We started off by sorting different materials according to whether they are solids, liquids and gases, exploring the different properties of materials and thinking about what makes them solids, liquids or gases:
Then we conducted some investigations into gases, finding out why we couldn't squash a bottle with its lid on, but we could when the lid was off; finding out whether gases have any mass by measuring balloons before and after they had been blown up; and exploring what happens when you pour water over a variety of materials like sponge, marbles, soil or sand. This helped us to draw lots of conclusions about the properties of gases.
Next we explored what happens to water at different temperatures, practising how to use thermometers to measure temperature accurately with iced, warm and boiling water. We also explored the temperature in different places around the school, thinking about why it may vary:
Then we conducted an investigation into the affect of heat on chocolate and how this affects the melting and cooling process. To do this we placed the same amount of chocolate in tin foil trays on top of bowls of water at different temperatures. Then we timed how long it took each tray of chocolate to melt - if it even did at all! We used our observational skills to observe any changes that happened during these processes:
After half term we will be exploring the processes of evaporation and condensation in more detail by exploring how water changes state.
