Year 4 Materials worksheets
Using different materials to make a home
Look at these pictures of houses. What are they are made from? What do you think it might be like to live in these houses in hot or cold weather? Let's investigate which materials would not be good to use to build a house.
The science of making music
Look at these pictures of different musical instruments. Which part is vibrating to make the sounds we hear – is it the skin, strings, metal, wood or air inside the instrument? Record which you think it is below each picture.
Making things louder
This simple investigation demonstrates how sound can be amplified and made louder.
Make your own guitar
A guitar makes music when the strings vibrate. This simple experiment will help you make your own guitar and see how the length and tightness of the strings can affect the notes made.
Kitchen-roll instrument
We’re going to be playing with our voice sounds and muffling them using a kitchen roll. Make different sounds into the tube (ring a bell, clap, whistle, rattle some keys). Blindfold the person who is listening and ask them to guess what sounds you are making.
How does sound resonate?
Resonance is described as the intensification and prolongation of sound, especially of a musical tone, produced by sympathetic vibration. Now ask an adult if you can borrow some glasses to investigate how the amount of water in a glass can affect the resonance sound made.
Does fire need oxygen?
In this experiment we will look at the effects of air (oxygen) on a candle flame. You will need an adult to help you with this one!
Changing states: solid, liquid or gas?
Materials usually exist as either a solid, a liquid or a gas. Look at the pictures on the next page. Can you cut them out and place them in the correct column to show whether they are a solid, liquid or gas?
Changing sounds: how does string length affect sound?
Sound is made by vibrations in the air. Many musical instruments use different length strings to make different sounds. This investigation will examine how the length of string changes the sounds made.
Understanding magnets: Make your own magnetic compass
The Earth has a weak magnetic field caused by the movement of molten iron in its core. The Earth’s magnetic field acts on a magnetised needle, pulling one end towards the north and the other towards the south magnetic pole. Understand more about magnets by making your very own magnetic compass from a polystyrene pizza base, a needle, a pin and a strong magnet.
Useful gases around us
A worksheet encouraging your child to research into how different gases are used to help us in everyday life.