Phases of Matter Interactive Simulation

Matter exists as a solid, liquid, or gas depending on temperature. For water: below 0 °C the molecules are locked in a crystal lattice (ice); between 0 and 100 °C they flow freely (liquid water); at 100 °C and above they escape into the air (steam). These transitions are melting (solid → liquid) and boiling (liquid → gas), and their reverses are freezing and condensation. Students can change temperature and compare what happens. Use it for chemistry inquiry with Grades 2–5 and Middle School on a projector or student device.

Standards: NGSS MS-PS1-4

• Why ice melts at exactly 0 °C and water boils at 100 °C
• How particle energy changes at each phase transition
• Why a gas expands to fill its container but a solid keeps its shape
• What 'sublimation' means (solid → gas without passing through liquid)

1. 1Predict how changing temperature will affect the visible outcome, then test the prediction.
2. 2Use evidence from the interactive visual to explain the result.

Questions teachers ask