Are you looking for fun and easy physical and chemical changes activities for 5th grade? You can do these experiments at home or in the classroom. I will also show you some great sketch notes and worksheets covering matter, properties of matter, and physical and chemical changes.
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Activities for Physical Change
1. Skittles in Water: Sugar Dissolving
Simply arrange the Skittles on a paper plate, add water, and watch as the colored sugar coating dissolves. Here is a link to get Skittles on Amazon. I like to have items delivered right to school.
2. Chocolate Melting
This is a great idea that my partner teacher suggested. Melt white chocolate, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate in the microwave. But before you start, have each student make a hypothesis about which will melt first and which will melt last. Change the color of the plate from white to black and see what happens. Then, eat some chocolate! Amazon link to chocolate here.
Here are some slides to help with a melting chocolate experiment:
https://www.lcps.org/cms/lib/VA01000195/Centricity/Domain/5507/Science_Investigations_example.pptx
3. Shaping Playdough
Students can use their hands, cookie cutters, or molds to shape the dough, It is still play dough so it is a physical change with a change in shape. Amazon link to little individual Play Doh tubs here.
4. Cutting Paper Snow Flakes or Papel Picado
See the video attached or find another student friendly activity on YouTube.
Activities for Chemical Change
1. Elephant Toothpaste
2. Diet Coke and Mentos
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| I highly recommend the geyser tube from Amazon. Click Here |
3. Baggie Science - Hot and...
4. Baggie Science - Cold
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| Click HERE to see these baggie experiments in my TPT store |
5. Bake Cookies
Any type of baking is a chemical change. This might be great to have students bake at home with an adult and explain the chemical change on SeeSaw.
Are you looking for notes for teaching physical and chemical changes? These notes also include properties of matter.
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| Click Here to see on TPT |
This resource works towards covering NGSS 5PS1-3 and 5PS1-4. This physical and chemical changes resource includes:
- 8 pages of visual notes
- a slideshow to guide students as they complete the notes
- video link to YouTube
- a link to a Kahoot and a Quizizz game
- CER options
- a CER rubric
- a printable and self-grading digital quiz
If you are looking for more activities for chemical changes check out Lynda Williams blog. Click Here She has an activity that includes a color change.
