Did a New Substance Form?
Aligned to 5-PS1-4 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Sometimes mixing two things just blends them, but sometimes it makes a brand-new substance with new properties. Clues like bubbling, a color change, heat, or a solid appearing tell you something new was created.
Worked example
Stir baking soda into vinegar and it fizzes fast, making bubbles of a new gas that wasn't in either one before. That fizzing is your clue that a new substance formed.
Practice questions
- Mix salt and pepper, then mix baking soda and vinegar. Which one made something new? How do you know?
- Watch for four clues (bubbles, color change, heat, new solid) while mixing safe kitchen materials.
- Explain why bubbling can be evidence that a new substance was made.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
¿Se Formó una Sustancia Nueva?
A veces mezclar dos cosas solo las combina, pero a veces crea una sustancia totalmente nueva con propiedades nuevas. Pistas como burbujas, un cambio de color, calor o la aparición de un sólido te dicen que se creó algo nuevo.
Ejemplo: Revuelve bicarbonato en vinagre y burbujea rápido, formando burbujas de un gas nuevo que no estaba en ninguno de los dos antes. Ese burbujeo es tu pista de que se formó una sustancia nueva.
More Physical Science lessons
Teach this lesson today
An AI tutor that guides with questions instead of just giving answers — all K–12 core subjects, every child in the family.
Start free — no card required