Free Matter Sorting Worksheets: Solid, Liquid, and Gas

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These free matter sorting worksheets help children classify 15 familiar examples as solids, liquids, or gases. Students cut apart the labeled picture cards and place each one in the correct section of the sorting mat.

The three-page printable provides a simple introduction to the states of matter for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. It also includes ice, water, and water vapor, allowing children to see that the same substance can exist in three different states.

Free States of Matter Sorting Activity

This printable PDF includes three pages:

• A Matter Sorting Worksheets cover page
• One sorting mat divided into solid, liquid, and gas
• One page containing 15 illustrated and labeled cards
• Five solid examples
• Five liquid examples
• Five gas examples

The activity can be completed as a cut-and-paste worksheet or prepared as a reusable science-center game. The pictures and large printed labels help children connect everyday materials with new science vocabulary.

Browse our collection of free educational worksheets for more elementary learning activities.

What Is Matter?

Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. The desk, air, water, books, food, and people around us are all made of matter.

Young learners are commonly introduced to three states of matter:

• Solid
• Liquid
• Gas

Scientists also study other states, including plasma, but this printable focuses on the three states children encounter most often in introductory science.

Solids, Liquids, and Gases for Kids

What is a solid?

A solid has a definite shape and a definite volume under ordinary conditions. Its particles are packed closely together and mainly vibrate in place.

A wooden board remains board-shaped when moved from the floor to a table. A rock does not take the shape of the container holding it. Solids can be hard, soft, flexible, rough, or smooth; being solid does not always mean being hard.

What is a liquid?

A liquid has a definite volume but no fixed shape. It flows and takes the shape of the container holding it.

Water looks different in a glass, bowl, or bottle because its shape changes. The amount of water can stay the same even when the shape of its container changes.

What is a gas?

A gas has neither a fixed shape nor a fixed volume. It spreads out to fill the available space in a container.

Many gases are invisible, which makes this category less obvious to children. Air fills a balloon, oxygen is present in the air we breathe, and helium expands to fill a balloon or tank.

For a related lesson about gases surrounding Earth, use our layers of the atmosphere worksheet.

What Is Included on the Matter Sorting Cards?

The cut-apart page contains five examples for each state.

Solid cards

• Wood
• Bricks
• Rock
• Ice
• Salt

Liquid cards

• Blood
• Mercury
• Gasoline
• Water
• Milk

Gas cards

• Carbon dioxide
• Oxygen
• Air
• Helium
• Water vapor

The set uses examples beyond the usual water, juice, rock, and balloon pictures. That variety encourages useful discussion about substances children cannot safely touch or cannot see directly.

Matter Sorting Worksheet Answer Key

Place the cards on the mat as follows:

Solids

• Wood
• Bricks
• Rock
• Ice
• Salt

Liquids

• Blood
• Mercury
• Gasoline
• Water
• Milk

Gases

• Carbon dioxide
• Oxygen
• Air
• Helium
• Water vapor

The cards labeled “mercury” and “gasoline” are included as scientific examples only. Children should never handle either substance for this activity. Mercury is toxic, and gasoline is highly flammable and poisonous.

Important Notes About Some Examples

The worksheet uses elementary-level classifications. A few examples are more scientifically complex than they first appear.

Salt is still a solid

A pile of salt can be poured and takes the shape of its container, but each grain is a tiny solid crystal. A collection of small solid pieces can flow without becoming a liquid.

Milk and blood are mixtures

Milk is a colloid containing tiny particles and droplets dispersed through water. Blood contains cells and other components suspended in plasma. Both flow and take the shape of their containers, so they are classified as liquids in this introductory activity.

Air is a mixture of gases

Air is not one pure substance. It is a mixture made primarily of nitrogen and oxygen, with smaller amounts of other gases. It belongs in the gas category because the mixture behaves as a gas.

Water vapor is invisible

Water vapor is water in its gaseous state and is normally invisible. The white cloud people often call “steam” is made of tiny liquid water droplets that form as water vapor cools and condenses.

These distinctions are not necessary for a young child to memorize, but they help adults answer questions accurately.

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How to Prepare the Matter Worksheets

Supplies Needed:

• Printed matter sorting worksheets
• White printer paper or cardstock
• Child-safe scissors
• Glue stick, optional
• Laminator and laminating pouches, optional
• Hook-and-loop dots, optional

Print the pages at Actual Size or 100%. Regular paper works well when students will glue the cards permanently. Use cardstock if you plan to laminate and reuse the set.

The sorting mat is shown in landscape orientation. Check the print preview before printing and select the orientation that displays the complete page without cropping.

How to Use the Solid, Liquid, and Gas Sort

1. Review the three states

Explain that solids keep their shape, liquids flow and take the shape of a container, and gases spread out to fill their container. Demonstrate with safe classroom examples such as a block, a cup of water, and an inflated balloon.

2. Cut apart the cards

Cut along the dotted lines around all 15 pictures. An adult should prepare the pieces for children who are not ready to use scissors safely.

3. Examine one card at a time

Ask the student to name the substance and predict its state. Useful prompts include:

• Does it keep its own shape?
• Can it be poured?
• Does it take the shape of its container?
• Does it spread out and fill a space?
• Can we see it directly?

4. Sort the cards

Place each picture in the solid, liquid, or gas section. There are five correct cards for each group.

5. Explain the choices

After sorting, ask the child to choose one example from each category and explain why it belongs there. This reveals more understanding than simply checking whether the placement is correct.

6. Glue or save the pieces

Students may glue the pictures onto the mat to complete the worksheet. For repeated use, laminate the pages and store the loose cards in a labeled envelope or zip-top bag.

Teaching the Three States with Water

Ice, water, and water vapor give children a clear way to compare three states of the same substance.

• Ice is solid water. It has a definite shape and volume.
• Liquid water flows. It has a definite volume but changes shape to match its container.
• Water vapor is gaseous water. It spreads to fill the space available.

Place those three cards in order and discuss what happens when thermal energy is added or removed:

1. Ice melts into liquid water.
2. Liquid water evaporates or boils into water vapor.
3. Water vapor condenses into liquid water.
4. Liquid water freezes into ice.

For a safe demonstration, let an ice cube melt in a clear cup. Students can observe the solid-to-liquid change, draw what they see, and record how long the process takes. Older students can organize their observations with our scientific method worksheets.

Ways to Extend the Activity

Classroom scavenger hunt

Ask students to find safe examples of solids in the room. Liquids should remain inside closed containers, and gases can be discussed rather than collected.

Draw additional examples

Have children draw one new example beneath each heading. Possible choices include a pencil as a solid, juice as a liquid, and air inside a ball as a gas.

Sort real objects

Provide safe examples such as a block, a spoon, a sealed water bottle, and an inflated balloon. Never bring mercury, gasoline, blood, or other hazardous materials into the activity.

Compare properties

Ask students to describe a solid using words such as hard, soft, smooth, rough, flexible, or rigid. This reinforces that items within the same state can have different physical properties.

Use the cards as an assessment

Give students the 15 cards without the answer key. Ask them to sort independently and explain one choice from each group. Record any examples that need reteaching.

Explore more free kids’ printables for science, weather, life cycles, literacy, and early math.

Recommended Grade Levels

These worksheets are best for kindergarten through second grade.

Kindergarten: Introduce the words solid, liquid, and gas. Sort familiar examples together and provide help with mercury, helium, and water vapor.

First grade: Ask children to use shape, volume, and flow when explaining their choices.

Second grade: Discuss particles, changes of state, mixtures, and the three water cards in greater depth.

Older students: Use ambiguous examples such as sand, clouds, shaving cream, gelatin, and toothpaste to discuss why matter cannot always be classified by appearance alone.

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These matter-sorting worksheets give young learners a hands-on way to connect solid, liquid, and gas vocabulary to recognizable examples.

Use the cards to introduce the topic, reinforce a lesson, or check understanding after a simple states-of-water experiment.

Download the Matter Sorting Worksheets

Print the pages at Actual Size or 100%. Follow the personal and classroom-use terms provided with the download.

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