Websink Prep UK
Find a tutor Become a tutor
KS2 Science textbook

Chapter 7: Changing state and the water cycle

  • Strand States of matter
  • Level Year 4
  • Practice 85 questions with step-by-step solutions

National Curriculum for England, Key Stage 2 science, Year 4. Content: M2 observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled, and measure or research the temperature at which this happens in degrees Celsius (°C), M3 identify the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle, and associate the rate of evaporation with temperature.

Open Year 4 chapter

By the end of this chapter you will be able to

  • Name the changes of state: melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation
  • Say that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled
  • Read the temperature at which water freezes and boils, in degrees Celsius
  • Compare how quickly something dries or melts in places with different temperatures
  • Explain condensation and evaporation, and say which part each plays in the water cycle
  • Put the four stages of the water cycle in order, and explain how they connect

You should already know

  • Solids, liquids and gases, and how each behaves (Year 4 Science, Chapter 6)
  • Measuring with a thermometer in degrees Celsius (Year 4 Science, Chapter 1)

Where this leads

  • Changes of state in more detail, including the particle model (Year 6 Science)
  • Weather and the water cycle in the wider environment (Year 4 Science, Chapter 4 and Year 5 Science)

Lessons in this chapter

  1. 7.1 Changing state: melting and freezing
  2. 7.2 The temperature at which water changes state
  3. 7.3 Evaporation
  4. 7.4 Condensation
  5. 7.5 The water cycle
  6. Summary and key words
  7. Check-up and practice test questions

Read the whole chapter on one page (good for printing).