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5th grade · Science · Unit 3 of 9

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.

Alaska content standards learning standard: 5-PS1-1; 5-PS1-2 · heating and cooling change the state of matter, not the amount

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 Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 3 of 9 in 5th grade Science, after Solid, Liquid, Gas 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: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

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

    The white cloud above a boiling kettle is made of…

    • tiny pieces of ice
    • invisible water vapor
    • tiny droplets of liquid water

  2. Question 2

    Which change of state needs thermal energy to be added?

    • Evaporation
    • Freezing
    • Condensation

  3. Question 3

    What is it called when a liquid becomes a gas?

    • Condensation
    • Freezing
    • Evaporation

  4. Question 4

    Put these in order from LEAST thermal energy to MOST.

    • 🧊Ice (solid water)
    • ♨️Water vapor (gas)
    • 💧Liquid water

  5. Question 5

    A puddle freezes on a cold night. What happens to the thermal energy of the water?

    • The water gains mass
    • The water releases thermal energy
    • The water absorbs thermal energy

  6. Question 6

    What is it called when a gas becomes a liquid?

    • Condensation
    • Evaporation
    • Melting

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