Properties of Matter

1. Tracy brought some chocolate chips in a plastic container with her lunch. She decided to save them and eat them while she waited for the bus after school. All afternoon, her lunch bag sat near the warm window in her classroom. When she finally took the container out after school, the chocolate chips had turned into a hard chuck of chocolate shaped like the bottom of the container. What happened to the chocolate chips?

• They started as a solid, melted, and then became a solid again.
• They changed from a solid to a gas before becoming solid once again.
• They were cool solid to start, then became a warm solid before cooling again.
• They went from being a hard solid to a gas, a liquid, and then to a hard solid again.

2. The amount of space an object takes up is its

• Mass
• Volume
• Density
• Weight

3. Which of these objects has a mass that would be closest to a balloon filled with air?

• A golf ball
• A patio brick
• A dry sponge
• A science book

4. How do the physical properties of a gas compare to those of a liquid?

• Gases and liquids both have a definite shape.
• Liquids have a definite shape, while gases can change their shapes.
• Gases take the shape of their containers, while liquids expand to fill their containers.
• Liquids take the shape of their containers, while gases expand to fill their containers.

5. A student compared a solid ice cube to liquid water. Which of the following statements is an observation from the student's comparison?

• Both have definite mass and volume, and both have definite shape.
• Both have definite mass and volume, but only the liquid water has a definite shape.
• Both have a definite mas and volume, but neither has a definite shape.
• Both have a definite mass and volume, but only the frozen ice cube has a definite shape.

6. Two children are playing a guessing game about the different properties of matter. One of the students want to give a clue about a gas. Which sentence would be the best clue for the student to give?

• It will fill its container.
• It takes the shape of its container.
• It has its own shape and structure.
• It can be kept in a person's hand.

7. Which statement best describes a solid?

• A solid has a definite volume or shape.
• A solid has a definite volume and definite shape.
• A solid has no definite volume and definite shape.
• A solid has a definite volume and no definite shape.

8. Which property identifies helium as a gas?

• It is very hot.
• It is colorless.
• It is very light.
• It spreads through the air.

9. Mrs. Cockcroft showed the class a container of salt. As she poured the salt into a beaker, she asked students to write down which state of matter the salt is and what evidence they have to support it. Which response is correct?

• Salt is a liquid because it pours just like water does.
• Salt is a liquid because it takes the shape of its container.
• Salt is a solid because it takes the container.
• Salt is a solid because it has a definite shape inside the container.

10. In which state of matter do the particles have the most energy?

• Solid
• Liquid
• Gas
• Silly Putty