Mississippi Science P.3.5.1
The Standard
- P.3.5
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of the physical properties of matter to explain why matter can change states between a solid, liquid, or gas dependent upon the addition or removal of heat.
Plan and conduct scientific investigations to determine how changes in heat (i.e., an increase or decrease) change matter from one state to another (e.g., melting, freezing, condensing, boiling, or evaporating).
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Organization of Matter and Chemical Interactions
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students plan a fair test to see how warming or cooling changes water. They carry it out and record what they observe as water melts, freezes, evaporates, or condenses. They can observe boiling in a teacher demonstration.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students compare equal amounts of water under different conditions and record changes over time. They explain that added heat can cause melting, evaporation, or boiling, while removing heat can cause freezing or condensation.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think evaporated water has disappeared. They may think drops on the outside of a cold cup leaked through it, or that ice is a different material from liquid water.
How to Assess It
- Ask: “You have two equal ice cubes, one in a warm spot and one in a cool spot. What will you record, what will you keep the same, and which will melt first?”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Put equal ice cubes in clear bags, one in a warm spot and one in a cool spot, and record changes every five minutes.
Show ice before and after melting; ask students to write what changed and what stayed the same.
Give pairs picture cards showing melting, freezing, boiling, evaporation, and condensation; have them sort the cards by heat added or removed.
Wipe a cold water bottle dry, watch for new drops outside it, and ask students where the water came from.
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Printable P.3.5.1 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to P.3.5.1, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- PHY.3.5
Investigate, collect data, and summarize the principles of thermodynamics by exploring how heat energy is transferred from higher temperature to lower temperatu...
- P.5.5C.2
Analyze and communicate the results of physical changes to a substance that results in a reversible change (e.g., changes in states of matter with the addition ...
- PHY.3.6
Enrichment: Design, conduct, and communicate investigations that explore how temperature and thermal energy relate to molecular motion and states of matter.
- P.3.5.3
Plan and conduct investigations that particles speed up or slow down with addition or removal of heat.
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