For 5th Grade STEM+ Special, the NGSS Standard focus is Matter and Its Interactions.

This is one of the 5th Grade Physical Science Standards and we have been having fun experimenting with the concepts of sound and light waves. Hopefully 5th Graders will be able to share and explain words like alchemist, alchemy, gas, chemicals, chemical reactions, chemical change, bubbles, carbon dioxide, mixtures, solutions, and more! 

The specific standards are: 

PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter

• Matter of any type can be subdivided into particles that are too small to see, but even then the matter still exists and can be detected by other means. A model showing that gases are made from matter particles that are too small to see and are moving freely around in space can explain many observations, including the inflation and shape of a balloon; the effects of air on larger particles or objects. (5-PS1-1)

•  The amount (weight) of matter is conserved when it changes form, even in transitions in which it seems to vanish. (5-PS1-2)

•  Measurements of a variety of properties can be used to identify materials. (Boundary: At this grade level, mass and weight are not distinguished, and no attempt is made to define the unseen particles or explain the atomic-scale mechanism of evaporation and condensation.) (5-PS1-3)

PS1.B: Chemical Reactions

• When two or more different substances are mixed, a new substance with different properties may be formed. (5-PS1-4)

•  No matter what reaction or change in properties occurs, the total weight of the substances does not change. (Boundary: Mass and weight are not distinguished at this grade level.) (5-PS1-2)