Glenwood Landing students got a hands-on science treat when a representative from the Science Museum of Long Island visited to explore different states of matter and their properties.
Students learned that the three states of matter are solids, liquids and gases. They watched how water in a solid state—an ice cube—melts into a liquid when heated. At higher temperatures, water can evaporate and become a gas called steam.
The students also learned that anything that takes up space is considered matter, while mass is the amount of matter in an object. They discussed how warmer water evaporates more quickly and how energy from the sun causes water on the surface to turn into gas, rise into the atmosphere, cool and condense into clouds—completing the water cycle.
At the end of the lesson, students had the opportunity to touch Oobleck, a non-Newtonian fluid with properties of both liquids and solids. Made from cornstarch and water, Oobleck thickens or solidifies when force is applied.
The visit was organized with the help of SWES teacher Audra Marcantonio.
