Assembly Programs: What's the Matter?
Mr. Thom closes the show with a bang, using a hydrogen balloon and a little chemistry.
How can you tell when chemistry is happening? What’s the difference between matter and energy? This show explores the states of matter, physical changes, and chemical reactions through loud, bright, and visually thrilling experiments. Watch as flash dazzles, foam oozes, and fizz flows.
“What’s the Matter?” aligns with the following points of the Maryland State Voluntary Curriculum:
Skills and Processes
Grades K, 1, 2
- Raise questions about the world around them and be willing to seek answers to some of them by making careful observations and trying things out. (A.1a-g)
- Develop reasonable explanations for observations made, investigations completed, and information gained by sharing ideas and listening to others’ ideas. (B.1b)
- Describe and compare things in terms of number, shape, texture, size, weight, color, and motion. (C.1b)
- Practice identifying parts of things and how one part connects to and affects the other. (D. 2bc)
Grades 3, 4, 5
- Gather and question data from different forms of scientific investigations which include observing what things are like or what is happening somewhere and doing experiments. (A.1b-f)
- Seek better reasons for believing something than "Everybody knows that..." or “I just know” and discount such reasons when given by others. Develop explanations using knowledge possessed and evidence from observations and investigations. Offer reasons for their findings and consider reasons suggested by others. Review different explanations for the same set of observations and make more observations to resolve the differences. (B.1abc)
- Recognize that doing science involves many different kinds of work and engages men and women of all ages and backgrounds. (C.1e)
- Identify factors that must be considered in any technological design- cost, safety, environmental impact, and what happens if the solution fails. (D.1c)
Grades 6, 7, 8
- Design, analyze, or carry out simple investigations and formulate appropriate conclusions based on data obtained or provided. (A.1)
Chemistry
Grade 2
- Ask and seek answers to “what if” questions about the changes made to the objects and how they affect the way objects work. (A.1c)
- Provide evidence from investigations that things can be done to materials to change some of their properties. (B.1)
- Provide evidence from investigations to identify processes that can be used to change physical properties of materials. (D.1)
Grade 3:
- Provide evidence from investigations to describe the effect that changes in temperature have on the properties of materials. Based on data gathered from investigations, identify and describe the changes that occur to the observable properties of materials when different degrees of heats is applied to them. Observe and describe the changes cooling causes to the observable properties of materials when they are cooled. Cite examples of similar changes that heating and cooling have on the observable properties of various other materials. (C.1abc)
Grade 4:
- Identify examples of matter. Cite evidence that supports the statement “all matter takes up space and contains a certain amount of material.” (A.1ad)
Grade 5:
- Provide evidence from investigations to identify the processes that can be used to change materials from one state of matter to another. Observe and describe the changes heating and cooling cause to the different states in which water exists. (C.1a)
- Provide evidence to illustrate that when a new material is made by combining two or more materials, its properties are different from the original materials. Investigate and describe what happens to the properties of materials when several materials are combined to make a mixture. Based on observations from investigations describe what happens to the observable properties of materials when several materials are combined to make a new material, such as: baking soda combined with vinegar. (D.1ab)
Grade 7:
- Cite evidence to support the fact that all matter is made up of atoms, which are far too small to see directly through a microscope. (A.1a)
Grade 8:
- Describe how the motion of atoms and molecules in solids, liquids, and gases changes as heat energy is increased or decreased. Based on data from investigations, describe and give reasons for what happens to a sample of matter when heat energy is added to it (most substances expand). Describe what the temperature of a solid, or a liquid, or a gas reveals about the motion of its atoms and molecules. (C.1ab)
- Provide evidence and support the fact that common substances have the ability to change into new substances. Investigate and describe the occurrence of chemical reactions using the following evidence: color change, formation of a precipitate or gas, release of heat or light. Provide examples to explain the difference between a physical change and a chemical change. (D.3ae)