Year 7 Science · Unit 2 · Lesson 7

Compounds vs Elements vs Mixtures

Challenge Worksheet

Name
Date
Class

Learning Goals

Explain it to a Year 5 student

Imagine your younger cousin has just said, "Water must be a mixture — it's made of hydrogen AND oxygen, so there are two different things in it!" Use the sentence starters below to explain why water is actually a compound, not a mixture. Use real examples from everyday life to help.

Starter 1: "The basic idea of a compound is..."

Starter 2: "A mixture is different because..."

Starter 3: "In water, the hydrogen and oxygen atoms are..."

Starter 4: "The reason people often confuse compounds and mixtures is..."

1. A student claims: "If I mix hydrogen gas and oxygen gas in a container, I've made water." Identify what is wrong with this claim and explain what would actually need to happen to make water from hydrogen and oxygen.

Challenge 3 marks

2. Table salt (NaCl) is safe to eat, even though sodium catches fire in water and chlorine is a poisonous gas. Explain what this tells us about the properties of a compound compared to the elements it is made from. Use the word "bonded" in your answer.

Challenge 3 marks

Wrap Up

In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?