Same Pieces, New Thing

Science · Matter & Materials · ages 7-8

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Mia takes apart a block tower and builds a car. Which bricks does she use?
- New bricks she didn't have before
- The same bricks as the tower
- Only half of the tower's bricks
Leo takes apart his brick tower. What happens to the bricks?
- They disappear
- They are still there, just separated
- They turn into a new material
True or false: the pieces of a toy change into new pieces when you rebuild it.
Circle one: True False
Which of these is an example of reusing pieces to make something new?
- Melting a candle and throwing away the wax
- Taking apart a block castle and building a spaceship with the same blocks
- Buying a brand new toy from the store
Tom has 10 bricks in his tower. He takes it apart and builds a boat using all the bricks. How many bricks are in the boat?
Answer: ______________
Priya's tower had 7 red bricks. She rebuilds it into a house. Are the bricks still red?
- Yes, they look the same, just in a new shape
- No, they turn a new color
- They disappear and new ones appear
A tower has 6 blue bricks and 9 yellow bricks. Kira takes it apart and builds a robot with all the bricks. How many bricks are in the robot?
Answer: ______________
Ben says: "When I take apart my brick car and build a plane, I use new bricks I never had before." What is wrong with what Ben said?
- He is wrong; the bricks become a new material
- Nothing, he is right
- He is wrong; he uses the same bricks, just arranged differently

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

The same bricks as the tower · Rebuilding uses the same set of bricks, just arranged in a new way.
They are still there, just separated · Taking a toy apart does not destroy the pieces. They are just not connected anymore.
False · The pieces stay the same. Only the way they are arranged changes.
Taking apart a block castle and building a spaceship with the same blocks · Using the same blocks for a new build is reusing pieces. The other choices don't reuse anything.
10 · No bricks were added or lost, so the boat has the same 10 bricks as the tower.
Yes, they look the same, just in a new shape · The bricks themselves don't change. Only their arrangement changes, so they stay red.
15 · Add up all the bricks: 6 plus 9 makes 15. The robot has every brick from the tower.
He is wrong; he uses the same bricks, just arranged differently · Ben still has the same bricks from the car. He just puts them together in a new way to make the plane.