Solids, Liquids, and Gases Picture Sorting
Identify and sort everyday matter by state
Solids, Liquids, and Gases Picture Sorting
Identify and sort everyday matter by state
Science - Grade 2-3
- 1
Sort these items into three groups: rock, orange juice, air in a balloon, pencil, milk, steam. Write each item under solid, liquid, or gas.
Think about whether each item keeps its own shape, flows, or spreads out.
Rock and pencil are solids because they keep their shape. Orange juice and milk are liquids because they flow and take the shape of their container. Air in a balloon and steam are gases because they spread out to fill space. - 2
A picture shows an ice cube. Is the ice cube a solid, liquid, or gas? Explain how you know.
The ice cube is a solid because it has its own shape and does not flow. - 3
A picture shows water being poured from a cup into a bowl. Is the water a solid, liquid, or gas? Explain how you know.
Liquids can be poured.
The water is a liquid because it flows and takes the shape of the bowl. - 4
A picture shows a balloon filled with helium. What state of matter is inside the balloon?
The helium inside the balloon is a gas because it spreads out and fills the space inside the balloon. - 5
Circle all the solids in this list: wooden block, lemonade, book, soap bubbles, marble, rain.
Solids do not need a container to keep their shape.
The solids are wooden block, book, and marble because they keep their own shape. - 6
Circle all the liquids in this list: honey, chair, water, air, cooking oil, crayon.
The liquids are honey, water, and cooking oil because they flow and can be poured. - 7
Circle all the gases in this list: oxygen, apple, steam, juice, air, toy car.
Many gases are hard to see, but they are still matter.
The gases are oxygen, steam, and air because they spread out to fill space. - 8
A picture shows a glass with water, ice cubes, and tiny bubbles above the water. Name one solid, one liquid, and one gas shown in the picture.
The ice cubes are the solid, the water is the liquid, and the tiny bubbles or air above the water are the gas. - 9
A student sorts syrup as a solid because it is thick. Is the student correct? Explain your answer.
Some liquids are thick, but they can still pour.
The student is not correct. Syrup is a liquid because it can flow and take the shape of its container, even though it moves slowly. - 10
Look at the picture of a picnic table. Sort the objects into solid, liquid, or gas: sandwich, juice box, plastic cup, air around the table.
The sandwich and plastic cup are solids because they keep their shape. The juice in the juice box is a liquid because it can flow. The air around the table is a gas because it spreads out in the space around the table. - 11
Which state of matter usually has a fixed shape: solid, liquid, or gas? Give one example.
Think about a toy block on a table.
A solid usually has a fixed shape. One example is a brick because it keeps the same shape when it is moved. - 12
Which state of matter takes the shape of its container but does not fill the whole room: solid, liquid, or gas? Give one example.
A liquid takes the shape of its container but does not fill the whole room. One example is water in a cup. - 13
Draw or describe three pictures you could place on a sorting chart: one solid, one liquid, and one gas. Label each one.
Choose examples you might see at home or school.
A correct response could include a solid such as a ball, a liquid such as water, and a gas such as air in a balloon. Each picture should be labeled with the correct state of matter.