Mississippi Science P.7.5A.3
The Standard
- P.7.5A
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of the physical and chemical properties of matter.
Compare and contrast chemical and physical properties (e.g., combustion, oxidation, pH, solubility, reaction with water).
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 compare properties they can test without making a new substance, such as solubility, with properties that describe how a substance reacts. They use examples such as flammability, pH, rusting, and reactions with water.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student identifies sugar's solubility as a physical property. They identify rusting as evidence that iron reacts with oxygen and explain that pH describes how acidic a substance is.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may call dissolving a chemical reaction because the solid disappears. They may think pH measures how much material is dissolved or that rust is just a change in color.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Sugar dissolves in water, an effervescent tablet fizzes in water, and an iron nail rusts. Name the property each example shows and label it physical or chemical.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Test sugar and an effervescent tablet in separate clear cups of water; students record dissolving and bubbling, then classify the properties tested.
Ask, 'Does a low pH mean a liquid has already reacted?' Have students explain what pH tells us about acidity.
Give pairs cards labeled solubility, pH, reaction with oxygen, flammability, and color; have them sort the cards and defend two choices.
Show a rusty bike chain and a sugar cube dissolving in tea; students name the chemical and physical properties each reveals.
Free download
Printable P.7.5A.3 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to P.7.5A.3, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- P.7.5A.2
Analyze and interpret qualitative data to describe substances using chemical properties (the ability to burn or rust).
- P.7.5A.1
Collect and evaluate qualitative data to describe substances using physical properties (state, boiling/melting point, density, heat/electrical conductivity, col...
- P.K.5A.2
Describe and compare the properties of different materials (e.g., wood, plastic, metal, cloth, paper) and classify these materials by their observable character...
- PHS.4.1
Design and conduct experiments to investigate physical and chemical changes of various household products (e.g., rusting, sour milk, crushing, grinding, tearing...
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson