What makes a material a solid, liquid or gas?

1. Exploration Solid, liquid or gas? How did your group decide whether each material is solid, liquid or gas? Were some materials more difficult to classify than others? When your group did not agree, why was this? How did you resolve the disagreement?

2. Do all materials follow your rules? Do your ideas about the last group of materials work for all materials? Which materials are hard to classify? Why? Do you need to change or adapt your rules? How? Can you think of any materials which could not be classified as a solid, liquid or gas?

3. Smaller and smaller What would it be like if we could see things so small we could see how materials were made up? Imagine your eyes are like microscopes. What do we end up with if we keep cutting something in half? What do you imagine you would see if you made a piece of paper smaller and smaller? What about with water? Or air?

4. A closer look at solids, liquids and gases What do you already know about particles? How do you think the particles are arranged in solids, liquids and gases? How does what you have observed about the appearance and behaviour of solids, liquids and gases link to what you know about particles?

5. Back to the start and future learning How have your ideas changed today? What progress have you made with your understanding of what makes a material a solid, liquid or gas? What arguments have you used to explain your point of view or idea? What other evidence would help you understand better?