Changing Shapes of Solids
Investigate how the shapes of solid objects can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting, and stretching
What a learner can do afterwards
- Demonstrate four ways to change the shape of a solid: squashing, bending, twisting, stretching
- Compare how different materials respond to these forces (e.g. clay squashes easily, wood does not)
- Explain that the material itself stays the same even when the shape changes
The lesson
A solid can change its shape without turning into a liquid or a gas. You can squash it, bend it, twist it, or stretch it with your hands.
Zara presses down on a ball of playdough and it flattens into a pancake. She twists a pipe cleaner into a spiral. Then she tries to bend a wooden ruler, but it stays straight and stiff.
Not every material changes shape the same way. Clay and playdough squash easily. Wood is stiff, so it keeps its shape unless you push very hard, and then it might snap instead of bending.
When you squash, bend, twist, or stretch a solid, you only change its shape. The material stays exactly the same. Flattened clay is still clay.
Squashing, bending, twisting, and stretching change a solid's shape, but the material inside always stays the same.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.