Grade 5 · Science · Unit 2 of 6
Measuring Matter
Mass, volume, density and particles
What your child practises
Measuring mass (grams, kilograms) and volume (millilitres, litres), comparing density, why gases compress and solids do not, and how the particle model explains it.
Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: 5M 1.2 · mass, volume, density and compressibility, explained with the particle model
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
In a solid, the particles are…
🧊- separated and sliding past each other
- stopped completely
- close together and vibrate in place
- far apart and moving in all directions
Show answer
close together and vibrate in place
Hint: Solid particles are packed tightly and shake in place.
Question 2
Which tool is best for measuring the volume of 80 mL of juice?
- a metre stick
- a balance
- a graduated cylinder
- a thermometer
Show answer
a graduated cylinder
Hint: A graduated cylinder has marks showing millilitres.
Question 3
Which unit is used to measure the mass of an apple?
- millilitres (mL)
- metres (m)
- grams (g)
- litres (L)
Show answer
grams (g)
Hint: Grams and kilograms are SI units of mass.
Question 4
Which of these can be squeezed into a smaller space the easiest?
- a rock
- a wooden block
- air in a bike pump
- water in a bottle
Show answer
air in a bike pump
Hint: Gas particles have large spaces between them, so a gas is compressible.
Question 5
A student wants to find out which of two liquids is denser. What should be the same for both?
- the colour of each liquid
- the name on the bottle
- the volume of each liquid
- the room's air
Show answer
the volume of each liquid
Hint: To compare density fairly, measure the mass of the same volume of each.
Question 6
Why are the attractive forces between particles strongest in solids?
- The particles are closest together
- The particles are farthest apart
- Solids have no particles
- The particles move fastest
Show answer
The particles are closest together
Hint: Close particles attract each other more strongly than far-apart ones.