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5th grade · Science · Unit 5 of 12

Measuring Matter

Mass, volume, density and particles

What your child practices

Measuring mass (grams, kilograms) and volume (milliliters, liters), comparing density, why gases compress and solids do not, and how the particle model explains it.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 5-PS1-2; 5-PS1-3 · measuring mass and volume and identifying materials by their properties

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Mass is the amount of matter in something. Volume is the space it takes up.
  2. Density compares mass to volume. A lead cube is denser than a wood cube of the same size.
  3. Gas particles are far apart, so a gas can be squeezed. Liquids and solids hardly squeeze.

Example: Two same-size blocks: steel and foam. Which has greater density? They have the same volume. The steel block has much more mass packed into it. Answer: the steel block

Measuring Matter in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 5 of 12 in 5th grade Science, after Physical or Chemical? and before Weather and the Water Cycle.

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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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 of these can be squeezed into a smaller space the easiest?

    • a wooden block
    • air in a bike pump
    • a rock
    • water in a bottle

  2. Question 2

    A liquid is poured from a tall glass into a wide bowl. What happens to its volume?

    • It stays the same
    • It gets bigger
    • It becomes a gas
    • It gets smaller

  3. Question 3

    Mass is the amount of…

    • force on something
    • matter in something
    • space something takes up
    • heat in something

  4. Question 4

    In a gas, the particles…

    💨
    • are far apart and move in all directions
    • vibrate in place
    • are packed tightly together
    • do not have any space between them

  5. Question 5

    Why are the attractive forces between particles strongest in solids?

    • The particles move fastest
    • The particles are closest together
    • Solids have no particles
    • The particles are farthest apart

  6. Question 6

    A 100 mL sample of liquid A has a mass of 90 g. A 100 mL sample of liquid B has a mass of 120 g. Which is denser?

    • they are the same
    • it cannot be known
    • liquid A
    • liquid B

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