Science · Year 1 · Material World: Properties and Purpose · Term 1

Describing Materials by Sound and Smell

Students will use sound and smell to identify and describe the properties of different materials, exploring how these senses provide information.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9S1U03

About This Topic

Testing Strength and Flexibility takes the study of materials into the realm of physical testing and fair investigation. Students learn that materials respond differently when forces are applied to them. This topic covers AC9S1U03 and introduces elements of AC9S1I03 by asking students to predict and test how much a material can bend or how much weight it can hold before changing shape. It moves from observation to active experimentation.

This topic is highly relevant to engineering and design. Students can look at how Australian shelters, both modern and traditional, use flexible materials like branches or rigid materials like corrugated iron. Understanding these properties is essential for problem-solving. Students grasp this concept faster through structured investigations where they are challenged to 'break' or 'bend' materials in a controlled way to see their limits.

Key Questions

1. Explain why some materials feel soft and others feel hard.
2. Compare the sounds produced by tapping different materials.
3. Predict which material would be best for making a quiet toy.

Learning Objectives

• Compare the sounds produced by tapping different materials.
• Identify materials based on their distinct smells.
• Describe properties of materials using sensory observations of sound and smell.
• Classify materials based on their sound and smell characteristics.

Before You Start

Observing and Describing Objects

Why: Students need foundational skills in using their senses to observe and describe the characteristics of objects before they can focus on specific properties like sound and smell.

Introduction to Senses

Why: Students should have a basic understanding of the five senses, including hearing and smelling, to engage with the topic effectively.

Key Vocabulary

Sound	Vibrations that travel through the air and can be heard when they reach our ears. Different materials make different sounds when tapped or struck.
Smell	The sensation produced when a substance comes into contact with the nose. Materials have unique scents that can help identify them.
Material	The matter from which a thing is or can be made. Examples include wood, metal, plastic, and fabric.
Property	A characteristic of a material that can be observed or measured, such as its sound or smell.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

If a material is thin, it must be weak.

What to Teach Instead

Show a thin piece of fishing line or a strong plastic bag. By testing how much weight these can hold compared to a thicker piece of paper, students learn that strength is about the material's internal structure, not just its thickness.

Common Misconception

Flexible materials aren't strong.

What to Teach Instead

Use a rubber band or a steel spring to show that something can be very strong while still being able to stretch or bend. Active 'tug-of-war' tests with different materials help students feel the strength in flexible items.

Active Learning Ideas

Inquiry Circle: The Bridge Challenge

Small groups are given different materials (cardboard, tissue paper, foil) to span a gap between two blocks. They add small weights (like coins) one by one to see which material is the strongest and record the results.

45 min·Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Bend or Snap?

Set up stations with items like a wooden craft stick, a pipe cleaner, a plastic ruler, and a straw. Students rotate through, trying to bend each item gently and recording if it is 'flexible' or 'rigid' on a tally sheet.

30 min·Small Groups

Think-Pair-Share: The Paper House

Read a story like 'The Three Little Pigs' and ask students to discuss in pairs why certain materials failed. They then propose a 'new' material for a house that would be both strong and flexible, sharing their idea with the class.

20 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Perfumers and chefs use their sense of smell to identify and combine ingredients, creating distinct fragrances and flavors. They must be able to differentiate subtle differences in scents.
• Sound engineers and acousticians study how different materials absorb or reflect sound. This knowledge is crucial for designing quiet spaces like libraries or concert halls, or for making loud spaces safer.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Provide students with two different materials (e.g., a wooden block and a metal spoon). Ask them to tap each material and write down one word to describe the sound it makes. Then, ask them to describe the smell of each material, if any.

Discussion Prompt

Hold up a familiar object made of a specific material, like a plastic toy. Ask students: 'What sound does this make if I tap it? What does it smell like? How do these observations help us know what it is made of?'

Quick Check

Present students with a tray of small, safe items that have distinct smells (e.g., a cotton ball, a piece of fruit, a small piece of paper). Ask students to close their eyes, smell each item, and then point to the item that matches a given description, such as 'the item that smells sweet'.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I teach 'fair testing' to Year 1 students?

Keep it simple: 'Keep everything the same except for the one thing you are changing.' If testing paper strength, use the same size paper and the same weights. Using the term 'fair' helps children relate scientific variables to their own understanding of fairness in games.

What are the best hands-on strategies for teaching strength and flexibility?

Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) is a powerful strategy here. Ask students to predict which material will bend most, observe the test, and then explain why they think it happened. This cycle forces them to engage deeply with the physical evidence rather than just watching a demonstration.

Why do we use different materials for different parts of a building?

This is a great link to design and technology. Explain that we need 'rigid' materials for walls to stay up, but 'flexible' materials like sealant or rubber around windows to keep water out. It shows that there is no 'best' material, only the right material for the job.

How can I include Australian examples of material use?

Discuss the use of 'bumpy' or 'rough' bark for grip, or the use of flexible 'wattle' branches in traditional Indigenous construction. You can also look at modern Australian inventions like the Hills Hoist, which uses the strength of metal to hold heavy wet laundry.