Science 6: States of Matter

Gases, liquids and solids are all made up of atoms, molecules, and/or ions, but the behaviors of particles differ in the three phases. See the animated microscopic graphics to understand their movements.

In this science experiment, student will make some goop that has the properties of a liquid and a solid.

Explore the Particle Model of Matter in this informative video, delving into the fundamental principles that govern the behavior and properties of substances.

Matter, the substance of which all physical objects are composed, exists fundamentally as a collection of minuscule particles.

Learn about solids, liquids, and gases. Then you will need to sort all of the things into the correct category.

Play the video to learn more about the states of matter: solids, liquids and gases. You can also have fun singing along with the song or trying the quiz.

Sitting around a campfire, you can feel its heat, smell the woody smoke, and hear it crackle. But what exactly are you looking at?

Have you ever seen static electricity cause a spark of light? What is that spark? What about lightning, the Northern Lights, or the tail of a comet? All of those things and many others – in fact, 99.9% of the universe -- are made of plasma.

Learn about the processes that take place when matter is heated and cooled as it changes states.

In this episode of Crash Course Kids, Sabrina shows us how conservation of mass actually works with sugar and water.

In this episode, Sabrina chats about chemical reactions and the Conservation of Matter.

Observe how the particle behave and the change in state that occurs when matter is heated.

Matter undergoes phase changes or phase transitions from one state of matter to another. Learn more what these phases are!

In this video, we're going to take a look at how matter can change.

Matter is most often found as either a solid, liquid or a gas. Matter can also move from one phase to another when heat or energy is added or subtracted.

In this video, we look at the differences between solids, liquids, and gases, and at why things change state when they absorb or lose heat energy.

Watch different types of molecules form a solid, liquid, or gas. Add or remove heat and watch the changes.

As we heat a substance, we see an increase in the speed of the particles as well as an increase in the space between particles.

Learn about thermal contraction and see the differences between thermal expansion and contraction.

In this video, student will explore some real-world examples of thermal expansion

In this video,we look at the fact that substances expand when they get hot and contract when they get cold and we explain why they do.

Anders Celsius is most familiar as the inventor of the temperature scale that bears his name.

Celsius (more precisely, a degree Celsius), sometimes called centigrade, is a unit of measurement used in many countries to measure temperature.

Learn some very surprising facts about the Celsius scale

How do thermometers work and how were they invented? Why does water freeze at 32 degrees on the Fahrenheit temperature scale but zero on the Celsius scale? Learn about it here!

Deane shows how and why a thermometer works and a simple experiment you can try with things around the home

There are many criteria for making a liquid thermometer work. Learn about them here!

Let's learn the science behind how we tell temperature. Hint: It's chemistry!

This tutorial describes how a liquid-in-glass thermometer works and how its design affects the thermometer's sensitivity, range and linearity.

Tune in and learn how Daniel Fahrenheit made thermometers that were precise and then invented the system that bears his name today.

Mercury, a.k.a. quicksilver, is famous for being a liquid at room temperature...and also below room temperature. But it's a metal... what's going on?

A science demonstration of how thermometers measure heat energy

Snow and ice on top of the soil, and water in the soil, help to insulate the root zone

The surface of Lake Lunz is frozen solid. We want to know: Will the fish in the lake die? Yes or no?

Water is a special substance for several reasons, and you may have noticed an important one right in your cold drink: ice. Solid ice floats in liquid water, which isn't true for most substances. But why? Related Lesson

An animated Ted Ed video that explains the way that snow can be used to keep you warm in the winter.

Why does ice float in the cool summer drink of your choice? And why don't ponds and lakes freeze from the bottom up, killing all the fish?

Resources for Grade 6 teachers that focus on the Matter unit in the new curriculum