Year 7 Science · Unit 2 · Lesson 1
Foundation Worksheet
Learning Goals
Fill the gap
Choose the correct word from the word bank. Each word is used at most once. Two words are not needed: cross them out.
Scientists define as anything that has and takes up space (called ). A has a fixed shape and a fixed volume. A has a fixed volume but takes the shape of its container. A has no fixed shape and no fixed volume: it spreads out to fill any container. Light and sound are forms of , so they are not matter.
True or false? Fix the false ones
Circle T or F. If a statement is false, correct it on the line.
1. A gas stays the same size when you move it into a bigger container.
Correct it:
2. Air is matter because it has mass and takes up space.
Correct it:
3. Mass and weight are the same thing: they both measure how heavy something is.
Correct it:
4. Sand is a liquid because you can pour it.
Correct it:
5. Plasma is a fourth state of matter, found in the Sun and in lightning.
Correct it:
Sort it: matter or not matter?
Use the two-part test: does it have mass, and does it take up space? Write each item in the correct box. The boxes do not hold the same number of items.
Matter
Not matter
1. A student claims: “Sound is matter, because you can feel it vibrate through your chest at a concert.” Use the two-part test for matter to explain why sound is not matter.
Read the data: a robot for the Moon
Scenario
A team is building a small robot rover to explore the Moon. They record its mass and its weight in three places. On Earth, every 1 kg of mass has a weight of about 10 N.
| Place | Mass (kg) | Weight (N) |
|---|---|---|
| On Earth | 12 | 120 |
| On the Moon | 12 | 20 |
| Floating in deep space, far from any planet |
Source: made-up values for this worksheet, rounded.
2. Fill in the two empty cells of Table 1. Give a reason for each value.
3. A student reads Table 1 and says: “The rover lost 100 N of matter on the way to the Moon.” Explain what is wrong with this statement.
4. Priya says: “Air isn’t really matter. You can’t see it, so it’s basically nothing.” Explain whether Priya is right. Use the two-part test for matter and at least two pieces of evidence.
Fill the gap
matter; mass; volume; solid; liquid; gas; energy. Not used: gravity, particle.
True or false
1. False: a gas spreads out to fill any container; it has no fixed volume. 2. True. 3. False: mass is the amount of matter in an object (kg); weight is the pull of gravity on it (N). 4. False: each grain of sand is a solid with a fixed shape; pouring does not decide the state. 5. True.
Sort it: matter or not matter?
Matter: the air inside a football; a drop of honey; the helium in a party balloon; a grain of sand; a steel spoon. Not matter: the light from a torch; the sound of a drum; the heat from a heater; a shadow.
Question 1
Sound is a form of energy, not matter (1). It has no mass and takes up no space; what you feel is energy passing through the air (1). [2 marks]
Read the data: a robot for the Moon
2. Mass: 12 kg, because the amount of matter in the rover has not changed (1). Weight: 0 N, because far from any planet there is no gravity pulling on it (1). [2 marks]
3. Weight is not matter: it is the pull of gravity, measured in newtons. The mass stayed at 12 kg, so no matter was lost (1). The weight fell from 120 N to 20 N because the Moon’s gravity pulls about one-sixth as hard as Earth’s (1). [2 marks]
Question 4
Marking guide: 1 clear position (Priya is wrong: air is matter); 1 air has mass, with evidence (1 L of air has a mass of about 1.2 g, or a blown-up balloon reads higher on a sensitive scale than an empty one, or wind can push you over); 1 air takes up space, with evidence (a balloon inflates, or air fills a bottle or tyre); 1 explains that seeing is not part of the test: most gases are invisible, but they still have mass and volume; 1 conclusion that links both parts of the test (air has mass and volume, so it is matter). [5 marks]
Model answer: Priya is wrong. Matter is anything with mass and volume, and air has both. A litre of air has a mass of about 1.2 g, which is why a blown-up balloon weighs a little more than an empty one. Air also takes up space: blowing into a balloon makes it bigger. We cannot see air because most gases are invisible, but being invisible is not part of the test, so air is matter.
Common error: deciding by what can be seen or touched. Use only the two-part test: mass and volume.