School › States of matter › Ages 6–7
Solid, liquid or gas?
Everything is a solid, a liquid or a gas. Find out how they are different, and watch ice turn into water.
Read
A solid keeps its own shape. A stone, a spoon and a toy block stay the same shape wherever you put them.[1]
A liquid can be poured. It takes the shape of whatever it is in: water in a glass looks like the glass, water in a bowl looks like the bowl.[1]
A gas spreads out to fill all the space it can. Air is a gas: you cannot see it, but you can feel it when the wind blows, and it fills up a balloon.[1]
Water can be all three! Freeze it and it becomes solid ice. Warm the ice and it melts back into water. And ice floats on water.[3][5]
Try it: The ice cube race
You need
- Four ice cubes of the same size
- Four small plates or saucers
- A warm spot (sunny window), a cool spot (shade), a plate on a radiator cover or a warm drink, and your hands (with a glove or tissue)
Safety
Wipe up melted water so nobody slips. Don't hold ice on bare skin for long: use a tissue or glove.
What to do
- Guess: where will the ice melt fastest?
- Put one ice cube on each plate and put the plates in different places. Hold one cube in your hand on a tissue.
- Every 10 minutes, look: which ice cube is smallest?
- When one has melted completely, write down where it was. Which one melted last?
What happens, and why?
Ice melts when it gets warm. The warmer the place, the faster the heat reaches the ice and the faster it turns into liquid water. In the cool spot it melts slowly.[3]
Play: Solid, liquid or gas?
Is it a solid, a liquid or a gas? Tap the right group.
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Quiz
Other ages: Ages 10–11 · Ages 15–16