In this inquiry, students work to answer the question, How do the physical properties of a material change during phase changes? Students observe and measure physical properties of solids, liquids, and gases. They also measure the changes in temperature during melting, freezing, and boiling. Students are introduced to glaciers and the study of ice cores, and they apply what they’ve learned to design containers that keep an ice cube from melting.
Students learn about cause-and-effect text structure and identify words that signal cause-and-effect relationships. They write cause-and-effect statements about what they’ve observed about the relationship between physical properties, phase changes, and heat energy.