Metals and Nonmetals

Lab Brief #4

🎯 Your mission

Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.

⚡ The twist

Mixing two safe things doesn't always make a safe thing.

What you'll learn

Metals are generally shiny, conduct heat and electricity, and can be bent without breaking. Nonmetals are often dull, poor conductors, and brittle in solid form.

Key words

molecule
Two or more atoms joined together to form a tiny particle.
melting
When a solid turns into a liquid because it gets warm.

Make a hypothesis first

Predict: will the mixture get hotter, colder, or stay the same?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Heat ice and record the temperature every minute as it melts and then boils. Graph the temperature changes and label each phase change.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Draw a detailed diagram of what you observe.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion: what did your results show? Did they match your prediction?

Question 1 of 2

What happens to particle motion when matter is heated?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

What type of substance speeds up a chemical reaction without being used up?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🌈 Every color you see is your brain inventing a translation of light frequencies.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Crystallization All lessons

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: Your toothpaste, your soap, even your breakfast involves this.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Ask a grown-up to help you mix two safe kitchen things. Predict what will happen first.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's something we cook that mixes things together this way?”

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Metals and Nonmetals

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