Matter, Mixtures, and Changes Word Search
- Free
- No account
- Answer key
- Challenge
- About 25 min
- 16 words
Help Grade 5 learners compare matter, mixtures, solutions, and changes with clear definitions, an answer key, and a simple kitchen investigation.
For parents and caregivers
What your child will practice
- Use observable properties to describe and compare samples of matter.
- Distinguish a mixture from a solution and identify the solute and solvent.
- Explain that matter is conserved when substances mix, dissolve, or react.
How to use this puzzle at home
- Preview the word bank together and ask your child to sort the terms into properties, states, mixtures, and changes.
- Complete the word search, then use the definitions to correct spelling and explain unfamiliar terms in your own words.
- Compare salt water and a bowl of cereal, and ask which is a solution, which is a mixture, and why.
- Use the answer key for a quick check, then revisit any term your child could find but could not yet define.
Word List
- MATTER
- PARTICLE
- PROPERTY
- MASS
- VOLUME
- DENSITY
- SOLID
- LIQUID
- GAS
- MIXTURE
- SOLUTION
- SOLUTE
- SOLVENT
- DISSOLVE
- REACTION
- CONSERVATION
Printable Puzzle
Vocabulary guide
Use these short definitions before or after the word search. Ask your child to explain a few in their own words.
- Matter
- Anything that has mass and takes up space, including solids, liquids, and gases.
- Particle
- A tiny piece of matter used in models to explain how substances behave.
- Property
- A characteristic that can be observed or measured, such as color, mass, or hardness.
- Mass
- A measure of the amount of matter in an object or sample.
- Volume
- The amount of three-dimensional space that matter occupies.
- Density
- The amount of mass packed into a given volume of a substance.
- Solid
- A state of matter with a definite shape and a definite volume.
- Liquid
- A state of matter with a definite volume that takes the shape of its container.
- Gas
- A state of matter with no definite shape or volume, so it spreads to fill a container.
- Mixture
- Two or more substances physically combined without becoming a new substance.
- Solution
- An evenly mixed mixture in which one substance dissolves in another.
- Solute
- The substance that dissolves when a solution forms.
- Solvent
- The substance that does the dissolving in a solution.
- Dissolve
- To spread evenly among the particles of another substance and form a solution.
- Reaction
- A process in which substances interact and one or more new substances form.
- Conservation
- The principle that the total amount of matter remains the same during a change.
Talk about the science
- Which properties would help you tell two white powders apart without tasting them?
- How is a solution different from a mixture whose parts remain easy to see?
- Why does the mass of a sealed system stay the same during a reaction?
Try one more thing
Extension activity
Measure equal masses of warm and cool water, add the same amount of salt to each, and observe the dissolving process. Record what changes, what stays the same, and how the particle model helps explain the evidence.
Teacher and tutor note
Classroom adaptation
After students solve the puzzle, give groups sample cards for salt water, trail mix, air, and muddy water. Have them classify each sample, identify possible solutes and solvents, and defend their choices with vocabulary from the word bank.
Keep learning
Continue with matter and its interactions
Ready for another puzzle?
Physical and Chemical Changes Word Search
Build on the same science topic with another Grade 5 printable.
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