Pure Substances & Mixtures
Distinguish between pure substances and mixtures, identify formulations as useful mixtures with precise compositions, and use melting and boiling points to test for purity
Lesson
Set out your lesson
“Pure Substances & Mixtures means practising the idea at the table with a simple hands-on check. We will demo once, then your child tries.”
Bring to the table
- Two everyday materials (e.g. ice cube / warm water / salt / spoon)
- Clear cup and paper for notes
Extra for the adult
Worked example. Ice melts in the warm cup: solid → liquid. Heat caused the change.
Optional challenge. For Pure Substances & Mixtures, add one harder example after success.
What to notice. Keep one parent note: examples tried; results; support used. This session samples Pure Substances & Mixtures, not mastery.
Share and support
Family records and proof options
Keep a record of your learning
Save photos, notes, and attendance. Export a proof packet for compliance or portfolio reviews.
Practice this concept
Start practicePure Substances & Mixtures practice
Practice key ideas from Pure Substances & Mixtures.
Free · no login · no ads · Practice answers and completion are not saved. Parent observation remains the lesson record.
Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
PhET Interactive Simulations · Practice link — not the full lesson
States of Matter: Basics
Before you open · source notes
States of Matter: Basics supports hands-on exploration for Pure Substances & Mixtures. Not every lab worksheet.
Free interactive page, no sign-in required for the tested path.
Before you openAsk the learner what they changed in the sim or page and what they observed.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public PhET Interactive Simulations page. An anonymous GET on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt for this URL. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. An adult should preview and guide the learner.
PhET Interactive Simulations. “States of Matter: Basics.” External page; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute materials.
Unknown — link only
Check understanding
- Explains why a pure substance has a sharp, fixed melting point but a mixture melts over a range
- Identifies common formulations (medicines, alloys, paints, fuels) as deliberate mixtures
- Explains what impurities do to melting and boiling points
- Distinguishes mixtures from compounds at the particle level
“If your child was checking whether a sample of water was pure, could they explain one test they could do — and say what result would tell them it was definitely pure versus a mixture?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Matter & Materials
- Age range
- Ages 11–13
Standards