Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Dissolving and Back Again

Subject Area

Science

Grade(s)

5

Overview

In this lesson, students explore the particle nature of matter by first dissolving salt in water, then allowing the water to evaporate, and finally observing the solid salt left behind. After viewing a model of salt, students help develop models for the processes of salt dissolving, water evaporating to form a gas, and salt re-forming as a crystal. The focus is that matter, whether solid, liquid, or gas, is made up of particles; that dissolving and evaporation happen at the particle level; and that models can help explain these processes that we cannot see.

    Science (2015) Grade(s): 5

    SC15.5.1

    Plan and carry out investigations (e.g., adding air to expand a basketball, compressing air in a syringe, dissolving sugar in water, evaporating salt water) to provide evidence that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:SC15.5.1

    Vocabulary

    • Investigation
    • Variable
    • Data
    • Hypothesis
    • Conclusion
    • Matter
    • Describe
    • Observe
    • Evidence
    • Immensely
    • Bulk matter
    • Particle

    Knowledge

    Students know:
    • Matter is made of particles too small to be seen Matter too small to be seen still exists and may be detected by other means.
    • Gasses are made of matter particles that are too small to see, and are moving freely around in space (this can explain many observations, including the inflation and the shape of the balloon, and the effects of air on larger particles or objects).
    • The behavior of a collection of many tiny particles of matter and observable phenomena involving bulk matter (e.g., an expanding balloon, evaporating liquids, substances that dissolve in a solvent, effects of wind).
    • There is a relationship between bulk matter and tiny particles that cannot be seen.

    Skills

    Students are able to:
    • Identify the phenomenon under investigation.
    • Identify evidence that addresses the purpose of the investigation.
    • Collaboratively plan the investigation.
    • Collect and analyze the data.

    Understanding

    Students understand that:
    • Natural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large.

    Scientific and Engineering Practices

    Planning and Carrying out Investigations

    Crosscutting Concepts

    Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
    Link to Resource

    CR Resource Type

    Lesson/Unit Plan

    Resource Provider

    American Chemical Society
    Accessibility
    License

    License Type

    Custom
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