Solids, liquids and gases as moving particles
Grade 8 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.
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Melting test (example data)
trial mass of ice (g) minutes to melt A 400 8 B 100 2 All of the hot plate's energy goes into melting.
Each minute the hot plate adds the same energy, all of it melting ice at 0 °C. How many minutes will 200 g of ice take, Ari?
Each minute the hot plate adds the same energy, all of it melting ice at 0 °C. How many minutes will 600 g of ice take, Bo?
A hot plate adds the same energy each minute, all of it melting ice at 0 °C. How many minutes will 100 g of ice take, Esme?
Under a microscope, specks of smoke in a sealed cell of still air jiggle in random directions. What explains this, Jun?
- A steady breeze through the cell pushes the specks around, which makes them seem to jiggle at random
- The specks swell and shrink as the air around them warms and cools, so they seem to jiggle about
- Air particles are at rest, and just the smoke specks have energy to move about on their own
- Unseen air particles, moving fast in every direction, keep bumping the specks from different sides
A hot metal spoon sits in cool water. After a few minutes both are at one temperature. What explains this, Luz?
- Faster spoon particles pass energy to slower water particles in collisions until the speeds match
- The spoon's particles stop moving and hand their energy over to the water particles around them
- Cold flows from the water into the spoon until both are equally cool, much as water flows into a cup
- Heat leaves the spoon until the spoon is cold, while the water stays at its first temperature
Gas in a flexible balloon (example data)
temperature (°C) volume (mL) 0 500 20 537 40 573 Milo says the gas volume doubles when the temperature doubles from 20 °C to 40 °C. Does the table support that?
- Yes: 40 °C is twice 20 °C, and 573 mL is more than twice 537 mL
- Yes: the volume rose each time the temperature rose, so it must have doubled
- No: the volume rose only from 537 mL to 573 mL, much less than double
- No: a gas should not change volume when its temperature changes
Dye test, three trials at each temperature (example data)
trial seconds at 50 °C seconds at 10 °C 1 38 95 2 45 110 3 41 90 Noah compares the dye times. Which statement do the data support?
- The 110 s trial is far from the others, so it should be thrown out before the two groups are compared
- The 50 °C times range from 38 s to 45 s, so these data are too uneven to trust for a comparison
- The two sets of times overlap, so temperature made no real difference to the dye
- Every 50 °C trial was faster than every 10 °C trial, a gap far larger than the spread within a group
Each beaker started with 200 mL of water. Pia compares the mass lost from open beakers in 24 hours. Which statement do the data support?
- The 4 g result is the odd one in its group, so it should be removed before the groups are compared
- Evaporation depends on the beaker and not on the water temperature, so these data show nothing about the effect of warmth
- Each 50 °C beaker lost more than any 10 °C beaker, a gap much larger than the spread within either group
- The 10 °C losses range from 2 g to 4 g, so these data are too uneven to support any comparison
Dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) shrinks in an open bowl and leaves no liquid. Which explanation fits the particle model, Ren?
- Its particles shrink as the dry ice warms until they are far too small to see, so the solid vanishes
- A liquid forms first, but it evaporates too quickly for anyone to see it on the bottom of the bowl
- Its particles are destroyed as the dry ice warms, so just the empty bowl is left behind in the room
- Its particles gain enough energy to leave the solid and spread out as a gas without forming a liquid
Drops form on the outside of a cold glass of water. Which explanation fits the particle model, Tala?
- Water vapor particles in the air lose energy on the cold glass, slow down, and condense into a liquid
- Cold particles from the glass spread into the air and freeze the water vapor into small drops there
- The cold glass creates new water particles from the air that touches it, which adds mass to the glass
- Water seeps through tiny holes in the glass from the inside, and the drops are the water that got through