Material World resources

Select the correct pair to set up a fair test. Assessment focus: controlling variables.

Students decide on the variables that will make an experiment about boiling water a fair test. Assessment focus: Recognising multiple variables.

This practical task requires students to use methods of separation to separate a mixture of salt, sand, and iron filings. Students explain how they did this and the property of the substance that they used.

For this practical task students plan and carry out a fair test to determine which of four different cups will keep water the hottest over 10 minutes. Students are also required to graph their results and write a conclusion.

This practical task requires students to plan and carry out a fair test to find out which paper type will soak up water the best.

Task: Match everyday terms about properties with their meanings. Use their understanding about properties of paper and their uses to justify appropriate questions to investigate. Assessment focus: asking questions about paper properties.

Task: Students fill in a chart to select the best material for making 6 objects, and give reasons for their answers. Assessment focus: properties of materials related to use.

Students read some information about testing the absorbency of different papers. They outline two features that need to be kept the same if the tests were to be fair.

Students answer five questions about 'fair testing' for an outlined investigation.

Students outline four ways of improving a given plan for an investigation to make it a fair test.

For this practical task students are assessed on their ability to record their observations of the decomposition of a cut slice of pumpkin over a two week time period.

Students are given information and a diagram about a drink bottle overflowing when it had been put into the freezer. Students are asked to explain why this happened and how they could prevent it.

Task: Predict, Observe, Explain, (POE) activity observing what happens to air in a balloon when it is heated. Assessment focus: behaviour of gases when heated and cooled.

Task: Plan a fair test to see if adding salt water to water affects how long it takes to freeze. Assessment focus: managing variables.

Task: Describe what happens to ice in a glass of water, giving reasons, and explain where water forming on the outside of the glass comes from. Assessment focus: changes of state.

Task: Create, use and identify ‘rules’ based on observable and/or measurable physical properties of common plastics. Assessment focus: classifying & identifying.

For this practical task students use their knowledge about the properties of gases to explain their observations when they blow up a balloon that is inside a bottle and a balloon that is not inside a bottle.

This practical task consists of two parts. Students test various substances with hydrochloric acid, iodine solution, and universal indicator, and then complete a table with their observations. The second part requires students to identify four unknown solids using their tests and results from part one.

This practical task has two parts. The first part of this practical requires students to observe the effects of different indicators on different substances. Students use these results to identify if some other substances are acid, alkali, or neutral.

Students indicate for each of six different variables those that need to be kept the same for an investigation about dissolving different types of sugar.

In this practical task students investigate the effect of temperature on viscosity. Students describe and explain what has happened.

This practical task requires students to sort some common items from hardest to softest. Students then explain a test that they used to help determine this.

Task: Measure 100mL of water into three different pieces of equipment. Weigh the result and calculate the precision of using that piece of equipment. Assessment focus: measuring and evaluating the accuracy of equipment.

For this practical task students complete a table of observations on nine common materials. Students then use their results to group the materials according to similar properties.

This practical task requires students to carry out three tests to find out if each element is a metal or non-metal.