Activity: Explore Water

Water is a unique substance. Enjoy exploring water with these investigations by having your students do one or more of the following:

Look at a globe.
Color the world map to show blue for water and green for land.
Estimate how much of the world is water and how much is land. [Water is approximately 70–75%; Land 25–30%]
How much of the earth’s water comes from oceans or seas? [Approximately 97%. This chart from the USGS shows the breakdown.]

Water is unique in that it can be found in all three states of matter: liquid, solid, and gas. Use this interactive flip-book maker to show the three states of water with the correct names [water, ice, water vapor (or steam)].
Explore water and ice.
Explore steam.
Water is made up of 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom (H₂O). Explore hydrogen and oxygen.
Atoms of hydrogen and oxygen form one molecule of water. They are bound together by electrical charges. Snowflakes (frozen water) form six-pointed stars because of this attraction (hydrogen bond). Learn more!
Explore Snowflake Bentley.
Hydrogen and oxygen are what form of matter? [Both are gasses.]
When hydrogen and oxygen bond, they form water, a liquid. At what temperature does liquid become a gas? [100 degrees C or 212 degrees F]
At what temperature does liquid become solid? [0 degrees C or 32 degrees F]
Learn how and why water can go from one state to another.
What is evaporation? What change of state takes place?
Experiment: Fill a dry glass with ice cubes. If you wait long enough, you will see drops of water forming on the outside of the glass. What change of state takes place? (This is called condensation.)
What is dew? or frost? Make both with this experiment.
Like most liquids water contracts as it gets colder. But below 4 degrees C water begins to expand again. It is the only substance that becomes lighter and expands when it freezes. Try this experiment to see it in action.

All living things need water. Make a list of a few.
In plants and animals, nutrients are carried by water. Through chemical processes, the nutrients end up as energy or are used to build new tissues. Then the watery solution will carry away the waste produced by the chemical processes. Learn more about the role of water in plants.
Make a list of the things water is used for in the human body.
Use this chart to calculate how much of your body is water.
About half of the water our body takes in comes from food we eat and other liquids. What do you typically eat? Guess how much water you take in from sources other than water.
Learn more about camels and water. Write (or dictate) a narration of what you learned.