Science Matter & Materialsusually ages 11–12

How Materials Change State

Explain melting, freezing, boiling, condensing, and sublimation using the particle model, interpreting heating and cooling curves to identify melting and boiling points

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Describes what happens to particles during each change of state
Reads a heating/cooling curve and identifies the melting point and boiling point from the flat regions
Explains why temperature stays constant during a change of state
Distinguishes between evaporation (from surface, any temperature) and boiling (throughout liquid, at boiling point)

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Try this together

If your child was heating a block of ice in a pan and drew a graph of temperature over time, could they explain why the line goes flat at certain points — and what's happening to the particles when it does?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Heating & Cooling Changesages 7–9KS3 heating/cooling curves and particle-level explanation extends KS2 observation that materials change state at specific temperatures

The Particle Modelages 11–12Changes of state are explained using the particle model — the particle model must be understood first

Drawing Particle Diagramsages 7–11Explaining changes of state using the particle model draws on particle diagram literacy

How Materials Change Statethis skill · ages 11–12

Unlocks

Reactions That Release or Absorb Heatages 12–13Energy changes during changes of state (endothermic melting, exothermic freezing) extend the changes-of-state model

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 1 ACARA · 2 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9S6U04low confidenceYear 6 · Science understanding

compare reversible changes, including dissolving and changes of state, and irreversible changes, including cooking and rusting that produce new substances

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2S6U03low confidenceScience · Levels 5 and 6 · Science Understanding strand

VC2S6U04low confidenceScience · Levels 5 and 6 · Science Understanding strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Atoms, Elements & Compoundsages 11–12 Metals vs Non-Metalsages 11–13 Physical vs Chemical Changesages 11–13 Pure Substances & Mixturesages 11–13

All Matter & Materials skills →