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🫳 Changing the Shape of Solids

Bend, squash, twist, and stretch! Discover the four fun ways you can change the shape of some solid materials.

lessons

~15 min

to learn

🔬 Science

subject

Ages 6–12

level

Start the course →

What you’ll learn

Solids Can Change ShapeUnderstand that a force (a push or a pull) can change the shape of some solids.Solids keep their shape, but some can be changed by pushing or pulling. A push or a pull is called a force. Soft solids like modeling clay can be shaped into balls, pancakes, and snakes and keep the new shape.
Four Ways to Change a ShapeName and describe bending, squashing, twisting, and stretching.There are four fun ways to change the shape of a solid. Bending makes it curve, squashing makes it flatter, twisting turns the ends opposite ways, and stretching makes it longer. Matching each action to what it does helps us remember them.
Which Solids Change Best?Compare which materials change shape easily and which stay stiff, and see how people shape solids.Soft, springy materials like clay, sponge, and rubber change shape easily, while hard, stiff materials like brick, glass, and wood keep their shape. People use bending, squashing, and pulling to shape useful things, like a potter making a clay bowl.

Questions this course answers

In science, what is a force?

A force is a push or a pull. Forces from your hands can change the shape of some solids.

What does it mean to stretch a solid?

Stretching means pulling something so it gets longer, like a rubber band.

Pressing down on a sponge to make it flat is called...

Squashing means pressing something to make it flatter or smaller.

Which action makes a solid curve?

Bending makes a solid curve, like bending a pipe cleaner into a loop.

Which material is easiest to change shape by hand?

Modeling clay is soft, so it squashes and rolls into new shapes easily.

Why can a wooden ruler be hard to bend?

A wooden ruler is stiff and hard, so it does not change shape as easily as soft materials.

Grounded in trusted sources

BBC Bitesize
Britannica Kids
Royal Society of Chemistry

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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