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Earth Lab: The Matter Earth Science

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Earth Lab: The Matter
Print Earth Lab: The Matter Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 9 to 10
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	9.74

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		conductivity, subatomic, human-made, composition, silicon, compounds, magnesium, compose, periodic, spite, currently, classify, element, witness, laboratory, atom
	content words:		Earth Lab, Atomic Structure

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Earth Lab: The Matter By Trista L. Pollard

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¹     Imagine our planet as one huge chemistry laboratory. What would you expect to find? You won't see Bunsen burners and scientists mixing potions. However, if you look closely, you will find that the materials that make up our planet have specific chemical and physical properties.
 
²     You have already learned that energy and matter move through our Earth system. Matter has properties that can be measured and observed. By observing and measuring matter, scientists can use the information to figure out the types of matter found in other substances. The physical properties of matter can be observed without changing the substance's composition. Think about ice. Ice is only frozen water; when it melts, it is still water, just in a different state. When you study a substance's physical properties, you look at its density, hardness, color, electrical conductivity, freezing point, and boiling point.
 
³     The chemical properties of matter are different. A substance's chemical properties can be observed when a substance undergoes a chemical reaction. During a chemical reaction, a substance's composition or identity changes. After a chemical change, a substance is no longer what it once was. A new substance is produced. For example, on a cold winter night your parents burn a wood log in the fireplace. Once that log is set on fire, you witness one of its chemical properties - combustibility. The combination of the oxygen, wood, and fire cause the log to undergo a chemical reaction. The log eventually turns into ashes, a new substance. The ashes cannot be turned back into a wood log. Now that you have an idea about chemical and physical properties, let's explore the smaller pieces of substances called elements and atoms.

Paragraphs 4 to 5:
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