Physical Properties Matter Worksheet

Every object a student can pick up, look at, or weigh has physical properties — the traits you can observe and measure without changing what the matter actually is. Color, texture, size, shape, mass, and hardness are all physical properties, and learning to name them is one of the first real steps into physical science. This physical properties matter worksheet gives third graders focused practice at exactly that: reading a careful observation and deciding which property it describes.

The worksheet moves from naming properties to applying them. In the first section, students read five short observations about everyday classroom objects and choose the matching property word from a word box. In the second section, they read three science notes and fill in the bubble for the correct state of matter — solid, liquid, or gas — based on how the matter behaves. The final question asks students to pick an object and name one more property a scientist could observe, which turns recognition into their own scientific thinking. Print it, hand it out, and let students work independently or with a partner; the included answer key makes checking fast.

What’s Included

• One printable worksheet page with three sections of matter practice
• A word box of six property words: color, hardness, mass, shape, size, and texture
• Five observation sentences about familiar objects to label with a property
• Three multiple-choice science notes on solids, liquids, and gases
• An open response line for students to name a property of their own
• A complete answer key on the final page

Three Reasons This Helps Kids

• It builds precise science vocabulary. Students stop saying “it looks nice” and start saying “its texture is rough,” which is the language every later science unit is built on.
• It connects observing to classifying. Matching a description to a property word teaches students that observation has a purpose, and that evidence points to an answer.
• It reinforces states of matter with real situations. Milk poured into a bowl and air filling a balloon are things students have seen, so the definitions stick.

Teacher and Parent Ideas

Use this physical properties matter worksheet as a warm-up before a hands-on observation station. Set out five objects — a rock, a sponge, a marble, a leaf, and a plastic cup — and have students describe each one using only the six words from the box. Pair it with a balance scale so students can test mass for themselves instead of guessing. A 3rd grade matter worksheet like this one also works well as a quick review before a unit test, as a homework page, or as an early-finisher activity. For an extension, ask students to bring in one object from home and write three properties of it on an index card, then let the class guess the object from the properties alone.

Related Resources

• Properties of Matter Review Worksheet
• Identifying States of Matter Worksheet
• Physical Changes Matter Worksheet
• Matter Song