Solid? Liquid? Gas? Oh My!

Students in second grade just started a new science unit on States of Matter.  We learned that matter is anything that takes up space.

Students got to work hands on with materials to figure out what exactly is a solid, liquid, and gas.

Solids

We looked at blocks of wood and foam, and we got to see that no matter where the blocks are, they will stay the same size and shape.  We confirmed this by measuring the blocks both inside a box and outside a box.  Solids have a definite size and shape.

Liquids

We looked at 3o cc of water in a small plastic cup.  Then, we transferred the water to a bigger cup.  We made predictions and found that water took the shape of the bigger cup and stayed at 30 cc.  The volume of water stayed the same!

Gases

Lastly, we looked at gas.  We looked at the air inside of a balloon and saw that air takes up space and changes shape based on the container/balloon it is in.  Gases do not have a definite shape, but gases do have volume.

What about Fire?

The class was curious about other types of things we see, and we were curious about what dust was, and that led to what state of matter fire would be?  Turns out – fire is not a state of matter at all.  It is a chemical reaction called combustion.

Students have been asking lots of questions and are identifying the different states of matter around them.  They are observing and taking what they learn to make hypotheses and predictions!

We will be looking at this unit over the next few weeks – be sure to ask your child about what they are learning!