Changes around us
6 Minutes
Changes around us for kids explains different types of change using everyday examples and stories. A science lesson in English.
- What change means using a balloon and Prabhu's daily story
- Slow, fast, reversible, irreversible, physical, and chemical types
- Desirable, undesirable, natural, and man-made changes around us
What this lesson teaches
A change is the transition of something from one state to another, creating a measurable difference in its condition or appearance.
Ways that things change
- Shape changes alter the form or size of an object, such as a balloon expanding when air is blown into it.
- Color changes modify appearance, such as a white dress turning brown after gathering mud in the rain.
- Temperature changes alter heat levels, such as the human body shifting from normal warmth to a high fever.
- Composition changes transform internal makeup, such as a raw banana ripening into an edible fruit.
Speed and reversibility
Changes happen at different rates and can be reversible or permanent. A fast change occurs in an instant, such as pressing a remote control to switch television channels, while a slow change takes many years, such as a discarded chocolate wrapper decomposing. A reversible change allows an item to return to its original state, just as spinning fan blades return to their resting position when turned off. An irreversible change cannot be undone, such as an injury leaving a permanent scar on the skin.
Physical and chemical changes
A physical change is a temporary modification where the underlying material remains the same without any chemical reaction. For instance, solid iron can be melted down to make window bars, melted again into a window latch, and repeatedly reshaped. A chemical change occurs when a chemical reaction takes place and creates a new substance. Heating and burning wood produces charcoal, which cannot simply be reshaped back into raw wood.
Desirable, natural, and human-made changes
- Desirable changes do not harm the environment and provide benefits, such as fruit ripening naturally.
- Undesirable changes cause harm to nature, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and global warming caused by burning plastic.
- Natural changes happen on their own in the environment, including rainfall, sunshine, and snowfall.
- Man-made changes result from human activity, such as clearing forest land to lay roads or building structures on agricultural fields.