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Observing how liquids change shape to fit inside different bottles and cups.
Have you ever wondered why water looks like a tall tower in a glass, but turns into a flat pancake if it spills on the floor?
Everything in our world is made of stuff called matter. Some things, like your favorite teddy bear, are solids. They keep their shape no matter where you put them. But liquids are different! A liquid is a type of matter that can flow and drip. Because liquids are wiggly and moving, they don't have a shape of their own. Instead, they are like explorers—they move around until they fill up every corner of the container they are in. Whether it is a tiny spoon or a giant bathtub, the liquid will change its shape to match!
Quick Check
If you put a hard wooden block into a round bowl, does the block turn into a circle shape?
Answer
No, because a wooden block is a solid, not a liquid.
When we pour a liquid into a container, it does something amazing. If you pour milk into a tall, skinny glass, the milk looks tall and thin. If you pour that same milk into a wide, flat bowl, the milk spreads out and looks short and wide. Even though the milk looks different, it is still the same amount of milk! We call this 'taking the shape of the container.' The liquid will keep changing its shape until it hits the walls of the bottle or cup it is in.
Let's see how juice changes shape: 1. Start with cup of apple juice in a square box. 2. Pour the juice into a round glass. Now the juice is round! 3. Pour the juice into a heart-shaped bowl. Now the juice is a heart! 4. Notice that the juice changed shape times, but it is still just cup of juice.
Quick Check
What happens to the shape of water when you pour it into a star-shaped ice cube tray?
Answer
The water takes the shape of a star.
You can be a scientist right in your own kitchen! Many things we drink or use for cooking are liquids. Water is the most famous liquid, but there are many others. Milk, orange juice, maple syrup, and vegetable oil are all liquids. Some liquids flow very fast, like water. Others flow slowly, like thick honey. But they all have one thing in common: if you pour them into a new cup, they will change their shape to fit perfectly inside!
Imagine pouring thick chocolate syrup onto a pancake: 1. In the bottle, the syrup is the shape of the bottle. 2. As it pours, it stretches into a long string. 3. On the flat pancake, it spreads out into a flat circle. 4. Even though it moves slowly, it is still a liquid because it changed shape to fit the flat plate.
Imagine you have a container shaped like a donut (a circle with a hole in the middle): 1. If you fill it with water, the water will flow all the way around the circle. 2. The water will leave an empty space in the middle for the hole. 3. This shows that liquids can even take very tricky shapes as long as there is a wall to hold them!
What does a liquid do when you pour it into a new cup?
Which of these is a liquid you might find in a kitchen?
A liquid looks the same in a tall glass and a wide bowl.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow, when you have a drink, look at the shape of your glass. Ask yourself: 'What shape is my drink right now?'
Practice Activity
With an adult, find three different shaped containers (like a mug, a bowl, and a plastic bottle). Pour the same water into each one and draw a picture of the three different shapes the water makes!