chem4Kids. Retrieved April 13, 2009 from http://www.chem4kids.com/

Scholastic Children’s Encyclopedia. (2004). Scholastic Children’s Encyclopedia. Retrieved April
13, 2009 from http://www.amazon.com/Scholastic-Childrens-Encyclopedia/dp/0439438160#

The World Almanac for Kids. (2008). The World Almanac for Kids 2009. Retrieved April 13,
2009 from http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/
World Book. World Book Student Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 13, 2009 from

www.worldbook.com.au/images/products/44_3.jpg

Scholastic Children’s Dictionary. Retrieved April 13, 2009 from
http://www.scholastic.com/titles/reference/dict.htm