OwlSheets
Counting-Token Change Tests worksheet preview

Worksheet

Counting-Token Change Tests

Use classroom tests of wax and salt dough to explain heating and cooling changes that can and cannot be undone.

Grade 2ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to2-PS1-4

Play onlinePlay as a game
PrintLetter-size worksheetAnswer keyPrintable answers
Assign to classAssign to your classes, or get a join code

What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 NGSS standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 13 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 2
Subject
Science
Question types
Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students use observations to explain how heating and cooling change wax and salt dough.
  • Students compare evidence of changes that can and cannot be undone by heating or cooling.

How to use

Read the investigation notes aloud together. Students use the recorded results to answer; no hands-on heating is needed.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

2-PS1-4

Use evidence to explain that heating or cooling causes changes, some that can be undone and some that cannot.

Preview

OwlSheets.com

Name Date

Counting-Token Change Tests

Use class observations to decide which changes can be undone.

Test the Wax Tokens

The class is testing materials for counting tokens. Read the steps and results. Use the evidence to answer.

Notes from the Classroom Counting Station

Imani's class tested small wax disks at its counting station. The teacher handled the hot water and warmed materials. Children watched without touching them.

First, the teacher put equal wax disks into two matching, dry, heat-safe dishes. Both disks were hard and round. Next, the teacher set one dish in hot water and the other in room-temperature water for the same time. Water stayed outside the dishes.

The teacher gently tilted each dish. The warmed wax flowed and spread across its dish. The other disk stayed hard.

Then the teacher took the warm dish out of the water and let the wax cool to room temperature. The wax became hard again but was now a flat sheet. No wax was added or taken away. The class recorded whether the wax was hard or flowed.

1.
One wax disk flowed while the other stayed hard. What best explains the difference?
  • A. Tilting made the warmed wax harder.
  • B. Heating changed the warmed wax to liquid.
  • C. Cooling changed the other wax to liquid.
  • D. Water mixed into the warmed wax.
2.
Circle the TWO observations that together show the wax returned to being hard.

The wax disks were hard before heating.The teacher used two matching dishes.The water stayed outside the dishes.The warmed wax was hard after cooling.

3.
Eli says, “The wax is flat now, so cooling did not undo its change from hard wax to liquid wax.” What should the class explain?
  • A. The wax is still liquid because it is flat.
  • B. The wax became a different material as it spread.
  • C. The wax needs a round shape to become hard.
  • D. The wax is hard again, though its shape changed.
4.
Another class repeats the wax test. Which plan best checks whether water temperature makes a difference?
  • A. Use equal wax disks and matching dishes for the same time.
  • B. Use a larger wax disk in the dish with hot water.
  • C. Leave the hot-water dish in its water for a longer time.
  • D. Use a deeper dish for the wax placed in hot water.
5.
The class wants the cooled, hard wax to flow again. Predict which action would work. Use the word bank.
Word bank: cooling · stirring · heating

The wax would likely flow again after  .

Test the Salt-Dough Tokens

Read the second test. Think about whether cooling returned the dough to how it was before baking.

Salt-Dough Test Notes

The class also tested salt dough made from flour, salt, and water. These craft tokens were not for eating. An adult used the oven and handled the hot tray and tokens.

First, the teacher made two dough disks with the same size and thickness. Both were at room temperature. A gentle press with the back of a spoon left a dent in each soft disk.

Next, the adult baked one disk until it was firm. The other disk stayed unbaked in a covered dish. The adult let the baked disk cool to room temperature.

Finally, the teacher gently pressed both disks with the same spoon. The unbaked disk was still soft and dented. The baked, cooled disk was hard and did not dent. The class recorded the results.

6.
Both dough disks ended at room temperature, but their firmness was different. What does this show?
  • A. The unbaked disk became hard while it waited.
  • B. The spoon made the baked disk soft again.
  • C. A baking change remained after the disk cooled.
  • D. The baked disk returned to its starting firmness.
7.
Imagine that cooling had undone the baking change. How would the cooled disk have felt? Use the word bank.
Word bank: hard · soft · hot

If cooling had undone the change, the disk would have felt   like it did before baking.

8.
Circle the TWO claims supported by the salt-dough test.

Waiting without baking made the dough hard.Baking changed how easily the dough dented.Cooling the baked dough did not bring back its softness.Pressing with the spoon made both disks equally soft.

9.
Did cooling undo the baking change in the salt dough? Make a claim. Use the spoon-test results from before baking and after cooling.

Put the Tests Together

Use evidence from both tests. Decide what the results show and what the class could test next.

10.
Sort the changes. Can heating or cooling bring the material back to its earlier form?
Melting hard wax until it flowsBaking soft salt dough until it is hardCooling liquid wax until it is hard
Can be undone by heating or coolingCannot be undone by heating or cooling
11.
A student says, “When a material becomes hard, heating or cooling cannot undo that change.” Which example shows the mistake?
  • A. The baked dough stayed hard after it cooled.
  • B. Cooled wax can flow again when it is heated.
  • C. Unbaked dough dented when the spoon pressed it.
  • D. The wax disks were round before the test began.
12.
An adult heats a different token material. It changes from firm to soft. What should the class do next to test whether this change can be undone?
  • A. Cool the same token and check whether it becomes firm again.
  • B. Heat the same token longer and check whether it stays soft.
  • C. Replace the soft token with a fresh token and check its firmness.
  • D. Press a larger unheated token and check whether it feels firm.
13.
Can heating and cooling undo some changes but not others? Explain your answer using one result from the wax test and one from the salt-dough test.

Related worksheets