- Home
- Canvas Guide
Partial Progress - Circles (browser only)
Heating & Cooling
Objectives
- To observe the effects of heat on certain substances.
- To understand that some changes are permanent.
- To understand that some changes are temporary and can be reversed
Resources
Kitchen items | Variety of materials to burn or heat
Today's Lesson
Main Activity
Start this lesson by looking through the Powerpoint on reversible and irreversible changes to introduce these to your student.
📊 READ - Reversible and Irreversible Changes PowerPoint📊 Download READ - Reversible and Irreversible Changes PowerPoint
Move to your kitchen for the rest of the lesson. Find a variety of different food-stuffs e.g. fruit and vegetables, chocolate, butter that you can heat or cook and some materials e.g. wood, ice, cotton wool.
Take one item and discuss (predict) what might happen to the items when heat is applied to them. If you take chocolate and heat, what will happen? Encourage the correct vocabulary (melt, burn, liquid, solid etc).
Ask them to take a piece of paper and to write the heading 'Changes with heat' at the top (see example below). They should then divide the paper into two columns headed ‘Reversible Changes’ and ‘Irreversible Changes’ and list the items that you have found in the appropriate column, depending on what happens when heat is applied to them.
Changes With Heat
| Reversible Changes | Irreversible Changes |
You could demonstrate some irreversible changes e.g. burn cotton wool or paper (adult help required and do this outside). Have a basin/bucket of water to hand, so you can drop any burning material into it. As you test each material, ask your child to predict the result of heating or burning.