Ooze…What State of Matter?!

Today in class we introduced the concept of the three states in which matter can exist- solids, liquids, and gases.  The unit we are currently in, Chemistry of Life, has discussed several topics including, the structure of atoms, how to use the periodic table to find protons, electrons, and neutrons, and now we are learning how these atoms make up the idea of matter.  This unit is extremely important within our classroom as it gives description to everything around us!  Also, all units will build onto this as atoms are the smallest piece of matter, then cells, then parts, then organs, then systems, then organisms.  During this lesson in the unit, we defined matter as “anything with mass and volume,” which includes all things we can, and even cannot, see!  The table you eat dinner on is matter, your hair is matter, your skin, even the air you breathe is made up of matter!

We began the lesson today through an inquiry activity looking at several different pieces of matter and deciding on our own what state of matter we thought they were.  Everyone did a great job of not only identifying the state of matter before learning what they were and what defines them, and justifying why you believed this.  This was a highly successful activity as many of you were able to form the definitions of the states of matter before you knew them!  The different objects we looked at were vegetable oil, rock, ice cubs, and a balloon filled with air.  Many students concluded that the vegetable oil was “liquidy” or “slippery” and the ice cube and rock were solid in their structure.  The balloon led to more of a discussion as many students stated that the balloon itself was solid, but was still flexible, but was filled with air, which is much different than what the balloon is made out of.

Three States of Matter

When we got to the class-wide discussion of what the three states of matter are, everyone deserved a pat on the back because almost every student was able to identify what they were through the activity and give good justification as to how they are different.  Through the PowerPoint and discussion, we dove into learning more about the properties of each state of matter.  Through a graphic organizer, students were given the following to be filled-in throughout the lesson:

	Shape	Molecule Movement	Volume
Solid	Definite	Rigid,  do not move easily	Definite
Liquid	Takes the shape of the container	Vibrate, move about, slide past each other	Definite
Gas	Takes the shape of the container	Move freely at high speeds	Takes the volume of the container

Many visuals were shown of how the various atoms move through the three different states of matter, including the use of the following website that creates a great visual for simulation showing that increases and decreases in temperature change matter through the three states.  The use of various images and simulations is to ensure there are several ways to work with the new content to allow all learning styles to master the material and to increase engagement during the lesson.

Through the daily exit slip, it was seen that students mastered the material of differentiating between the properties of the three states of matter through knowledge of their particle movement, and could defend various objects’ state of matter using the information, a high verb on Bloom’s taxonomy, showing high understanding of concepts.  Since there was such a great result from the lesson, it is time for students to take their learning home through a fun lab that costs only about $1.00 to complete!  Below are the materials and procedures that must be followed.

Materials needed for the "ooze" lab

The Ooze Lab!

Materials

·         Cup ·         Ziploc Bag

·         Cornstarch ·         Water

Procedures

1.    Pour about ½ cup of corn starch into a Ziploc bag.

2.    Pour water into the cornstarch and mix in the bag.

3     Put the “ooze” through the following tests

       Add color using food coloring if you want!

a.    Pour the ooze out of the bag into a cup

b.    Roll the ooze into a ball in your hand

c.    Poke the ooze with a pen

d.    Place a bean inside of the ooze and try to dig it out

Here is a video if you need more instructions and is pretty cool to see!

(www.youtube.com)

Now that you have complete the lab, it is your job to write a paragraph (at least 5-6 sentences) identifying what state of matter you believe the ooze is and why.  Make sure to use key vocabulary and concepts from the lesson to support your reasoning.  Take a picture of the ooze you made in this lab with a mobile phone and upload it to the class website for extra credit!  The purpose of this activity is to take learning from our current unit outside of the classroom with a fun and engaging lab that you can purchase materials for from the grocery store!  This is sure to be an activity that students and parents will always remember!