Name:______________________________

Phase Changes Lab #4

KWBAT describe the motion of particles in solids, liquids, and/or gases.

DO NOW:
8th grade, you have been AWESOME all week! Your self control in the
hallways, grit in the lab, and curiosity with your experiments is the reason
why we are here for a 3rd day in a row. Today is all about solids, liquids,
and gasses. Lets be real, every single one of us knows the difference
between a solid, liquid, and a gas. I could have easily given you some
worksheets to do and we could have called it a day. But where is the fun in
that!! Today, you will be conducting not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 different mini
labs. It is super important that you stay focused the whole time.
Remember, you cannot move on to the next thing until your whole team is
ready! I love the teamwork that so many of you have showed this week!
There are 5 parts total that you will do and each of them requires different
materials. Be sure to use the correct materials and please be sure that you
leave it cleaner than you found it.
Hopefully I have not lost your attention yet. If you fail to follow directions
at any point in this lab, you will be asked to stop working on the lab and I
will provide you with bookwork. Draw a smiley face next to your name. It is
SO important that you know what you are doing at all times especially
today.
Be sure that you understand completely the difference between an
element and a compound. An element is just 1 atom of something. It can
be Na (sodium) or Cl (Chlorine) for example. If you put the two together,
you form a compound NaCl (table salt). Be sure to also read EVERYTHING
in this packet. Do not skip things. K Thanks.
Lastly, you will be dealing with hot water, open flames, chemicals, and
freezing materials. It is beyond important that you are smart with your
actions. Never reach over an open flame. I hope you are as excited as I am
for this! #LabDayEveryDay!
Next Thursday, all of the teachers are dressing up for Halloween. Got an
idea for the 8th grade teachers to dress up as? Last year, 7 th grade was
Ninja Turtles #weak.
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Finished reading? Flip the page and read what your first experiment is
on! Remember, you cannot begin until your group is ready.

Part 1: Dissolve and Melt

KWBAT: Understand that matter exists on Earth in three
common states:
1.
2.
3.
KWBAT: Investigate the differences between melting and
dissolving by conducting an experiment.

Materials for whole

table:
4 square of foil
4 cups, plastic, 250 mL
Hot water and Cold Water
8 M&Ms

1. Sometimes solids turn into liquids. How does that happen? Some people tell me solids become
liquids by dissolving; others tell me solids become liquids by melting. #confusing.
a. What is your definition of dissolving and what makes it happen? Give an example
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
b. What is your definition of melting and what makes it happen? Give an example
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
2. Lets see if your answers are correct! You and your shoulder partner will work together to
investigate the difference. (Give each other a double high five now) Here are the steps that you
need to follow!
1. Create two foil cups by following Image 1 . Place a 3 oz. paper cup (little mouthwash cups)
on top of a square of foil. Bring the foil up around the edges of the cup as show in the
second step of the diagram. Place the foil wrapped cup inside a second paper cup. Push it
gently but firmly all the way down. PUSH STRAIGHT DOWN. DO NOT TWIST the cups
together. This will rip your foil. Remove the foil cup. You and your partner should have
2 cups. They will be floated in plastic cups of water.

Image 12. You will place 150 mL of hot water in one cup and 150 mL of cold water in the other cup. I

will bring you hot water and the cold water after you finish reading. Once you have the
water in your cups, you will place your aluminum cups so that they float on water. Place 1
M&M inside each aluminum cup and 1 in the water as shown in image 2. Do not poke, stir,
or do anything to the candy in the cups. You will observe the candy in ten minutes and write
your observations below. During those ten minutes, you will go to the next page and
3. Observe and record below what occurred.

Image 2

Material
Candy Coating (outer
layer)
Chocolate (inside part)

Hot Water

Cold Water

Hot Air

Cold Air

4. What happens to the colored coating in water?

________________________________________________________________
5. What happens to the chocolate in the center?
__________________________________________________________________
6. What happens to the candy that is not in the water?
__________________________________________________________
7. What melted and under what conditions?
______________________________________________________________________
8. What dissolved and under what conditions?
___________________________________________________________________
When a solid material is placed in liquid and the solid disappears into the liquid, we say the solid
dissolved.
When a material changes state from solid to a liquid, it is called melting. What melted in our
experiment? ___________

Part 2: Melting Temperature

Materials for whole

table:

2 pieces of wax
White spoons
Sucrose (sugar)
Margarine with toothpicks
2 containers, liter
9. Lets recall the difference between melting and dissolving just so we are
super sure we
6 Cups, paper, 3 oz
understand the difference. Use your own words to explain the difference2 below.
thermometers

KWBAT: Use ice, hot water, and flame to transfer

heat to and from substances to observe phase
change.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
10.In the experiment, you will use wax, margarine, and sugar to take our knowledge of melting
a step further. You will use hot water to see the melting temperature of these three
substances. Fill in the column in the table below labeled Prediction: Will it melt now.
11.Procedure: You will place 1 of each substance in a small paper cup and then you will place
all 3 cups in the Liter container that is going to be full of hot water. You can use your
hands to pick up the wax (only use 1 small piece), toothpick for margarine, and two level
white spoons of sugar. Place the thermometer directly into the water so we can know the
temperature of the water.

12.Wait ten minutes before you make your observations. This is the PERFECT time to go back
to the first experiment and finish it up.
Material
Margari
ne
Wax

Prediction: Will it
Melt?

Water Temp
(Celsius)

Observations

Sugar

13.Which materials melted in the hot water?

_____________________________________________________________________________
14.From what state of matter did margarine go to from the beginning of the experiment to the
end?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________
Two experiments down, three to go!

Part 3: More Heat

KWBAT: Conduct an experiment to understand that
temperatures at which phase change occurs are
different for different substances.

Materials for whole

table:
1 piece of wax
1 candle
Sucrose (sugar)
2 squares of aluminum foil
Safety Goggles

15.Looking back at the 2nd experiment, you should have realized that the
margarine melted, wax may or may not have melted, and the sugar did
not melt. In this lab, we will learn why certain things melt while others
dont! Do you think that sugar can melt? Explain.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________
16.In this experiment, we will use a candle as a source of more intense heat. We can use
candles to heat wax and sugar. We have to be extremely careful when working with a flame.
The temperature of the flame is super hot, about 1400 degrees Celsius. Obviously plastic
and paper cups wont work since they would melt and unfortunately Mr. Buck was too cheap
to get us metal containers so we will make our own out of aluminum foil! Each table will
need two spoons.
a. Step 1: Fold 2 corners of the foil to form a handle.
b. Step 2: Mold the other end of the foil around a fingertip to make a pocket.
17.Let me know when you are ready for me to light your candle. Once again, please realize that
the open flame is a potential hazard. Please be aware of any paper you have close to the
flame, your sleeves, and long hair. Safety goggles must be worn before I light the candle
and they must be worn until the flame is extinguished.
18.Within your group, one side will test the wax to see if it will melt while the other part of the
group will test the sugar to see if it will melt. Use one chunk of wax and two white spoons of
sugar for the test.
19.Heat the materials cautiously. Place the spoon containing one of the materials
over the flame for a few seconds. Then remove it and observe it carefully.
Continue this process a few times. If you have success melting a material, remove

it from the flame. DO NOT CONTINUE TO HEAT AN ALREADY MELTED MATERIAL.

Observe what occurs.
20.When you are done with the melting, blow out your candle and leave it undisturbed. Place
your spoons in the large white container. Flip the page and answer the questions.

Part 4: Freeze Water

KWBAT: Understand the processes of evaporation,
condensation, melting, freezing, sublimation, and
deposition

Materials for whole

table:
2 Cups, plastic, 250-mL
2 vials, 30 mL
2 thermometers, metalbacked
2 thermometers, glass
2 stirring sticks
Safety Goggles

Made it this far? Props to you KIPPster! You are a rock star! So far, you have observed four
substances melting (chocolate, margarine, wax, and sugar). Each melted at a different
temperature. Melting requires heat. When enough heat energy transfers to the particles in a
solid substance (when the chocolate gets hot enough due to the hot water for example), the
particles start to move around more. This is why it turns into a liquid.
Ice is a solid. Everyone has seen ice melt. Put a smiley face on the upper left hand corner of
this page if you have. Ice melts when it is heated to its melting point. The melting point of ice
is 0 degrees Celsius. This means that if it gets any warmer than 0, the ice will start to melt. It
should also mean that if it is 0 or below, it will freeze or stay frozen right?
21.

Ask me to

see the Water in Ice container I have on my desk. Read both of the thermometers.
They should both be at 0 degrees Celsius. Is the water in the vial frozen or freezing?
________________________
22.

What can

we do to get the water to freeze (I am too broke to buy a freezer)?

___________________________
23.

Lets use

sodium chloride to help us out! What is the chemical equation for Sodium Chloride?
________
Let me know when you are ready for the ice and water
***Glass thermometers go in vial. Metal in the ice***

RECORD ON THE NEXT PAGE.