OBSERVING AND MEASURING

MATTER5th Grade, Unit 2

STATION 1

Select an object to observe Thumb Pencil Book Chair Desk Penny Drop of water Rock Shell Plant Leaf Flower Other

Make observations List as many properties as you can about that

object.

What do you observe about that object

quantitatively?

What are all the things you observe directly about….?

Describe how this object looks, feels, sounds, and/or smells.

STATION 2

1. Open up your bag of objects and place them on the tray.

2. List each object on your paper or in your notebook as you observe it.

3. Use your senses to make qualitative observations. Write down words to describe each object.

4. Use your measurement tools to make quantitative observations and record for each object.

5. Look over your observation notes and put all the objects that share a property together in one group. In one paragraph describe how the object share a common property.

6. What word describes the object(s) left over? If more than one object is remaining, do they have a property in common. In one paragraph, describe the remaining object(s).

STATION 3

Mystery Matter – Show What You Know!

1. Pick a small object that will fit in a paper bag.

2. Make quantitative observations (mass, length, height, volume…)

3. Make qualitative observations (texture, luster, flexibility, magnetic …)

4. Use these observations to write a description including properties that will help others identify this mystery matter.

5. Share your description with classmates and have them guess what your mystery object is.

STATION 4What do we call characteristics that can be observed, measured, or changed without changing the object itself?

Physical Properties They are the things that do not change about an object unless you change the

material.

Try out the questions below:Would you make… Yes

or No

If no, what property is needed? What would be a good material?

A metal window No Transparency Glass

A string chair

A paper bucket

A rubber knife

An aluminum magnet

A metal raincoat

A glass football

STATION 51. Choose an object to design.

2. It could be an umbrella, a sneaker, a backpack or something else.

3. Think about what property the object needs. For example: an umbrella needs to be waterproof.

What else? tough, flexible, durable

4. Decide on what would be a good material.

5. Draw the design and label the materials to be used and their properties.