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Mixtures & Solutions

Fifth graders learn that a mixture combines substances that keep their own properties — and that a solution is a special mixture where one substance dissolves so evenly you can’t see the parts, like salt in water.

Grade 5Matter45 minutes1 class period5E ModelExplicit teaching4 StandardsNGSS
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explain a mixture.
  • ✓Explain a solution.
  • ✓Explain dissolving.
  • ✓Separate mixtures.
Essential Question

In trail mix you can pick out each piece — but stir sugar into water and it vanishes! Both are mixtures. What makes a solution different from an ordinary mixture?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Solution or Mixture?

Project this and sort each one into a solution (evenly dissolved, can’t see the parts) or a visible mixture (you can see the parts).

🧂 Sort each — solution or visible mixture?Try it
💧 Solution (evenly dissolved)
🥗 Mixture (parts you can see)
Tap one, then tap a bucket.
The Lesson · 5E Instructional Model (Engage · Explore · Explain · Elaborate · Evaluate)

45 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Engage — Sugar Vanishes

5 min

You can pick pieces out of trail mix, but stirred-in sugar disappears — why?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Stir sugar into water.
  • Ask where it went.
  • Pose the question.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Watch it dissolve.
  • Wonder where.
  • Predict the idea.
2

Explore — Explore Mixtures

12 min

Students investigate.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Solution or Mixture?
  • Sort each one.
  • Note dissolving.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort them.
  • Note dissolving.
  • Explain them.
3

Explain — Mixtures & Solutions

12 min

Students explain.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain mixtures.
  • Explain solutions.
  • Explain dissolving.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explain mixtures.
  • Explain solutions.
  • Explain dissolving.
4

Elaborate — Separate It

11 min

Students elaborate.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Separate a mixture.
  • Recover a dissolved solid.
  • Explain the method.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Separate one.
  • Recover salt.
  • Explain it.
5

Evaluate — Evaluate

5 min

Students conclude.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain a solution.
  • Classify an example.
  • Hand out the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explain it.
  • Classify one.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (Grade 5 / Elementary Science).

NGSS
5-PS1-3

Make observations to identify materials based on their properties.

NGSS
5-PS1-4

Conduct an investigation to determine whether mixing substances makes a new substance.

NGSS
5-PS1-1

Model matter as tiny particles.

NGSS
SEP-3

Planning and carrying out investigations.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Mixture/solution examples.
  • Sentence frame: “A solution looks ___.”
  • Mix and observe.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with visible mixtures.
  • Stir and observe.
  • Focus on “can you see it?”

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Separate a salt-water solution.
  • Test what dissolves.
  • Explain saturation.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🧂Salt, sugar, water
  • 💻Solution or Mixture?
  • 🥄Beakers and spoons
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

mixturesubstances physically combinedsolutiona mixture with a dissolved substancedissolveto break apart into a liquidsolutethe substance that dissolvessolventwhat does the dissolvingseparateto divide a mixtureuniformthe same throughoutfilterto strain out solid pieces
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is the difference between a mixture and a solution?
In a solution, one substance dissolves so evenly you can’t see the parts; in an ordinary mixture, you can still see the separate parts.
QUESTION 2
Is salt water a solution or a visible mixture?
A solution (the salt dissolves).
QUESTION 3
How could you get the salt back out of salt water?
Evaporate the water, leaving the salt behind.

Elaborate: get the salt back.

Have students evaporate a salt-water solution to recover the salt, showing that dissolving is a physical change. A printable mixtures sheet is in the Science library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Mixtures & SolutionsFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Mixtures & SolutionsQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Mixtures & SolutionsPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: dissolve, filter, mixture, separate, solute, solution, solvent, uniform
  1. to break apart into a liquid
  2. the same throughout
  3. the substance that dissolves
  4. substances physically combined
  5. to divide a mixture
  6. what does the dissolving
  7. a mixture with a dissolved substance
  8. to strain out solid pieces

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is the difference between a mixture and a solution?
  2. Is salt water a solution or a visible mixture?
  3. How could you get the salt back out of salt water?
Answer key — Part A: 1) dissolve · 2) uniform · 3) solute · 4) mixture · 5) separate · 6) solvent · 7) solution · 8) filter
Part B: 1) In a solution, one substance dissolves so evenly you can’t see the parts; in an ordinary mixture, you can still see the separate parts. 2) A solution (the salt dissolves). 3) Evaporate the water, leaving the salt behind.