What are physical and chemical interactions?

Physical and chemical interactions are ways that things change when they touch or mix with other things.

Physical interactions happen when things change shape or move around, but they stay the same inside. It's like playing with blocks, if you stack them up or push them apart, they're still the same kind of block.

For example, if you crush a soda can, it gets flat and squished, but it’s still made of metal. That’s a physical interaction because the can didn’t become something new, just smaller and flatter.

Chemical interactions are when things change inside so much that they turn into something completely different. It's like mixing baking soda and vinegar, they bubble up and make a mess, but you end up with something new: carbon dioxide gas!

Think of it as magic without the word "magic." If you mix chocolate and milk, you get chocolate milk, a brand-new drink! That’s a chemical interaction because the ingredients changed into something else entirely.