Physical Science · Grade 5 Mr. Mohamed Fawzy Week 2 — Properties Of Matter
Week 2 · Unit Opener

Properties
of Matter

Last week you learned everything is matter. This week you learn how to describe it well enough that someone else could pick it out of a pile.

Taught by Mr. Mohamed Fawzy
ReadLookDoCheck
LookStart here · 3 minutes

Describe this object so well that I could find it blindfolded

I am holding something behind my back. I will only tell you what it is like, never what it is called.

  • It is hard and it does not bend.
  • It is smooth on the sides and rough on one end.
  • It is yellow with a band of silver metal.
  • It is light — about the weight of two paperclips.
  • It smells faintly of wood.

A pencil. Notice that I never said the word. Every clue I gave was a property — a way of describing matter. Enough properties together identify a thing exactly.

rough tip yellow · smooth · hard soft · pink
One object, five different properties, all true at the same time.
ReadCore idea 1 of 4

A property is any way we can describe matter

Pick up a pillow and think about what you notice. Pillows are usually soft and squishy. Now put your hand on the kitchen counter — it is smooth and hard. Those descriptions are the matter's properties.

Two rules about properties

  • All matter has properties. There is no such thing as matter with no properties at all.
  • One object has many properties at once. An apple is red AND smooth AND sweet AND heavier than a grape.

Why scientists care so much

Properties tell us what matter is like and what it will do. If you know rubber does not carry electricity, you know to wrap it around a wire. Properties are how engineers pick materials.

Watch out "Pretty," "cool," and "my favorite" are opinions, not properties. A property is something any observer would agree on. Two people can disagree about whether a shirt is pretty; they cannot disagree about whether it is wet.
LookYour describing vocabulary

The property toolkit

Keep this list in your science notebook. When you have to describe something, walk down the list one row at a time.

PropertyQuestion it answersWords you might use
ColorWhat does it look like?red, clear, silver, dull, shiny
TextureHow does it feel?rough, smooth, bumpy, sticky, slippery
HardnessCan it be scratched or dented?hard, soft, brittle, bendable
Weight / massHow much matter is in it?heavy, light, 250 grams
SmellWhat does it release into the air?sweet, sour, smoky, no smell
StateSolid, liquid, or gas?solid, liquid, gas
Size / volumeHow much space does it fill?tall, thin, 30 milliliters
MagnetismDoes a magnet stick to it?magnetic, not magnetic
Floats or sinksWhat does it do in water?floats, sinks
Teacher note Post this table on the wall for the whole unit. Students who "cannot think of anything to say" almost always just need the prompt list in front of them.
DoClass sort · 4 minutes

Property or opinion?

A property is something everyone in the room would measure or observe the same way. Tap your answer.

ReadCore idea 2 of 4

Some properties you describe. Others you measure.

Describing words

"This rock is heavy." "The water is warm." "The string is long."

Useful for a first look — but heavy compared to what? A rock is heavy for a pocket and light for a truck. Describing words depend on who is talking.

Measured numbers

"This rock has a mass of 340 grams." "The water is 38 °C." "The string is 42 centimeters long."

Now anyone, anywhere, can check your work and get the same answer. Numbers travel. This is why real science reports use them.

Habit to build Every time you write a property in your notebook, ask yourself: could I put a number and a unit on this? If yes, go get the tool and do it.
LookPick the right instrument

Four tools that turn properties into numbers

BALANCE → mass in grams
A balance compares an unknown mass against known masses.
40 mL CYLINDER → volume in mL
Read the bottom of the curve, with your eye level with the line.
22 °C THERMOMETER → temperature
Wait until the number stops moving before you write it down.
RULER → length in cm
Line the object up with zero, not with the very edge of the ruler.
DoExperiment 1 · 12 minutes

Experiment: the aluminum foil investigation

Materials

  • A piece of aluminum foil about the size of your hand
  • Your science notebook

Round 1 — eyes only

  1. Lay the foil flat in front of you. Do not touch it.
  2. List every property you can name just by looking. Aim for five.

Round 2 — now use your hands

  1. Touch it. Wrap it around a finger. Crumple it into a ball, then open it back up. Tear a corner.
  2. List the new properties you discovered that your eyes could not tell you.

What most classes find

Eyes only: silver, shiny on one side, dull on the other, thin, flat, no smell you can detect from a distance.

Hands on: it is bendable and stays where you bend it, it is soft enough to tear with your fingers, it makes a crinkling sound, it is cool to the touch at first, and it is much lighter than it looks.

The lesson: some properties are hidden until you interact with the matter. A scientist who only looks is only half done.

FLAT WRAPPED CRUMPLED TORN Same matter every time. Still aluminum. Still foil.
Changing the shape did not change what it is made of — that will matter in Week 5.
DoWater tank lab · predict, then drop

Floating is a property too

Predict first, then drop the object in. Watch what happens and read the reason underneath.

Pick an object —

The pattern

It is not about being heavy or light. A huge log floats and a tiny pebble sinks. What matters is how much matter is packed into the space the object fills. Scientists call that packing density. Pack matter tighter than water → it sinks. Looser than water → it floats.

ReadCore idea 3 of 4

Solid, liquid, or gas is one of the most useful properties

Solid

Keeps its own shape. Has its own volume. A brick stays brick-shaped no matter what container you put it in.

Liquid

Takes the shape of its container but keeps its own volume. Pour 200 mL of juice into any glass and it is still 200 mL.

Gas

Takes both the shape and the volume of its container. It spreads out until it fills whatever it is in.

Tricky ones to argue about Is sand a solid or a liquid? It pours like a liquid, but each grain is a tiny solid keeping its own shape. Sand is a pile of solids. What about toothpaste? Bring your evidence.
CheckQuick check · no score

Quick check: describing matter

DoExperiment 2 · 10 minutes · partners

Experiment: the mystery bag

Materials

  • An opaque paper bag or a sock
  • Five small objects (cotton ball, coin, paperclip, eraser, small rock)
  • A magnet

Steps

  1. Partner A puts one object in the bag without letting Partner B see.
  2. Partner B reaches in and describes three properties out loud before guessing. Texture, hardness, and weight are the useful ones here.
  3. Guess. Then pull it out and check.
  4. Now the hard version: guess without touching. Only shake the bag and listen, and hold a magnet against the outside.
  5. Swap roles and run all five objects.

Why this is real science

You just did what scientists do when they cannot see something directly. Nobody has ever seen the inside of the Earth, but geologists describe its properties using sound waves — exactly like shaking the bag and listening.

The magnet test is a property test: the paperclip is magnetic, the coin and eraser are not. One test, and you have eliminated three objects without ever touching them.

describe first · guess second MYSTERY BAG
The magnet reaches through the bag. Properties can be tested from the outside.
ReadProperties decide what things are made of

Why is it made of that?

Every material choice around you was an engineer picking properties on purpose.

Windows are glass, not wood

Glass has the property of being transparent. Wood is strong and cheap, but you cannot see through it. The whole job of a window depends on one property.

Pan bottoms are metal, handles are plastic

Metal conducts heat well, so the food cooks. Plastic conducts heat poorly, so your hand does not burn. Two opposite properties in one object, on purpose.

Bike tires are rubber, not steel

Rubber is flexible and grips the road. Steel would last longer but you would slide on every wet corner.

Winter coats are fluffy

All that fluff traps air, and air is a poor heat conductor. The coat does not make heat — it just holds yours in.

Teacher note Strong closing activity: give each group a wild swap ("a raincoat made of paper towel," "a spoon made of chocolate") and have them name exactly which property fails.
CheckTap a card to flip it

Week 2 vocabulary

Cover the definition, say it in your own words, then flip to compare.

CheckEnd of week quiz · 8 questions

End of week quiz

0 / 8 Answer each question once. Read the explanation even when you are right.
DoWritten work · take home

Write a property riddle

The assignment

Pick any object in your house. Write five clues, one per line, using five different rows of the property toolkit. You may not name the object or say what it is used for.

Tomorrow you will read your riddle out loud and the class gets three guesses.

Scoring

Five clues, five different properties5 pts
At least one clue has a number and a unit2 pts
No opinions used as clues2 pts
Class could actually guess it1 pt
Example to model It is a solid. It is white and about 8 centimeters tall. Its texture is smooth but its bottom is rough. It is lighter than a full water bottle. When you tap it, it makes a high ringing sound.  →  a ceramic mug.
ReadExit ticket

What you can now explain

  • A property is any way we can describe matter. All matter has properties.
  • One object has many properties at the same time.
  • Opinions like "pretty" are not properties — a property is something anyone would observe the same way.
  • Some properties are hidden until you interact with the matter, like the foil taught you.
  • Measured properties with numbers and units are stronger than describing words.
  • Floating and sinking depend on density, not on being heavy or light.

Exit ticket · write three sentences

  1. Name three properties of the chair you are sitting on.
  2. Give one property of your chair that you could put a number on, and name the tool you would use.
  3. Explain why "my chair is comfortable" is not a property.

Coming next · Week 3

Heating & Cooling. You just learned that solid, liquid, and gas is a property. Next week you find out what controls it: temperature. We will heat water from ice all the way to steam and watch every change on a graph.

Question to think about tonight: if you leave an ice cube on the counter, where does the ice go?