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  • Keep their properties
  • Easily separated with:
    • Hands
    • Sifting
    • Filters
    • Magnets
  • One substance is dissolved in another
  • NOT easily separated
  • Special type of mixture
  • Can look like one substance
    • Sweet tea
  • 2 or more substances
  • BOTH are mixtures

Matter

anything that has mass and takes up space (volume)

Mass

amount of matter in an object

  • Think of it as how much ‘stuff’ is in an object (not weight)

Atoms

smallest part of matter (can’t be seen by the naked eye)

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Molecule

two or more atoms stuck together

Mixture

when two or more substances are combined without losing their identifying characteristics

  • Examples: trail mix, mud puddle, a salad

Solution

when one substance is uniformly dissolved in a liquid

    • Solutions are special types of mixtures
    • Examples: sweet tea, salt water, cake

For use by NNPS Department of Teaching and Learning and families only

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Key Concepts

  • Phase change = a change in the state of matter of a material
    • Example: solid to liquid or gas to liquid
    • Example: Ice→water→water vapor
  • Phase changes with the addition of heat: solid to liquid to gas
    • Also seen as ‘temperature increase’
  • Phase changes with the removal of heat: gas to liquid to solid
    • Also seen as ‘temperature decrease’
  • Adding or removing heat = adding or removing energy.
  • Matter does not gain or lose mass (stuff) during phase changes.

Curious Conversations

  • Can you think of a couple of things at home that are mixtures or solutions? What makes them different from each other?
  • Can you explain to me how molecules move in solids, liquids, and gases? Like, what’s going on at a tiny level?
  • If we left an ice cube out in the sun, what do you think would happen to it as it warms up?
  • How would you describe what matter is, using your own words?
  • Here’s a true or false for you: A glacier's mass changes when it melts. What do you think?
    • Then you can follow up with a discussion on how mass is conserved even when the form changes.
  • What exactly is happening when water starts to boil? Can you walk me through it?
  • What do you think is the biggest difference between a regular mixture and a solution?
  • Let’s look at a few things: trail mix, salad, cake, sweet tea, and sand with seaweed. Which ones do you think are mixtures, and why?
    • Follow up with: “That’s right—all of them are mixtures. Solutions are just a special kind of mixture!”

For use by NNPS Department of Teaching and Learning and families only