Natural and Synthetic Materials

Begin with the sorting sheet, then ask students which of the five signs they would look for in a test. On the conservation sheet, have students explain the missing 2 g in the open cup before they fill in the atom table.

Sort natural resources and synthetic materials, then trace how crude oil becomes nylon rope. The directions on the page read: Read the text and study the flow chart. Then answer the questions on page 2. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 6th Grade matter, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with physical and chemical changes. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

The five common signs on these pages are a gas forming, a color change, light or heat given off, a precipitate forming and a new odor appearing. One sign alone does not prove a chemical change, and the best proof is a new substance.

In a chemical reaction no atoms are made or destroyed, so the total mass stays the same. In a sealed container, the mass before equals the mass after. In an open container a gas can escape, so the scale shows less.

A synthetic material is one that people make by changing natural resources with chemical processes. Plastic and nylon are made from crude oil, and glass is made from sand.