Matter Matters
Explore the properties of liquids and the interactions between solids and liquids in exciting hands-on stations.
Participants will be introduced to the three states of matter and explore what matter is made up of through role-plays and demonstrations. Participants will mix water with different solids and filter them to test their solubility. They will explore the characteristics and physical properties of four different liquids and explore how they mix. They will also add colored water and oil to a test tube along with a bead to see where the bead sits in the mixture. To wrap-up, participants will watch a demonstration to explore gases.
What You Need
Physical Requirements
- Space at the front of the room for demonstrations.
- An accessible water source.
Introduction
- Lego™ (few pieces)
- Different, basic-shaped containers (3)
- Food Colouring
- Water
- Balloon pump
- 500-600mL water bottles (2)
- Rice
- Balloons
- Term cards: Matter, Molecule, Solid, Liquid and Gas
Activity 1: Mixing Liquids and Solids
- 500mL water bottles (6)
- Basket coffee filters (1 per participant)
- Filter stands (8)
- Basins (8)
- Plastic, screw cap containers (8)
- Plastic spoons (8)
- Juice crystals
- Sugar
- Instant coffee
- Tea
- Milk powder
- Popcorn kernels
- Pepper
- Buttons
- Rice
- Waste buckets (2)
- Mixing Liquids and Solids task card
- Mixing Liquids and Solids worksheet
Activity 2: Characteristics of Liquids
- Bottles/flasks, half filled with the following liquids:
- Dish detergent
- Vegetable oil
- Water
- Pancake syrup
- Squirt bottles, filled with
- Dish detergent
- Vegetable oil
- Water
- Pancake syrup
- Pre-marked test tubes with caps, three evenly spaced lines (8)
- Black permanent markers
- Food colouring
- Baby oil
- Pre-marked test tubes with caps, two lines (1 per participant)
- Plastic beads (1 per participant)
- Water
- Characteristics of Liquids worksheet
- Mixing Liquids task card
- Density Prediction images
- Liquid Craft task card
Wrap- up
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Glass flask
- Balloon
Guide:
Safety Notes
- Always keep paper towels on hand to clean up any spills and keep electronics away from water.
- All glassware should be stored in a way to prevent any breakage. Broken glass should only be handled by a volunteer or other adult.
What To Do
Pre-Activity Prep
- Place a blown up balloon somewhere in the classroom for the Introduction.
- For Activity 2b: Mixing Liquids, use a permanent marker to add three evenly spaced lines to 16 test tubes.
- For Activity 2c: Liquid Craft, add two lines to the test tubes (1 per participant).
Introduction
- Introduce the concept of matter using Lego™ pieces.
- Discuss the three states of matter. Ask the group to provide examples of something in the classroom in each state of matter (i.e. desk is solid, water is liquid, the balloon contains air).
- Have participants stand up and place their hand on something in the classroom that is a solid, liquid or gas without running or bumping into someone else.
- Ask a few participants to describe the solid object they touched by asking questions such as:
- What shape was it?
- Could the object change its shape?
- Ask a few participants to describe the liquid object they touched by asking them questions such as:
- What was your liquid?
- What shape was it? (It should be the shape of its container)
- Ask if they touched any gases. Tell them that they are all touching gases in the air around them!
Role Play
- This role-play can be done with the whole class if you have room. It may be easier to do this with 5-6 volunteers instead.
- Start by acting as molecules in a solid first by huddling together and moving very slowly.
- Next, pretend to be molecules in a liquid by moving further apart and more (i.e. waving your hands).
- Finally, magically turn into gas molecules by spreading farther apart and moving very fast on the spot.
Liquid Demonstration
- Place the three different sized or shaped containers on the table. One should be filled with coloured water.
- Ask “what shape is the liquid?”.
- Pour the liquid into another container. Ask “what shape is the liquid now?”.
- Repeat the same question with the third container.
Gas Demonstration
- Show the class a balloon filled with air.
- Ask “is air a solid, liquid or gas?”.
- Hold up the bottle that is filled with rice.
- Ask “is it possible to fill up the balloon that is inside the bottle of rice?”.
- Try to blow up the balloon using the air pump.
- Hold up the bottle that only has the balloon inside.
- Ask “is it possible to fill up this balloon?”.
- Try to blow up the balloon using an air pump; it should only fill a very small amount.
Activity 1: Mixing Liquids and Solids
- Explain what could happen when solids and liquids are mixed together (mix, dissolve, don’t mix).
- Using the drink crystals, demonstrate what happens when solids dissolve in water.
- Demonstrate how to use the filter using the water and drink crystal mixture.
- Show the filter to the participants. They should see that nothing is on the filter.
Test
- Make predictions on what will happen when we mix different solids with a liquid and record it in the worksheet.
- Fill a container to the line with water and add one spoonful of the solid into the container.
- Shake the container 20 times.
- Pour the mixture through the filter to see what is left behind.
- Record findings in the worksheet.
Activity 2: Characteristics of a Liquid
Activity 2a: Characteristics of a Liquid
- Set out the four bottles filled halfway with different liquids (water, dishwashing detergent, vegetable oil and pancake syrup).
- Participants will explore the properties of the liquids and answer the questions on the Characteristics of a Liquid worksheet.
Activity 2b: Mixing Liquids
- Working in small groups, add liquids to the lines on a clean test tube using squirt bottles, in the following order:
- Dish detergent
- Water
- Pancake Syrup
- Oil
- Observe what happens to the liquids as they are added it to the test tubes.
- Mix the liquids in a different order and see if it changes the results.
Activity 2c: Liquid Craft
- Add water to the first line on the test tube.
- Add oil up to the second line on the tube.
- Add a drop of food colouring to the tube.
- Add one bead to the tube.
- Screw on the cap and shake the test tube.
- Observe what happens.
Wrap-Up
- Pour some vinegar into the bottom of the flask.
- Add a small amount of baking soda and quickly attach a balloon to the top of the flask. You may wish to put the baking soda in the balloon, so that when you attach it to the flask the baking soda will fall into the vinegar.
- The balloon should fill with carbon dioxide gas.
Discovery
Introduction
Matter is everything around us. Matter is made up of building blocks that are called molecules. There are three states of matter- solid, liquid and gas. The molecules in solids keep their shape because they are very close together and do not move around much. Molecules in liquids are further apart and can move around, but close enough that they keep the shape of the container they are in. The molecules in gases are the furthest apart and take up all the remaining space around us. Gases do not have a definite shape, but they will expand to take up all available space, so that all the molecules are very far apart from one another.
Activity 1: Mixing Liquids and Solids
When solids and liquids are mixed, three things can happen:
- They do not mix at all (i.e. doing the dishes).
- They mix (i.e. water and dirt make mud).
- They mix in a special way (dissolving).
When a solid dissolves in a liquid, you can no longer see the solid but it is still there. For example, when you mix water and juice crystals, the crystals break down into tiny pieces that can fit in between the water molecules. These are too small to see but we can tell they are still there because the water changes colour and tastes different. Dissolved solids cannot be separated by a filter.
Activity 2: Characteristics of Liquids
One way to describe a liquid is by its thickness, otherwise known as viscosity. A thick liquid will move slower and make less noise when shaken compared to a thinner liquid. Participants should observe that pancake syrup is the thickest liquid, followed by dish soap, vegetable oil and water.as the thinnest.
Another way to describe a liquid is by its weight, otherwise known as density. Participants should notice that regardless of the order that they add the liquids, they will always arrange in the same order. The syrup will be at the bottom (the densest), the detergent will be second from the bottom, the coloured water will be third from the bottom and the oil will be at the top (the least dense).
Some liquids, such as oil and water, will not mix regardless of how much they are stirred or shaken. This is because water molecules like to stick so close together that the oil molecules are unable to get in between them. In Activity 2c: Liquid Craft, participants should observe that the bead floats between the oil and water. This is because the bead gets covered in oil molecules as it travels through the tube. The oil molecules push away from the water molecules and keep the bead in the layer between them.
Wrap up
A reaction occurs when baking soda (solid) mixes with vinegar (liquid). This reaction produces carbon dioxide (gas). In this demonstration, the balloon at the top of the flask traps the carbon dioxide gas molecules. Since gas molecules want to fill up as much room as possible, they push against the sides of the balloon and cause it to fill up.
Chemistry is the study of matter and how molecules interact. Chemistry helps us understand the world around us and our own bodies. We use chemistry to do many things, from baking a cake to making medicine to take when we are sick. It is important to understand how matter will behave since it is always interacting!
If you chose not to do Activity 2a: Characteristics of Liquids but you still have time in the workshop, you can verbally review some of the key points on the sheet such as which liquids are used for cleaning etc. Some of the questions below may not be relevant to the choices you made for Activity 2.
Workshop modification for groups with many neurodiverse learners:
Matter Matters Accessibility Modifications - States visual
Matter Matters Accessibility Modifications - Guide
Web
Cooper, C. (1992). Eyewitness Science - matter. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited.
Friedhoffer, R. (1992). Matter and energy. Toronto: Franklin Watts.
Glover, D. (1993). Solids and liquids. New York: Kingfisher Books.
Kerrod, R., & Holgate, S.A. (2002). The way science works. New York: DK Publishing.
Mandell, M. (1959). Physics experiments for children. New York: Dover Publications.
Ontario Science Centre. (1995). Solids, liquids and gases. Toronto: Kids Can Press Ltd.
Peacock, G. (1994). Water. England: Wayland Publishers Ltd.
Riley, P. (1998). Materials and processes. New York: Franklin Watts.
Tocci, S. (2001). Experiments with solids, liquids and gases. Toronto: Children’s Press.
Attachments
- Matter Matters - Guide
- Term Cards: Matter, Molecule, Solid, Liquid and Gas
- Mixing Liquids and Solids Task Card
- Matter Matters Worksheets (including Mixing Liquids and Solids worksheet and Characteristics of Liquids worksheet)
- Mixing Liquids Task Card (bilingual)
- Density Prediction Images (bilingual)
- Liquid Craft Task Card (bilingual)
What's Happening?
Introduction
Matter is everything around us. Matter is made up of building blocks that are called molecules. There are three states of matter- solid, liquid and gas. The molecules in solids keep their shape because they are very close together and do not move around much. Molecules in liquids are further apart and can move around, but close enough that they keep the shape of the container they are in. The molecules in gases are the furthest apart and take up all the remaining space around us. Gases do not have a definite shape, but they will expand to take up all available space, so that all the molecules are very far apart from one another.
Activity 1: Mixing Liquids and Solids
When solids and liquids are mixed, three things can happen:
- They do not mix at all (i.e. doing the dishes).
- They mix (i.e. water and dirt make mud).
- They mix in a special way (dissolving).
When a solid dissolves in a liquid, you can no longer see the solid but it is still there. For example, when you mix water and juice crystals, the crystals break down into tiny pieces that can fit in between the water molecules. These are too small to see but we can tell they are still there because the water changes colour and tastes different. Dissolved solids cannot be separated by a filter.
Activity 2: Characteristics of Liquids
One way to describe a liquid is by its thickness, otherwise known as viscosity. A thick liquid will move slower and make less noise when shaken compared to a thinner liquid. Participants should observe that pancake syrup is the thickest liquid, followed by dish soap, vegetable oil and water.as the thinnest.
Another way to describe a liquid is by its weight, otherwise known as density. Participants should notice that regardless of the order that they add the liquids, they will always arrange in the same order. The syrup will be at the bottom (the densest), the detergent will be second from the bottom, the coloured water will be third from the bottom and the oil will be at the top (the least dense).
Some liquids, such as oil and water, will not mix regardless of how much they are stirred or shaken. This is because water molecules like to stick so close together that the oil molecules are unable to get in between them. In Activity 2c: Liquid Craft, participants should observe that the bead floats between the oil and water. This is because the bead gets covered in oil molecules as it travels through the tube. The oil molecules push away from the water molecules and keep the bead in the layer between them.
Wrap up
A reaction occurs when baking soda (solid) mixes with vinegar (liquid). This reaction produces carbon dioxide (gas). In this demonstration, the balloon at the top of the flask traps the carbon dioxide gas molecules. Since gas molecules want to fill up as much room as possible, they push against the sides of the balloon and cause it to fill up.
Why Does it Matter?
Chemistry is the study of matter and how molecules interact. Chemistry helps us understand the world around us and our own bodies. We use chemistry to do many things, from baking a cake to making medicine to take when we are sick. It is important to understand how matter will behave since it is always interacting!
Investigate Further
If you chose not to do Activity 2a: Characteristics of Liquids but you still have time in the workshop, you can verbally review some of the key points on the sheet such as which liquids are used for cleaning etc. Some of the questions below may not be relevant to the choices you made for Activity 2.
Workshop modification for groups with many neurodiverse learners:
Matter Matters Accessibility Modifications - States visual
Matter Matters Accessibility Modifications - Guide
Resources
Web
Cooper, C. (1992). Eyewitness Science - matter. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited.
Friedhoffer, R. (1992). Matter and energy. Toronto: Franklin Watts.
Glover, D. (1993). Solids and liquids. New York: Kingfisher Books.
Kerrod, R., & Holgate, S.A. (2002). The way science works. New York: DK Publishing.
Mandell, M. (1959). Physics experiments for children. New York: Dover Publications.
Ontario Science Centre. (1995). Solids, liquids and gases. Toronto: Kids Can Press Ltd.
Peacock, G. (1994). Water. England: Wayland Publishers Ltd.
Riley, P. (1998). Materials and processes. New York: Franklin Watts.
Tocci, S. (2001). Experiments with solids, liquids and gases. Toronto: Children’s Press.
Attachments
- Matter Matters - Guide
- Term Cards: Matter, Molecule, Solid, Liquid and Gas
- Mixing Liquids and Solids Task Card
- Matter Matters Worksheets (including Mixing Liquids and Solids worksheet and Characteristics of Liquids worksheet)
- Mixing Liquids Task Card (bilingual)
- Density Prediction Images (bilingual)
- Liquid Craft Task Card (bilingual)