Investigating properties

Investigating properties

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Further Resources
This task is about the physical properties of different materials.
Finish the table to show the properties of the materials you have been given.
Place a tick () in the box if the material has this property, or a cross () if it has not.
 
Materials Easy to bend Hard See through Stretchy Crumples Squashy Sticks to a magnet
Wood              
Paper                   
Gladwrap              
Rubber              
Aluminium foil              
Iron nail              
Kitchen sponge              
Elastic              
Coal               
 
a)		  
Which of your materials crumpled and was see through?

 
 
 
b)
How many properties did these objects have in common?
 
i)  Rubber and aluminium foil? __________
 
ii) Elastic and paper? __________
 
c) Write down all the properties that paper and gladwrap had in common.

 
 
 
 
 
d) Name all the materials that were easy to bend, not hard, and stretchy.

 
 
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper and other equipment.
 
Equipment:
A magnet and a set of common materials per group, e.g., piece of paper, wood, coal, kitchen sponge, aluminium foil, iron nail, gladwrap, elastic, rubber, glass.
Level:
3
Curriculum info: 
Science, Investigating in science, Material World
Keywords: 
properties, physical properties, classification, hardness, flexibility, transparency, magnetism
Description of task: 
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.
Curriculum Links: 
Science capabilities
The capabilities focus is brought about by the conversations you have and the questions you ask.
 
Capability: Gather and interpret data
This resource provides opportunities to discuss that during classifying and identifying students are gathering data to identify similar and different properties of a range of materials..
Science capabilities: 
Gather and interpret data
Answers/responses: 
 

All parts of table completed, at least 7 out of 8 columns are accurate. 
Table mostly complete, at least 6 out of 8 columns are accurate.
a) Correct answer given from table.
b) Correct answers given from table, but remember that this includes the properties which have both been given a or a .
c) Correct answer given from table.
d) Correct answer given from table.