What's the Matter? an Exploration of Matter in Chemistry

In this one-day class, students will learn about matter such as elements, compounds and mixtures and how they change chemically and physically. This can be a class your child can take if they have had no previous Chemistry experience or if they want to revisit concepts in matter. We will look at the periodic table and discuss common elements and their symbols. I will show students examples of different elements. We will then discuss compounds and look at formulas of common compounds. Additionally, we will learn about matter that exists as mixtures. The students will complete a worksheet where they will identify matter as an element, compound or mixture. Finally, we will learn how matter changes physically and chemically. We will discuss physical changes including changing state and chemical changes where we look at chemical formulas of common chemical changes. The lesson will conclude with the students completing a worksheet identifying physical and chemical changes in matter. The lesson will be interactive where the students will discuss with their classmates and ask questions.