Chemical or Physical Change?

Chemical or Physical Change? (Science Sort)

Eight everyday changes, two bins. Students read each scenario - rusting, melting, burning, dissolving, baking soda and vinegar, tearing, frying an egg, crushing a can - and decide whether it is a chemical change (a new substance forms) or a physical change (the same substance, just a new form). It is the core skill TEKS 6.6E leads to, and the scenarios are chosen to make students think: dissolving sugar and melting ice look dramatic but are physical.

What's Included

• 1 student page: 8 illustrated scenario cards (chemical / physical) plus a Sum It Up fill-in with word bank
• 1 teacher key page with the answer and a one-line reason for every card, plus a Big Idea box
• Letter-size PDF, no prep

How It Helps You Teach

• Directly practices the 6.6E test: did a new substance form?
• Doubles as an inference activity - students reason from a real situation rather than recalling a definition
• Includes the tricky physical cases on purpose (dissolving, melting) so students don't over-classify as chemical

Pair It With

Part of a Chemical Changes set: Reading in Science, this sort, Context Clues, Inferences, and Science in the News. A Reversible or Irreversible? sort is also included as a supporting activity. Check out our library for the rest.

Perfect for 6th grade physical science, a chemical vs. physical change review, a science sort or station activity, and TEKS 6.6E / NGSS MS-PS1-2 practice. Topics include: chemical changes, physical changes, new substance, evidence of a chemical change, rust, burning, dissolving, and melting.

Standards: TEKS 6.6E; NGSS MS-PS1-2; DCI PS1.B (Chemical Reactions). Part of the Daily Science series by Workybooks.