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Experimenting with Physical Changes
Fourth graders explore physical changes. They discuss that physical change is a change in size, shape, or state of matter of a substance. Students explore what change takes place when two substances can dissolve each other. They observe...
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States of Matter
Students explore the states of water. In this physical science lesson, students use ice and dry ice to observe the changes in the state of matter. Students record the results.
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Discovering Physical Changes
Fourth graders determine what is meant by a physical change, and they demonstrate how they can make physical changes. They complete activities at stations that entail changes in color, size, texture, hardness, or state of matter. Using...
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What's Happening in My World?
Students look for examples of chemical and physical changes in the world around them and complete "What's Happening in My World" worksheet.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate and Forest Ecosystem Services
Forests, through sequestration, capture excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and store it, aiding in climate change. The third installment in a four-part series on how climate impacts forests explores carbon sequestration....
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States of Water
Students investigate the 3 states of matter. In this physical science "matter" lesson plan, students observe and participate in a number of demonstrations involving melting and freezing water. Students observe the effect heat has on...
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States of Matter and Chemical/Physical Changes Stations
Students break into four groups, starting at different stations. Each station should take about 10 minutes depending on prior knowledge of the topic. They then rotate when everyone is finished to the next station and discuss answers of...
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Changing States: Does it Matter
Students participate in experiments to visualize the differences between chemical and physical changes. They attempt to detect the five characteristics of a chemical change.
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Temperature Change and the States of Matter
Tenth graders observe the processes of evaporation, condensation, melting, freezing, boiling, and sublimation. They do a quantitative investigation of the freezing of water, to explore explanations that involve particles.
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Physical and Chemical Changes
Students observe examples of physical changes that can take place between the three states of matter and develop common sense and intuition in distinguishing between chemical and physical changes. They observe diagrams on the board from...
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The Nature of Chemical Change: Acting Out an Example
Students identify the signs that a chemical reaction took place. In this chemistry lesson, students role play the movement of different molecules of matter. They classify matter according to their properties.
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Three States of Matter
Third graders investigate the three states of matter and the properties of materials as they undergo physical changes. They identify examples of each type of matter, role-play atoms in solids, liquids, and gases, and conduct an...
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Hot and Cold Colors
Students examine how temperature effects changes in materials. In this physical science lesson, students use food coloring and cups of water of varying temperatures to observe the effects temperature has on matter. Students predict and...
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Stream Ecology In Wisconsin and Puerto Rico
Students identify the different types of water and explain in what proportions they exist on Earth. They identify and correctly label the parts of the water cycle and how these parts interact with each other. Students identify the...
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Physical and Chemical Properties of Matter
Young scholars identify the physical and chemical properties of matter. They review the types of matter. Students list the four states of matter (Solid, Liquid, Gas and Plasma). They recognize and describe the different types of matter.
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States of Matter
Student explore states of matter. In this science lesson plan, students define matter, identify the states of matter, tell about the properties of each state of matter, and demonstrate an understanding of the difference between a...
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It's The States of Matter
Students investigate the properties of solids, liquids and gases. For this states of matter lesson plan, students observe dry ice and its characteristics. They calculate the density of dry ice and observe the sublimation of the dry ice...
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Changes All Around Us
Sixth graders, in groups, observe the difference between physical and chemical changes and create a collage of pictures to show the difference.
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The Water Cycle--Using Inspiration Software
Third graders describe and label the water cycle, and list how water changes from one form to another; students use Inspiration Software to label a blank water cycle diagram.
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States of Matter
Students discover states of matter. In this science lesson plan, students define matter, identify states of matter, explain properties of matter, and demonstrate the various uses of the states of matter.
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Characteristics of Matter
Students study matter. In this science lesson plan, students examine the relationships among gravity, weight, and mass, the metric measurement of distance and volume, and density and its application to physical properties.
American Chemical Society
Changing the Density of an Object - Changing Shape
Continuing with the concept of volume and its effect on density, learners now work with a piece of clay to see if they can get it to float in water. This is a memorable end to a seven-part investigation of density. Make sure to check out...
Science Matters
Thermal Energy Flow in Materials
The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth lesson in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal energy. Scholars build...
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Nothing New? A Physical Change
Fifth graders discuss the differences between chemical and physical changes. In groups, they complete experiments and discover how a physical chnage can be reversed. To end the lesson, they review the steps of the water cycle and...