The Nature of Matter
| What you need to know: | Benchmark | Checklist |
| How to identify various ways in which substances differ (e.g., mass, volume, shape, density, texture, and reaction to temperature and light). | SC.A.1.3.1 AA | |
| Understand the difference between weight and mass. | SC.A.1.3.2 | |
| Temperature measures the average energy of motion of the particles that make up the substance. | SC.A.1.3.3 | |
| Atoms in solids are close together and do not move around easily; in liquids, atoms tend to move farther apart; in gas, atoms are quite far apart and move around freely. | SC.A.1.3.4 | |
| The difference between a physical change in a substance (i.e., altering the shape, form, volume, or density) and a chemical change (i.e., producing new substances with different characteristics). | SC.A.1.3.5 | |
| Know that equal volumes of different substances may have different masses. | SC.A.1.3.6 | |
| Describes and compares the properties of particles and waves. | SC.A.2.3.1 | |
| The student knows the general properties of the atom (a massive nucleus of neutral neutrons and positive protons surrounded by a cloud of negative electrons) and accepts that single atoms are not visible. | SC.A.2.3.2 | |
| Radiation, light, and heat are forms of energy used to cook food, treat diseases, and provide energy. | SC.A.2.3.3 |
Bold = Questions are asked on this topic EVERY year.