During a unit on density, pupils ponder whether or not temperature affects this property. By carefully inserting blue cold water and yellow hot water into a room-temperature sample, they will see the answer. Make sure to have done the...

Students experiment with a pure substance and a phase change. In this heating and cooling curves lesson plan, students study the effects of heating and cooling a pure substance to observe a phase change. They determine both the melting...

Physical science scholars discover an array of heat sources. They experiment to connect radiation to heat. They begin to understand thermal equilibrium. Then, they test to see if mass affects the rate of temperature change. Choose a few,...

Students investigate the relationship between evaporation and temperature changes. In this evaporation and changes in temperature lesson, students measure the changes in temperature of different solutions on a cotton ball.

Let's heat things up! This simple experiment demonstrates for young scholars the important role the sun plays in providing the earth with energy. Place one cup of water in direct sunlight and one in shade, then take measurements in order...

Chemistry whizzes test the change in water temperature produced by a burning candle and the change in acid temperature produced by magnesium metal. With these two laboratory activities they explore heat produced during chemical...

This is actually a 10-day mini unit on thermal energy for your high school chemists. Every avenue is taken to get learners absorbed in heat: a pretest, a PowerPoint presentation, Internet exploration, demonstrations, lab activities, and...

Ice is nice, and its condition on the planet has a significant effect. Junior geoscientists experiment with ice melting in both water and on land to discover how each affect the rising sea level. This detailed lesson outline even...

Heat things up in your physical science class with this interactive lesson series on thermodynamics. Through a series of class demonstrations and experiments, young scientists learn how heat is transferred through conduction,...

Middle school chemists visit interactive websites in order to discover what happens to molecular motion when heat is added to matter. They conduct an experiment that demonstrates the expansion of matter with the addition of heat. A lab...

What is reflectivity, and what does it have to do with the Earth's climate? As reflectivity is measured by albedo, scientists can gather information on Earth's energy balances that relate to global warming or climate change. Budding...

This is one in several lessons that explore the relationship between temperature and phase changes of water. After some discussion, elementary physical scientists place wet paper toweling on a hot and a room-temperature water bag...

Students investigate the effect of temperature on cold-blooded animals, using a 5 x 8 inch index card to represent a dinosaur as their model organism. Students measure temperature changes that occurs at different angles to a light...

Pupils determine the effect of temperature on the motion of particles. They study the difference between particles in a gas, liquid, and a solid and see how the characteristics of solids, liquids, and gases can be explained by particle...

A micro-unit on the phase changes of water includes three laboratory activities. Junior scientists compare the densities of ice and water, and then they do the same for cold and warm water. They examine freezing and boiling temperatures....

Now that learners have been exposed to chemical changes, they learn that some take in heat and therefore, decrease in temperature. The same reaction that they have been investigating between baking soda and vinegar is revisited,...

As an anticipatory set, young environmental technicians watch a video about how ocean temperatures seem to be changing along with the global climate. They perform a laboratory demonstration with the purpose of observing what happens to...

Differentiate between temperature and thermal energy. Your class will build a thermometer using simple materials and develop their own scale for measuring temperature. Discuss with your class and consider why engineers need to understand...

Students discuss what heat is and how it travels. They discover that one way to cool an object in the presence of a heat source is to increase the distance from it or change the angle at which it is faced.

Careful, that light bulb is hot! Compare heat and light energy using a simple light bulb. The exercise addresses energy conservation and presents actual calculations to determine the most cost-effective light bulb.

Demonstrate how ice floats on water and get the class thinking about why icebergs are so deceiving. Investigators then experiment with mixing water of the same temperature and water of different temperatures. Make sure to explain the...

A total of five experiments lead chemistry pros to understand the difference between physical and chemical change. They also experiment with exothermic reaction factors that affect rate of reaction. The procedures are not written in the...

Earth science super stars visit the National Earth Science Teachers Association's interactive website to glean information on the layers of the atmosphere. Data tables are provided for them to record what is collected. This assignment...

High schoolers investigate the greenhouse effect and examine the potential effects of climate change in the Arctic. They construct a mini-greenhouse and test its effect on temperature, analyze historical climate statistics, and conduct...