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states of matter

States of matter

Article

States of matter

Anything that has mass is made up of matter – an all-encompassing word for atoms and molecules that make up ...

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Radiocarbon calibration curves

Article

Radiocarbon calibration curves

Radiocarbon dating, also known as carbon-14 dating, is one of several methods referred to as absolute dating – but here’s an interesting fact. There is nothing ...

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A sinking feeling

Article

A sinking feeling

This Connected article by Ken Benn, looks at a class investigation into why they lost the boat float competition. It starts when student Meihanna asks “How ...

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Cover page of 2020 level 2 Connected article: Making scents

Article

Making scents

This Connected article is about a class project that 7–8-year-old students conducted after their teacher challenged them to find out how the smell gets into a ...

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Forest walk at Roaring Billy Falls at Haast river, New Zealand.

Article

Building science capital at Toko School

In 2017, Sue Fergus and her students at Toko School in Taranaki began a Curious Minds Participatory Science Platform (PSP) project to distil oils and hydrosols ...

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Distilling oils and hydrosols

Article

Distilling oils and hydrosols

Where can a question take you? For Sue Fergus and her students at Taranaki’s Toko School, questions about candle scents and what to do with lavender ...

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Mission to touch the Sun

Article

Mission to touch the Sun

In 2018, NASA launched a thrilling mission unlike any other to date. From Cape Canaveral, the Parker Solar Probe was scheduled to launch within a small ...

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Observing water – writer's insight

Article

Observing water – writer's insight

For a few years now, the Hubs writing team has used the informal tagline – “We can make your job easier” – when presenting at conferences ...

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Alternative conceptions about water’s states of matter

Article

Alternative conceptions about water’s states of matter

Students do not arrive in the classroom as "blank slates". They have diverse experiences of the world around them and often have created their own explanations ...

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Observing bubbles

Article

Observing bubbles

The next time you use a straw to blow bubbles into your juice or use a bubble wand to make soap bubbles, take a moment to ...

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Melting and freezing

Article

Melting and freezing

Water can exist as a solid (ice), liquid (water) or gas (vapour or gas). Adding heat can cause ice (a solid) to melt to form water ...

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Solids, liquids and gases

Article

Solids, liquids and gases

Water is the only common substance that is naturally found as a solid, liquid or gas. Solids, liquids and gases are known as states of matter. ...

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Water

Article

Water

Water seems to be everywhere in New Zealand. Oceans surround us. There are hundreds of lakes and rivers. Some South Island regions get more than 10 ...

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Observation and science

Article

Observation and science

Observing is something we often do instinctively. It helps us decide, for instance, whether it is safe to cross the road. But observation is simply more ...

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An ice core showing annual rings.

Article

Working with water and ice

Observing and asking questions are essential parts of what a scientist does. Through their observations, scientists try to build more accurate explanations of how the world ...

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Observing water – introduction

Article

Observing water – introduction

Use these Material World resources for NZ Curriculum levels 1 and 2 to explore the characteristics of solids, liquids, gases and bubbles by observing water and ...

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Ripples in the universe from the Big Bang

Article

Ripples in the universe from the Big Bang

A team of US astronomers, after years of working in the Antarctic, say they have found long-awaited evidence for the theory that the Universe underwent a ...

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Space plasma

Article

Space plasma

Stars like our Sun are made of ionised gas known as plasma. In fact, space is dominated by plasma – space scientists (astrophysicists) believe that about ...

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Plasmas explained

Article

Plasmas explained

We happily live in the Earth’s gaseous lower atmosphere composed of a mixture of gases – primarily nitrogen and oxygen. However, if we move upwards from ...

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Hidden heat

Article

Hidden heat

Converting states of matter from one form into another requires the involvement of heat energy. For example, converting water at 100°C into steam at 100°C requires ...

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Matter in our world

Article

Matter in our world

Matter is anything that occupies space and has mass. All physical objects are composed of matter, and an easily observed property of matter is its state ...

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CERN creates mini big bangs

Article

CERN creates mini big bangs

On November 2010, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), operated by CERN under the French-Swiss border near Geneva, successfully created an initial series of mini big bangs ...

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Investigating elements – writer's insight

Article

Investigating elements – writer's insight

The atomic theory of matter is one of the fundamental theories of all science. The importance of this theory cannot be overstated. It has been said, ...

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Harnessing the Sun – introduction

Article

Harnessing the Sun – introduction

Scientists have learned to harness the Sun, transforming its energy to meet our energy needs. In Māori mythology, Māui, with the help of his brothers, harnessed ...

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Alternative conceptions about energy

Article

Alternative conceptions about energy

Our use of language in everyday life is often quite different to the language of scientists. This can sometimes be confusing because what scientists mean and ...

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