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Year 5 - Science

Providing safe drinking water (non-statutory Climate Change & Sustainability)

Properties, changes and separating materials

Unit Summary

This unit explores the properties of everyday materials, including hardness, solubility, and conductivity. It covers reversible changes like dissolving and mixing, and irreversible changes such as burning. Emphasis is on scientific enquiries, data recording, and presenting findings with evidence.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to investigate natural ways to filter dirty water.

Key Notes

  • Around 80% of the world's population have access to safe drinking water at home, leaving 1.6 billion without.
  • Unsafe water is one of the world's largest health and environmental problems, particularly for the poorest in the world.
  • Scientists and engineers take inspiration from nature to create filtering systems to clean water for drinking.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • access: To have access is the ability to enter or use something.
  • microorganism: A microorganism is a very tiny living thing.
  • filter: To filter is to separate the solid particles in a liquid using filter paper or a fine mesh.
  • natural: A natural object or material has not been made or changed by humans.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Children may think that everyone has access to safe drinking water, and that water just 'appears' clean from a tap.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.

Around 80% of the world's population have access to safe drinking water at home, leaving 1.6 billion without. Unsafe water is one of the world's largest health and environmental problems, particularly for the poorest in the world.

2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'access'

To have access is the ability to enter or use something. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.

3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.

Mistake: Children may think that everyone has access to safe drinking water, and that water just 'appears' clean from a tap. Correction: This lesson explains how approximately 1.6 billion people in the world today do not have access to water that is safe to drink. Also, that water is usually filtered and treated to make it safe to drink.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 5 Science guide library.