Properties of the Different States

It's helpful for students to understand the properties of the states of matter before they get too far in the lesson. This activity makes for a perfect introductory baseline or even summative assessment to see how much students have learned. Students will create a chart illustrating particle models for each state of matter. They should be sure to include the properties of each state of matter.

This is a great opportunity to discuss with your students what happens when you add thermal energy to or remove thermal energy from a system of particles. Students can relate this to the kinetic energy of the particles, the motion of the particles, and the temperature of the system.

This activity can be easily differentiated to be more accessible to a wide range of students. The template associated with this assignment is a simple T-Chart. To make this activity more accessible, use the completed example above as a starting point. Remove columns so students only have to create the particle arrangement for each state of matter, or even just come up with example of solids, liquids, and gases. Modify the resources to best fit the needs of your students.

Student Instructions

Create a T-Chart that matches the states of matter to their particle arrangement and properties.

1. Click "Start Assignment".
2. Add two columns and title the columns: State of Matter, Arrangement, Properties - Flow, and Properties, Compression.
3. Identify each state of matter and create a visualization in the first column.
4. In the second column create the particle arrangement for each state with shapes and write a description.
5. Identify and illustrate flow for each state of matter, and give the reason.
6. In the final column, identify and illustrate compression for each state of matter, and give the reason.