Summary
Chemical changes transform substances at the molecular level, creating entirely new materials with different properties. These changes are usually permanent—you can't turn a baked cake back into raw ingredients! Chemical changes include baking, rusting, burning, digesting food, and plants performing photosynthesis.
Physical changes only affect how something looks or feels without changing what it's actually made of. The molecules stay the same! These changes are often reversible—like water freezing into ice and then melting back to water. Examples include cutting paper, melting ice, mixing things together, or reshaping clay.
Understanding the difference helps you make sense of the world around you. When your ice pop melts on a hot day, that's just a physical change—you could refreeze it! But when your toast turns brown in the toaster, that's a chemical change—you can't turn it back to bread!
Big Idea: If a new substance forms, it's chemical. If it's the same substance in a different form, it's physical!