Materials Required 

• a glass container with water 
• spoon/glass rod 
• a sheet of white paper and some everyday materials around you such as- 
• wax  
• glass piece (with blunt edges) 
• oil coated paper 
• sugar 
• green leaf 
• piece of coal 
• piece of wood 
• a coin 
• a piece of sponge etc. 

Real Lab Procedure 

Check compressibility of the material:

• Take the given materials one by one. Apply some pressure on it. Check its compressibility. 
• Classify the material as hard or soft and record your observations 
• Repeat the same steps with other materials also. 

Check if the material floats/sinks in water and its solubility:

• Take a container and fill it half with water.  
• Add any given material and see whether it floats or sinks.  
• Now, stir it with a spoon or glass rod and check if it is soluble or insoluble.  
• Repeat the same steps with other materials also. 
• Record your observations. 

Check for transparency: 

• Take a strip of white paper and make a dark spot on it.  
• Place the given materials one by one on the spot and observe its visibility whether you can see it clearly, not clearly or not able to see it at all. 
• Record your observations.

Simulation Procedure 

• Check compressibility 
• Check if the material floats/sinks in water 
• Check solubility
• Check for transparency

Observations 

Conclusions 

• Soft materials such as wax, smiley ball, sponge, etc. are easy to press. Materials which were difficult to press are hard, such as glass plate, sugar crystals, coin, coal and wood.
• Materials which dissolve in water are called soluble materials, such as sugar. Materials which did not dissolve in water after stirring for a long are called insoluble materials, such as wax, glass plate, coin, coal, wood, sponge etc.
• Some materials float in water such as wax, wood and coal. Some materials sink in water, such as sugar, coin, glass plate etc.
• Materials through which you can see clearly are transparent, such as glass plate. Materials through which you cannot see clearly are translucent, such as oil coated paper. Materials through which you cannot see at all are opaque, such as coal, wood, sugar, wax, coin, and sponge etc.

We conclude that materials are classified on the basis of their properties.