Class 6 Science Sorting Materials Into Groups Worksheets

To secure full marks, you should first state the principle of grouping, which is to identify a common property. Then, provide a clear example. For instance, given objects like a steel spoon, a plastic toy, and a wooden block, you can group them based on properties like:

• Material Type: Grouping them as metal (spoon), plastic (toy), and wood (block).

• Hardness: The steel spoon is a hard material, while the wooden block is comparatively less hard.

• Lustre: The steel spoon is lustrous, while the plastic toy and wooden block are non-lustrous.

Sorting materials by their properties is a crucial life skill for efficiency and safety. For example, in a kitchen, we use utensils made of metal because they are good conductors of heat, while food is often stored in glass or plastic containers which do not react with food items. Similarly, electrical wires are coated with plastic (an insulator) to prevent electric shocks. This systematic grouping makes it easy to locate things and use them for their intended purpose safely.

This is a very important concept for Class 6 exams. The key differences are based on how much light can pass through them:

• Transparent: These are materials through which we can see clearly because they allow almost all light to pass through. Important examples are glass and clean water.

• Translucent: These are materials through which we can see, but not clearly. They allow only a small amount of light to pass through. Important examples include butter paper and frosted glass.

• Opaque: These are materials through which we cannot see at all, as they completely block light. Important examples include a wooden door, a book, and a metal sheet.

This phenomenon is explained by the concept of density, which is an important topic for Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) questions. An object floats if it is less dense than water, and it sinks if it is denser. A dry leaf or a piece of wood is less dense than water, so it floats. A stone, regardless of its size, is made of a material that is much denser than water, which is why it sinks to the bottom.

From the topic of solubility, you can expect a variety of important questions:

• Definition-based: A question might ask you to define miscible and immiscible liquids with examples.

• Activity-based: You could be asked to describe a simple experiment to show that sugar is soluble in water but chalk powder is not.

• Classification questions: A list of substances (e.g., salt, sand, vinegar, coconut oil) might be provided, and you'll need to classify them as soluble or insoluble in water.

To classify a new material scientifically, you should test its fundamental properties in a sequence. An important approach would be:

• Appearance: First, observe if its surface is shiny (lustrous) or dull.

• Hardness: Try to compress or scratch it to determine if it is soft (like a sponge) or hard (like a rock).

• Solubility: Test if it dissolves in water to check if it is soluble or insoluble.

• Behaviour in Water: Place it in water to see if it floats or sinks, which indicates its relative density.

• Transparency: Check if you can see through it to classify it as transparent, translucent, or opaque.

This is a common point of confusion. Lustre is the shininess of a material's surface, typically found in metals like gold and steel. It describes how light reflects off the surface. In contrast, transparency is the property of a material that allows light to pass through it, enabling us to see objects on the other side. A material like glass is transparent but not typically described as lustrous, while a material like steel is lustrous but is opaque, not transparent.