Florida SC.4.P.8.3

Science4th GradeProperties of Matter

The Standard

Explore the Law of Conservation of Mass by demonstrating that the mass of a whole object is always the same as the sum of the masses of its parts.

Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students use a balance to measure an object before and after separating it into parts. They add the part masses and compare the sum with the starting mass.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student measures carefully and accounts for every piece. The student adds the part masses correctly and explains why the total matches the original mass.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think cutting an object changes its total mass because each piece feels lighter. They may compare one part with the whole or ignore crumbs left behind.
How to Assess It: Give this exit ticket: A clay ball has a mass of 84 grams. Its pieces measure 21, 28, and 35 grams. Add and explain the result.

Lesson moves

Use a digital scale to weigh a clay ball, cut it into four pieces, weigh each piece, and compare the summed mass.
Write a claim explaining why all pieces of a broken cracker should have the same total mass as the unbroken cracker.
Play Mass Match by pairing whole-object mass cards with sets of part-mass cards that add to the same amount.
Show a pizza photo and ask why cutting the pizza into eight slices does not change its total mass.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SC.4.P.8.3, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

Keep exploring

Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.