Mississippi Science P.5.5B.3
The Standard
- P.5.5B
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of mixtures and solutions.
Investigate how different variables (e.g., temperature change, stirring, particle size, or surface area) affect the rate at which a solute will dissolve.
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 test how one change, such as stirring or water temperature, affects how fast sugar dissolves. They keep the other conditions the same and compare the time it takes.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can set up a fair test and measure dissolving time in each cup. They can use those times to say which condition made the sugar dissolve faster.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think dissolved sugar has disappeared rather than mixed into the water. They may confuse dissolving faster with dissolving more, or compare a sugar cube with a different mass of loose sugar.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Sugar took 45 seconds to dissolve in stirred water and 90 seconds in still water. Name the changed variable, one condition to keep the same, and which cup dissolved the sugar faster.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs equal amounts of room-temperature water and sugar in two cups; have them stir one, leave one still, and time both.
Ask: Why is comparing a sugar cube with a spoonful of loose sugar unfair unless their masses match?
Hand out cards showing two cup setups; partners spot extra changed variables and rewrite each setup as a fair test.
Compare how quickly equal masses of a sugar cube and loose sugar dissolve in cold lemonade, then discuss sweetening a drink.
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Printable P.5.5B.3 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- P.5.5B.2
Analyze and interpret data to communicate that the concentration of a solution is determined by the relative amount of solute versus solvent in various mixtures...
- CHE.8.2
Develop and use models (e.g., online simulations, games, or video representations) to explain the dissolving process in solvents on the molecular level.
- CHE.8.3
Analyze and interpret data to predict the effect of temperature and pressure on solids and gases dissolved in water.
- P.5.5B.1
Obtain and evaluate scientific information to describe what happens to the properties of substances in mixtures and solutions (solvent and solute).
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