Build It, Take It Apart

Rebuild the same pieces into new structures; the total weight stays the same.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 28

A structure is something built from smaller pieces, like this tower of 6 blocks.
Take it apart, and you can use the same 6 blocks to build something new: a wall, or stairs!
Here's a big idea: all three use the same 6 blocks, so they all weigh the same. The weight of a structure is the weight of all its parts added together.
Add blocks, and it weighs more. Take some away, and it weighs less.
Try it with a grown-up! Build something with blocks or building bricks, and weigh it on a kitchen scale. Then rebuild it into something new and weigh it again. What do you notice?

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Science:

S2P1.b — Construct an explanation for how structures made from small pieces (linking cubes, building blocks) can be disassembled and then rearranged to make new and different structures.