Making a Thermometer

Sprouting scientists explore the concept of density by making mass and volume measurements for five different liquids. From these measurements, they calculate densities. They apply their learning to explain Galileo's thermometer works...

Start this mini unit on matter out by demonstrating how food coloring behaves when placed in cold and in hot water. Then have the class experiment with warm water and soap film. Pupils will learn that an increase in thermal energy also...

Why do some items feel colder when they are the same temperature? How should you keep your soda cold? What makes the wind blow? These are just some of the things middle schoolers discover when completing a lesson on conduction and...

How does heat move from one item to another, even when the items are in different states of matter? Pupils experiment with adding washers to hot water and adding hot washers to room temperature water to observe the heat transfer. 

Step-by-step instructions are given for two hands-on activities. Young scientists cut out a paper spiral and hold it over a hot plate to demonstrate convection, and they place a small piece of wax on the end of a metal rod opposite the...

Get an up-close look at energy transfer. Using a three-part activity, investigators first observe a teacher-led demonstration before building a model marble track to convert potential energy to kinetic energy. Scientists explore six...

The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth lesson in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal energy. Scholars build...

Answer short answers and fill-in-the-blank questions after reading a briefing of how heat energy is transferred between objects. This straightforward activity can be useful as homework the evening before you do demonstrations of the...

Sixth graders listen to descriptions of types of heat to gain background knowledge In this heat instructional activity, 6th graders perform experiments to understand various types of heat transfer (convection, conduction and radiation.)...

Students define and discuss the term conduction. They view a demonstration that illustrates conduction and then work in groups using sugar cubes, plastic and metal knives and hot water to observe conduction.