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Florida Science Standards

SC.4.P.8.2 Identify properties and common uses of water in each of its states.

Connecting to Other Standards

This is the perfect time to cover SC.4.E.6.3 and SC.4.E.6.6, as both talk about water as a resource. If you have already covered SC.4.P.8.1 (properties), this is a good time to reinforce those concepts.

Key Concepts:

• Water can be found naturally as a solid (ice), liquid (water), or a gas (water vapor), and changes frequently from one state to another.
• Solids tend to maintain their size and shape regardless of their container.
• Liquids tend to maintain their size, but take on the shape of their container.
• Gases tend to take on the size and shape of their container.
• Gases are compressible, but liquids and solids are generally not.

Misconception Alert:

• States of Matter: Be sure to read Teach It Right the First Time before you teach states of matter. This can help you avoid common misconceptions, and keep your students from having to "unlearn" things in later grades.
• Evaporation: Be sure to read What Really Happens with Evaporation? This can help you explain evaporation and condensation while avoiding several common misconceptions.

 

Covering the Basics:

To give your students a basic understanding of this topic, do the following.

1. As an introduction, either show your students the Wonderful Water video, or watch it and convey the information to your students. This explains why water is such a strange chemical, and introduces the common states of matter for water.
2. Show your students the Egg States video. This will introduce the basic properties of the common states of matter, and prepare them for the fact that a mixture may act like one state when it is actually two or more states mixed.

Fun Facts

• Ice can be both a mineral and a rock. Is snow a rock?

Supporting Standards from Previous Grades

SC.2.P.8.4 Observe and describe water in its solid, liquid, and gaseous states.
SC.2.E.7.3 Investigate, observe and describe how water left in an open container disappears (evaporates), but water in a closed container does not disappear (evaporate).
SC.3.P.9.1 Describe the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling by using familiar scientific terms such as melting, freezing, boiling, evaporation, and condensation.

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If you need help with science questions, ways to explain or demonstrate concepts, or have a suggestion for an activity, please email me.

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