Second Grade: Unit 2: Properties of Matter Matter solid liquid gas property Background: The universe is made of only two entities: matter and energy. Examples of energy are light, heat, and sound. Everything else we know of is matter. Matter is anything that has mass and volume. Mass is the amount of matter in a thing. Usually, when an object is heavier, it has greater mass. Compare the mass of a styrofoam ball to the mass of a bowling ball. The bowling ball has greater mass because it has more matter within it. The styrofoam ball has less mass because it is made of less matter, making it feel lighter. Mass does not change the way weight does. Weight is a measure of the gravitational pull on an object. It will change depending on the distance from the object to the center of the Earth. An object put on a scale at sea level will weigh more than the same object put on a scale in mile high Denver. Because Denver is over 5000 ft. above sea level, the gravitational pull is less, making the weight of the object less. The mass of the object will remain the same wherever the object is located. Mass measures the amount of atomic material in the object, not the gravitational pull on the object. Volume is the amount of space that an object can occupy. An inflated balloon may have a volume similar to a bowling ball, because they both take up about the same amount of space, but it will have a much different mass. All matter has volume, though young students have difficulty with the idea that something invisible, like air, can take up space. Matter is found in three natural states on Earth. These are solids, liquids, and gases. Water as a solid is found as ice, as a liquid in fluid water, and as a gas in water vapor in the air. A fourth state of matter, plasma, is the most common in the Universe but is only found in stars and between planets, stars, and galaxies. It does not need to be presented at this level. A solid is a state of matter that has a definite shape. The molecules in solids are very tightly packed together, giving the solid its shape and density. It also makes it impossible for another solid to pass through easily. While some solids, like potter s clay, can be shaped by hand, most solids do not change shape easily unless there is a change in state. Liquids are forms of matter that do not have a definite shape. Liquids will take the shape of the container they are in as they have the ability to flow. Molecules in a liquid are more
loosely packed and can slip and slide over one another. Liquids allow solids to pass through them easily. If heat energy is increased, liquids will change state into gases. Gases are forms of matter that have no specific shape or size. The molecules in gases are far apart and fill whatever container they may be in; a balloon, room, or huge sports arena. Because gas molecules are so small and far apart, most gases are invisible. When heat energy is reduced, most gases change to liquids. Atoms are the basic units of matter. They are made of positively charged protons, neutrally charged neutrons, which are both located in the nucleus, and negatively charged electrons, which circle the nucleus in an electron cloud. Molecules are combinations of more than one atom of the same or different elements. Most atoms are bound to other atoms to form molecules. A property of matter is its characteristics. There are physical and chemical properties of every kind of matter. Children at this level can easily explore the physical properties of matter by using their five senses. A physical property of matter is any property you can see, smell, touch, hear or otherwise detect and measure without performing a chemical reaction. (such as burning) These include such characteristics as color, shape, size, volume, mass, density, texture, flexibility, and buoyancy. We sort types of matter into categories depending on characteristics, or properties. Matter: any substance or object that has mass and volume. Mass: the amount of atomic matter within a material. Volume: the amount of three dimensional space an object occupies. Property: a characteristic that describes or determines a difference between entities. Solid: a form of matter that has a definite shape, closely packed molecules, and doesn t allow other solids to pass through it. Liquid: a form of matter that takes the shape of its container, has loosely packed molecules that pass over one another, and allows solids to pass through easily. Gas: a form of matter with widely diffused molecules that takes the shape of its container and is usually invisible.
Activity #1: Show the students the cover of the book, A Snowman Named just Bob. Ask them to predict what the book may be about. (winter, snowman, cold weather etc.) Have students share any prior experience they have in building a snowman. Record any shared information they may have. Ask the students to look at the Snowman Recipe below. Work as a group to complete the ingredients and steps to make a snowman. Record the students responses, but allow them to free think with minimal correction. At this point in the lesson, it does not matter if the information they record is incorrect. It is more important that they practice thinking in sequential steps. DO NOT COMPLETE THE ILLUSTRATIONS SECTION AT THIS TIME. Recipe for Making a Snowman Ingredients: Steps: 1. 2. Illustrations: 3. 4. 5. 6.
Once the recipe has been completed, generate discussion by asking the students the following questions: Do you think it is easy or difficult to make a snowman? How many people does it take to make a snowman? How many snowmen could you make in an hour? A day? How long will a snowman last? Do snowmen really talk like Frosty?
Activity #2: Begin this lesson by reviewing the recipe the students created in Activity 1. Tell the students they will now watch a video of how some middle school students in North Carolina made a snowman. As they watch the video, have them review the recipe they have written. Are their steps correct? What could we do to make our recipe better? Discuss the activities in the video and decide which are necessary to make a good snowman and which are not. Revise the recipe if needed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fckmtu7bpzg After watching the video and revising the recipe, ask students how each step of the recipe could be illustrated for understanding. Using their ideas, make a drawing for each step in the Illustration column of the chart.
Activity 3: Student Handout 1: Solid, Liquid, Gas Tell students they are going to be looking at the ingredients of the recipe, and the things in the environment around making a snowman. Ask students to look at the following word group. How could the words be grouped? Have students sort the words into categories. Allow them to find several ways the words could be grouped. Discuss why they put each word in a group. What do the words have in common? How are the groups different? air snow tree leaf wind water hot chocolate marshmallow steam scarf mitten ice rain breath soup girl After the students have grouped the words, introduce the words solids, liquids, and gases. Watch the video below about the four phases of matter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyfaj50c7xm After the video, have the students revisit the word group above. Have them classify the words on the chart below. Remind students that gases are usually invisible but are still present in the picture. Object Solid Liquid Gas
Activity 4: Student Handout 2: Story Diagram Tell students they are going to read a book called, A Snowman Named Just Bob, by Mark Kimball Moulton. Draw their attention to the Story Diagram below. As you read the story, pause to discuss each section of the Diagram. Encourage students to fully describe each area; setting, illustrations, related words and concepts, and the sequence of events. At the end of the story, ask students to complete the story diagram below. When does the story take place? (setting) What does it look like? (illustrations) A Snowman Named Just Bob What are some words that relate to it? (word association) What happens in the story? (sequence and plot).
Activity 5: Tell the students they are going to take a closer look at A Snowman Named Just Bob. Show them the illustration below. Ask the students to list some of the properties, or characteristics, that we might use to describe Just Bob. Begin with physical properties: size, color, materials, shape, smell, weight, texture, temperature, buoyancy, flexibility, state (solid, liquid, gas) etc. Have students create a complete physical description. Then move on to properties that can t be seen. Is Just Bob kind? Generous? Happy? Lead students to describe all the properties of character and personality that can be assumed from the story. Reread parts of the book to clarify areas that students might find confusing or unclear.
Student Handout 1 Object Solid Liquid Gas
Student Handout 2 When does the story take place? (setting) What does it look like? (illustrations) A Snowman Named Just Bob What are some words that relate to it? (word association) What happens in the story? (sequence and plot)