Material Properties

Matter is all around us. Many students intuitively know that wood is harder than dough. This lesson gives them the starting foundation for understanding how scientists look at materials and decide what category they fit into. First, students examine what the ways that scientists look at and organize materials and what those labels mean. Then, they start to organize the materials themselves into different categories. The lesson is part of a unit on materials science or the properties of matter that will culminate with students creating a model to withstand the various levels of wind from a fan (or the breath of the Big, Bad Wolf!).