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Video: Chemical Change Lesson for Kids
Instructor
Michelle Vannoy
Show bio
Michelle holds a M.S. in Science Education and a B.S. in Elementary Education. She has extensive teaching experience, and has taught middle school maths and sciences, as well as a variety of other subjects as an interim teacher.
What is Chemical Change?
A chemical change occurs when a substance transforms into a new substance, such as when wood turns into ash when burned. In this case, the wood, a substance, becomes ash, which is the new substance, when it is burned.
A common property in all chemical changes is heat. The process not only forms a new substance but also creates heat. Another property is that the substance cannot return to its original state. Some indicators include light or explosions, like fireworks, fizzing or bubbling, like when mixing baking soda and vinegar, and color changes, like metal rusting, corroding, and tarnishing.
Everyday Examples of Chemical Change
Cooking-Related Changes
- Roasting marshmallows form a brown, crusty layer, indicating a chemical transformation.
- Baking involves mixing ingredients and placing them inside the oven to create a new substance, such as cake, that cannot be separated back anymore.
Other Common Chemical Changes
- Hand warmers generate heat through a chemical reaction inside the package.
- During digestion, stomach acids break down food into new substances that cannot be reverted.
- When we breathe, oxygen is processed into carbon dioxide inside the body.
Chemical changes are important in daily life, shaping everything from food preparation to natural processes like breathing and rusting.
Read Chemical Change Lesson for Kids: Definition & Examples