Solid, liquid, or gas? Primary students have been studying states of matter. First, we figured out that everything you see, feel, taste, or smell is matter. All matter is made up of atoms. That means we are made up of atoms, too!
We watched a table for a few seconds and decided that it, like all solids, can’t change its shape unless we change it. By pouring water into different size tubes, we observed liquids move take the shape of any container. We figured out that we can feel air even if we can’t see it. These three states of matter are different because of how their atoms are arranged, a little bit like putting ourselves inside a hula hoop! We all giggled, watching one student have plenty of room to move around the hula hoop like a gas. When we added two more students to replicate a liquid, we saw that they could still move abut had less freedom. When we packed in seven students, they were so close together no movement was possible just like a solid.
We got to taste some science experiments this week, too. While an ice block melted in the sun, liquid grape juice froze in the freezer–a perfect snack for a sweltering afternoon. We also witnessed liquids being mixed with solids and talked about yeast, which makes bubbles. In a few hours, we ate delicious, fluffy bread thanks to gas.
