Chemical change is difficult for primary students to understand as it is a change that occurs at the

molecular level of a substance. (Primary Connections, 2008) Physical change is much easier for
students to understand as they can see what has changed. Chemical change on the other hand, is
more difficult to see the physical differences as there is often no physical difference to see. An
example would be with chocolate. When chocolate is melted a physical change occurs. The
chocolate changes due to the heat, however once the chocolate cools it goes back to the original
molecular structure of the chocolate. Burnt toast however occurs after a chemical change. The
toast is changed at the molecular level and is irreversible.
When a chemical change takes place the new substance can be in the form of liquid, solid or gas.
Using the burnt toast example, the solid part of the chemical change is in the form of the charcoal
which is visible on the toast. There are also gases omitted such as carbon dioxide and gaseous water
caused by the combustion of the cellulose in the bread (Primary Connections, 2008).
Using cooking and the kitchen to investigate chemical change through experiences such as burning
can assist students conceptions about substances and their molecular structure. (Skamp, 2011) The
experiences provided in this unit are all based in the kitchen and use a variety of techniques to allow
students to enhance their understandings of change and the difference between physical change
and chemical change. Whilst this unit is based on chemical change, it is also important for students
to be able to identify the difference between physical change and chemical change and be able to
justify their understanding of why the change is one way or the other.

References
Australian Academy of Science. (2008). Primary Connections: Change Detectives Stage 3: Natural
and Processed Materials. ACT, Australia.
Skamp, K. (2011). Teaching chemistry in primary science: What does the research suggest?
Teaching Science. Vol 57 (4), p 37-43.