States of Matter: Solids, Liquids and Gases
Eugenia L. Sampson
Horace Mann School
8050 S. Chappel
Chicago IL 60617
(312) 535-6640
Objectives:
This mini-teach lesson is designed for students at the primary level K3.
1. Students will be able to recognize the properties of each state
of matter.
2. Students will be able to recognize the similarities/differences
between the three states of matter.
3. Students will be able to recognize the presence of carbon
dioxide
gas in soda.
Materials Needed:
Activity 1: Groups of 4
1 small baby food jar
1 teaspoon table salt
carbonated soda, any flavor
Activity 2: Groups of 4
1 mixing bowl
1 metal spoon
2 cups corn starch
1 cup water with a few drops of blue food coloring
Strategies:
Activity 1:
1. Fill the jar 1/2 full with the carbonated soda.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the soda.
Activity 1:
Results: Bubbles form in the liquid then foam appears on top of
the soda.
Why? Each bubble seen in the soda is a collection of carbon
dioxide gas.
Salt and carbon dioxide are both examples of matter and matter
takes up
space. When the salt is added to the soda; it pushes the bubbles
of carbon
dioxide out of the way. These bubbles rise to the top bringing
small
amounts of soda with them. This movement of the gas forms the
foam on top
of the liquid. Replacing a gas with another substance is called
effervescence.
Activity 2:
1. Mix ingredients in the bowl with the spoon until smooth.
2. The magic matter should look like a liquid. Poke your finger
in it in several places.
3. Take a spoonful in your hand and roll it into a ball.
4. Place it on a table. What does it do?
5. Pick it up again and roll it into a ball: Keep it in your hand.
What happens to it?
Activity 2:
Results: When the ingredients are mixed together; the matter
looks like a
liquid. The matter rolls up into a solid, but when placed upon
the table
it forms into a liquid again. Why? Starch is a solid. Water is
a liquid.
The water and starch are a suspension known as a colliod. A
colliod is a
material that consists of one substance suspended within one
another. The
suspended material is comprised of particles so small that they
don't sink
to the bottom of the second substance. Together, the two
materials display
properties unlike those of their separate components. Matter
exists in
three states solids, liquids, and gases. However there are many
materials
that consist of one substance that doesn't conform to these neat
designations. Such as fog, protoplasm, homogenized milk,
synthetic rubber,
and mayonnaise which are all colliods.
Activity 3:
Hold up your hand close to your mouth, and breathe through your
mouth. The
warm air you feel on your hand is matter. Touch the tip of your
finger to
your tongue. Your fingertip becomes wet from the saliva. Saliva
is
matter. Touch your hair, a fingernail, your nose, and teeth.
These parts
of you are all forms of matter. Matter is found in three forms in
nature:
solids, liquids, and gases.
Performance Assessments:
Students will be asked to identify solids, liquids, and gases by
selecting
samples of each and placing them under the correct category.
Conclusion:
Everything you can see, touch, and feel is matter. Matter is
anything that
takes up space and has mass. You are made of matter. Matter can
be dead
or it can be alive.
Definitions:
1. Solid - Any material or substance that is not a liquid or gas.
A
solid has a definite shape and volume.
A cube, sphere, or
pyramid
are all solids, having length, width and depth.
They are not
hollow.
2. Liquid - A state of matter. Liquids flow and always take up
the shape
of the vessel into which they are poured.
3. Gas - A state of matter that has a mass but no shape.
It fills
and
takes the shape of a container.
Air is a mixture of gases.
4. Matter - The material of which all things in the universe are
made.
Reference:
Bouffard, Delores; Solids, Liquids and Gases: Milliken Publishing
Company,
1984.