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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.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: 2-PS1-1; 2-PS1-2 · testing materials' properties and choosing the best one for a job

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 Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 4 of 7 in 2nd grade Science, after Changing Materials and before Plants, Seeds & Pollinators.

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: Maine 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 float in water?

    • 🪨a rock
    • 🪙a coin
    • 🦆a rubber duck

  2. Question 2

    Which will sink in water?

    • a leaf
    • a cork
    • 🪨a rock

  3. Question 3

    A solid, like a block, keeps its…

    • container's shape
    • sound
    • own shape

  4. Question 4

    When oil and water are mixed, what happens?

    • They turn solid
    • They become one smooth liquid
    • They stay separate

  5. Question 5

    Lemonade is made from water, lemon juice and sugar. It is a…

    🍋
    • rock
    • mixture
    • solid

  6. Question 6

    You want to dry a spill. Which is best?

    • a plastic bag
    • a metal spoon
    • a paper towel

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