Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________________
Student Exploration: Phase Changes
Vocabulary: altitude, boil, boiling point, freeze, freezing point, gas, liquid, melt, melting point,
phase, solid
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo
.)
1. A family from Minnesota turns off the heat and flies to Florida for a winter holiday. When
they come home, all of their water pipes have burst. What do you think happened?
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2. Spaghetti takes about 9 minutes to cook at sea level, but about 14 minutes in the
mountains. Why do you think this is so?
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Gizmo Warm-up
In the Phase Changes Gizmo™, select the Micro view and
set the Ice volume to 50 cc. Click Play ( ) and observe
molecules in the solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (air)
phases.
1. In which phase(s) are the molecules held rigidly together?
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2. In which phase(s) do the molecules move freely?
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3. In which phase(s) are the molecules held in a defined shape? ________________________
4. In which phase(s) do the molecules take the shape of their container? _________________
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