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5th grade · Science · Unit 5 of 12

Changes of State

Melting, freezing and more

What your child practices

Melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation at home and outdoors, and how matter absorbs or releases thermal energy when it changes state.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 5.3 · matter keeps its weight when it is heated, cooled or changes state

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Melting and evaporating happen when matter absorbs thermal energy.
  2. Freezing and condensing happen when matter loses thermal energy.
  3. Evaporation: liquid to gas. Condensation: gas to liquid.
  4. These are physical changes. They happen to many materials, not just water.

Example: A cold window fogs up in a warm kitchen. What happened to the water vapor? The vapor touched the cold glass. It lost thermal energy and turned into liquid drops. Answer: it condensed

Changes of State in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 5 of 12 in 5th grade Science, after Solutions & Mixtures and before Physical or Chemical?.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Ice cubes form in a tray in the freezer. Which change of state is this?

    • Melting
    • Evaporation
    • Freezing

  2. Question 2

    A cold window pane fogs up on the inside of a warm kitchen. What happened to the water vapor in the air?

    • It melted
    • It lost thermal energy and condensed
    • It gained thermal energy and evaporated

  3. Question 3

    Which of these is a physical change of state that is NOT water?

    • Wax melting near a candle flame
    • Bread being toasted
    • A match burning

  4. Question 4

    Snow on a roof melts as the weather warms. What happens to the thermal energy of the snow?

    • It releases thermal energy
    • It gains mass
    • It absorbs thermal energy

  5. Question 5

    What is it called when a liquid becomes a gas?

    • Evaporation
    • Condensation
    • Freezing

  6. Question 6

    At what temperature does pure water boil at sea level?

    • 100 °C
    • 50 °C
    • 0 °C

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