Weird Water

Summary
An introduction to some of the unique physical and chemical properties of water.

Objectives
• Students will become familiar with the three states of water.

• Students will understand the terms melting and evaporation as they relate to changes of state.

• Students will relate the freezing of water to lower density.

• Students will explore the properties of cohesion and adhesion and some of their applications in nature.

• Students will define the term specific heat.

Suggested Grades
4th Grade
5th Grade
6th Grade

Excerpt
Water is weird! The properties of water that make it special allow life as we know it to exist on Earth. Water is found on Earth in all of its three states: solid, liquid, and gas. When water is below freezing it is a solid like ice or snowflakes. When water changes from a solid to a liquid that is called melting. When water is heated above its boiling point it becomes a gas, like the steam that comes off a cup of hot chocolate. This process is called evaporation.

Water behaves differently from most other liquids. Most liquids contract and get smaller as they are cooled down. Water contracts at first but once it is cold enough it expands to form a solid. Solid water (ice) is less dense than liquid water which makes ice float.

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