Heat-sensitive liquid crystal sheets are available in a variety of sizes and temperature ranges. Purchase a class set of hand-held sheets and color half of each with a silver permanent marking pen. Learners of light can hold them under a...

See the direct relationship between pressure and temperature using these classic science toys. As individuals hold the glass bulb, the liquid inside reaches it's boiling temperature, which is just a bit above room temperature. As the...

Who needs a barbecue grill to cook hot dogs when you have the amazing power of the sun at your disposal? Engage young scientists in learning about solar energy with this fun activity that turns a used Pringles can into a solar...

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...

Do all liquids evaporate at the same rate? Young scientists observe the evaporation rate of three different liquids. They measure the time, the temperature, and the change in energy. After comparing the chemical formulas, scholars...

In this heat worksheet, students complete experiments with heat and answer short answer questions about the transfer of thermal energy. Students complete 4 questions, one chart, and one bar graph.

With Earth Day quickly approaching, as well as many science fairs, why not challenge your class to investigate geothermal energy or other renewable energy resources? There are five driving questions explored in depth here, as well as...

It's a race to the finish! Which ice cube will melt the fastest? Scholars discover the effect thermal energy has on melting ice. They experiment with melting ice cubes on different materials and learn that even at a consistent...

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...

It is more than just blowing hot air. Pupils first build a hot air balloon out of tissue paper by cutting enough panels of tissue paper to form a balloon shape and glue the panels together. Using a hot air gun, individuals then inflate...

Adjust the melting time of ice without varying the temperature! Learners experiment with different materials to decide how the materials affect the rate an ice cube melts. They then connect their findings to the conductivity of each...

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...

Students learn about the difference between temperature and thermal energy. They build a thermometer using simple materials and develop their own scale for measuring temperature. They compare their thermometer to a commercial...

Students apply an understanding of the concept of heat transfer through convection, conduction, and radiation as they use wireless temperature probes to investigate the heating capacity of different materials under heat lamps.

In this activity you will use the EasyTemp temperature sensor. Determine the change in thermal energy for a given mass of ice. Determine the heat of fusion of ice and the percent error.

This hands-on science activity allows students to explore how materials absorb sunlight differently. Students will create model houses with different materials on the roof and see which material allows the most heat to be absorbed into...

Students apply the concepts of conduction, convection, and radiation as they work in teams to solve two problems. One problem requires that they maintain the warm temperature of one soda can filled with water at approximately body...

In this lab-based activity, the students will accomplish two sequential goals. The first goal is to understand the law of conservation of energy.The second goal is to use their knowledge in part one to determine the temperature of a hot...

Three short, hands-on, in-class demos expand students' understand of energy. First, using peanuts and heat, students see how the human body burns food to make energy. Then, students create paper snake mobiles to explore how heat energy...

Students relate thermal energy to heat capacity by comparing the heat capacities of different materials and graphing the change in temperature over time for a specific material. Students learn why heat capacity is an important property...

Step-by-step illustrated instructions for an experiment investigating the loss of heat in three bowls of porridge.

A set of printable pdf pages from the University of Sydney's "Thermal Physics Module" site. Entropy is defined and explained conceptually. The mathematical treatment of entropy is introduced. The second law of thermodynamics and its...

An excellent page from the Colorado State University with a heavy mathematical emphasis. Each form of heat transfer--conduction, convection, and radiation--is defined, compared and contrasted. Mathematical equations governing the rates...

An excellent page from the Colorado State University with a heavy mathematical emphasis. Each form of heat transfer--conduction, convection, and radiation--is defined, compared, and contrasted. Mathematical equations governing the rates...