Matter - Introduction to Chemistry Level: 5th Grade Time Frame: Approximately 1 Quarter  Description: Students work with a large variety of inexpensive materials, directly experiencing and observing properties and interactions. The overall approach in this unit is to allow/encourage students to develop and carry out their own investigations within general guidelines provided by the teacher.

Overview Activity List Learning Objectives Standards Resources

Learning Objectives

Students will know and be able to demonstrate that:

• Matter has weight and takes up space.
• Matter can be differentiated and identified on the basis of physical and chemical properties and changes.
• Physical properties of matter include state or phase (liquid, gas, or solid), color, texture, weight/volume, etc. (for the most part, sensory characteristics).
• Matter may be composed of parts that are too small to see without magnification. In a gas, these parts are spread very far apart, so that a gas is often “invisible” to the human eye.
• A combination of water with another substance is called a solution if the substance mixed with water seems to “disappear.” The substance is actually still present, but has broken apart into pieces that are too small to see. Some substances form solutions with water and some do not. This is a constant property of matter (solubility).
• When two (or more) substances are combined, the weight of the combination is equal to the sum of the weights of the original substances.
• When there is a chemical reaction between two substances, one or more new substances are formed, usually with different properties.
• Evidence of a chemical reaction includes: temperature change, color change, new substance formed, gas released, energy released (usually heat).
• Matter is made up of a limited number of small (invisible) components called elements. Combinations of elements form most of the world around us; these combinations are called compounds. (optional)

 Students will practice these process skills:

• Formulating questions on a specific science topic and choosing the steps needed to answer the questions.
• Collecting data for investigations using scientific process skills including observing, estimating, and measuring.
• Constructing charts and visualizations to display data.
• Using data to produce reasonable explanations.
• Reporting and displaying the results of individual and group investigations.

Standards
 

Illinois State Standards: Late Elementary- As a result of their schooling students will be able to: 

12C. Know and apply concepts that describe properties of matter and energy and the interactions between them.

• Describe and demonstrate the properties of solids, liquids, and gases.

 11A. Know and apply the concepts, principles, and processes of scientific inquiry.

• Formulate questions on a specific science topic and choose the steps needed to answer the questions.
• Collect data for investigations using scientific process skills including observing, estimating, and measuring.
• Construct charts and visualizations to display data.
• Use data to produce reasonable explanations.
• Report and display the results of individual and group investigations.

 13A. Know and apply the accepted practices of science.

• Demonstrate ways to avoid injury when conducting science activities (e.g., wearing goggles).
• Explain why similar investigations may not produce similar results.
• Explain why keeping accurate and detailed records is important.

Further clarification of the appropriate concepts for this topic at this grade level is provided in the two sets of national guidelines for science instruction.

National Science Education Standards- As a result of activities in grades K-4 (5-8), students should develop an understanding of the following fundamental concepts and principles:

• Objects have many observable properties, including size, weight, shape, color, temperature, and the ability to react with other substances. Those properties can be measured using tools, such as rulers, balances, and thermometers.
• Substances react chemically in characteristic ways with other substances to form new substances with different characteristic properties.
• (Inquiry standards very similar to the state standards above).
   

Benchmarks for Science Literacy- By the end of 5^th grade, students should know:
 

• Heating and cooling cause changes in the properties of materials.
• No matter how parts of an object are assembled, the weight of the whole object is always the same as the sum of the parts; and when a thing is broken down into parts, the parts have the same total weight as the original thing.
• Materials may be composed of parts that are too small to see without magnification.
• When a new material is made by combining two or more materials, it has properties that are different from the original materials.

Resources                                                                            

Champaign Community Unit School District #4 * Mellon Administrative Center
703 South New Street * Champaign, IL 61820 * 217.351.3800