Solids, liquids and gases booklet
Solids, liquids and gases booklet
- Unit 1: Living things
- Unit 2: Sound
- Unit 3: Materials in my world
- Unit 4: The Earth
- Unit 5: Humans
- Unit 6: Forces
This Topic is About...
- I will learn that materials can be solids, liquids, or gases.
- I will find out how the properties of solids and liquids are different.
- I will observe materials and sort them into groups.
- I will find out which of the five types of science investigation we are doing.
- I will identify risks and learn how to stay safe during practical work.
You’re going to be a science explorer!
Key Words
- carbon dioxide
- gas
- liquid
- nitrogen
- solid
Tap to Learn the Meanings!
- carbon dioxide: A gas that we breathe out and plants use to make food.
- gas: A state of matter that spreads out to fill any space, like air.
- liquid: A state of matter that flows and takes the shape of its container.
- nitrogen: A gas that makes up most of the air around us.
- solid: A state of matter that keeps its shape, like ice or rock.
Great job! You’re learning important science vocabulary.
Solids, liquids and gases
All materials are either solids, liquids or gases.
Solids stay the same shape unless they are compressed, stretched, twisted or bent.
Liquids change shape easily and take the shape of the container they are in.
Gases spread out to fill the space around them.
Wood, metal and plastic are solids.
Water, milk and oil are liquids.
Air is a mixture of gases. It is mostly a gas called nitrogen but there is also some oxygen. We need oxygen to breathe. Nitrogen and oxygen have no colour so we can’t see them. Some gases do have a colour, and some have a smell.
Hydrogen sulfide gas smells of rotten eggs.
Chlorine gas is yellow.
Let’s Investigate!
Topic: Making carbon dioxide gas
You will need: a cup, some bicarbonate of soda, some vinegar, a teaspoon, a candle
Investigation steps:
- Sofia and Marcus are making a gas called carbon dioxide. They are going to pour the gas onto a candle flame.
- Think: Why do they need to be careful? How can they stay safe?
- Add a little vinegar to the bottom of a cup.
- Add half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.
- Watch the bubbles — this is carbon dioxide gas being made.
- Wait until the bubbling stops. The cup is now full of carbon dioxide gas (even though you cannot see it).
- An adult lights the candle.
- Carefully pour the gas from the cup onto the flame — do NOT pour the liquid.
- Observe what happens to the flame.
Questions to consider:
- How will you stay safe when doing this investigation?
- What did you notice when you added bicarbonate of soda to vinegar?
- What happened when you poured the gas onto the candle?
- Why does the flame go out?
- What kind of science enquiry was this?
Tap to See Example Answers
- Staying safe: Keep your face away from the cup, let an adult light the candle, and do not spill vinegar onto the flame.
- What you observed: The mixture bubbled quickly because carbon dioxide gas was being made.
- What happened to the flame: It went out when the carbon dioxide was poured onto it.
- Why the flame went out: Flames need oxygen to burn. Carbon dioxide does not support burning, so the flame went out.
- Type of enquiry: This was a fair test and observation enquiry because you observed how a chemical reaction produced gas and how that gas affected a flame.
Great work! You explored a chemical reaction and learned how carbon dioxide affects fire.
Let’s Investigate!
Topic: Sorting solids and liquids
You will need: a magnifying glass, some materials that are solid and some that are liquid
Investigation steps:
- Observe each material carefully.
- Use your senses: look closely, touch them, and smell them safely.
- Decide which materials are solids and which are liquids.
- Sort the solids into one group and the liquids into another.
- Remember: another word for sorting is classifying.
How am I doing?
- Look at how others sorted their materials.
- Did they put them into the correct groups? Explain why.
- Think of materials that would belong in a 'gas' group.
Tap to See Example Answers
- Solids: keep their shape, stay in one place, and can be held (e.g., wood, book, rice grains, sponge block).
- Liquids: take the shape of their container and can be poured (e.g., water, oil, juice).
- Checking others' groups: A correct classification means every item is grouped by its state of matter, not colour or size.
- Examples of gases: oxygen, carbon dioxide, helium, water vapour.
Excellent classifying! You are learning how scientists group materials by their properties.