Curated OER
Hot and Cold Colors
Students explore the effect of heating and cooling on the dispersal of food coloring in water.
Curated OER
Keeping Warm
Students participate in an online activity to determine how objects heat and cool. They determine what objects best serve as thermal insulators.
Curated OER
TE Activity: Hot Cans and Cold Cans
Middle schoolers work on problems in which they investigate conduction, convection, and radiation. They attempt to maintain the warmth in one can of soda while cooling the other as much as possible in a thirty minute period. They examine...
Curated OER
Rate of Solubility
Students investigate factors affecting the rate of solubility. In this rate of solubility lesson plan, students experiment by crushing, heating and cooling solutes and solvents to see how the solubility is affected. For each situation,...
Curated OER
Granite Rock Experiments
In this geology learning exercise, students conduct several experiments by using granite rock. The experiments include heating and cooling the rock and shaking the rock in a bottle to cause abrasion. Students answer three short answer...
Curated OER
Thermal Energy and Heat Unit
Students explain that heat energy in a material consists of the disordered motions of its atoms or molecules. They know and explain that transformations of energy usually transform some energy into the form of heat, which dissipates by...
Weebly
Definitions of Conduction, Convection, and Radiation
There's quite a bit in this physical science packet. First, how is heat transferred? Learners read a brief explanation of conduction, convection, and radiation before identifying common occurrences (with pictures) as one of the three....
Colorado State University
How Can Freezing Make Something Warmer?
Crazy fact—freezing liquid actually gives off heat! Young scholars investigate the transfer of energy when liquids freeze using a chemical heat pack. The heat pack gives off heat as its liquid core freezes.
Curated OER
Melted Paintings
Another in the amazing series of lesson plans which use unique mediums! Students execute artwork on a non-traditional painting surface. They theorize what happen to their artwork if it is exposed to heat, then see what happens when they...
Curated OER
WS 2.5 Dimensional Analysis
Science students apply dimensional analysis to relate quantities in six different problems. They consider the cost of steak, a young man's growth rate, a medicine prescription, fuel efficiency, and more. This worksheet is a great way to...
Teach Engineering
How Hot is Hot?
Elementary schoolers identify the three methods of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation. The lesson is mostly lecture-based. When the teacher has finished the presentation, groups of pupils get into teams and they must...
Curated OER
The Same, But Different Part II
Learners characterize a physical change as something that changes to a different size, but retains its basic substance. They measure volumes using milliliters, and perform an experiment that proves that gases expand when hot and contract...
Curated OER
Determining the Molar Mass of a Gas
Young scholars determine the molar mass of a gas. In this molar mass of a gas lesson plan, students use the vapor density of an organic solvent to determine its molar mass. They vaporize the solvent and collect the vapor. Once it is...
Colorado State University
What Makes a Gas, a Greenhouse Gas?—The Carbon Dioxide Dance
Investigate a heated topic in environmental science. Scholars team up to play the parts of gas molecules in the atmosphere. As the teacher moves about, acting as the electromagnetic wave, learners react as their molecules would to the...
Colorado State University
Can Gravity Push Something Up?
How does a hot air balloon fly? An experimental lesson has scholars build a balloon from a garbage bag and monitor the movement of air. As the temperature of the air in the balloon increases, gravity moves the denser cool air down,...
Colorado State University
How Do Long and Short EM Waves Interact with the Earth's Atmosphere?
Things are about to heat up in your classroom! A kinesthetic lesson asks learners to play the part of the gases in the earth's atmosphere and interact with the sun's radiation. The focus is to learn the impact of the increasing...
Curated OER
Are These Made of Metal?
How can you tell if something is made of metal? Use a table of data and a science experiment to determine which items are made of metal. The experiment requires adult supervision, as it instructs third graders to build an electrical...
Curated OER
Gelatin Volcanoes
Students investigate magma flow using gelatin volcano models. In this earth science lesson, students sketch the magma bodies as observed from the top of their model. They explain why magma moves that way.
Curated OER
Heat Unit
Students define thermal equilibrium. They distinguish between internal energy and heat. Students describe how the quantity of heat that enters or leaves a substance is measured.
Curated OER
Heat of Combustion Lab
In this heat of combustion lab, students measure the heat of combustion for paraffin wax, butane, and cheetos. Students will apply the 1st law of thermodynamics to calculate the heat lost by the fuel and the heat gained by the water to...
Science-Class.net
Rock Candy Crystals
Candy is one of my favorite words, and it's an even better word when it relates to science. Yes, candy science can happen when you grow rock candy crystals with your class. The entire process for growing these edible wonders of nature is...
Curated OER
The Urban Heat Island Effect - Lesson 2 (Grades 8-9)
Students use the scientific process to show that when various surfaces are exposed to similar environmental conditions, surface temperatures may vary. They examine the "urban heat island" phenomenon and analyze why it increases energy...
Curated OER
Weather and Oceans: Uneven Heating of the Earth
Students investigate what causes the heat on Earth. In this Earth heating lesson, students experiment with different heat sources and determine where the Earth gathers the most heat. Students explore vocabulary words...
Curated OER
Latent Heat and Clouds
Learners explore latent heat and how it relates to clouds in the atmosphere. In this earth science lesson students investigate how clouds are formed. Learners examine clouds and the water cycle.