Science- States of Matter February 2021
Date: 27th Feb 2021 @ 10:16am
In Year 4 we have been learning all about ‘States of matter’.
The National curriculum states that pupils should be taught to:
- compare and group materials together, according to whether they are solids, liquids or gases
- observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled, and measure or research the temperature at which this happens in degrees Celsius (°C)
- identify the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle and associate the rate of evaporation with temperature
We have had lots of fun finding out about particles in a solid, liquid and gas. We grouped and compared materials in each of the categories.
We investigated how materials are changed if they are heated or cooled. We set up an experiment to watch this happen. In the experiment we used Maths skills to measure temperatures, record results and then Science skills to be able to explain why something happened.
We were very lucky to have really cold weather to be able to make our own giant marbles, with water, food colouring and balloons.
In our live lessons we watched ‘explorify’ and had some really interesting discussions about snowflakes and how they are formed.
Finally, we were able to draw a Science model of the Water Cycle. The cycle includes evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection. Without the water cycle living things wouldn’t be able to live on earth. The very same week we learnt about the water cycle, a space probe was launched onto Mars to look for signs of water. This was fascinating. We decided a career in Science would be brilliant because of all the different possibilities!