Instructions
This worksheet covers the properties of matter. Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. Read each question carefully before you begin writing.
Section A: Objective Questions
Part 1: Multiple Choice (1-15)
Circle the letter of the best answer for each question.
- Which of the following best describes the particles in a solid?
A) They are far apart and move randomly.
B) They are closely packed and vibrate in fixed positions.
C) They can slide past one another.
D) They have no definite volume. - The process of a liquid turning into a gas is called:
A) Freezing
B) Condensation
C) Evaporation
D) Melting - What is the main difference between a liquid and a gas?
A) A gas has a definite shape, but a liquid does not.
B) A gas can be compressed easily, but a liquid cannot.
C) A liquid has a fixed volume, but a gas does not.
D) Both B and C are correct. - Which of these is a pure substance?
A) Saltwater
B) Air
C) Distilled water
D) Sand - The ability of a substance to dissolve in a liquid is called:
A) Density
B) Solubility
C) Conductivity
D) Magnetism - In a saltwater solution, the salt is the:
A) Solvent
B) Solute
C) Solution
D) Suspension - Which separation technique is best for separating insoluble sand from water?
A) Evaporation
B) Distillation
C) Magnetism
D) Filtration - Density is calculated as:
A) Mass × Volume
B) Volume ÷ Mass
C) Mass ÷ Volume
D) Mass + Volume - Which property makes copper a good material for electrical wiring?
A) It is not magnetic.
B) It has a high density.
C) It is a good electrical conductor.
D) It is very soluble. - The change of state from a gas directly to a solid is called:
A) Sublimation
B) Deposition
C) Condensation
D) Freezing - A material that does not allow heat to pass through it easily is called a(n):
A) Conductor
B) Insulator
C) Solute
D) Magnet - Which of the following is a chemical change?
A) Ice melting
B) Wood burning
C) Sugar dissolving in water
D) Water boiling - Chromatography is used to separate:
A) Magnetic and non-magnetic materials.
B) Soluble solids from a liquid.
C) Different coloured dyes in an ink.
D) An insoluble solid from a liquid. - The amount of space an object takes up is its:
A) Mass
B) Weight
C) Density
D) Volume - What is the boiling point of pure water at standard pressure?
A) 0°C
B) 100°C
C) 50°C
D) -10°C
Part 2: True or False (16-25)
Write 'T' for True or 'F' for False next to each statement.
- ____ Gases have a fixed shape and a fixed volume.
- ____ Freezing is the process of a liquid turning into a solid.
- ____ Mass is measured in millilitres (mL) or cubic centimetres (cm³).
- ____ A mixture is a substance made of two or more elements chemically bonded together.
- ____ All metals are magnetic.
- ____ Condensation is the process of a gas turning into a liquid.
- ____ In a solution, the solvent is the substance that gets dissolved.
- ____ Plastic is a good thermal insulator.
- ____ The particles in a liquid are in fixed positions and can only vibrate.
- ____ Evaporation can be used to recover a dissolved solid (like salt) from a solution.
Part 3: Fill in the Blanks (26-35)
Complete the sentences using words from the word bank below.
matter, solid, liquid, gas, melting, volume, density, solvent, mixture, atoms
- Anything that has mass and takes up space is called ___________________.
- The process of a solid turning into a liquid is known as ___________________.
- A ___________________ has a definite volume but takes the shape of its container.
- A substance that has no definite shape and no definite volume is a ___________________.
- In a sugar-water solution, water is the ___________________.
- All substances are made up of tiny particles called ___________________.
- The amount of mass in a certain volume of a substance is its ___________________.
- Sand and water together form a ___________________.
- A brick is an example of a ___________________.
- The amount of space an object occupies is its ___________________.
Part 4: Matching (36-40)
Match the scientific term on the left with its correct description on the right. Write the letter of the description in the space provided.
| 36. ____ Conductor | A. A substance in which another substance dissolves. |
| 37. ____ Solute | B. A material that allows heat or electricity to pass through it. |
| 38. ____ Solvent | C. The temperature at which a liquid turns into a gas. |
| 39. ____ Boiling Point | D. The process of separating an insoluble solid from a liquid using a filter. |
| 40. ____ Filtration | E. A substance that is dissolved in another substance. |
Section B: Short Answer Questions
Write a brief answer for each of the following questions.
- Describe the arrangement and movement of particles in a gas.
- What is the difference between melting and freezing?
- Why is sugar considered soluble in water?
- Name two properties of a typical metal.
- Explain what happens to the water particles when a puddle evaporates on a sunny day.
- What is a mixture? Give one example.
- How can you separate iron filings from a mixture of sand and iron filings?
- What is the difference between mass and volume?
- Explain why a balloon filled with air will float in water, but a rock will sink.
- What is condensation? Give a real-world example.
- What state of matter is water at 50°C?
- What state of matter is water at -10°C?
- Why do we use plastic or rubber to cover electrical wires?
- Is dissolving salt in water a physical or chemical change? Explain why.
- Name the process when a solid, like dry ice, turns directly into a gas.
- What is a solution?
- Why can gases be compressed much more easily than liquids or solids?
- What are the three common states of matter?
- Name a tool you would use to measure the volume of a liquid accurately.
- What is meant by the term "insoluble"?
Section C: Problem Solving
Use your knowledge of matter to solve the following problems.
- Look at the diagrams below representing particles in three different states of matter.
Box A
(o)(o)(o)(o)
(o)(o)(o)(o)
(o)(o)(o)(o)
(o)(o)(o)(o)Box B
(o) (o)
(o)
(o)
(o)Box C
(o) (o)(o)
(o)(o)
(o)
(o) (o)(o)
a) Which box represents a solid? Explain your choice.
b) Which box represents a gas? Explain your choice. - A block of wood has a mass of 300 grams and a volume of 400 cm³. What is its density? (Show your calculation).
- Another object has a density of 2 g/cm³ and a mass of 50 grams. What is its volume? (Show your calculation).
- You are given a beaker containing a mixture of salt, sand, and water. Describe, step-by-step, how you would separate the sand and then recover the salt.
- Study the table below and answer the questions that follow.
Substance Melting Point (°C) Boiling Point (°C) Oxygen -218 -183 Mercury -39 357 Iron 1538 2862
a) Which substance is a liquid at room temperature (25°C)?
b) What state would iron be in at 1600°C? - An ice cube is left on a plate in a warm room. Describe the two changes of state that will occur over a long period of time. Name both processes.
- If you place a block of aluminum with a volume of 10 cm³ and a block of wood with a volume of 10 cm³ on a weighing scale, they will have different masses. Why?
- Why does a cook add salt to water when boiling pasta? (Hint: Think about boiling point).
- Design a simple experiment to find out which of three different fabrics (wool, cotton, nylon) is the best thermal insulator. List the materials you would need and the steps you would take.
- Explain why the windows of a bus get foggy on the inside on a cold day when there are many people on board.
Answer Key
Section A: Objective Questions
- B) They are closely packed and vibrate in fixed positions.
- C) Evaporation
- D) Both B and C are correct.
- C) Distilled water
- B) Solubility
- B) Solute
- D) Filtration
- C) Mass ÷ Volume
- C) It is a good electrical conductor.
- B) Deposition
- B) Insulator
- B) Wood burning
- C) Different coloured dyes in an ink.
- D) Volume
- B) 100°C
- F
- T
- F
- F
- F
- T
- F
- T
- F
- T
- matter
- melting
- liquid
- gas
- solvent
- atoms
- density
- mixture
- solid
- volume
- 36. B
- 37. E
- 38. A
- 39. C
- 40. D
Section B: Short Answer Questions
- In a gas, particles are very far apart, have lots of energy, and move quickly and randomly in all directions.
- Melting is the change from a solid to a liquid. Freezing is the change from a liquid to a solid.
- Sugar is soluble because it can dissolve completely in water to form a transparent solution.
- Two properties are: good conductor of heat/electricity, strong, malleable, ductile, shiny. (Any two)
- The water particles gain energy from the sun, move faster, and escape from the liquid to become a gas (water vapour).
- A mixture consists of two or more substances that are physically combined but not chemically bonded. Example: sand and water.
- You can use a magnet to attract and remove the iron filings from the sand.
- Mass is the amount of matter in an object (measured in g or kg). Volume is the amount of space an object takes up (measured in mL or cm³).
- The balloon filled with air is less dense than water, so it floats. A rock is denser than water, so it sinks.
- Condensation is the process where a gas turns into a liquid when it cools down. Example: water droplets forming on the outside of a cold glass.
- Liquid.
- Solid (ice).
- Plastic and rubber are good electrical insulators. They prevent electricity from passing through them, which keeps us safe from electric shock.
- It is a physical change because no new substance is formed. The salt can be recovered by evaporating the water.
- Sublimation.
- A solution is a type of mixture where one substance (the solute) dissolves completely into another substance (the solvent).
- There are large empty spaces between the particles in a gas, allowing them to be pushed closer together. In liquids and solids, particles are already close together.
- Solid, liquid, and gas.
- A measuring cylinder.
- Insoluble means a substance is not able to dissolve in a particular solvent.
Section C: Problem Solving
-
a) Box A represents a solid. The particles are arranged in a regular, tightly packed pattern and are in fixed positions.
b) Box B represents a gas. The particles are far apart and spread out to fill the entire container. - Density = Mass ÷ Volume. So, Density = 300 g ÷ 400 cm³ = 0.75 g/cm³.
- Volume = Mass ÷ Density. So, Volume = 50 g ÷ 2 g/cm³ = 25 cm³.
-
Step 1 (Separate sand): Pour the mixture through a filter paper in a funnel. The water and dissolved salt (filtrate) will pass through, and the sand (residue) will be left on the filter paper.
Step 2 (Recover salt): Gently heat the filtrate in an evaporating dish. The water will evaporate, leaving the solid salt crystals behind. -
a) Mercury. (Its melting point is below 25°C and its boiling point is above 25°C).
b) Liquid. (1600°C is above its melting point of 1538°C but below its boiling point of 2862°C). - First, the solid ice cube will undergo melting to become liquid water. Then, the liquid water will undergo evaporation to become a gas (water vapour).
- This is because they have different densities. Aluminum is much denser than wood, meaning it has more mass packed into the same amount of volume.
- Adding a solute (like salt) to a solvent (water) raises the boiling point. This means the water will be hotter when it boils, which can cook the pasta faster.
- (Example answer) Materials: Three identical beakers or jars, a thermometer, hot water, wool, cotton, nylon fabric, a timer. Steps: 1. Wrap each beaker with one of the fabrics. Leave one beaker unwrapped as a control. 2. Pour the same amount of hot water into each beaker. 3. Measure and record the starting temperature of the water in each beaker. 4. Record the temperature in each beaker every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. 5. The beaker that stays the hottest for the longest is wrapped in the best insulator.
- The air people breathe out is warm and contains a lot of water vapour (a gas). When this warm, moist air touches the cold surface of the bus window, the water vapour cools down and condenses, turning into tiny liquid water droplets, which makes the window look foggy.