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Reviewing all three states of matter by finding them in the environment.
Have you ever wondered why you can hold a toy car in your hand, but water slips right through your fingers? Everything in our world is made of 'stuff' called matter, and it loves to play hide-and-seek in three different forms!
A solid is something that keeps its own shape. It doesn't change unless you break it or melt it. Think of your favorite building blocks or a crunchy cracker. If you put a block inside a round bowl, the block stays a square! This is because the tiny pieces inside a solid are packed tightly together, like friends giving each other a big hug. They don't move around much, which makes the object feel hard or firm.
1. Pick up a pencil. 2. Notice how it feels hard. 3. Put it in a cup. Does it turn into the shape of the cup? No! It stays a pencil because it is a solid.
Quick Check
If you move a toy dinosaur from your bed to a box, does it change its shape?
Answer
No, because it is a solid!
A liquid is 'runny' and does not have its own shape. Instead, it takes the shape of the container it is in. If you pour milk into a tall glass, it looks tall. If you spill it on a flat floor, it spreads out everywhere! The tiny pieces in a liquid are close together, but they can slide past each other like people moving through a crowd. This is why liquids can flow and splash.
1. Imagine pouring cup of juice into a square box. The juice looks like a square. 2. Now, pour that same juice into a round bowl. 3. The juice now looks like a circle! It changed shape to match the bowl.
Quick Check
What happens to a liquid when you pour it into a new jar?
Answer
It changes its shape to fit the new jar.
A gas is often invisible, like the air around you. Unlike solids or liquids, a gas wants to spread out and fill up all the space it can find. If you blow air into a balloon, the gas fills the whole balloon. If the balloon pops, the gas rushes out to fill the whole room! The tiny pieces in a gas are very far apart and zoom around like super-fast bumper cars.
1. Look at a hot bowl of soup. 2. See the 'steam' rising up? That is a gas! 3. Watch as the steam disappears into the air. It is spreading out to fill the entire kitchen.
Which of these is a solid snack?
If you have bottle of lemonade, what state of matter is the lemonade?
A gas will spread out to fill a whole room.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow at breakfast, try to find one solid (like toast) and one liquid (like milk) on your table!
Practice Activity
Go on a Scavenger Hunt! Find 3 solids, 2 liquids, and 1 gas in your house and draw a picture of them.