Conservation of Mass

5th Grade SciencePhysical and Chemical Changes3 pages

About this worksheet

Masses before and after a change carry this 3-page 5th grade sheet. Part 1 gives a table of three closed experiments, ice melting in a sealed cup (150 g and 150 g), salt dissolving in water (220 g) and vinegar with baking soda in a sealed bag (130 g), and asks whether the total mass changed. Part 2 repeats the fizzing in an open cup, where the scale falls from 130 g to 126 g, and ends with students completing the rule about total mass. It fits NGSS 5-PS1-2, and page 3 is the answer key.

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Conservation of Mass: Physical and Chemical Changes - page 1

Conservation of Mass: Physical and Chemical Changes - page 2

Conservation of Mass: Physical and Chemical Changes - page 3

Curriculum objectives covered

5-PS1-2

“Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved.”

Students read measured masses instead of taking their own, and they do not graph them. Items 1 and 2 on page 1 and items 1 to 3 on page 2 use the numbers as evidence that total mass stays the same.

What's inside this worksheet

Part 1 Closed System Experiments

A table of three experiments with their masses before and after. Students answer whether the total mass changed in any of them and what the results show about matter.

Part 2 Open Cup Experiment

A before and after picture of two cups on a scale, 130 g and then 126 g. Students explain why the mass went down and whether any matter was destroyed.

Write the Rule

A boxed sentence, In a physical or chemical change, the total mass ___, for students to finish in their own words.

Answer key

The sums for each closed experiment (150 g, 200 g + 20 g and 120 g + 10 g) and answers for the open cup and the rule.

How teachers use it

Do the sealed bag live

Weigh a zip bag with vinegar and a cup of baking soda inside, tip them together without opening the bag and weigh again. Then read the page 1 numbers against your own.

Open versus sealed

Ask students to predict page 2 before they turn to it. The 4 g drop surprises many, so keep the talk on where the gas went.

Add up the parts

Have students write the sums for experiments 2 and 3 beside the table. Seeing 200 g + 20 g = 220 g makes the rule easy to state.

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