Science: What is the matter?

In Science, students have been developing their understanding of how we classify different kinds of matter. Student's have examined both 'Colloids' and 'Solutions' and are starting to distinguish between these two types of mixtures that often look the same, but actually are not. We developed our understanding by separating the two types of mixtures - literally. Adding soap to milk (a colloid) pulled the fat from the water, and creating saturated solutions (a few supersaturated!) allowed us to crystalize our solute of choice. Students should be able to explain the difference between pure substances and mixtures and provide examples of the different types. Next week, we will look at different methods for separating mechanical mixtures.