Practice Set 5.3 - Modeling Matter

A group of students created a model showing a type of matter. Which of the following describes what is shown by the model?

• particles that make up a liquid

• particles that make up a specific color

• particles that make up heat

• microscopic pieces of ice inside a glass of water

Answer explanation

Water is a type of matter and is made up of tiny particles that has a definite volume but no definite shape

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-1

A glass of saltwater is sitting on a table. Which of the following best describes the matter in this saltwater?

• It is made up of only one type of molecule.

• It is not made up of any molecules.

• It is made up of more than one type of molecule.

• It is not made up of matter.

Answer explanation

Since this mixture is made up of salt and water, there is more than one type of molecule in this glass. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-1

A teacher wants to make a model to show her students that gas is a type of matter. Which of the following would best show this to the students?

• a beaker of sand absorbing water

• an ice cube melting

• a pot of liquid bubbling

• a balloon filled with air and then letting it out

Answer explanation

Air is made of matter, it has weight.

Filling a balloon with air and letting it out shows students that air, a gas, can take up space in the balloon, which is a characteristic of matter. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

Pria found a container of an unknown substance in her refrigerator. She created the following table of her observations and measurements of this substance:

Which of the following questions was Pria likely asking in this investigation of an unknown substance? Choose the best response based only on the data in the table above. 

• What are the properties of this substance?

• What types of specific molecules is this substance made from?

• What types of atoms is this substance made from?

• What are the types of matter that make up this substance?

Answer explanation

Color, amount of liquid, taste, and type of substance are all properties of a substance.

A cook has containers with several white powders in them. She cannot tell the powders apart by looking at them. Which of the following would help her determine the properties of each powder?

• smell each of the powders

• taste each of the powders

• test if they dissolve in certain liquids

• All the choices are correct.

Answer explanation

Smelling, tasting and testing the dissolving nature of these powders would help determine their properties. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

Mary fills four small containers to the top with different substances. She weighs them and makes a table to compare the results. The substances are small rocks, paper, feathers, and a small pencil.

Which substance could be the small rocks? 

• Substance 1

• Substance 2

• Substance 3

• Substance 4

Answer explanation

Substance 1 is most likely the metal because its mass was higher than all of the other substances. 

Maxine poured two different substances together in a glass beaker. Below are her observations both before and after she mixed these substances. Maxine makes a claim that a new substance formed as a result of mixing these two substances. What evidence from the data best supports this argument?

• The new substance had different properties.

• The new substance remained the same color.

• The new substance stayed the same temperature.

• There is no evidence to support Maxine's claim.

Answer explanation

The properties of temperature, color, and the change of state (from liquid to gas) changed. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

A hot-air balloon pilot controls the balloon by adding or releasing hot air as the balloon flies high in the sky. Which of the following best describes why hot air is used to make the balloon rise?

• The hot air molecules stay still, which creates energy that helps the balloon to float.

• The hot air molecules disappear after they are created, causing the balloon to rise.

• The hot air molecules are heavy, which creates energy and causes the balloon to rise in the air.

• Hot air is lighter than regular air and the molecules move quickly, bouncing off each other and the walls of the balloon to create energy.

Answer explanation

Molecules of hot air move about quickly. They are less dense, spread out, and help the balloon to rise. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

LaToya is making hot chocolate. She pours the hot chocolate powder into a glass of milk, mixes it, and then heats it up in the microwave. LaToya claims that since she can no longer see the powder after it has been mixed, it must no longer be there. Which of the following would not support LaToya's claim, and instead, show that the powder is still in the mixture?

• The weight of the powder plus the weight of the milk is less than the weight of the mixture.

• The weight of the powder plus the weight of the milk is more than the weight of the mixture.

• The weight of the milk is equal to the weight of the mixture.

• The weight of the powder plus the weight of milk is equal to the weight of the mixture.

Answer explanation

When the milk and powder mix, the powder will still be in the mixture (it will not just disappear). The weight of the powder plus the weight of the milk will equal the weight of the mixture. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

Young pours 1 cup of liquid water into an ice tray and then puts it in the freezer to make ice. Which of the following statements about the liquid water and the ice is accurate?

• When the ice froze, it had the same amount of water as it did when it was a liquid.

• When the ice froze, it gained more water.

• When the ice froze, it had twice as much water as it did when it was a liquid.

• When the ice froze, it lost some water in the process.

Answer explanation

When the water changed forms from a liquid to a solid, it retained the same amount of water (the total amount of water stayed the same). 

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-5