PS.5.1.2: Carry out investigations to explain whether the mixing of two or more…

Kitchen Chemistry for Families Grades K–5

Four famous kitchen experiments, done properly: a homemade lava lamp, oobleck, a baking soda volcano and invisible ink. Each one starts with a real question, works with things from your cupboard, and leaves your child able to explain what happened.

• What makes a volcano erupt? 45 min

  Kids test baking soda and vinegar to find out where the fizz comes from, build the classic kitchen volcano, then open bottles of sparkling water to see what really drives an eruption: gas trapped under pressure. They finish able to explain how the model is like a real volcano, and how it isn't.

• How do spies write secret messages? 45–60 min

  Kids write invisible messages in baking soda, then reveal them by painting on grape juice or turmeric water, which change colour where the baking soda is. They finish able to explain that acids and bases make some colours change, and why a plain-water message stays hidden.

Clean Water Challenge: Mixtures, Dissolving and Separating Grade 5

Where does the salt go when it disappears in water? Can a filter make muddy water safe to drink? How do you get fresh water out of salt water? Three hands-on lessons on dissolving, separating mixtures and the solar still, with nothing tasted and nothing boiled by children.

• Where does the salt go when it disappears in water? 50–60 min

  Teams stir salt, sugar, sand and flour into water to sort what dissolves from what only mixes, then weigh a jar before and after to find out whether dissolved salt is really gone. They use the evidence to name three mystery powders and to explain, in their own words, why dissolving is not melting.

• Can a filter make muddy water safe to drink? 50–60 min

  Teams separate a made-up muddy, gritty, salty mixture by sieving, settling and filtering through cloth, a coffee filter and layers of gravel and sand, and score how clear each filter makes it. Then they find out what every filter missed: dissolved salt and dye, and germs, and why clear water is not the same as safe water.

Printable practice for PS.5.1.2

These pages practise a closely related idea; the match to PS.5.1.2 is partial.

• Kitchen Chemistry for Families workbook included with the unit

  3 practice pages, 3 readings, 2 English-support pages, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Clean Water Challenge: Mixtures, Dissolving and Separating workbook included with the unit

  3 practice pages, 3 readings, 1 word wall, 1 English-support page, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Solids, Liquids and Gases workbook included with the unit

  1 word wall, 1 practice page, 1 reading, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

• Grade 4 Rocks and Minerals printable pack, written for Ontario; the skill matches

  3 practice pages, 2 readings, 1 activity, 1 assessment, with answer keys. Free sample.

Need just this outcome? Build a custom pack from these pages, with its answer key, in about a minute. Custom packs come with All-access and school licences.