Topic ladders · States of Matter & Changes · Family table

Family table: States of Matter & Changes

All four rungs side by side. A younger child and an older one can do the same topic together, each at their own level.

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Step	Classes 1–3	Classes 4–7	Classes 8–10	Classes 11–12
Activity	Solid, Liquid, Gas	Melting, Freezing, Evaporation and Condensation	Physical and Chemical Changes	Investigating Rates of Reaction
Safety	Wipe any water spills immediately so no one slips. Blow up the balloon yourself, and pick up any burst balloon pieces straight away: they are a choking risk for small children.	Use warm water, never boiling: steam burns. If any heating is used, a grown-up does it.	Burning is a grown-up demonstration only: outdoors, away from anything that can catch fire, with a bucket of water ready. Students watch from a distance and do not handle matches. Keep vinegar away from eyes; the vinegar–baking soda fizz can splash, so keep faces back.	School laboratory only, with a teacher and the school's safety rules; not a home activity. Goggles on throughout. Magnesium and acid gives off hydrogen, which burns: no flames nearby. Thiosulfate and acid gives off sulfur dioxide, which irritates the lungs: use small amounts, a well-aired room, and extra care for students with asthma. Warm solutions gently in a water bath, not over a flame.
What you need	Ice cubes, water, a balloon or an empty plastic bottle Different solid objects Cups and bowls of different shapes	Ice, water, a small plate, an ice tray or small cup Mirror or cold steel spoon A cup of warm water (poured by a grown-up) Optional: salt	Paper, salt, water, vinegar, baking soda, a steel spoon, a glass For the grown-up demonstration only: a matchbox, a steel plate, a bucket of water Notebook	School laboratory only: dilute acid and magnesium ribbon, or sodium thiosulfate solution and dilute hydrochloric acid (the "disappearing cross" test), at the strengths the school uses Measuring cylinder, stopwatch, thermometer, gas syringe or upturned measuring cylinder, safety goggles
Notice	Look at ice, water, and the air around you. How are they different?	Water can be solid, liquid or gas. Where do you see these changes in daily life?	Some changes are easy to reverse; others produce new substances.	Chemical reactions happen at different speeds.
Guess	What will happen to an ice cube if left in a warm place? Can you hold air?	What makes ice melt? What makes water disappear from a wet cloth? What makes droplets appear on a cold surface?	Which of these are physical changes and which are chemical: tearing paper, burning paper, dissolving salt, mixing vinegar and baking soda?	How do concentration, temperature, surface area or a catalyst affect the rate?
Try	Watch ice melting. Pour water into different containers. Feel air by squeezing an empty bottle near your cheek, or by letting air out of a balloon.	Leave ice on a plate to melt. Put a little water in the freezer. Leave a spoonful of water on a plate in a warm, sunny place. Hold a cold spoon or mirror above a cup of warm water.	Tear paper. Dissolve salt in water. Add a spoon of baking soda to a little vinegar in a glass. Watch a grown-up burn a small piece of paper on a steel plate outdoors.	Design and perform a controlled experiment measuring rate under different conditions (change one factor at a time).
Observe	Which materials keep their shape? Which take the shape of the container? Which spread out to fill the space?	Record what happens in each case and how long it takes.	Look for new substances, heat, gas (bubbles), colour change, smell, or whether you can get the starting material back.	Collect quantitative data (time, volume of gas, time for a cross to disappear, etc.) and plot graphs.
Explain	Tell someone the differences between solid, liquid and gas.	Name the changes (melting, freezing, evaporation, condensation) and say what causes them (heating or cooling).	Classify each change and give reasons based on evidence.	Interpret the results using collision theory and discuss experimental errors.
Ask another question	Can a substance change from one state to another? How?	How does salt affect the melting of ice? Where do we see the water cycle in nature?	How can we decide if a change is chemical when it is not obvious?	How is control of reaction rate important in industry or biological systems?

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