CoRe (Content Representation Tool)

1. What concepts/big
ideas do you intend
students to learn
about matter?

5-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions

Students who demonstrate understanding can:
5-PS1-2. Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing
substances, the total weight of matter is conserved. [Clarification Statement: Examples of reactions or changes could include phase changes, dissolving,
and mixing that form new substances.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include distinguishing mass and weight.]

2. What does your

group know about
the phases of
matter?

- When a liquid changes to a solid, it is called freezing. Freezing points tell us when a liquid will change to a solid.
- When a solid changes to a liquid, it is called melting. Melting points tell us when a solid will change to a liquid.
- All matter can change states.
- When matter changes states, it conserves the same weight and mass.
- Density changes when the state of matter changes (for example, solids are more dense than liquids).
- Usually, solids have less space between molecules than liquids. However, water is a special case where the solid form (ice) has more space between the
molecules, and the liquid form (water) has less space between molecules.
- It takes energy to make a phase change happen. Heat is a common source of energy for this purpose.
- The atoms in a liquid have more energy than the atoms in a solid.

3. Why is it important Students should be familiar with the types of matter that surround them in everyday life; matter makes up every part of our world. Being able to identify
for students to learn ways to change the state of matter will be important in many aspects of life. For example, students may be responsible for clearing snow or ice from
about matter?
their driveway. Knowing about matter phase changes (specifically water) is necessary to complete tasks such as this safely and efficiently.
It is important for students to know that as matter changes, the weight is conserved because no matter is being destroyed or disappearing. We believe
that students should know this fact in order to have a clear understanding about the concept of matter.

4. What
misconceptions do
students typically
have about this
concept and why?

What do students typically think about matter prior to being instructed? Be sure to list misconceptions individually.
- Ice molecules are colder than water molecules instead of thinking that ice molecules have less energy than water molecules.
- Expansion of matter is from the expansion of particles rather than increased space between the particles.
- Phase changes of matter means that matter loses/gains weight and mass.
- Matter phase changes are seen as permanent (cannot revers phase change).
- Materials can only have properties of one state of matter.
- Energy, heat, and sound are forms of matter.
- Particles of solids do not move because we see the object sitting still.
- Liquids are not matter because we drink them.
- Ice weighs less because the particles are closer together than water
- Water would weigh more because the particles are farther apart and take up a bigger amount of space
- Difficulties graphing with a bar graph

5. What do you
expect students to
know and be able to
do as a result of
instruction?

Students should be able to

- articulate the difference between a solid and liquid in reference to water.
- make inferences about why matter stays the same weight as it changes form.
- when given an example, identify which phase of matter it would be classified as.
- compare the efficiency of different melting strategies.
- represent data on a bar graph
- recognize that matter is conserved when it changes forms (even in transitions)

6. What specific
experiences and
activities might be
useful for helping
students develop
their under-standing
of matter?

EngageStudents are invited to think of as many ways that matter changes from one form to another in everyday life as possible. Ideas will be written on white
boards by the students.
Can you think of examples of ways matter changes forms in every day life?
For example, if we put water in an ice tray and put it in the freezer, what form will it become? What form did it start as? What form of matter is an ice
cube? Why did this change happen? How is the ice different than the water? How is it the same? How could we change water into a state of matter other
than a solid (gas)?
Students are questioned on their understanding of the conservation of weight when matter changes phases.
Using the same example of freezing water into ice cubes, do you think the ice cube will be heavier, the water will be heavier or they would weigh the
same? How would the weight of the gas form of water compare to these?
Students are asked to brainstorm ideas on how to melt an ice cube.
ExploreTeachers will start with science rules and tell students not to open the baggies, not to dunk it in the cup of water, and do not put the bags too close to
the heat source because it will melt the bag. This is told to them because it will change the weight and skew the data. Students work individually (with
help from pre-service teachers as needed) to complete a challenge- be the first to melt the ice cube provided in a bag. Students think about their
brainstorming activity and how their ideas relate to melting the ice. Before beginning, the ice cubes will each be weighed on the same scale. The students
will be timed on how long their strategy takes to completely melt the ice cube in the bag.
We will provide materials for students to utilize if they choose (salt, heat lamp, cup of room temperature water, mittens). They can also come up with
their own strategy to melt the cube.
The water in the bag at the end of the process will then be weighed and recorded.
ExplainStudents compare the weight of their ice cube to the weight of their melted ice (water). We will discuss as a group why the weight remains the same
throughout phase change. Have a discussion about the weight of the ice cube and how that may affect how fast the ice cube melts. Further, discuss why
each person chose the strategy and why some worked better than others.
Each individual will share their melting strategy and the recorded time that it took to completely melt the ice cube.
Students will work together to each create a bar graph to represent the differences in efficiency of the different strategies. The IV will be the strategy,
and the DV will be the time in minutes. They will right a concluding statement about why certain strategies worked better than others.
ExtendIf we had the appropriate time and materials
Pre-service teachers would discuss how salt is used to melt ice on driveways and that there are downsides to using this strategy as it damages concrete
and lawns. Students would be challenged to come up with an alternative way to melt ice on driveways. We would provide small squares of concrete with
a layer of ice atop of them. Students would be able to choose between given materials of kitty litter, dishwashing detergent, rubbing alcohol, vinegar and
aluminum foil. They would put their plans to a test outside. The class would discuss as a group what happened with each strategy and why they did or
did not work using the concept of phase changes.
EvaluateStudents create a handout to distribute to classmates that explains how they can melt ice on their driveways without using salt. In the handout, students
will describe their method and explain how and why it works using the concepts of phase changes.

7. In what ways could

you assess students
understanding or
confusion about
matter
before/during/after
instruction?

Engage- In this phase, we will assess students background knowledge and misconceptions of matter using the questions written above.
Explore- In this phase, we will formatively assess students abilities to use phase change strategies by observing their thought process and procedures for
melting the ice.
Explain- In this phase, we will formatively assess students abilities to plot their gathered results on a bar graph. Then we will assess students abilities to
make inferences using their data.
Extend- During this phase, we will assess students abilities to use their gained knowledge to make predictions about what alternative strategies to melt
ice will be more efficient.
Evaluate- We will use a summative assessment to assess students gained knowledge overall. Students will create a handout in this phase. This will allow
us to see if they are making connections between their new knowledge and the real world.

7. What
materials/equipment
are needed to teach
the lesson?

1. Ice cubes
2. Zip lock bags
3. Hair dryer
4. Salt
5. Mittens
6. Whiteboard and markers
7. Graph paper
8. Scale
9. Cups of water (warm and room temp)
10. Vinegar
11. Rubbing Alcohol
12. Slab of concrete with a layer of ice
13. Timer/Stopwatch
14. Aluminum foil
15. TSP measuring spoon
16. Lamp

8. References

www.nextgenscience.org
www.kstp.com/article/stories/s3239535.shtml
www.homeofbob.com/science/misconceptions/solidLiqGas.html
www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-makes-ice-melt-fastest/
www.amasci.com/miscon/opphys.html
www.chem4kids.com/files/matter_changes.html