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Solids and liquids — Chemistry, 4–6 years

Some materials keep their own shape, while others flow and take the shape of their container. This helps us understand and handle familiar things such as stones, water and juice.

Shape and flow

A solid, such as a stone or a wooden block, keeps its shape when you put it on a table. A liquid, such as water or milk, flows and spreads, so it takes the shape of the cup or bowl holding it. A liquid can be poured; a solid can usually be picked up as one piece.

Why tell them apart?

We need to know whether something will stay where we put it or run away and spread. That problem matters when carrying water, stacking blocks or choosing a container. People learned this by pouring, tipping and stacking familiar materials, then noticing the different ways they moved.

Example: three containers

1. Put one spoonful of water into a wide bowl: it spreads across the bottom. 2. Pour the same water into a tall glass: it becomes a narrow, higher shape. 3. Put a wooden cube in either container: it stays a cube. 4. The water is a liquid; the cube is a solid.

The powder trap

A pile of flour or sand can flow, so it may look like a liquid. That is a sensible thought because the pile changes shape when tipped. But each grain is a tiny solid; the whole pile is many solids moving together. Look at one grain as well as at the group.

Where it helps

This difference helps us use the right container and move things safely. Water goes in a bottle with a lid, while blocks can go in a box and be stacked. Cooks pour milk, builders stack bricks, and gardeners water plants; each job depends on how a material moves.

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