Texas TEKS5th GradeScience

§112.7.b.6.CCompare the properties of substances before

Matter and energy · b.6: Matter and energy. The student knows that matter has measurable physical properties that determine how matter is identified, classified, changed, and used. The student is expected to:

Free printable worksheet

Download the §112.7.b.6.C worksheet

The lesson, the visual models, and 6 practice questions with space to work.

Download the PDF

PDF · 7 pages · answer key · no sign-up

What this standard means: TEKS §112.7.6.C asks fifth graders to compare the properties of substances before and after they form a solution, and to show that the matter is still there even when it looks different. This intervention has students act as fact-checkers, using the sentence starters 'The error is...' and 'The evidence that matter is conserved is...' to correct claims like Mia's, who says her lemonade sugar disappeared. Students use mass as their proof: adding 5 grams of sugar to 100 grams of water always yields a 105-gram solution, whether or not the sugar can be seen. Each question pairs a wrong claim with a real mass calculation. With repetition, citing before-and-after mass becomes the default way students defend that matter is conserved.

Before you download

What you get, and who it’s for

Everything below is measured from the actual lesson and the actual file. Nothing here is an estimate.

Time to run
About 25 minutes. 7 min lesson, then 18 min of practice.
In the download
7 printable pages: the full lesson, the worked examples, the visual models, and 6 practice questions with space to work. A teacher answer key is included at the end, so the student pages come first and it is still ready to hand out. The lesson’s worked examples do show their solutions, because that is how they teach.
Question set
The download carries all 6 questions. The page shows 3 of them as a sample.
Question format
Every question is short answer. Students show their work on the page.
Dates
Published August 6, 2026. Not revised since.

The sample intervention

See a real lesson for §112.7.b.6.C

A real intervention, not a generic worksheet.

§112.7.b.6.C

Solutions Can Change Look, Not Matter

Compare substance properties before and after they are mixed into a solution, and show that the matter is still there.

Read the passages and examples below to review how matter stays the same when substances dissolve into a solution. Then, for each question, find the mistake in the student's claim and fix it. Start your answers with these sentence starters: "The error is…" and "The evidence that matter is conserved is…"

When a substance dissolves, it may seem to disappear. It does not vanish. It spreads out in the liquid, so you cannot see it easily.
Same sugar, spread out
solidBefore: sugar grains in the spoon
mixtureAfter: sugar spread through water

The same amount of sugar is in both boxes. After mixing it is spread out, so you cannot see it.

Before mixing, substances have their own properties. Sugar crystals look grainy, salt looks tiny and white, and hot chocolate mix looks powdery. Water is clear and flows easily.
What changes and what stays the same

Dissolving changes what you SEE. It does not change how much matter is there.

The scale tells the truth
Mass before mixingMass after mixing
Lemonade10 g sugar + 150 g water = 160 g160 g of lemonade
Salt water6 g salt + 120 g water = 126 g126 g of salt water
Hot chocolate8 g mix + 180 g milk = 188 g188 g of hot chocolate

The mass after mixing equals the mass before. Nothing was lost - you just cannot see it any more.

Worked exampleSugar: 5 grams + water: 100 grams = before mixing total: 105 grams. After mixing, lemonade still has 105 grams if nothing spills.
Worked exampleSalt: 3 grams + water: 200 grams = before mixing total: 203 grams. After mixing, the salty water still has 203 grams.

Practice questions

  1. 1

    Mia mixes 5 grams of sugar with 100 grams of water for lemonade. She says, 'The sugar disappeared because I cannot see it anymore.' What is the error in Mia's thinking, and what is the correct idea?

  2. 2

    A student mixes 3 grams of salt with 200 grams of water. They write, 'The water now weighs 200 grams, so the salt must be gone.' What is wrong with this claim? Give the correct total mass after mixing.

  3. 3

    A student says the lemonade has more mass because it has more liquid. Is the student correct? Compare these two cases: a lemonade pitcher with 7 grams of sugar and 93 grams of water, and a hot chocolate mug with 9 grams of mix and 91 grams of milk. Explain why the student is right or wrong.

Part of the question set is shown. Generate the whole intervention, freshly themed and with an answer key, for your own class in the product.

Want this themed to your class instead?

Generate a fresh, standards-aligned intervention like this one, themed to whatever your students are into, in about 2 minutes.

Generate for my class