Big Idea 9: Changes in Matter

In this lesson students will perform experiments and collect data to gather empirical evidence about how air molecules behave when heated and cooled. This is the 4th lesson in the 5th grade unit and  uses sensors and computer science skills to learn about weather.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson introduces how heat transfers to different substances using an electrical device. The electrical device used create thermal energy changes a substance’s state of matter. This lesson contains a lab experiment that tests the timing at which butter changes to its melting point while using a lamp. This lab questions whether using a different electric device will conclude the same results. 

This is lesson 3 in the Detecting Electrical and Thermal Energy Unit.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson introduces the different states of matter for any substance. For this lesson students will be allowed to observe the changes water makes during the following states: solid, liquid, and gas. Students will engage in discussion to predict the temperature when a substance changes from solid to liquid and liquid to gas. Lastly, students will learn the advantages of using a line graph to analyze the relationship between two variables.

This is lesson 2 in a Unit on Detecting Thermal & Electrical Energy. 

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson discusses the efficiency of gathering and storing information manually vs using resourceful technology. For this lesson students will test and collect data using ice cubes.  Students will write code to make a program that shows the changes in states of matter when using a temperature probe to relay the data. This lesson gives examples of different technologies that are more efficient for gathering and storing information for later use. This is the final lesson in the Unit on Detecting Electrical and Thermal Energy.

Type: Lesson Plan

This experiment will model how sunlight striking the Earth’s surface warms the air around us. Students will investigate how surfaces of differing reflectivity determine how much sunlight is absorbed and converted to heat which in turn serves to warm the adjacent air.

This is lesson 3 in the fifth grade unit on weather. The lesson uses weather sensors and connects computer science concepts within the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

Many chemical reactions are accompanied by a change in temperature. Whether it is extreme or barely noticeable, the temperature may go up or it may go down. Investigate these two chemical reactions described in this lesson to experience two different kinds of temperature change.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this MEA students will be presented with a catering company looking to add a new recipe using molecular gastronomy techniques. These recipes/techniques transform food into different states of matter.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Changes in matter are explored both physically and chemically through a variety of experiments.

Type: Lesson Plan

The search is on to locate water on the Moon! Modeled after NASA’s PRIME-1 mission to drill for water ice on the moon, students will create a simulated lunar crust that they will take cores from to search for water ice below the surface. They will then create a map to show others where their discoveries lie. This lesson was developed by the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science with support from the Weo Foundation.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this classroom lab setting, students will construct Decomposition Columns from two-liter plastic bottles. Students will gather organic material and observe activity in the column. Students will record observations and construction steps in their science notebook.

Type: Teaching Idea

In this chemistry lab, students will observe a variety of physical and chemical changes in matter.

Type: Teaching Idea

The students will conduct an experiment with water so they can see H2O in all three of its states of matter. The students will conduct another experiment to see the effects temperature has on the decomposition process of an organism. They will also learn how heat speeds up the molecules in an object causing it to become hot. Students will experiment to see the effects heat will have on calcium.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

In this unit, students will investigate M&Ms in water by posing questions, designing and conducting experiments to answer these questions, and developing explanations based on their observations. Students will investigate the effects of variables, such as temperature, on the rate at which the colored coating of M&Ms dissolves.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

• Learn about the known temperature range from absolute zero to absolute hot
• Learn about processes related to some temperatures
• Explore the coldest and warmest spots observed on Earth

Type: Video/Audio/Animation