Physical vs Chemical changes DRAFT write up

Grade 5 Matter strand: chemical and physical changes; experiments; safe practices,
etc.

Materials
Baking soda
Baking powder
Corn starch
Alka Seltzer
Water
Vinegar
Plastic cups (8 each group for the experiments X 4-6 groups depending on the size of the
class; plus 2 each group with mystery liquids in them)
Slime, elephant toothpaste and film canisters – get these from Alex Foo [can also add any
other cool chemistry demos and ask the students if they think a chemical or physical
change is occuring]
Print out of the procedure

Preparation (before the activity – e.g. night before)

Before the activity prepare 4-6 group of baggies each with one powder or the tablet in
them and label them Mystery Powder A, Mystery Powder B, Mystery Powder C, Tablet
(you need 2 sets of these for each group as they will do experiments with 2 different
liquids using these)

Take the 8 cups and draw a line about ¼ -1/2 an inch from the bottom (this is where they
will add the liquid to). Label one set of 4 cups with AA (the first cup), AB (the 2nd cup), AC
(the 3rd cup), and A-Tablet (the 4th cup). Label a 2nd set of 4 cups with BA, BB, BC, B-Tablet. Each
group needs 8 cups labelled this way. The first “A” in AA is liquid A (water) and the “B” in BA is
liquid B (vinegar).

Label a separate set of 4-6 sets of cups with Liquid A and Liquid B.

A, B and C and the tablet are baking soda, baking power, corn starch and an antacid tablet
respectively

Have the 2 sets of baggies with the 3 powders and tablet ready for passing out once you
are finished your introduction.
Put water in the cups labelled Liquid A and vinegar in the cups labelled Liquid B and be
ready to pass these out after your introduction.

Note: After the activity talk about what parts of each experiment were physical
and what were chemical changes and see if the students can guess what the
powders were.

I usually do the elephant toothpaste demo – asking with each addition of liquid or
solid whether a chemical or physical change is happening. Then I make film
canister rockets outside and/or make slime or bouncy glue either outside or
inside. Slime is PVA and sodium borate. You can get the ingredients for these
from Alex Foo (chemistrymagicshow@gmail.com)

The activity:
Introduce yourself.

We’re going to do some experiments today that are in the field of chemistry. What is
chemistry?

The experiments we are doing today may have physical changes or they may have
chemical changes. Before we start we need to look at what are some indicators that
something is a physical or a chemical change.

Ask the students what are some words that might describe a physical change – you could
write these on a board.
Physical: cutting, breaking, boiling, melting, dissolving; note: you might see bubbles (but
these are also indicative of a chemical change); you might see a colour change (food
colouring and water is still just food colouring and water) but a colour change is also
indicative of a chemical change

Chemical changes: formation of bubbles (a gas); colour or odour change; a precipitate

forms (DNA); heat is released or absorbed; a change of form

If a chemical change has occurred it is difficult without using further chemical changes to
get the starting products back to the way they were at the beginning, however it doesn’t
always mean it is a chemical change – e.g. if I drop a light bulb putting it back together
would be very difficult and it is a physical change.
Experiment #1 CAUTION: DO NOT TASTE THE TABLET or any of the other liquids or solids
– we’re not using our sense of taste today

Materials
Mystery powder A
Mystery powder B
Mystery powder C
Tablet
Mystery liquid A
Mystery liquid B
Plastic cups
Spoons
1 Table to fill in results

Students’ Procedure (DO NOT TASTE the TABLET)

1. Start with the set of cups labelled AA, AB, AC, and A-Tablet
2. Add mystery liquid A up to the line on each cup
3. Add a teaspoon (doesn’t have to be an exact measurement) of mystery powder A to cup
AA
4. Observe what happens and record it (write it down) in the correct column in the table.
Based on your observations predict whether there has been a chemical or physical
change or both and why you think this.
5. Add a teaspoon of mystery powder B to cup AB
6. Observe what happens and record it (write it down) in the correct column in the table.
Based on your observations predict whether there has been a chemical or physical
change or both and why you think this.
7. Add a teaspoon of mystery powder C to cup AC
8. Observe what happens and record it (write it down) in the correct column in the table.
Based on your observations predict whether there has been a chemical or physical
change or both and why you think this.
9. Break up or crush the Tablet – do this in the bag so it doesn’t go all over
10. Add some (about ¼ to ½ of the tablet) to the cup labelled A-Tablet
11. Observe what happens and record it (write it down) in the correct column in the table.
Based on your observations predict whether there has been a chemical or physical
change or both and why you think this.
12. Pour the liquid in the cups in the sink and throw out solids and the cups.
13. Add Mystery liquid B to all 4 cups labelled BA, BB, BC, B-Tablet
14. Add a teaspoon (doesn’t have to be an exact measurement) of mystery powder A to cup
BA
15. Observe what happens and record it (write it down) in the correct column in the table.
Based on your observations predict whether there has been a chemical or physical
change or both and why you think this.
16. Add a teaspoon of mystery powder B to cup BB
17. Observe what happens and record it (write it down) in the correct column in the table.
Based on your observations predict whether there has been a chemical or physical
change or both and why you think this.
18. Add a teaspoon of mystery powder C to cup BC
19. Observe what happens and record it (write it down) in the correct column in the table.
Based on your observations predict whether there has been a chemical or physical
change or both and why you think this.
20. Break up or crush the Tablet – do this in the bag so it doesn’t go all over
21. Add some (about ¼ to ½ of the tablet) to the cup labelled B-Tablet
22. Observe what happens and record it (write it down) in the correct column in the table.
Based on your observations predict whether there has been a chemical or physical
change or both and why you think this.
23. Using your senses and what you might already know about how white powders react
with clear liquids, identify each of the powders and each of the liquids and record on your
table.
24. Clean up – pour liquids/solids in sink and throw cups in the trash can. Wash off spoon,
wipe the desk and wash your hands.
Table for Recording Observations and Results
Matter used Observations Chemical Physical Both a
reaction change chemical
reaction and
physical
change
Liquid A/
Powder A
Liquid A/
Powder B
Liquid A/
Powder C
Liquid A/
Tablet
Liquid B/
Powder A
Liquid B/
Powder B
Liquid B/
Powder C
Liquid B/
Tablet

What are the properties of mystery liquid A? What is liquid A?

_______________________________________________

What are the properties of mystery liquid B? What is liquid B?

_______________________________________________

What are the properties of mystery Powder A? What is Powder A?

_______________________________________________

What are the properties of mystery Powder B? What is Powder B?

_______________________________________________

What are the properties of mystery Powder C? What is Powder C?

_______________________________________________

What are the properties of the Tablet? What is the Tablet?

_______________________________________________
Take up the results with the class from the experiments.