Reversible Changes

Question 1 Give few examples of changes which are observed in our everyday
life?

Question 2 What is meant by reversible change? Explain with example?

Question 3 State some of the ways of bringing about changes in materials around
us?

Question 4 Explain how iron blade of a spade is fixed to a wooden handle?

Question 5 Give example of a beneficial change?

Question 6 Give example of a harmful change?

Question 7 Explain how a metal rim is fixed around the wooden wheel of a cart?

Question 8 Define the term expansion and contraction?

Things around us have certain properties such as state (solid, liquid or gas),
position, shape size, colour, temperature, composition and structure. When one
or more properties of a thing become different, we say that it has changed or a
change has taken place in it.

When ice melts it forms water. Now, we know that ice is a solid whereas water is
liquid. So, the melting of ice involves a change in state (from solid state to liquid
state).

Examples of important changes in everyday life are formation of curd from milk,
burning of fuels, drying of clothes, rusting of iron, Melting of ice, Boiling of water
(or Evaporation of water); making of chapatis from flour; burning of fireworks,
germination of seeds, flowering of plants, ripening of fruits, shedding of leaves by
trees, growth of human beings and animals, formation of day and night, position
of sun in the sky, changes in seasons, changes in weather and rainfall etc.

Some changes are beneficial to us whereas some are harmful to us. The
beneficial changes take place faster but the harmful changes are either stopped
or made to go slow. For instance, the ripening of fruits is beneficial change. So, we
try to make the ripening of fruits faster by using artificial methods. On the other
hand the spoiling of cooked food is a harmful change, so we try to slow down this
change by keeping the cooked food in refrigerator.

The change in a material (or object) does not occur on its own. There is always a
’cause’ which brings about a change in material.

Heat is the cause of the change of state of ice from solid to liquid. Some of the
ways of bringing about changes in materials are by applying heat, light, electricity,
or force.

Classification of Changes

A substance undergoes a change to form a ‘new substance’ only when certain

agents like heat, light, electricity or force etc. are applied on it. Some of the
changes can be reversed whereas other changes cannot be reversed. So, all the
changes around us can be classified into two groups:

1. Reversible changes
2. Irreversible changes

Reversible Changes

A change which can be reversed to form the ‘original substance’ is called a

reversible change.

Ice is a solid substance. When we heat ice, it melts to form liquid water. A change
from solid to liquid takes place during the melting of ice. If we cool the water
from ice to water, by heating, has been reversed by cooling. Thus, the melting of
ice (to form water) is a reversible change.

Heat
Ice ————————————-> Water
(Solid) <————————————- (liquid)
Cool
Examples of reversible changes are:

• Melting of ice.
• Boiling of water.
• Melting of wax.
• Stretching of a rubber band.
• Stretching of a spring.
• Inflation of a ballon.
• Ironing of clothes.
• Folding of paper.
• Rolling a chapati(roti) from dough.
• Dissolving salt in water.
• Dissolving sugar in water.
• Knitting of sweater (woollen yarn to knitted sweater).
• Melting of ice candy.
• Melting of ice cream (solid ice cream to molten ice cream).
• Drying of clothes (wet clothes to dry clothes)
• Heating of milk (cold milk to hot milk)
• Expansion of metals on heating.
• Straight wire to coiled wire.
• Melting of coal tar.
• Folding of dress (shirts etc)
• Moulding of wet clay into pot on potter’s wheel and
• Softening of iron on heating to red hot stage.

When we boil water by heating, then it changes into steam. Now, if we cool the
steam, then water is formed again. So, the changing of water into steam has been
reversed by cooling. Thus, the boiling of water (or evaporation of water) is a
reversible change.

Heat
Water ———————————-> Steam

(Liquid) <——————————– (Water vapour or gas)

Cool
When ice changes into water, then there is a change from solid state to liquid
state. And when water changes into steam, then there is a change from liquid
state to gaseous state, So in general we can say that: change of state is reversible
change.

If we stretch a rubber band with force of our hands, it undergoes a change and its
length increases. But, on releasing the force, the rubber band comes back to its
original length. So, the stretching of rubber band is a reversible change, the
stretching of a spring is also a reversible change.

Take some salt and dissolve it in beaker. A salt solution is formed. A change has
occurred in salt during the formation of salt solution. Keep the beaker containing
salt solution. Keep the beaker containing salt solution over a burner and
evaporate it. On evaporation, water is eliminated and salt is left behind.
Thus, dissolving salt in water is a reversible change.

Coal tar is a black, solid material which is used in making and repairing roads.
When coal tar is heated, it melts to form a thick black liquid. The melting of coal
tar on heating, is a reversible change because when hot, molten coal tar gets
cooled, it solidifies again. The piece of iron metal is heated in a furnace till it
becomes red-hot. At red-hot stage, the piece of iron becomes soft. The red-hot
piece of iron tool is cooled, it becomes hard again. The softening of iron on
heating to red hot stage is a reversible change. This is because when red hot iron
is cooled, it becomes hard again.

Expansion (on heating) is a Reversible Change

When an object is heated, it increases in size. The increase in size on heating, is
called expansion. The decrease in size of an object on cooling, is called
contraction. Expansion occurs on heating whereas contraction occurs on cooling.
The reversible change of expansion is used:

1. in fixing an iron rim on the wooden wheel of a cart and

2. in fixing the iron blade of digging tool (like a spade) to wooden handle.
Fixing of iron Rim to the Wooden Wheel of a Cart

Wooden wheels of bullock carts and horse carts (tongas) have thin iron rims (or
thin iron types) around them. The iron rims are fitted around wooden wheels by
the process of expansion on heating (followed by contraction on cooling).

The iron is made slightly smaller than the wooden wheel (around which it is to be
fitted). The iron rim is heated uniformly by making a fire due to which it expands
and becomes somewhat bigger in size. Being bigger in size, the hot iron rim is
easily put around the wooden wheel. Cold water is then poured over the hot rim
to cool it. On cooling, the hot iron rim contracts (becomes slightly smaller in size)
and fits tightly on the wooden wheel.

Fixing of Iron Blade of Digging Tool to a Wooden handle

The iron blade of a soil digging tool (like a spade) is fixed to a wooden handle by
the process of expansion on heating.

The iron blade of spade has a ring in which the wooden handle is to be fixed. The
iron ring of spade is made slightly smaller than the thickness of the wooden
handle which is to be fixed in it. To fix the handle, the ring of iron blade of spade
is heated over fire. On heating, the iron ring expands and becomes slightly bigger
in size.

One end of the wooden handle now easily passes through the hot ring. Cold
water is then poured over the hot ring of the spade blade to cool it. On cooling,
the hot ring of spade blade contracts (become smaller in size) and fits tightly on
the wooden handle.
Irreversible Changes

Question 1 What are irreversible changes?

Question 2 Give few examples of irreversible changes?

Question 3 Milk can be changed into curd but curd cannot be changed back into
milk. What is the name of the change?

Question 4 Burning of paper is an irreversible change. Explain?

Question 5 When water is mixed with POP and allowed to dry, it sets into a hard
mass. Explain that this is an irreversible change?

Question 6 Give few examples to show that the same material can undergo
reversible and irreversible change?

Question 7 Explain why, the burning of an incense stick is an irreversible change?

Irreversible Changes

A change which cannot be reversed to form the original substance (or substances)
is called an irreversible change.

If we burn a piece of paper, it changes into ash and smoke. Now we cannot
combine the ash and smoke to form the original piece of paper. So, the burning of
paper is an irreversible change which cannot be reversed.

Some examples of irreversible changes are burning of paper, Burning of fuels (like
Wood, Coal and LPG), Cooking of food, Rusting of iron , Grinding of wheat grains
into flour, Baking of chapatti (roti), Growth of a plant, Formation of flower from
bud, Falling of leaves from a tree, Ripening of fruits, Ageing of man and animals,
Death and decay of plants and animals, Weathering of rocks (Breaking down of
rocks); Printing of paper; Souring of milk ; Boiling of an egg (Raw egg to boiled
egg), Making cheese (paneer) from milk ; Cow-dung to bio gas ; Sawing (cutting)
of a log of wood, Bursting a balloon ,Burning of wax (in the form of candle);
Burning (agarbatti), Setting of Plaster of Paris (POP) on mixing water, Setting of
cement on mixing on fingers Making painting on a drawing sheet and Baking a
clay pot in an oven.
A very small quantity of previously made curd is added to warm milk. The milk is
then stirred and kept aside for a few hours at a warm place. During this time milk
changes into curd, cannot be changed back into milk by any means. So, the
formation of curd from milk is irreversible change (which cannot be reversed).

When we heat raw food materials, we get cooked food. The cooked food cannot
be converted back into raw food. So, the cooking of food is an irreversible
change. A young man ages and ultimately becomes an old man. But we cannot
change an old man back into a young man. So, the ageing of man is an
irreversible change.

Plaster of Paris (POP) is a white, powdery substance which immediately sets to a

hard mass on adding water to it. In hospitals, a thick coat of the paste of plaster of
Paris is applied over the bandage on the fractured bone of a person. POP sets and
becomes hard on drying and keeps the fractured bone in place to get the joined
properly. Thus, the setting of plaster of Paris on mixing water is an irreversible
change.

When water is added to cement, it sets into a hard mass after sometime, the
setting of cement on mixing with water an irreversible change.

If we light an incense stick with a burning match stick we find that after some
time the whole incense stick burns away. During burning of incense stick, some
pleasant smelling gases are produced (which go into the air) and ash is left
behind. We cannot recombine the gases and the ash to get back the original
incense stick. So, this is a change which cannot be reversed. Thus, the burning of
an incense stick is an irreversible change.

Reversible and Irreversible Changes Involving Same Materials

Even the same material can undergo reversible change or irreversible change
under different set of conditions.

1. Folding of Paper and Cutting of Paper

Take a sheet of paper and fold it to form a toy aeroplane. Now, when we unfold
this toy aeroplane, we will get exactly the same sheet of paper. So, the folding of
paper is a reversible change. We again take a sheet of paper. This time we cut the
sheet of paper into a number of small pieces with the help of scissors. Now, we
cannot combine pieces of paper to get back exactly the original sheet of paper So,
the cutting of paper is an irreversible change.
2. Rolling a Roti and Baking a Roti
Let us take some dough (kneaded flour) and make a ball of it. We roll this ball of
dough into a circular roti by using a rolling pin, Now if we want, we can convert
this rolled roti back into the ball of dough. This means that the rolling of roti out
of dough is a change which can be reversed. So, the rolling of roti out of dough is
a reversible change. Let us now bake the rolled out roti on a tawa kept on stove.
We will get baked roti. Now the baked roti cannot be changed back into
the original ball of dough. So, the baking of roti is a change which cannot be
reversed. So, baking of roti is an irreversible change.

3 Shaping of Wet Clay into Clay Pot and Baking a Clay Pot
Potter uses wet clay to make pots of different shapes and sizes. The shaping of a
lump of wet clay into a pot by a potter on his wheel is a reversible change. This is
because the wet clay pot can be converted back into the original clay. The clay
pots are baked in an oven to make them strong. The baking of clay pot in an oven
is, however, an irreversible change.

4 Inflating a Balloon and Bursting a Balloon

We take a balloon and blow air into it. The shape and size of balloon change. The
balloon gets inflated. Let us now allow the air filled in the in the balloon to
escape. We will find that when all the air escapes, balloon comes back to its
original shape and size. This means that inflating a balloon is a change which can
be reversed. Inflating a balloon is a reversible change. Again, let us take a balloon
and blow air into it so that it gets inflated to its full size. Tie the mouth of the
balloon tightly with a thread. Now, press the balloon between the palms of your
hands. The balloon bursts. This burst balloon cannot be changed back to its
original shape and size. So, the change which occurs during the bursting of a
balloon is an irreversible change.

5. Melting of Wax and Burning of Wax

Wax is a solid substance. Let us take some wax in a porcelain dish and heat it over
a burner. On heating, solid wax melts to form a liquid which is called molten wax
(or melted wax). We now remove the burner and allow the molten wax to cool
down. On cooling, the molten wax (Liquid wax) becomes solid again. Thus, solid
wax melts on heating, and melted wax becomes solid on cooling, So, melting of
wax is a reversible change. In other words, melting of wax is a change which can
be reversed. A candle is made of wax. We take a small wax candle and measure
its length with a scale. Now, fix this candle on a tile kept on a table and light it
with a burning matchstick. Allow candle to burn for some time. When we light the
candle, then the wax present in it starts burning to produce heat and light. The
burning of wax also produces carbon dioxide gas, water vapour and soot (unburnt
carbon particles), which all go into air. We cannot combine all the products
of burning of wax to get back to the original candle. So, the burning of wax is an
irreversible change.
Solids, Liquids, and Gases: We learned in some of our other lessons that matter is
made up of atoms and molecules. Millions and millions of these tiny objects fit
together to form larger things like animals and planets and cars. Matter includes
the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the chair we are sitting on.

States or Phases: Matter usually exists in one of three states or phases: solid,
liquid, or gas. The chair you are sitting on is a solid, the water you drink is liquid,
and the air you breathe is a gas.

Changing State: The atoms and molecules don't change, but the way they move
about does. Water, for example, is always made up of two hydrogen atoms and
one oxygen atom. However, it can take the state of liquid, solid (ice), and gas
(steam). Matter changes state when more energy gets added to it. Energy is often
added in the form of heat or pressure.
Water

Solid water is called ice. This is water with the lowest energy and temperature.
When solid, the molecules in water are held tightly together and don't move
easily.

Liquid water is just called water. As ice heats up it will change phases to liquid
water. Liquid molecules are looser and can move about easily.

Gas water is called steam or vapor. When water boils it will turn to vapor. These
molecules are hotter, looser, and moving faster than the liquid molecules. They
are more spread apart and can be compressed or squished.

More States
There are actually two more states or phases that matter can take, but we don't
see them much in our everyday life.
One is called plasma. Plasma occurs at very high temperatures and can be found
in stars and lightning bolts. Plasma is like gas, but the molecules have lost some
electrons and become ions.
Another state has the fancy name Bose-Einstein condensates. This state can occur
at super low temperatures.
Fun Facts about Solids, Liquids, Gases

• Gases are often invisible and assume the shape and volume of their
container.
• The air we breathe is made up of different gases, but it is mostly nitrogen
and oxygen.
• We can see through some solids like glass.
• When liquid gasoline is burned in a car, it turns into various gases which go
into the air from the exhaust pipe.
• Fire is a mixture of hot gases.
• Plasma is by far the most abundant state of matter in the universe because
stars are mostly plasma.

1. Which of the following is an example of a solid?

a. Air you breathe
b. Coffee you drink
c. A chair you sit on
d. Water you swim in
e. All of the Above

2. Which of the following is the common name for the solid state of water?
a. Liquid
b. Rain
c. Steam
d. Ice
e. Vapour

3. Which of the following states of matter is the most abundant state of matter in
the universe?
a. Solid
b. Liquid
c. Gas
d. Plasma
e. Bose-Einstein condensates
4. Which of the following states of matter is water in when it's in the form of
steam or vapor?
a. Solid
b. Liquid
c. Gas
d. Plasma
e. Bose-Einstein condensates

5. Which of the following states of matter occur between solid and gas as the
energy is increased?
a. Solid
b. Liquid
c. Gas
d. Plasma
e. Bose-Einstein condensates

6. What unique state of matter only occurs at extremely low temperatures?

a. Solid
b. Liquid
c. Gas
d. Plasma
e. Bose-Einstein condensates

7. In which of the following three states of matter are the particles moving the
fastest?
a. Solid b. Liquid
c. Gas d. They are all moving the same
8. In which of the following three states of matter are the particles the closest
together?
a. Solid
b. Liquid
c. Gas
d. They are all spaced the same
9. Which of the following states of matter assume the volume and shape of their
container?
a. Solids
b. Liquids
c. Gases
d. All of the above
e. None of the Above

10. Which of the following statements is true about plasma as a state of matter?
a. It occurs at very high temperatures
b. It is found in stars
c. It's like gas, but some molecules have become ions
d. It is found in lightning bolts
e. All of the Above

Melting and Boiling

As we learned in solids, liquids, and gases all matter exists in certain states or
phases. Water can be liquid water, solid ice, or gas vapor. It's still all water,
however, and made up of molecules of 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom
(H2O).
Melting and Freezing

When a solid turns into a liquid it is called melting. There is a temperature at

which this happens called the melting point. As the energy in the molecules
increases from a rise in temperature, the molecules start moving faster. Soon
they have enough energy to break free of their rigid structure and start moving
around more easily. The matter becomes a liquid. The melting point for water is 0
degrees C (32 degrees F). When the opposite happens and a liquid turns into a
solid, it is called freezing.

Boiling and Condensation

When a liquid becomes a gas it is called boiling or vaporization. Again, at a certain

temperature called the boiling point, the molecules will gain enough energy to
break free and become a gas. The boiling point for water is 100 degrees C. When
the opposite occurs and a gas becomes a liquid, it is called condensation.

Evaporation

Evaporation is liquid becoming a gas that happens only on the surface of a liquid.
Evaporation doesn't always need a high temperature to occur. Even though the
overall energy and temperature of a liquid may be low, the molecules on the
surface that are in contact with the air and gases around them, can be high
energy. These molecules on the surface will slowly become gases through
evaporation. You can see evaporation when water on your skin dries or a puddle
in the street slowly goes away.

Standard State : Scientist use the term "standard state" to describe the state an
element or substance is in at "room conditions" of 25 degrees C and one
atmosphere of air pressure. Most of the elements, like gold and iron, are solids in
their standard state. Only two elements are liquid in their standard states:
mercury and bromine. Some of the elements that are gases in their natural state
include hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and the noble gases.

Fun facts about Melting and Boiling

• When rocks get really hot they turn into a liquid called magma or lava.
• Gas can be turned into a liquid through pressure. By squeezing all the gas
molecules tightly together a gas can become liquid.
• We use natural gas in our homes in its gas state, but when it's shipped in
ocean tankers it's shipped in a liquid state to save on space.
• Mercury has the interesting properties of being both a metal and a liquid in
its standard state.

1. What is it called when a gas turns into a liquid?

a. Melting
b. Freezing
c. Boiling
d. Condensation
e. None of the Above
2. What is it called when a solid turns into a liquid?
a. Melting
b. Freezing
c. Boiling
d. Condensation
e. None of the Above

3. What is it called when a liquid turns into a gas?

a. Melting
b. Freezing
c. Boiling
d. Condensation
e. None of the Above

4. What is it called when a liquid turns into a solid?

a. Melting
b. Freezing
c. Boiling
d. Condensation
e. None of the Above

5. What temperature is the boiling point for water?

a. 100 degrees F
b. 100 degrees C
c. 32 degrees C
d. 0 degrees C
e. 0 degrees F

6. What is it called when liquid becomes a gas only at the surface of the
liquid?
a. Melting
b. Freezing
c. Condensation
d. Magma
e. Evaporation
7. What are the conditions used to determine the 'standard state' of an
element?
a. 100 degrees C and one atmosphere air pressure
b. 0 degrees C and no air pressure
c. 25 degrees C and one atmosphere air pressure
d. 25 degrees F and 100 atmospheres of air pressure
e. 25 degrees C and no air pressure

8. What state or phase is the most common 'standard state' of the

elements?
a. Solid
b. Liquid
c. Gas
d. Plasma
e. Bose-Einstein condensates

9. What is it called when rocks underground get so hot they become liquid?
a. Metamorphic
b. Magma
c. Plasma
d. Sedimentary
e. Covalent

10. What element is both a liquid and a metal at room temperature?

a. Iron
b. Gold
c. Titanium
d. Mercury
e. Silver