SC.4.P.9.1

Identify some familiar changes in materials that result in other materials with different characteristics, such as decaying animal or plant matter, burning, rusting, and cooking.
General Information
Subject Area: Science
Grade: 4
Body of Knowledge: Physical Science
Idea: Level 1: Recall
Big Idea: Changes in Matter - A. Matter can undergo a variety of changes.

B. Matter can be changed physically or chemically.

Clarification for grades K-5: The target understanding for students in the elementary grades should focus on Big Ideas A and B.

Clarification for Grades 6-8: The target understanding for students in the middle grades should begin to transition the focus to: C. When matter changes chemically, a rearrangement of bonds between the atoms occurs. This results in new substances with new properties.

Date Adopted or Revised: 02/08
Content Complexity Rating: Level 1: Recall - More Information
Date of Last Rating: 05/08
Status: State Board Approved
Assessed: Yes

Related Courses

This benchmark is part of these courses.
5020050: Science - Grade Four (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 - 2024, 2024 and beyond (current))
7720050: Access Science Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018, 2018 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current))
5020110: STEM Lab Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2016 - 2022, 2022 - 2024, 2024 and beyond (current))

Related Access Points

Alternate version of this benchmark for students with significant cognitive disabilities.
SC.4.P.9.In.1: Observe and describe properties of materials that have been changed into other materials, such as decayed leaves of a plant.
SC.4.P.9.Su.1: Indicate differences in materials that have been changed into other materials, such as rust on a can.
SC.4.P.9.Pa.1: Recognize changes in observable properties of materials.

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this benchmark.

Lesson Plans

Holey Rusted Metal!:

Students will conduct a guided inquiry lab involving the chemical change that creates rust. This lab is meant to be set up in one day and then observed over the course of 3 weeks.

Type: Lesson Plan

Did It Change?:

Through demonstrations and lab/investigate rotations, students will explore physical and chemical changes.

Type: Lesson Plan

“Chemical Changes: Rusting and Tarnishing”:

In this integrated ELA lesson, students will determine the cause and effect relationship for types of metals that experience rusting and tarnishing. The students can also compare and contrast the chemical changes of rusting and tarnishing, which will help them further understand how matter can change. This integrated lesson will help students apply comprehension skills to better understand informational text.

Type: Lesson Plan

Change Matters: Physical and Chemical Changes:

This lesson demonstrates how students can apply the process of comparing and contrasting to demonstrate the similarities and differences between physical and chemical changes in matter. The students will then compare and contrast these changes, assisting them in understanding the different ways matter changes.

Type: Lesson Plan

Original Student Tutorial

Changes In Materials:

Identify some familiar changes in materials that result in other materials with different characteristics in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Teaching Ideas

An Apple a Day:

Students are presented with an apple and are asked to draw it. In each subsequent class period they are asked to draw the same apple again. In this way, they watch and record the changes the apple goes through as it decays.

Type: Teaching Idea

Bury Your Trash:

This activity will allow students to bury various pieces of trash in a plotted area of land outside. After approximately two to three months, the trash will be uncovered to allow the students to investigate what types of materials biodegrade in soil.

Type: Teaching Idea

Exploring A Decomposition Community:

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

Investigating Changes In Matter:

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

Type: Teaching Idea

Sorting Our Way to pH:

In this indoor lab activity students will be given a large variety of objects to sort into categories. After practice and discussion, they will then sort food items, first based on their five senses, then by studying their reactions when placed in red cabbage juice. Students document their predictions, observations, the results of their work and their conclusions.

Type: Teaching Idea

Unit/Lesson Sequence

Chemical Change Investigations | Inquiry in Action:

In this series of 10 investigations, students gain experience with the evidence of chemical change - production of a gas, change in temperature, color change, and formation of a precipitate. Students begin by observing that similar-looking powders can be differentiated by the way they react chemically with certain test liquids. Students then use their chemical tests and observations to identify an unknown powder and, in a follow-up activity, to identify the active ingredients in baking powder. Students continue to explore chemical change by using a thermometer to observe that temperature either increases or decreases during chemical reactions. Then they control these reactions by adjusting the amount of reactants. In another set of activities, students use the color changes of red cabbage indicator to classify substances as acids or bases, neutralize solutions, and compare the relative acidity of two different solutions. Students conclude the investigation by comparing a precipitate to one of the reactants that formed it. Students see that a new substance was created during the chemical reaction. Information and questions about photosynthesis and cellular respiration are included as examples of chemical changes on pages 316-318 of this resource.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Original Student Tutorials Science - Grades K-8

Changes In Materials:

Identify some familiar changes in materials that result in other materials with different characteristics in this interactive tutorial.

Student Resources

Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this benchmark.

Original Student Tutorial

Changes In Materials:

Identify some familiar changes in materials that result in other materials with different characteristics in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Parent Resources

Vetted resources caregivers can use to help students learn the concepts and skills in this benchmark.