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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.

Maine Learning Results 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 Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, 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: 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 change of state needs thermal energy to be added?

    • Evaporation
    • Freezing
    • Condensation

  2. Question 2

    At what temperature does pure water freeze at sea level?

    • 0 °C
    • 10 °C
    • 100 °C

  3. Question 3

    What is it called when a gas becomes a liquid?

    • Melting
    • Evaporation
    • Condensation

  4. Question 4

    Put these in order from LEAST thermal energy to MOST.

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

  5. Question 5

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

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

  6. Question 6

    What happens to particles of a liquid as they are heated and become a gas?

    • They move faster and spread far apart
    • They slow down and pack together
    • They disappear

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