Math in Our World By Miss Babineau

Ever since you were in kindergarten, you have learned about different types of shapes. You have also worked really hard this year in the fifth grade to learn about the three states of matter called solids, liquids, and gases. Today you are going to watch a presentation that shows you how shapes and matter are closely related!

Think about the world around you. Think about some of the objects that you see every single day. Things like…

w In all of those examples, science and math can be found. This is because they all involve shapes and are states of matter. Let’s look carefully at each example to determine how this is so.

Example # 1-House Look at the front door. Can anyone identify a polygon? Did you guess rectangle? If so, you are correct. This door has four straight sides. It has four angles and is a quadrilateral. This door is also a solid. It is made up of particles that are packed closely together.

Example # 2-Fence This fence is an example of a rhombus. A rhombus is a straight sided figure that has four angles. A rhombus is a quadrilateral. This fence is also an example of a solid. The particles that make up each side of the figure are packed closely together. If you look at the space in the middle of each rhombus, you will see another state of matter called gas. This means that the particles are spread really far apart!!

Example # 3-Soccer Ball This soccer ball is not a polygon because it does not have straight sides or angles. The name of this figure is a sphere. This soccer ball is also an example of a solid. The particles are packed closely together.

Example # 4-Ice Cream Cone Yes it does! This ice cream cone is a triangle. A triangle is a three sided figure with three angles. Since a triangle only has three sides it is not a quadrilateral. The ice cream cone is definitely a solid. The particles are packed closely together. If you look at the ice cream at the top, it is also a solid because it is not moving. Once heat energy is added, the particles will begin to move apart from one another and the ice cream will no longer be a solid. What state of matter will the ice cream be when heat energy is added?

Did you guess liquid? If so, you are absoutely correct. Matter can change states, especially when heat energy is added!

Can anyone make a statement/generalization using any of the key terms? Polygon matter shere solid liquid gas particles quadrilaterals