Year 7 Science
Matter
Lesson 1
Solids, Liquids and Gases
You will probably remember from an earlier lesson that one way of sorting materials is to group them as either solids, liquids or gases.
You can have another look at the lesson by clicking here.
If you want to try the sorting game click here.
Solid, liquid and gas are known as the 'States of Matter'.
Did you find it difficult to decide whether butter is a solid or not?
Can you think of any other substance that causes similar problems?
Here are the ones I thought might be hard?
Activity 1
It seems obvious that water from the tap is a liquid. We are used to it being wet and runny.
LOOK AT EACH OF THE IDEAS AND DECIDE WHETHER IT DESCRIBES A SOLID OR A LIQUID.
Solid
Liquid
It is hard It's runny It pours easily Shape does not change easily Shape depends on the container It cannot be stirred It is not easy to squash
Try extending this table to include a gas.
Are there any other properties you could include?
Activity 2 - Making it flow
Jelly in a test tube
Cold jelly is stuck in the bottom of a test tube.
Is it a solid? Will it flow out if you turn it upside down?
How could you make the jelly pour more easily?
Design an experiment to investigate how temperature effects how fast jelly will flow from one end of the test tube to the other.
Remember the investigation help sheet.
You may want to look back at the Investigating in Science lessons.
Look here for some more ideas.
You should now have some idea of what makes solids, liquids and gases different from each other.
You should know about the 'states of matter'.
You have also started to think more about how to change the state of a substance. You have been melting jelly.
Return to Key Stage 3 Science
