Curated OER
Go With the Flow!
Students experiment with heat transfer in a countercurrent system and describe the importance of conduction in heat-energy transfer.
Curated OER
Electrical Energy
Students conduct an experiment to find out how well different wires radiate heat when voltage is applied across the wire.  They use the results of their experiments to consider how the gauge of the wire and the type of wire affect the...
Curated OER
Specific Heat Capacity of a Metal
Eleventh graders investigate the relationship between heat and energy transfer. They review terms including heat, work, calorimetry and the procedures for an experiment.  After assembling the materials for the experiment, they observe...
University of California
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Calories are not tiny creatures that sew your clothes tighter every night, but what are they? A science lesson, presented at multiple levels, has learners experiment with heat, heat transfer, and graph the function over time....
Curated OER
All The News
Young scholars simulate newspaper critics in the topics of heat and temperature. They write a scientific critique of evidence and claims used in a newspaper article and research using KIE software. They write notes on the letter to the...
Curated OER
Hot Cans and Cold Cans
Learners investigate the physics of heating and cooling through conduction, convection, and radiation. Working in groups, they determine the best way to cool a can of water and warm a can of water. Temperature is taken at five minute...
Curated OER
Heat Misconceptions
Third graders determine that gloves do not provide heat, but rather, they insulate or hold in any heat that is in their hand.  They discuss the different temperatures found in ecosystems around the world. What do animals that live in...
Curated OER
Learning Lesson: Crunch Time
Students demonstrate the effect of heat on pressure. They use a 2-liter bottle and hot tap water to complete the experiments. They also discuss thunderstorm safety rules.
Curated OER
Calorimetry Lab
In this calorimetry lab, students apply the information read about a calorimeter to conduct a scientific investigation. Students record their data in a chart. Students use the information from the chart to calculate specific heat of...
Curated OER
Deep Ocean Currents
High schoolers observe the interactions of different temperatures of water using colored ice and a thermometer and then compare the results with global ocean current solar heating.  They identify where floating ice would be found in the...
Curated OER
Solids and Liquids
Students complete activities to study the properties of solids and liquids. In this states of matter lesson, students investigate the melting and freezing of a range of materials in a virtual experiment. Students melt the substances and...
Curated OER
Solids, Liquids, and Gases
First graders explore the properties of matter. In this states of matter lesson, 1st graders conduct scientific investigations that require them to mix, cool, and heat objects in order to observe changes in the properties of matter.
University of Southern California
Wave Erosion Lab
Using a stream table, erosion enthusiasts examine how the density of sediment and how the slope of land contribute to the amount moved by waves. You will not be able to use this entire resource as is; there are teachers' names and...
Carnegie Mellon University
Bathtub Model
Using a colorful infographic handout and a guide sheet, hold a class discussion about how a bathtub can serve as a model for the greenhouse effect created by Earth's atmosphere. Participants will understand that as energy or matter is...
Curated OER
Heat 1
In this heat worksheet, students determine the heat gained or lost when matter changes phases. Students review the energy flow through ecosystems by comparing trophic levels and food webs. This worksheet has 10 fill in the blank, 5 short...
Curated OER
Pressure Melting of Ice: While-U-Wait
Young scholars demonstrates one of the few cases in which geologic solids visibly deform at room conditions. They suspend a weight on a thin wire over an ice cube to observe its effects over time.
Curated OER
The Great Ocean Conveyor
Students investigate water density. In this water density activity, students conduct an experiment with food coloring, water and salt to see how the salt effects bodies of water.
Curated OER
Energy Transfer
Students investigate the properties of heated air.  They make predictions about what they think makes the wind blow on a worksheet, and conduct two experiments to demonstrate the properties of heated air.  Students heat a bottle until a...
Curated OER
(S-1A) Weather and the Atmosphere
Students discuss the way vertical convection transports heat from the surface upwards, and associated pressure and temperature profiles of the atmosphere.
Mr. E. Science
Changes in Matter
Do solids, liquids, and gases even matter? The presentation focuses on changes in matter, including phases, Boyle's Law, Charles' Law, and physical changes. 
Curated OER
Am I Hot or Am I Cold?
Students practice using a thermometer to determine how the air around the earth gets heated and cooled by the sun. Students chart the daily inside and outside temperature for two weeks.
Curated OER
It's a Gas! Or is it?
Young scholars discover the principles of solubility and phase state and their influence on chemical phenomena observed around deep-sea volcanoes. They describe the effect of temperature and pressure on solubility of gasses and solid...
Curated OER
Coffee Cooling
Students explore the factors that affect how long coffee stays hot.  They develop a question and a testable hypothesis for one factor such as initial temperature or size of opening of the container.  Then they design and conduct an...
It's About Time
Renewable Energy Sources - Solar and Wind
There has been a huge solar energy spill! Let's go outside to play in it. This lesson includes multiple experiments showcasing solar and wind energies. Scholars build a solar heater and an anemometer before testing the results. The...