🧪 Chapter 3 – Materials
Cambridge Primary Science Learner’s Book 4 (2nd Edition)
Focus: Understanding materials, their properties, and how they behave when heated or
mixed.
🔍 3.1 – Materials, Substances, and Particles
Materials: The things we use every day (like plastic, glass, or fabric) that are made of
one or more substances.
Substances: Pure forms of matter such as water, sugar, oxygen, iron.
Every material and substance is made of tiny building blocks called particles.
Particles are so small we can’t see them, but scientists use the particle model to
explain how solids, liquids, and gases behave.
🧠 Key idea: The way particles are arranged and move affects how a material behaves.
🔍 3.2 – How Do Solids and Liquids Behave?
Solids: Particles are tightly packed and don’t move freely. Solids have a fixed shape.
Liquids: Particles are close together but can move past each other. Liquids flow and
take the shape of their container.
Some powders, like flour or sand, are made of tiny solid pieces that can flow like a
liquid — this makes them granular solids.
🧪 Activity idea: Pour water and flour down a slope — observe how each behaves.
🧠 Key idea: Even though powders flow like liquids, their particles are still solid and don’t
dissolve like sugar or salt.
🔍 3.3 – Melting and Solidifying
Melting is when a solid turns into a liquid (e.g., ice melts into water).
Solidifying (also called freezing) is when a liquid turns into a solid (e.g., melted
chocolate hardens when cooled).
These changes are reversible — we can melt and then solidify the same substance
again.
🧪 Try it: Compare how quickly chocolate, ice, and butter melt. Which melts first? Why?
🧠 Key idea: Melting and freezing happen at specific temperatures called melting points and
freezing points.
🔍 3.4 – Chemical Reactions
A chemical reaction happens when two or more substances combine to make a new
material.
These changes are irreversible — you can’t get the original materials back.
Examples:
o Rusting: Iron + water + air → rust
o Burning: Paper + fire → ash + smoke
o Mixing cement: Cement + water + sand → hard concrete
🧠 Key idea: If something burns, rusts, or sets hard, it has undergone a chemical change.
🔍 3.5 – Melting in Different Solids
Not all solids melt at the same temperature.
This section focuses on comparing the melting points of everyday substances like:
o Butter
o Chocolate
o Candle wax
Some melt quickly at room temperature; others need more heat.
🧪 Observation: Place small pieces of each solid on warm plates and time how long they take
to melt.
🧠 Key idea: Knowing melting points helps us choose the right material for a purpose (e.g.,
chocolate needs to be stored in a cool place).
🔍 3.6 – Melting and Boiling Points
Melting point: Temperature at which a solid becomes a liquid.
Boiling point: Temperature at which a liquid becomes a gas.
o Example: Water boils at 100°C.
Every pure substance has its own melting and boiling point.
Scientists use these points to identify substances and check for purity.
🧪 Example: Use a thermometer to measure the temperature of water as it boils.
🧠 Key idea: Boiling and melting are physical changes, not chemical ones — the substance
stays the same.
📚 Important Science Words
Term Meaning
Material The stuff objects are made from (wood, plastic, metal)
Substance A pure material (e.g. water, sugar, oxygen)
Particle Tiny piece of matter — all materials are made from particles
Melting Solid turns into liquid
Solidifying Liquid turns into solid
Chemical reaction A change where a new substance is made
Rusting A reaction of iron with water and air
Burning A chemical change that produces heat and smoke
Melting point The temperature at which something melts
Boiling point The temperature at which a liquid boils and turns into gas
🧪 Suggested Class Activities
Particle model role-play: Students act like particles in solids, liquids, and gases.
Melting race: Compare how quickly chocolate, wax, and butter melt.
Burning test (teacher demo): Show paper burning and discuss why it can't be
reversed.
Rusting over time: Observe a steel nail in water over several days.
Water boiling demo: Measure temperature until it boils; discuss what is happening to
particles.
✅ Summary of Big Ideas
All matter is made of particles.
Materials can be solids, liquids, or gases depending on how their particles are
arranged.
Heating and cooling can cause materials to change state — often reversibly.
Chemical reactions produce new materials and are irreversible.
Different materials have different melting and boiling points, which we can measure.
Video on how glasses are made: [Link]
