Georgia S5P1.c
The Standard
Plan and carry out an investigation to determine if a chemical change occurred based on observable evidence (color, gas, temperature change, odor, new substance produced).
Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science · Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the differences between a physical change and a chemical change.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students design and run a fair test, then record what happens before, during, and after materials interact. They use observations and measurements to decide whether the evidence supports the formation of new substances.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student sets up a fair comparison, measures temperature, and records detailed before-and-after observations. The student makes a clear claim and cites at least two relevant pieces of evidence.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often treat any bubbling, color shift, or temperature change as proof of a chemical reaction. They may call melting, cutting, or dissolving chemical changes even when the material remains the same. They may also confuse mixing materials with making a new substance.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: An antacid tablet fizzes in water, and the water temperature drops from 22°C to 18°C. State whether a chemical change likely occurred and support your claim with two observations.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
In pairs, mix measured amounts of baking soda and vinegar in an open cup, then record temperature and visible changes for two minutes.
Show ice melting beside an antacid fizzing, then ask, “What evidence suggests only one process makes new substances?”
Give teams change-scenario cards to sort into physical, chemical, or uncertain, and require an evidence statement for every card.
Compare a fresh apple slice with one cut 30 minutes earlier, then have students document browning as evidence from an everyday chemical change.
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Printable S5P1.c Worksheet
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Related Standards
- S8P1.d
Construct an argument based on observational evidence to support the claim that when a change in a substance occurs, it can be classified as either chemical or ...
- S5P1
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the differences between a physical change and a chemical change.
- S8P1.c
Plan and carry out investigations to compare and contrast chemical (i.e., reactivity, combustibility) and physical (i.e., density, melting point, boiling point)...
- S5P1.a
Plan and carry out investigations of physical changes by manipulating, separating and mixing dry and liquid materials.
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