Heavy And Light Objects – The Concept Of Light And Heavy For Preschoolers And Kids

As a parent, you must have come across a situation where your child uses the words big and heavy or small and light interchangeably, as they think these are synonyms. To make your child understand the difference between the two terms, it is important to teach them that small objects can also be heavy and big objects can also be light in weight. For example, a small cloth ball is heavier than a big rubber ball.

In order to teach this to kids, it is important to get them physically involved with the weight of different objects while teaching them the concept of heavy and light. So, in this article, we have covered important information on the heavy and light objects to teach your child, along with engaging activities that will help them understand the concept. Let’s get started.

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What Is Mean By Light And Heavy?

Are you wondering how to teach your child about light and heavy objects? Well, you can start with the definition and explain it to them with the help of examples. Let’s take a look at the definition of heavy and light objects, along with examples.

1. Heavy Objects

The objects with more weight or the ones that cannot be lifted easily are known as heavy objects.

For example: Car, pumpkin, bed, cabinet

2. Light Objects

The objects with less weight or the ones that can be lifted easily are known as light objects.

For example: Pencil, leaf, newspaper, gloves

Why Should Your Child Learn The Concept Of Light And Heavy?

If you are thinking about the use of teaching the concept of heavy things and light things to kids, you’ll be amazed to know about the numerous benefits of learning this concept. We have listed a few reasons below that will make you understand why your child must learn the concept of light and heavy.

• It helps kids to know about different types of objects.
• It helps kids to understand how to compare two or more objects.
• It helps kids to determine what objects they can pick easily and what objects they cannot.
• It helps kids to work on their thinking and problem-solving skills.
• It will later help kids to understand the concept of volume, mass, and measurement.

What Is Weight And Weighing Balance?

Weight refers to the mass of the object. In simple words, it means the measurement of how heavy an object is. We generally hold the objects and see which one is heavy and which is light. We can also weigh the objects using a balance to check and compare heavier and lighter objects.

The weighing balance is a tool for weighing. This tool has a balanced beam and two pans. To compare two things or objects, we place one thing on each side and see which side goes down and which side goes up. The side that goes down has the heavier object, and the side that goes up has the lighter object.

We can weigh the object by using a weighing balance to compare heavier and lighter objects; the side of the heavier object will go down.

For example, in the above images, 2 apples are placed on one side and two bananas on the other. The side with two apples goes down, and the side with bananas goes up, meaning that 2 bananas are lighter in weight than 2 apples.

Lighter And Heavier Objects

In this section, we will learn about how to compare the weight of the two objects, using the words heavier and lighter with the help of an example. Let begin!

In the above image, there are two objects placed in a jar of water – a piece of wood and a metal weight. Since the metal weight is heavy, it goes down in the water. The piece of wood is lighter; therefore, it floats in the water. So, we can say that the metal weight is heavier than the piece of wood. Or we can say that the piece of wood is lighter than the metal weight.

Heaviest And Lightest Objects

In this section, we will learn about the concept of the heaviest and lightest object. When we compare the weights of three or more objects, we use the words heaviest and lightest. Let’s understand this with the help of an example of heavy and light objects given below.

In the above image, there are three things on a table – a book, a cup and a vase.

By holding each of the above-given things, one can easily compare their weights and say that:

• The vase is the heaviest among all the given objects.
• The book is the lightest among all the given objects.

What Are The Standard Units To Measure The Weight?

In this section, we will take a look at the standard units of weight that kids must know.

We weigh an object by placing it on one side of a weight weigh pan and standard weights in the other pan. There are various kinds of weighing scales that can be used to measure the weight of objects. The two frequently used standard units of weighting scales to measure objects are:

• Grams
• Kilograms

These weighing scales can be manual or battery-operated. The heavy objects are measured in kilograms, whereas the light objects are measured in grams.

Heavy And Light Objects Basic Conversions

Let’s take a look at basic conversion for heavy and light objects.

• 1kg = 1000g
• 1g = 1/1000kg
• Convert kilograms to grams by multiplying the kilograms by 1000.
• Convert grams to kilograms by dividing the grams by 1000.

How To Explain Light And Heavy To Kids?

It is quite simple to teach your little one the concept of light and heavy. All you need to do is teach with the everyday objects that your child is familiar with. For example, ask your child to lift the basket full of toys in one hand and just one toy in another hand. They will feel the difference in the weight of the two objects. The basket full of toys with be heavier than the single toy.

Activities For Teaching The Concept Of Heavy And Light To Kids

1. Weigh On Scale

Ask your child to put a stone on one side of the weighing scale and a leaf on the other side. They will see that the side with the stone goes down, as it is heavy, and the side with the leaf goes up, as it is light in weight. Ask your child to experiment and see what other things are light and heavy.

2. Circle The Heavy Objects

On a sheet, take a print of a few things placed opposite to each other, like a bed and a chair, a cup and a ring, a laptop and a door, etc. Ask your child to circle the things that they think weights heavy.

3. Weight It Manually

Ask your child to pick up any two things around them, like a fruit and a pencil. Now, ask them to hold one thing in each hand and tell which one is heavy and which one is light by manually checking their weight.

4. Drop And Tell

Place a transparent jar full of water on a table. Give your child different objects like a leaf, a stone, a dice, a foil paper ball, etc. Ask them to drop two objects into the water and see which is heavy and which is light. The object that will go down in water will be heavy, and the one that floats will be light.

Simple Practice Problems Related To Light And Heavy Objects

In order to make the learning process easy for the kids, we have shared a few problems with heavy and light objects for kindergarten kids. These are simple problems that kids will understand easily and will be able solve.

1. Which of the following two objects are heavy and light in weight?

Answer: The car is heavy, and the tire is light in weight.

2. Convert 5000g into kg.

Answer: The given weight is 5000g

We know that to convert grams into kilograms, we have to divide the grams by 1000.
Now, 5000g = 5000/1000kg = 5kg
Hence, 5000g=5kg.

3. Name three things that we usually buy in grams and in kilograms, respectively.

Answer:

Facts About Heavy And Light Objects

1. Generally, heavy objects sink in water while light objects float.
2. Generally, light objects are measured in grams, while heavy objects are measured in kilograms.

We hope this article helped your little one to learn about the concept of heavy and light. Keep watching this space to read about more such important concepts that kids should learn about. Happy Learning!

Also Read:

Same and Different Concepts for Children
Teaching Triangle Shape to Preschoolers and Children
Greatest and Smallest Numbers with Examples for Kids