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5th grade · Science · Unit 3 of 10

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.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 5P.2.2.1.1 · weight stays the same when matter is heated, cooled or mixed

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 Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 3 of 10 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: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

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

    A chocolate bar melts in a warm pocket. What does the chocolate do?

    • Absorbs thermal energy
    • Loses all its mass
    • Releases thermal energy

  2. Question 2

    Put these in order from LEAST thermal energy to MOST.

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

  3. Question 3

    When matter changes state, what stays the same?

    • The kind of matter it is
    • How fast its particles move
    • The arrangement of its particles

  4. Question 4

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

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

  5. Question 5

    What is it called when a liquid becomes a solid?

    • Freezing
    • Melting
    • Evaporating

  6. Question 6

    The white cloud above a boiling kettle is made of…

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

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