The Right Stuff for the Job
- Chemistry
- Ages 6–8 · Grades 1–2
- Hands-on experiment
What you’ll find out
- Every material has properties: hard or soft, see-through or not, bendy or stiff.
- The best material for a job depends on its properties.
- You can test materials to find out which works best, instead of guessing.
No sign-up and no real names. In the lesson you check your understanding as you read, run the experiment yourself, and practise until it sticks.
What is it like?
Things are made of different materials. A spoon is metal, which is hard and shiny. A window is glass, which you can see through. A sock is cloth, which is soft, and a rubber band stretches and bends. What a material is like is called its properties.
Testing which works best
Say you want to make an umbrella. Which material is best? You can test it. Drip water on paper and it goes soggy. Drip water on cloth and it soaks in. Drip water on plastic and the drops roll off. Plastic keeps water out, so it is the best choice.
Curriculum links: NGSS 2-PS1-1 · NGSS 2-PS1-2