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2nd grade · Science · Unit 4 of 7

Mixtures & Materials

Dissolve, sink, float, absorb

What your child practices

Mixing liquids and solids (dissolving, separating), what sinks or floats, and which materials soak up or push away water.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 2.P1U1.1 · matter has mass, takes up space and is recognized by its properties

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Stirring things together makes a mixture.
  2. Some solids dissolve in water and seem to disappear, like sugar.
  3. Light things like a rubber duck float. Sponges soak up water.

Example: You stir sugar into water. What happens to the sugar? You can't see the sugar any more. It dissolves in the water. Answer: it dissolves

Mixtures & Materials in Arizona

In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 4 of 7 in 2nd grade Science, after Water World and before Fast & Slow Earth Changes.

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: Arizona Department of Education

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

    Which will sink in water?

    • 🪨a rock
    • a cork
    • a leaf

  2. Question 2

    Which keeps your feet dry in a puddle?

    🥾
    • rubber boots
    • paper shoes
    • cotton socks

  3. Question 3

    A liquid always takes the shape of…

    • a cube
    • its container
    • nothing

  4. Question 4

    A liquid is poured from a tall glass into a short bowl. What changes?

    • its shape
    • its color
    • the kind of liquid

  5. Question 5

    You add sand to water and stir. What happens when you stop?

    • The sand dissolves
    • The sand turns to salt
    • The sand sinks to the bottom

  6. Question 6

    Sugar is stirred into warm water. What happens?

    🍬
    • It turns into ice
    • It dissolves into the water
    • It floats on top forever

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