heat experiments elementary

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September 2, 2014

Super Simple Heat Experiment

How heat affects things is sometimes difficult to understand. This simple heat experiment shows how heat causes molecules to move faster. {Plus kids think it looks cool.}

Simple Heat Experiment

Supplies you’ll need :

• 3 clear jars
• food coloring
• masking tape
• thermometer {optional}

How to conduct the experiment :

• Turn on your sink faucet and measure the temperature. Adjust the faucet so the temperature is about 72°F. Fill the jar labeled Room Temperature. Alternatively, you can fill a jar will cool tap water and let it sit out for day. The water will eventually become the same temperature as the room.
• Fill the jar labeled Cold Water 3/4 of the way with cold tap water. Add ice to the jar to cool the water even farther. {Or you could place this jar in the refrigerator while you wait for your Room Temperature jar to be ready.} Remove the ice from the jar before finishing your experiment.
• An adult should help with the Hot Water jar. Turn on your faucet as hot as it will go. Fill the jar labeled Hot Water with hot water. An adult could also heat up some water on the stove. Just be careful not to make it too hot. {100°F is hot but it won’t burn skin.}
• Add a drop of food coloring to each of the jars and observe what happens over time.

Questions to Ask :

• What happens to the drop of food coloring?
• Does the food coloring behave the same in each of the jars? Why or why not?
• What is different about the jars?
• What can you say about the relationship between heat and the movement of molecules? {for older kids}

The Science Behind It

Molecules move faster when they are warmer and slower when they are colder. The drop of food coloring spreads out fastest in the hot water because the molecules are moving the fastest of the three jars. The food coloring spreads out fairly quickly in room temperature water and slowest in the cold water. Eventually the food coloring spreads throughout all three jars.

More Simple Science Experiments

• Physics for Kids: Exploring Color and Temperature  – Conduct an experiment to find out h ow color affects the temperature of an object. Even preschoolers can complete the steps of this experiment on their own.
• This celery science experiment is a great way to make transpiration come alive.
• Try this simple jumping experiment  perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. How far can you jump?

About Trisha Stanley

Trisha is an educator with a passion for science literacy and mom to Aiden and Lily. She's the creator of  Inspiration Laboratories , a blog dedicated to encouraging learning through creativity and play, and Read Science , a blog that showcases science activities inspired by children's books.

September 7, 2014 at 10:58 pm

Fabulous experiment! We will certainly be giving this one a try. Thank you 🙂

November 19, 2015 at 7:02 pm

me and my friends are doing this for our science fair project and we didn’t know it was a preschool experiment but we are still going to do it because it looks really cool and it has a lot of things to do with science

March 27, 2015 at 11:37 am

November 4, 2015 at 2:20 pm

Excellent ideas for Kindergarten!

November 5, 2015 at 7:17 am

Yes! They would love it!

November 19, 2015 at 7:17 pm

i like this experiment

March 20, 2018 at 4:09 pm

January 6, 2016 at 9:36 pm

This is an amazing science experiment on temperature for 5th graders, such as myself.

December 4, 2016 at 7:57 am

Amazing experiment. I did it in school for extra credit even though I’m in 7th grade and this is a kiddie experiment. Thanks a lot!

February 12, 2017 at 8:52 pm

Thank you for this helpful science experiment!

February 27, 2017 at 4:46 pm

I love this experiment so much

March 20, 2018 at 4:08 pm

I TRIED IT IT GOT MY STUDENTS TO UNDERSTAND AT LEAST IT IS BETTER THAN THROWING A BRAND NEW COMPUTER OUT THE WINDOW TO SHOW THEM GRAVITY LESSON

September 13, 2018 at 3:31 pm

it looks fun

October 19, 2020 at 12:00 am

Awesome Experiment

December 7, 2020 at 7:42 pm

Love your experiment🙂👍

August 18, 2022 at 10:52 pm

Excellent ideas and simple

January 22, 2023 at 11:41 am

awesome im in 5th grade but it still work for my project im doing this!!

January 24, 2023 at 3:23 pm

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Elementary Heat Transfer Experiments

Thermal Energy Science Experiments for Kids

Teaching children how to understand the basics of heat transfer can be rather difficult. Since many students do not fair well learning strictly through textbooks, elementary experiments can be crucial for teaching how heat energy can be transferred. A variety of heat transfer experiments can be conducted quickly and without the need for expensive materials.

Coin Conduction Experiment

A simple experiment that utilizes coins can be used to teach heat conduction. Place six pennies on a flat surface, which will represent atoms. Fling a "shooter" penny towards the group of coins, which represents an atom with excess kinetic energy. Observe the reaction of the other coins, which represents a transfer of kinetic energy; the same principle that can be found in heat conduction.

Sunlight Conduction Experiment

Sunlight conduction experiments are incredibly easy to set up and can effectively teach children how sunlight can be absorbed in water to create energy. Simply fill a container with ice-cold water and place outside of the classroom in a very sunny area. Ensure that each child feels the temperature of the water, and allow the water to sit outside for at least two hours. Take the children outside and ask each to feel the water's new temperature, which will be warm or hot as a result of its absorption of sunlight.

Dark vs. Light Experiment

Expanding on the sunlight conduction experiment, you can take things one step further by teaching your students which type of container absorbs more heat energy; a black one, or a white one. Using black and white construction paper, wrap two jars in each color respectively and fill with water. Allow to sit outside for one hour and test the temperature of each jar. The black will almost always be warmer, since dark surfaces work as better conductors than light surfaces.

Radiation Experiment

Teaching children the basic principles of radiation can be done easily and safely. Take the class outside and stand in a shady location, asking them to decide whether they feel hot or cold in the current area. Ask them to move to a sunny location and repeat the analysis. The warmth of the sunny area represents radiation, which can be thought of as a series of waves emitted by the sun that warms the ground.

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About the Author

Based in Portland, Maine, Kurt Larsen began his writing career in 2008. As well as being proficient in constructing marketing and website content, he has been published in media outlets such as Buildipedia, an interactive community focusing on green and sustainable architecture. Larsen holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Vermont.

Find Your Next Great Science Fair Project! GO

What is Heat Transfer? Heat Transfer Experiments

Heat transfer projects are an exciting and engaging choice for your next STEM activity. Kids love the hands on nature of these projects. Plus they offer a lot of practical life skills. Like how to build a natural solar heater or how to slow heat loss, or how to make a slurpee with science !

Science Fair Heat Transfer Experiments

What you will discover in this article!

Heat Transfer Science and Definitions

Before jumping into a bunch of Heat Transfer Projects it’s a good idea to chat about the science behind these experiments.

Heat Energy is often called thermal energy. Thermal energy is present in the molecules of an object. When an object is hot the molecules have a lot of energy and move fast. When an object is cold, the molecules have little energy and move slowly.

One thing to keep in mind, is that the faster molecules are moving, the more space they take up. The Bottle Crush experiment below is a fantastic way to demonstrate this principle.

How is Heat Transferred?

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that heat will always move from a hot object to a cooler one.  Heat transfer is the movement of thermal energy as it transfers from one object to another or between an object and it’s surroundings. Thermal energy will naturally work towards a state of balance or equilibrium. This is known as thermal equilibrium, where two objects or an object and it’s surroundings achieve the same level of heat energy (thermal energy).

Keep in mind the greater the difference in temperature the more rapid the transfer of heat. The Mpemba Effect is a great way to explore this principle in water.

What is the Difference Between Heat and Temperature?

It’s important not to confuse Heat and Temperature. Heat refers to the energy present in the molecules of an object (picture how fast those molecules are moving). Heat is affected by the speed of the particles, the number of particles (including their size or mass), and the type of particles. Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules in an object and is not affected by the number or size of the molecules. Heat and temperature are directly related to each other, but not the same thing.

Picture a steaming mug of coffee, now picture a bathtub filled with the same steaming coffee. The temperature is the same, but the thermal energy is higher in the tub because there is more coffee.

In a nutshell, heat is energy. Temperature is a measurement of that energy.

So with these heat transfer projects we are exploring the transfer of energy, with temperature being a common method of measurement and quantification of the results.

Heat Transfer Projects and Experiments

Science fair worthy projects, greenhouse effect experiment – climate change in a jar.

In this climate change experiment students learn hands on about the power of greenhouse gases and how they capture and hold heat from the sun. A simple chemical reaction is all that is needed to replicate the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and see the greenhouse effect in a jar .

Starlite Thermal Insulating Experiment

This project is absolutely fascinating and would make an amazing science fair project for middle grade. Our Starlite recipe uses ingredients that you probably already have and it provides incredible thermal protection from heat transfer. We tested it a number of different ways, and each was utterly fascinating!

Passive Solar Energy Project

This activity uses recycled materials to create a solar chimney . Using the energy from the sun, it is transferred to the air inside the chimney, heating the air.

Winter STEM – Exploring the Effect of Salt on Ice

A fun project that explores how salt impacts ice and the transfer of heat between the ice and adjacent objects and the surroundings.

Slurpee Science

Using the principles explored in the previous Winter STEM project, this heat transfer project has a tasty treat at the end as students make their own slurpees with science !

How to Make Ice Cream in a Bag

Want something other than a slurpee? Try making Ice Cream in a Bag using the principles of Heat Transfer and a little muscle power. We have recipes for regular and dairy free Ice Cream in a Bag. So yummy!

Why Does Water Rise?

This activity is like magic and a great example of how rapid changes in heat energy and temperature can create a vacuum.

More Fun Heat Transfer Projects

Color changing magic playdough recipe.

A wow worthy project making playdough that changes colour as you play, simply from the heat of your hands, or by using chilled or warmed objects. This Magic Playdough Recipe is so cool!

Heat Sensitive Color Changing Oobleck Recipe

Looking to add some non-Newtonian Fluid demonstrations to your heat transfer lessons? Try this fun Colour Changing Oobleck that changes colours from the warmth of your hands, especially as you work it to keep it in a solid state. But release it and watch as it turns to liquid, flowing from your hands and changes colour as it flows. A fantastic demonstration of heat transfer and non-Newtonian fluids.

Magic Moon Dough

This luxurious sensory activity is absolutely mesmerizing. As you play with the silky feeling magic moon dough it will change colour from your touch, just like magic! Takes only minutes to make and provides hours of play.

Bottle Crush

This activity was mentioned above. Bottle Crush is a very simple science project that kids of all ages will enjoy. It does a fantastic job of showing how high heat energy takes up more space and low heat energy takes up less space.

Mpemba Effect – Making Snow

The Mpemba Effect is about the peculiar property of water where it will freeze faster when it is hotter, rather than colder. The greater the difference in temperature, the faster the heat transfer and the more dramatic the results. And at -40 the results are breathtaking!

Convection Currents Experiment

A potentially messy but fun experiment that shows how heat transfers between liquids when they are mixed together.

Ocean Currents Experiment

Similar to the experiment above, this one also explores heat transfer in liquids and how liquids at extreme temperature differences react to each other.

5 Days of Smart STEM Ideas for Kids

Get started in STEM with easy, engaging activities.

Enjoy Teaching Thermal Energy with Heat Activities for Kids

Heat activities help kids conceptualize thermal energy. With a few everyday objects, you can help your students understand conduction, convection, radiation, and more!

Ms. Sneed Finds Some Thermal Energy Activities

Our favorite fourth grade teacher sighed deeply. “Other physical science activities were relatively easy. How can we teach heat in the classroom?” she asked her teammate, Mr. Frank.

“I know. We can’t use a blowtorch!”

The pair sat down by the computer and began searching. After typing in “heat activities,” they found what they were looking for. “Hey look! This thermal energy unit has eight simple labs that use everyday materials,” exclaimed Mr. Frank.

“And no blowtorch is needed,” grinned Ms. Sneed.

Heat Activities in the Classroom

The following Monday, Ms. Sneed set up her first heat lab. In the teacher’s lounge, she prepared three pitchers of water: hot, warm, and cold. Then she placed them on a tray and walked carefully back to her classroom. Next, she organized clear plastic cups into three sets and poured the water. Finally, Ms. Sneed took six bottles of food coloring and a flashlight out of her science cabinet.

Just then, the bell rang. The students filed in and began to take their seats. “Okay, everyone, we’re going to start the day in our science lab groups . Then you’ll try the first of our thermal energy activities.”

“Yay!” The kids began to chatter happily. Ms. Sneed handed out their lab sheets then quieted them down.

What Is Heat?

“For the first activity, you will observe a drop of food coloring in hot, warm, and cold water. In the second part, you’ll rub your hands together and check out this flashlight.” Ms. Sneed turned on the flashlight and laid it on a side table.

“Let’s get started. Group member #1 will come to the table and take a cup of hot water.” Ms. Sneed pointed to the first set of cups. “Then #2 will get warm water.” She pointed to the second set. “And member #3 will take cold water. Finally, #4 will get a bottle of food coloring.”

As the groups got started, Ms. Sneed circulated. “Wow! Look how quickly the hot water mixes,” a girl said to her teammates.

At another table, students were already rubbing their hands together. “Ow! That’s hot!” they laughed.

Near the end of the class period, two students sat with their heads together. Ms. Sneed listened in as one struggled to make generalizations . “Heat energy came from motion. We saw that in the cup and rubbing our hands together. But the flashlight was different. The lightbulb gave off heat.” He tapped his pencil thoughtfully. “So I guess heat happens when a different form of energy converts to thermal energy.”

Ms. Sneed nodded her head and smiled. The inquiry required for these thermal energy activities sure made kids think!

How Does Heat Travel?

The following day, Ms. Sneed’s class was ready for the second of eight heat activities. “Today’s lab will be brief,” she said. “When you’re finished, watch the related video . I think you’ll like it.”

Once again, the teacher moved around the classroom as her students worked. “The ice cube is making my hand cold,” one girl said.

“Oh really,” Ms. Sneed said. “Which has more heat, your hand or the ice cube?”

“My hand, of course.”

“So which direction is the heat moving?”

“Oh, I get it. The heat is moving from my hand to the ice cube. Therefore, heat moves from hot to cold.”

What Is Conduction?

To save time, Ms. Sneed decided to do three heat activities on Wednesday. She arranged them in stations .

For conduction , students moved through two stations.

• At the first center, a set of metal salad tongs rested against the side of a bowl filled with hot water. Kids touched the handle of the tongs. It was really warm!
• Ms. Sneed managed this station. As students moved to the table, she ran an iron across a towel. Then each student felt the warmth of the towel.

Kids quickly understood that conduction occurred when two objects touched. Again, heat moved from warmer regions to cooler.

What Is Convection?

Students moved to two more stations to learn about convection .

• After pouring warm water into a plastic cup, students used a straw to add colored cold water underneath the warm water. Surprisingly, the colored water stayed at the bottom of the cup.
• As they held a curlicue above an electric candle, groups noticed that it began to spin. Warm air was rising off the candle.

These heat activities illustrated that warm air or water rises while cold sinks.

What Is Radiation?

Two simple thermal energy activities illustrated radiation :

• Students held their hands above an electric candle. Although they didn’t touch the candle, they still felt the heat.
• Then they stood in the ray of sunshine streaming in the classroom window. Yes, they felt that heat too.

With radiation, heat travels through air or space.

Which Materials Insulate and Conduct Heat?

On the fourth day, students experimented with insulators and conductors of heat. As she watched them measure temperatures with thermometers, Ms. Sneed smiled. She loved the way this lab connected subjects . Her class was practicing math skills during science.

How Does Heat Change Matter?

For the seventh of eight thermal energy activities, students observed water in three states: solid, liquid, and gas. While they’d learned this before, Ms. Sneed was glad for the review – especially of scientific vocabulary.

How Do We Measure Heat?

For the final lab, students once again reviewed concepts. This activity focused on reading a thermometer, as well as temperatures in Fahrenheit and Celsius.

Enjoy Teaching

Did Ms. Sneed enjoy teaching with hands-on heat activities? You bet! These labe engaged her students and made her classroom a happy learning place. The following year, she decided to add similar units on light , sound , and electricity .

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• Physical Science
• Heat Energy

Heat Energy Lesson Module

In the Heat Energy module, students explore this type of energy that can be felt. Students use their hands to build friction and make heat energy. In the Larry in his Laboratory activity, students learn about conduction and radiation with an animated host and live-video examples.

Core Concept

Heat energy is energy that can be felt and moves from hot to cold by conduction and radiation.

Essential Vocabulary

Heat energy, conduction, conductor, contact, degree, insulator, radiate, radiation, temperature, thermometer, transfer, wave

Lesson Plan

Interactive Demos

Memory Match

This Elaborate session allows students to practice and apply new terminology related to heat energy. In this session, students participate in a selection of activities that focus on the content vocabulary addressed throughout the module. To complete the session, students work independently, or with peers, to complete an offline activity that reinforces literacy skills.

Club Sizzle

This Elaborate session promotes the use of formal definitions and explanations in a format not traditionally used in science instruction. In this session, students view an animated literature piece and use their digital Notebook to record their ideas. Students also participate in a teacher-led discussion that emphasizes the science content. To complete the session, students participate in offline activities that reinforce the connection between science, literature, and the arts.

Professional Development

Science4Us provides the essentials that teachers need to confidently and effectively lead a classroom in any science lesson. This demo shows:

• One section of the "Teacher Explain"
• One of the 40 teacher support documents

28 Heat Activities For Elementary Students: Introduction, Experimentation, And Discussion

November 14, 2023 //  by  Elizabeth Greer

Heat is a long-time favorite science activity for elementary kids. It is a form of energy where the faster molecules move, the more heat is created. Or, think about it like this: the higher the heat, the quicker molecules move. Heat includes conduction, convection, radiation, and insulation. Read on for fun elementary ideas!

1. KWL chart

Use a KWL chart to find out what your students know, want to know, and afterward, what they learned! This website gains deeper knowledge of how to use a KWL chart in the classroom.

Learn More: Lucid Chart

2. Question Tree

Using a picture of a tree on the trunk, write “heat.” Students do a Turn and Talk with their neighbors to share questions they have about the heat. Then students share their questions with the whole group. The teacher writes on each branch the students’ questions. This website looks into types of questions and how to develop questions for elementary students!

Learn More: Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning

3. Anchor Chart

Make an anchor chart for each major element of heat: convection, conduction, radiation, heat travel, insulation, and lastly, heat itself. Look at this website for information on creating an anchor chart students will use! 

Learn More: Mrs. Martin47

4. Form Connections

Create a class brainstorming list of Things That Produce Heat. The students brainstorm anything they can think of that produces heat! Take a look at this website for more information on how to do a brainstorming session.

Learn More: Northern Illinois University

5. Web Diagram

Place the word Heat in the middle circle, then have students Turn and Talk to discuss what they know about heat. Look at this website for more information on how to use this resource!

Learn More: Classroom

Learn Vocabulary

6. vocabulary bingo.

Make up or print out bingo cards featuring Heat vocabulary terms. The caller says a definition, and the students must find the term on their cards! Alternatives: if you have older students, have a list of all the vocabulary words they learned. The students use the list to write the words on their boards in their chosen spots. Use this website for more fun ideas!

Learn More: Lucky Little Learners

7. Spinner activity

This spinner idea from Pinterest has kids play in small groups. Students take turns spinning the spinner; they choose a vocabulary term and have to do whatever the spinner lands on. The other teammates have to guess what the vocabulary term is! Alternatives: instead of playing “hangman,” play “snowman” or “scarecrow.” As sad as this is, for students who have a connection to suicide (themselves, friends, or family members), Hangman may be a trigger. 

Learn More: Teacher’s Notebook

8. Draw a word

Students draw each vocabulary term! Visit this website for more fun ideas.

9. Guess My Word

A student receives a sticky note containing one of the vocabulary terms. The sticky note should be placed in a location they won’t be able to see, such as their forehead or back. The classmates give the students clues about what their word is. Also known as Heads Up, this website gives detailed information on how to play.

Learn More: Vocabulary Luau

10. Semantic Map

Kind of like a web diagram, this is more intricate and allows students to see ideas in a new way. Look at this website for a delayed How-To on how to draw a semantic map!

Learn More: Reading Rockets

11. I have…Who has…

Here is a great website that explains how to play with the whole class! Give each student 1-3 cards. The first player reads the card saying, “I have ______ (heat vocabulary term), who has ______ (a different vocabulary term’s definition).” The student who has that vocabulary term on their card reads, “I have _____ (vocabulary term), who has _____ (a different vocabulary term’s definition).” Play continues with this pattern until all the cards have been read. 

Learn More: Little Learning Corner

A fun center or small group activity. Create cards displaying the vocabulary terms on one set and their corresponding definitions on the other. Students flip over all of the cards so they cannot see what is written on each one. Students take turns flipping over 2 cards. If they don’t match, the student flips the cards back over, and gameplay goes to the next student. If they do match, the student keeps those cards and goes again. After the 2nd turn, gameplay goes on to the next student. Keep playing until all of the cards are matched! This website offers official rules.

Learn More: Help My Kid Learn

Experiment and Question

13. radiation.

This experiment tests the sun’s ability to heat sand. Place sand in 3 different buckets. Place one bucket in direct heat, another in indirect heat, and the third in the shade. Periodically test the sand to see how it heats up. This experiment answers the question: how does the sun heat up sand? 

Learn More: Resource Center

14. Conduction

Different types of spoons are placed in hot water with butter on the tip. The heat from the water conducts into certain spoons, making the butter melt faster! This experiment answers the question: How does heat transfer from one object to another? What materials conduct heat?

Learn More: Hungry SciANNtist

15. Insulation

Roll different materials over or around water bottles containing hot water. Test the water temperature to see what happens. This experiment answers the question: What materials make the best insulator? What materials do not insulate?

Learn More: The Good and the Beautiful Homeschool Science

16. Convection

All you need for this experiment is a big jar or vase full of cool water, a small glass full of hot, but not boiling, water, and food coloring in hot water. Carefully place the hot water glass into the cool water glass and observe what happens! This experiment allows students to see how heat transfers allowing cold water to turn into hot water.

Learn More: Science Sparks

17.  Radiation

Create this solar oven experiment by using a pizza box, tin foil, and more! The experiment shows students the power of the sun’s radiation to build an oven.

Learn More: Science Buddies

18. Convection

Almost like 16, this fun experiment uses ice cubes and food coloring to show how heat transfers using convection. Pour water and a small drop of food coloring into an ice cube tray. Place the tray in the freezer to freeze. Pour water into a glass before placing the colored ice into the water. Is there a difference in the reactions for the two experiments? Watch to see what happens!

Learn More: The Homeschool Scientist

19. Insulation

Ever wonder how Arctic animals live in such cold water? Well, this demonstration analyzes just that! Using clear plastic bags and a secret ingredient, see how he can keep his hand in the ice-cold water pain-free. This experiment answers the question: How do animals live in cold water? How do they keep their bodies warm? How can humans keep their bodies warm?

Learn More: How Cast

20. Radiation

This experiment explores the question: How does the sun heat water? Will different jars (white vs. black vs. clear) create a different occurrence? Fill different types of jars with water. Leave them out in the sun to see what happens.

Learn More: Sciencing

21. Insulation

This experiment allows students to discover how to keep jars of hot water warm in the cold! This demonstration uses glass mason jars and is perfect for an insulation demonstration outdoors in the cold.

Learn More: Royal Botanical Gardens

Show what you Know

22. jeopardy.

Create your own game board OR use factile, a website that allows teachers to make a jeopardy style board.

Learn More: Factile

23. 3D Performance Task

The Wisconsin Science and STEM Education initiative give a broad outline of how to create a task-oriented assessment. It will also help you develop a rubric to have a solid, data-driven way to assess knowledge.

Learn More: Wisconsin Science and STEM Education

Students can make a medium, large, or 3 fold poster. Creating a poster allows students to research more information, write or type their information and draw or print pictures. They can do any combination!

Students can make a video showing what they know about the heat on Animoto. This fun idea can be done individually or in small groups, they can make a script, write notecards or create a storyboard to help plan their thinking.

Learn More: Animoto

26. Heat Transfer Poster

Students can show what they know about heat transfer using this handy poster from Pinterest! Really more of a graphic organizer, which allows students to organize their ideas about heat concepts. Students could fill this out first and then use the information to create a poster, presentation, or video!

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

27. Slideshow presentation

Students can make a slideshow depicting facts, pictures, and even videos about the heat! They can use the graphic organizer above to plan their ideas and research!

Learn More: The Edu Blogger

28. Artistic Medium

This activity depicts types of heat and heat transfer through artistic mediums. Media could include drawings, paintings, collages, sculptures, photography, poetry, song, pottery, or mosaic! This website may give you an idea of how to use artistic mediums as an assessment tool.

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Priceless Ponderings

Teaching Resources

Heat Energy Lessons – Engaging Science Activities for Kids

Are you starting a unit on forms of energy? Planning a unit on teaching heat with our students in mind means making sure to add in some fun hands-on experiments ! In this post, I’ll discuss some great heat energy lessons for kids and experiments that they will love!

Heat Energy Lessons: How to Teach Heat Energy to Kids

You might be thinking, what is the best way to teach heat energy to kids? When teaching heat, you should cover some important key concepts.

First, students should understand that heat is an energy that can be felt. I also make sure to teach my class that heat is created by small atoms and molecules that move around. Lastly, In my heat energy lesson plans, I include activities that teach sources of heat, how heat moves, and friction.

Heat Energy Lessons: FREE Forms of Energy Anchor Charts

Grab some  free anchor chart templates  to help you teach your class about sound, light, and heat energy!

Heat Energy Lessons: Where does Heat Come From?

One of the first activities I have my class do when learning about heat is to explore different sources of heat. I teach my class about the difference between natural and artificial sources of heat. One of the best ways to do this is by exploring your school or going on a scavenger hunt to find different examples of heat.

I have students fill out a recording sheet with heat sources that they see. Once we finish the activity, we talk about which ones are natural and which ones are artificial.

Heat Energy Lessons for Kids: Experiments

One of the best ways to teach students about a new topic is through a fun, hands-on experiment. Here are 3 equally fun activities that I like to add to my heat energy lessons. BONUS, my class loves to do these low-prep experiments each year, and they always show a better understanding of heat energy afterward.

1. Investigate Ways to Make Heat

Authentic, hands-on learning is always my favorite way to teach science.

One of the first experiments that we talk about is sources of heat. Students will learn that there are different ways we can create heat.

In this experiment, students will learn that friction causes heat and can make the ice melt. This is a great, simple experiment since it requires very little materials and time.

What you’ll need: 

• Plastic bag
• Pencil  

Directions: 

• Pass out lab reports to your students.  
• Make groups of 3-4 students. 
• Give each group a bag of ice. Then, tell them they are going to race to see who can melt the ice the fastest. 
• Tell the students they can do whatever they want to try and make the bag melt the fastest. ex. They can place it in a sunny spot, blow on it, squeeze it, etc. 
• Once students have had time to explore different ways to make the ice melt, show students that rubbing the ice in their hands also makes the bag melt quicker.
• Discuss with the students what friction is and how it creates heat. Record results on their lap reports when they are done.  

2. Investigate the Power of the Sun

The next activity that we work on in class is a fun experiment where students learn that the sun is the earth’s largest source of heat.

This experiment is a fun way for students to learn and see how the sun heats things up.

• Paper towel

Directions:

• Give groups two wet paper towels. 
• Set one towel in the sun and one in a dark shaded area.
• Have students time how long it takes for both paper towels to dry.
• Discuss what solar power is and why it is important. 
• Record results on their lap reports.

3. Investigate Body Heat

The last experiment that I have my class learn about is one of my favorites. It can get a bit messy, but who doesn’t love chocolate!?

This experiment is a simple way to teach students that our bodies are also a source of heat. Students will see that a piece of chocolate melts quickly in their hand when it is closed vs. an open fist.

What You’ll Need: 

• Hands (open and close)
• Chocolate kisses 
• Pass out lab reports to students. 
• Give each student 2 chocolate kisses.
• Have students put one kiss in an open hand and another in a closed fist.
• Students observe which chocolate melts faster. 
• Discus with students why a closed fist melts the chocolate faster. Talk to students about body heat.
• Lastly, have students record results on their lap reports.

Make a science journal when teaching sound to 2nd grade! 

Teaching sound to 2nd grade can be a ton of fun with the right activities and hands-on experiments. Keep track of what your students learn by making a notebook where they can record their thoughts and ideas. 

Heat Energy Lessons for Kids: Shop This Post

The activities in this post are from my  Heat Energy Worksheets pack . This is such a particularly fun and interactive way for students to learn about heat.

If you want to start a whole unit on forms of energy , check out my no-prep worksheet pack, where students learn about sound, light, and heat.

Also, be sure to save this post by pinning this to your Pinterest account. That way, teaching heat to 2nd grade is a breeze.

For More Science Activities, Visit These Posts!

FUN PLANT LIFE CYCLE ACTIVITIES (AND HOW TO TEACH THEM)

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LOW-PREP HABITAT ACTIVITIES FOR ELEMENTARY SCIENCE

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• Heat Experiments
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• 150 Science Experiments

Carbon sugar snake

Create a growing carbon sugar snake with simple ingredients. A science activity for the adults to try that demonstrates combustion & chemistry for kids.

Make a cloud in a jar

Learn how to make a cloud in a jar with easy to get materials. An effective demonstration of why clouds form and simple to do!

Hot air expands demonstration

A classic demonstration of hot air rising! Easy to do and highly visual.

Rising water experiment

Learn about air pressure with the classic rising water experiment! You just need a candle, some water, a glass and a plate to do this activity

Colourful currents

A colourful density experiment

It's all about heat!

Science and cooking via Baked Alaska

Learn about insulation by cooking!

Yummy science :)

What Freezes first… Hot or Cold Water?

Experiment with a weird result

Learn about energy within a liquid

Endothermic reaction

Use only pantry ingredients!

Reactions that get colder!

Make honeycomb

Heat can break bonds

Science you can eat!

Pizza box solar oven

Control the Sun's rays

Get cooking!

Lemon juice Christmas cards

Just add heat!

Christmas chemistry

Make A Simple Thermometer

Uses household materials

Thermal expansion of liquids

Microwave soap

Why does this happen?

Get adult help please!

Dry ice + spoons

Good vibrations

Adult help please

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Lessons and Activities about Heat and Insulation

In the elementary grades, students begin to explore the concepts of energy and heat. They learn that the sun is the primary source of warmth and that heat can be produced by activity and machines. They also learn that heat can be transferred from one object to another and that some materials can keep objects hot or cold. Students learn to use thermometers to measure temperature, but they should not be expected to understand the difference between heat and temperature. The focus of activity and instruction during these early years should be on making observations and developing informal understandings, not on formal definitions or in-depth explanations.

Elementary students tend to have many misconceptions about heat. While hands-on activity and continued discussion may be used, teachers should know that many of these misconceptions are persistent and even developmentally appropriate. With the proper experiences and informal exploration in elementary school, students will be prepared to tackle these misconceptions in later years.

In this article, we’ve highlighted lessons that help students answer the following questions: How is heat produced and measured? How can we “trap” heat? How do animals and people stay warm in the polar regions? Teachers may wish to combine lessons from each category to produce an effective learning cycle within a real-world context. Within each section, literacy lessons provide suggestions for incorporating reading, writing, and discussion into the science activity.

We’ve aligned each lesson to the appropriate national standards – National Science Education Standards and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)/International Reading Association (IRA) Standards for the English Language Arts . The entire National Science Education Standards document can be read online or downloaded for free from the National Academies Press web site. The content standards are found in Chapter 6 . The NCTE/IRA Standards may be viewed online as well.

These lessons help students develop a basic understanding of heat and how heat is produced. Teachers may wish to further develop a study of heat by exploring how different surfaces and colors reflect and absorb light. For lessons and activities about albedo, please see “ Hands-on Science and Literacy Activities about Solar Energy ” in the October 2008 issue of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears .

The Warmth of the Sun (Grades K-2) To help students broaden their understanding of the sun, particularly its critical role in warming the land, air, and water around us. This lesson meets the Science as Inquiry and Earth and Space Science content standards of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-4.

When Things Start Heating Up (Grades 3-5) This lesson is intended to give students a general idea of how heat is produced from human-based activities and mechanical and electrical machines. This lesson can be adapted to include other examples of heat-producing activities, such as those found in the lesson Heating Up . This lesson meets the Science as Inquiry and Physical Science content standards of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-4.

Is It Hot in the Light? (Grades 3-5) In this activity, students will make observations that things in direct sunlight are warmer than things that are not in as much sunlight. Also, they may notice that there may be more heat near asphalt, brick, or cement because heat can be stored and radiated from these, also. This lesson meets the Science as Inquiry and Earth and Space Science content standards of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-4 and 5-8.

Integrate literacy into these lessons with the following:

I Wonder: Writing Scientific Explanations With Students (Grades K-2; modify for Grades 3-5) This lesson encourages second-grade students to ask questions about a specific topic, choose a particular question to explore in detail, and research the question using a variety of resources. Students organize their information on a “What we think we know,” “What we have confirmed we know,” and “ New facts we have learned through research” (TCF) chart. They then collaborate to write a scientific explanation. Teachers could easily modify this lesson to focus on heat. This lesson meets the following NCTE/IRA Standards: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12 .

In these lessons, upper-elementary students investigate the properties of insulators by testing a variety of materials. Teachers may choose to modify these lessons to include other materials or create an inquiry experience for students by allowing them to select materials and plan their own testing procedure.

Teach Engineering: What is the Best Insulator? (Grades 3-5) In this lesson, students will investigate the properties of insulators in attempts to keep a cup of water from freezing, and once it is frozen, to keep it from melting. This lesson involves qualitative observations of which cups freeze (or melt) first. This lesson meets the Science as Inquiry and Physical Science Content Standards of the National Science Education Standards for Grades K-4.

Insulation Experimentation (Grade 5 and up) In this lesson, students test a variety of insulators and relate their knowledge to energy conservation. Experimental design is involved, but the lesson is written in such a way that allows students to design their own investigation. This lesson meets the Science as Inquiry and Physical Science Content Standards of the National Science Education Standards for Grades 5-8.

Integrate literacy into these lessons by having students plan investigations, record data, link claims to evidence, and draw conclusions in a science notebook.

Science Notebooks: Integrating Investigations This article from the August 2008 issue of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears provides an overview of science notebooks and how they can be used in the elementary classroom. Using science notebooks meets the following NCTE/IRA Standards : 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12.

KEEPING WARM

In these lessons, students explore how animals and people can stay warm in cold environments. Teachers may choose to tie these lessons to those addressing insulation by testing fur or cloth in the lessons described above.

Animal Coverings (Grade K) Discuss the different kinds of animal coverings and how each covering protects the animal or keeps it warm. This lesson meets the Life Science Content Standard of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-4.

Dressing for the Season (Grade K) For each change of season, students will observe the weather and then dress a cut-out doll appropriately for a field trip outside. This lesson meets the Life Science Content Standard of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-4.

How Animals Prepare for Winter (Grades 1-2) This lesson teaches students that some animals migrate and others hibernate during the winter months. This lesson meets the Life Science Content Standard of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-4.

Polar Bears: Keeping Warm at the Arctic (Grades K-2) Students learn about the polar bear’s body coverings and how the coverings help the bear survive in the Arctic climate. This lesson can be generalized to apply to other marine mammals such as whales and seals. This lesson meets the Science as Inquiry and Life Science Content Standards of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-4.

Dress Like a Polar Bear (Grades K-2 and 3-5) Students discuss the polar bear’s adaptations to an arctic climate, then apply what they’ve learned as they design a winter outfit for themselves. The activity includes modifications for both grade ranges. This lesson meets the Life Science Content Standard of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-4.

Polar Bears and Their Adaptations (Grades 3-5) Students explore how a polar bear’s body adapts to survive in the harsh environment in which the bear lives. This lesson can be generalized to apply to other marine mammals such as whales and seals. This lesson meets the Science as Inquiry and Life Science Content Standards of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-4 and 5-8.

Staying Warm in Antarctica (Grades 3-5) Students will explore the three different types of heat transfer and gain a better understanding of how this transfer affects both scientists and animals that inhabit polar regions. This lesson meets the Science as Inquiry, Physical Science, and Life Science Content Standards of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-4 and 5-8.

Integrate literacy into these lessons by pairing them with the following article and lesson:

Creating Question and Answer Books through Guided Research (Grades K-2; modify for Grades 3-5) As students investigate a topic (the sun and its energy), they use nonfiction texts and the Internet to generate questions and gather information. Students use KWL charts and interactive writing to organize their information. Periodic reviews of gathered information become the backdrop to ongoing inquiry, discussion, reporting, and confirming information. The lesson culminates with the publishing of a collaborative question-and-answer book, which reports on information about the chosen topic, with each student contributing one page to the book. This lesson meets the following NCTE/IRA Standards: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12 .

Life in a Deep Freeze (Grades 3-5) This article from the children’s magazine National Geographic Explorer describes the various adaptations that keep animals warm in the cold Arctic environment.

This article was written by Jessica Fries-Gaither. For more information, see the Contributors page. Email Kimberly Lightle , Principal Investigator, with any questions about the content of this site.

Copyright December 2009 – The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0733024. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. This work is licensed under an  Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons license .

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FREE K-12 standards-aligned STEM

curriculum for educators everywhere!

Find more at TeachEngineering.org .

• TeachEngineering
• What Is Heat?

Lesson What Is Heat?

Grade Level: 6 (5-7)

(three 60-minute class periods)

Lesson Dependency: None

Subject Areas: Physical Science

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• Print lesson and its associated curriculum

Activities Associated with this Lesson Units serve as guides to a particular content or subject area. Nested under units are lessons (in purple) and hands-on activities (in blue). Note that not all lessons and activities will exist under a unit, and instead may exist as "standalone" curriculum.

• Keep It Hot!

TE Newsletter

Engineering connection, learning objectives, worksheets and attachments, more curriculum like this, pre-req knowledge, introduction/motivation, associated activities, lesson closure, vocabulary/definitions, additional multimedia support, user comments & tips.

Understanding heat transfer is essential knowledge for the engineering of mechanical, chemical and biological systems. Design of internal combustion engines, air conditioning and heating systems, chemical and biological reactors and even clothing technology requires an understanding of heat transfer. Design of insulating materials for homes, buildings and even beverage containers also requires an understanding of heat transfer.

After this lesson, students should be able to:

• Explain that heat is the flow of energy from hot materials to cold materials.
• Describe that molecules in a material begin to vibrate (or move) more quickly when the material is heated.
• Identify conduction as heat transfer within and between solids.
• Identify convection as heat transfer involving gases or liquids.
• Identify radiation as heat transfer carried by little packets of energy that can travel through almost any material—even empty space.
• List examples of each type of heat transfer.

Educational Standards Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards. All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) , a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org). In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g. , by state; within source by type; e.g. , science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc .

Ngss: next generation science standards - science.

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

View aligned curriculum

Do you agree with this alignment? Thanks for your feedback!

State Standards

California - science.

A familiarity with basic concepts about energy and its different forms, as well as a basic understanding of temperature.

Raise your hand if you ever put on a jacket? Or turned on a heater? Or melted an ice cube in your hand? (Expect every student to raise their hand.)

You probably appreciate heat on a cold day. But today, and over the next couple of days, we are going to talk about how scientists and engineers think about heat.

Lesson Background and Concepts for Teachers

Demonstration Materials: A few simple and powerful demonstrations are suggested for this lesson. A thermal energy demonstration requires two transparent containers that are capable of holding hot water, plus hot water, ice water and a few drops of food coloring. The conduction demonstration requires one candle, matches three small nails/thumb tacks, an oven mitt, and a hacksaw blade or metal rod (not stainless steel). An additional quick conduction demonstration requires five to 10 inflated balloons. Demo preparation and presentation instructions are provided on the slides and notes of slides 4 and 14.

The Additional Background Material section (below) provides a very detailed discussion about heat. While this material is generally above the sixth-grade level, it presents key background information for the teacher so they are able to answer advanced student questions.

Use the 21-slide What Is Heat? Presentation , a Microsoft PowerPoint® file, to directly deliver the lesson content, using the guidance provided below; alternatively, use the presentation to inform other teaching methods. Note that each slide includes background and discussion information in the notes sections that is not provided below and is unavailable in the PDF version. In addition, the slides are animated, so clicking brings up the next text or component on the slide.

( Slide 1 ) What is heat? Do the images on this slide give you any hints? Heat is energy that has something to do with temperature and is an important concept used by engineers to design many of the products we use every day.

( Slide 2 ) Open a discussion about what will happen to the temperature of the beverage in each case (hot chocolate, iced tea) when left unattended for 30 minutes. Why do some things get warmer while other things get colder when they are left out? Given time, both eventually become room temperature. The hot drink releases energy; the cold drink absorbs energy.

( Slide 3 ) Remind students about energy and some of its different forms. Expect them to recall that moving objects have kinetic energy. Show the animation to help visualize the relationship between temperature and kinetic energy: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Translational_motion.gif .

( Slide 4 ) Conduct a class demonstration to show temperature and kinetic energy using food coloring : Prepare separate transparent cups of hot and cold water (ice water is best; remove the ice for the demo). Into each cup, place a drop of food coloring and direct students to observe what happens. Expect them to notice that the food coloring in the hot water spreads out more quickly than that in the cold water. It is helpful to repeat this experiment after explaining the mechanism. Alternative: If conducting this demo is not possible, show a 2:52-minute video, "Moving Water Molecules"  (link also provided in the Additional Multimedia Support section).

( Slide 5 ) Talk about what students observed in the demo. The faster jiggling hot water dispersed the dye more quickly. Then show the animation of Brownian Motion at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brownian_motion_large.gif . We can think of the small dots as water molecules, and the yellow dot as a much larger dye molecule being bounced around by the water molecules' thermal jiggling. This was discovered by Scottish botanist Robert Brown, who used a microscope to look at pollen samples in water. He could not see the water molecules, but noticed that pollen in hotter water jiggled around more than in colder water. The phenomenon was named in his honor: Brownian Motion.

( Slide 6 ) Make the point that thermal energy is in everything—even if it is something we consider cold.

( Slide 7 ) Explain the definition of heat as flowing thermal energy and clarify the direction of heat flow—from the hotter object to the cooler object. Energy transfers always occur from higher to lower states of energy.

( Slides 8-13 ) Use the provided images of a hot cup of coffee, an ice cream cone and a tea kettle on a burner as examples to talk about the direction of heat flow. Have students draw arrows to show the direction of heat flow; circulate around the room to verify their understanding. Make sure students realize that 1) heat is a form of energy that is transferred by a difference in temperature; a difference in temperature is needed for heat to flow, 2) heat always flows from hot to cold, or more precisely, heat flows from higher temperature to lower temperature, and 3) the units of heat are Joules, just like kinetic energy. The three different types of heat transfer (the movement of thermal energy) are conduction, convection and radiation. The "thought experiments" on slide 13 using the examples of hot soup and snowballs give students practice in using correct terminology and full sentences to explain how heat flows. Make sure students are able to realize that no heat transfer occurs between objects of the same temperature.

( Slide 14 ) Introduce the first type of heat transfer, conduction, which is heat transfer within or between solid objects. With our hands, we experience heat transfer by conduction any time we touch something that is hotter or colder than our skin.

At this point, present a conduction demonstration that you have prepared in advance . Before the activity, use drops of candle wax to "glue" two or three small nails or thumb tacks to a hacksaw blade or metal rod. Space the nails about 1 inch apart, with the first one located one to two inches from the end of the blade/rod. Hold the other end of the blade/rod with an oven mitt or nail it to a block of wood. Heat the end of the rod with a candle flame. As heat conducts down, the wax holding the nails melts and drops the nails, one by one, in sequence. This shows students the heat traveling down the rod.

Then conduct another class demonstration on heat conduction . Give each of five to 10 student volunteers an inflated balloon and have them hold them together, touching, in a line. Start to jiggle one end of the line and observe how this jiggling travels down the line of balloons.

( Slides 15-19 ) Introduce and go over the other two ways heat can move from one object to another: convection and radiation. Each slide starts with a discussion and examples and then gives a definition that can be used for building students' vocabulary.

( Slide 20 ) Introduce the concept of insulation, which is important in heat transfer and necessary background to understand the associated activity Keep It Hot! . Besides the oven mitt and pop can cozy, other examples of insulation include the walls and roof of houses, multi-pane windows, beverage thermos, insulation around car engines to keep passengers cool, inside a jet engine, material on the outside of the space shuttle, plastic casing on wires, a sweater or jacket, and refrigerator and oven walls.

( Slide 21 ) Wrap up with a brief review of key terms: heat, conduction, convection, radiation, insulation, and that heat flows from hot (or higher temperature) to cold (or lower temperature).

Additional Background Material

Heat in Engineering: Heat is the flow of thermal energy that arises from temperature differences. Whenever two things of different temperatures are near one another, thermal energy flows. This flowing energy is called heat. The fans heard whirring in computers are designed to remove heat generated by the electronics. Without these fans, computers would melt or create fires. On a winter morning, we put on coats to stay warm. Heat and how it flows within and between objects is something we experience every day and a fundamental engineering concern.

Thermal Energy and Heat: Every object in the universe has thermal energy stored within it. Thermal energy is the energy embodied in the vibrations, rotations and translations of atoms and molecules. This motion is extremely fast, significantly faster than indicated in the animations typically shown, and significantly faster than bulk translation (such as the flow of water molecules in a river). Expect the presence of energy in a system of jiggling, bouncing, molecules to be very obvious to students who already understand the concept of kinetic energy; indeed, the underlying physical mechanism is similar.

The energy contained in thermal "jiggling" is a function of many factors such as the mass of the particles and the speed of their motion. However, for a given material, faster molecular movement means more thermal energy is present.

Thermal energy is almost impossible to confine to a location. Rather, it can be causally observed every day. A cup of tea left on the counter cools off. Touching a hot pot lid burns one's hand. Objects that are in thermal contact tend towards thermal equilibrium, that is, they exchange thermal energy until both objects have the same temperature. When thermal energy moves around, the flowing thermal energy is called heat. This is somewhat confused by the engineering terminology of "heat transfer" (the study of just how that heat is moved around), which is somewhat redundant since the word "heat" already conveys the motion of thermal energy. In this document, "heat," "heat flow" and "heat transfer" all mean the flow of thermal energy.

One common example of thermal equilibrium is a cup of hot tea. Thermal energy in hot tea will flow (as heat) into the air because the tea temperature is higher than the air temperature. Heat leaving the tea causes the tea's temperature to decrease. Heat going into the air causes the air's temperature to increase. This process continues until the temperature of the tea and air is exactly the same, that is, until thermal equilibrium has been reached and no more impetus exists for thermal energy to move as heat. This is discussed further in the presentation using the analogy of a skier on a hill.

The mechanism of heat flow can be understood by remembering thermal "jiggling." Imagine placing a room temperature pot on a hot stove. Initially, the pot is 25 °C while the cooking element might be 600 °C. We know that heat is flowing from the element to the pot, because the pot's temperature increases. If we had a sufficiently powerful microscope, we could observe the atoms in the element and the pot. The lower temperature pot atoms would be jiggling around much more slowly than the atoms in the element. Since the two are touching, eventually a vigorously jiggling element atom collides with a slower jiggling pot atom. Just as a fast-moving cue ball collides with an eight ball and transfers some of its kinetic energy, the element transfers its thermal energy to the pot through countless such collisions.

The following is a very subtle point. The slowly jiggling pot atoms in the previous example might collide with the swiftly jiggling element atoms and transfer some kinetic energy FROM THE POT TO THE ELEMENT. This is quite the opposite from the established direction of heat transfer, that is, from high temperature to low temperature (or "hot to cold" in the easier-to-repeat shorthand phrase). Although this "opposite" mechanism may occur in isolated interactions, averaging the flow of heat over billions and billions of collisions always results in the "hot to cold" direction with which we are all familiar. Thermal equilibrium is reached when these collisions (again on average) involve the same amount of energy flowing into and out of the pot. At this point, both items are at the same temperature, and heat ceases to flow. Along these lines, "cold" is not a substance that flows. What happens when holding an icy soda can is NOT "cold flowing into my hand." The person holding the can experiences the sensation of a cold hand because the thermal energy in the hand has flowed, as heat, into the lower temperature soda can and given enough time, the two reach thermal equilibrium.

Types of Heat Transfer: Heat flows from objects of higher temperature to objects of lower temperature, and occurs in three forms, referred to by engineers as heat transfer: conduction, convection and radiation.

Conduction is heat flow in or between solid objects. If one touched the top edge of the pot in a previously described example, they would be burned. It is well known that heat flows from the bottom of a pot and into the upper edge, lid and handle. The mechanism of this heat flow is just as described in the pot and element example. Atoms in the bottom of the pot are jiggled by the hotter element atoms. The "front line" pot atoms then collide with their neighbors and then the next neighbors, eventually transferring thermal energy all through the pot.

A cast iron pan, left on the stove long enough, requires an oven mitt to handle. Heat flows from the element, into the pan, up the edge and along the handle. A pan with a wooden or plastic handle does not suffer from this problem because those materials have much lower thermal conductivity (the materials property that describes how well something conducts thermal energy) than the iron pot handle. Insulators such as wool, wood and Styrofoam have low thermal conductivity and are useful for slowing the flow of heat. Materials with high thermal conductivity such as copper, aluminum and glass are used to help heat move more quickly. As evidenced in the choice of materials used for electrical conductors and insulators, most materials with high electrical conductivity also have high thermal conductivity.

Convection is the flow of heat in gases or liquids; both are called "fluids" by engineers. A hair drier provides an excellent example of convection. Just as in the stove element, a piece of metal inside a hair drier is heated with electricity. Imagine if no fans were included inside hair driers. The air molecules near the hot elements atoms would be collided with, and heat would flow into them. In the case of the solid pot, the pot atoms are prevented from large movements because the pot is a solid. The pot atoms might jiggle and vibrate, but cannot go flying off across the room (unless heated to a very high temperature indeed). In the hair drier, the gaseous air molecules are much freer to move. They do this naturally in a process called free convection, which can be described by the familiar mechanism of "hot air rises." The rising hot air allows fresh cold air molecules to come into contact with the hot element atoms. Forced convection is what occurs in the hair drier—a fan blows high-speed air molecules over the hot element. In both cases of convection, the jiggling air molecules continue their jiggling when pushed away from the element. Depending on how fast the new air molecules are pushed past the element, convection can move heat over much larger distances, and much more quickly than conduction. The best remedy for a burned finger is to put it under flowing tap water. The subtleties of forced vs. free convection are beyond the scope of a sixth-grade class. The presentation simply refers to all heat transfer in liquids and gases as convection, with examples of the simpler fan-driven forced convection provided.

Radiation is the flow of heat carried by little packets of energy called photons. Radiation can transfer heat between two objects even in empty space, which is how the energy from the Sun gets to Earth. Although radiation does not need air to travel, it can travel through gases, liquids and even some solids. The cause of radiation is fairly complex. When a charged particle is accelerated, it emits a bit of radiation called a photon. Everything in the universe emits radiation because thermal energy causes electrons to accelerate and emit radiation (everything in the universe has some thermal energy). The amount of radiation an object emits is proportional to its temperature to the fourth power, so radiation is the dominant form of heat transfer only at fairly high temperatures. Just as before, the mechanism of heat flow through radiation can be imagined with the billiard ball collision example (although this is not as accurate an explanation of the underlying physics with radiation, it suffices). A photon from a high-temperature object strikes an atom in a lower-temperature object, causing it to jiggle more, raising the cooler object's temperature. Just as with the aside in the original pot/element discussion, some subtlety exists. Since all objects (even -400 °F comets) emit some radiation, an ice cube next to a red hot piece of iron is transferring energy from itself to the iron through radiation. But, for every one photon from the ice cube that strikes an iron atom, many thousands of photons transfer heat from the iron to the ice. So, on average, heat flows from hot to cold.

All three forms of heat flow occur at the same time, though some typically dominate, which permits engineers to ignore the others. Blowing a large fan over a 100 °C piece of metal involves almost entirely convection, but a little conduction (into the ground say) and a little radiation (heating the walls of the room) does occur.

Watch this activity on YouTube

(After the associated activity) We have discussed that heat is simply the flow of thermal energy that always goes from ________ to ________. (Expect everyone to chant out loud "from hot to cold.") We also know the three ways that heat can be transferred, which are _____________. (Answer: Conduction, convection and radiation.) Now, putting it all together and using what we understand about insulators, write and explain one way you can stay cool in the summertime and one way you can keep warm in the wintertime.

conduction: Heat transfer within or between solid objects.

convection: Heat transfer into or out of fluids.

heat: Thermal energy that flows due to a difference in temperature. Heat flows from hot to cold.

heat transfer: A method by which heat flows (conduction, convection, radiation).

insulation: A material that slows down heat transfer.

radiation: Heat transfer due to packets of energy called photons that can travel through many substances, even empty space.

temperature: the measure of the average speed of all particles.

thermal energy: the total energy of all particles in an object.

Pre-Lesson Assessment

Class Discussion & Assignment: To get students thinking about heat, lead a discussion and present a few everyday examples of heat, such as hot beverages, grabbing hot pans or touching ice cubes. Ask students to write a few sentences about how temperature and energy might be related. Also have each student draw an example of an everyday hot object. Provide a list of some examples: hot cocoa, a coal from a fire and a pan right out of the oven. Then ask students to draw a cold object near the hot one. This might be an ice cube, a can of soda from the refrigerator or cold air. Then ask students to draw arrows in their pictures that show what direction the energy flows (from the hot to the cold object, regardless of orientation).

Post-Introduction Assessment

Drawing Arrows: Use slide 8 of the What Is Heat? Presentation as an example and then have each student work individually during slides 9-11 to identify the direction of heat transfer by drawing arrows and writing a sentence. Circulate the room to verify and/or correct their understanding of the concepts.

Lesson Summary Assessment

Post-Quiz: After the lesson, and before starting the associated activity, administer the 10-question What Is Heat? Post-Quiz . Review students' answers to assess their comprehension of the thermal energy concepts.

Written Examples: As part of the Lesson Closure after completing the associated activity, assign students to write and explain one way they can stay cool in the summertime and one way they can keep warm in the wintertime. Require that they use scientific terminology as part of their explanations.

As an alternative to the thermal energy class demo, show this 2:52-minute video, "Moving Water Molecules" as a good illustration of the same demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXY02tcgiBY .

With the help of simple, teacher-led demonstration activities, students learn the basic physics of heat transfer by means of conduction, convection and radiation. They also learn about examples of heating and cooling devices, from stove tops to car radiators, that they encounter in their homes, scho...

Students learn about the nature of thermal energy, temperature and how materials store thermal energy. They discuss the difference between conduction, convection and radiation of thermal energy, and complete activities in which they investigate the difference between temperature, thermal energy and ...

Students learn the scientific concepts of temperature, heat and the transfer of heat through conduction, convection and radiation, which are illustrated by comparison to magical spells found in the Harry Potter books.

Students explore heat transfer and energy efficiency using the context of energy efficient houses. They gain a solid understanding of the three types of heat transfer: radiation, convection and conduction, which are explained in detail and related to the real world.

Other Related Information

Browse the NGSS Engineering-aligned Physics Curriculum hub for additional Physics and Physical Science curriculum featuring Engineering.

Contributors

Supporting program, acknowledgements.

The contents of this digital library curriculum were developed by the Renewable Energy Systems Opportunity for Unified Research Collaboration and Education (RESOURCE) project in the College of Engineering under National Science Foundation GK-12 grant no. DGE 0948021. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the National Science Foundation, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: October 31, 2021

• Investigates
• Houston Life
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‘We have cold AC’: Harvard Elementary sees temporary relief from heat amid ongoing HVAC issues in Houston ISD

Michael Horton , Digital Content Producer , Houston, TX

Ninfa Saavedra , Digital Content Specialist

HOUSTON, Texas – After dealing with extreme heat during the first two weeks of classes, Harvard Elementary School is finally seeing some relief on Monday.

“We have COLD AC! It’s 66 to 68 in all rooms! Omg I could cry! Not a long-term fix, I’m sure, but it’s cool for now! Persistence was key,” a staff member told KPRC 2.

Last week, KPRC 2 reported on the district’s HVAC system at several campuses, including Harvard Elementary.

• SEE REPORT: HVAC issues at Harvard Elementary: Parents’ frustrations boil over hot classrooms affecting students

On Friday, the Harvard PTA released an open letter to the community, which can be found here.

In the letter, PTA President Anar Abasov addresses the issues with the school and requests a community meeting with Houston ISD.

“It is important to clarify that the purpose of this letter is not to place blame but to focus on the facts and work collectively toward a solution that ensures our children’s health, safety, and educational well-being,” the opening paragraph of the letter read.

• HVAC issues at Harvard Elementary: Parents’ frustrations boil over hot classrooms affecting students

Harvard Elementary School is Houston’s oldest school and celebrated its 125th birthday last September . Despite the school’s historic significance, temperature issues have become a recurring theme on the campus.

Back in January, families were told to send their kids to school bundled up in big coats when the school didn’t have properly functioning central heat amid freezing temperatures in the Houston area.

KPRC 2 reported at the time the district had to bring in portable heaters.

• OUR REPORT: 3 HISD schools have early dismissal due to heating, water issues

Eight months later, the school is now dealing with uncomfortable conditions on the other side of the thermometer.

Although the staff member said the issues have not been fixed permanently, teachers, students and staff members will be able to feel some relief today, and hopefully, for the rest of the week. She believes “persistence” from parents, staff and the community helped solve the issue.

Copyright 2024 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.

About the Authors

Michael horton.

Michael is a Kingwood native who loves visiting local restaurants and overreacting to Houston sports. He joined the KPRC 2 family in the spring of 2024. He earned his B.A. from Texas A&M University in 2022 and his M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2023.

Ninfa Saavedra

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