Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Insulation
Youngsters compare the heat-holding abilities of three different cans by insulating two with different materials and measuring the temperature change of hot water over a 20-minute period.
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What is Temperature and How Is It Measured?
Students complete activities to measure temperature. In this temperature lesson plan, students read Geoffrey Groundhog Predicts the Weather and make a KWL chart about predicting weather. Students discuss folklore about temperature and...
Montana State University
What's the Weather?
How many jackets do you need to stay warm and climb Mount Everest? An informatie resource covers the topic of Mount Everest, the resource helps young scientists discover the difference between climate and weather. Activities include...
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How Low Can You Go?
Fourth graders experience measuring temperatures after determining, by touch, whether water is hot or cold. They use a thermometers to measure the temperature of water in three cups of water. Using a vertical number line, they write the...
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Measuring Calories
Students burn peanuts and marshmallows to determine the calories each contains. In this calorimetry lesson, students set up an apparatus with a ring stand and water in an aluminum can. They record the temperature of the water before and...
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Heat Energy- Temperature
Second graders investigate the meaning of temperature. They determine what happens to a thermometer when the temperature rises or falls. They place thermometers in different classroom locations in order to compare the temperature in a...
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Demonstration of Factors Affecting Soil Temperature
Learners examine the influences of water and mulch on soil temperature. For this investigative activity students complete a soil experiment.
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Big on Blubber: How do Whales Stay Warm?
Learners explore biology by conducting a science experiment in class. In this whale anatomy lesson, students identify the use of whale blubber for the animal to stay warm in cold waters while utilizing ice, vegetable oil, plastic bags...
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Weather-Air Temperature
Students complete activities to learn about changing air temperature. In this air temperature instructional activity, students study various ways to measure air temperature and learn factors that influence temperature. Students study the...
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Energy in the Form of Calories
Students calculate the amount of food calories found in an individual peanut. In small groups, they set up the experiment so that a burning peanut will heat water above it. Using the temperature change and volume of the water they...
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A New Phase In Town
Middle schoolers explore heat energy and how it is used to change the phase of matter, and discover that temperature does not increase or decrease until the phase change is complete. This extremely well-written plan is packed with great...
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It's Freezing!
Here is a good activity for 5th grade scientists. In it, they look at a bar graph that shows the freezing point for a variety of liquids. Then, they are given a scenario of a certain liquid melting and freezing, and must determine which...
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Measuring Temperatures
Fourth graders participate in a teacher-led discussion about temperature--hot and cold. Each group of students is assigned specific materials for their lab experiment. They record temperatures measured in their journals and then plot...
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Floating on Salt Water
Mixing substances together causes their properties to change. This resource illustrates that concept for fifth graders by having them consider four questions that have to do with buoyancy and boiling point. Learners begin to understand...
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Measuring Calories
Learners investigate what a calorie is and how and why we measure them. They conduct an experiment to compare the calories of a peanut and a mini-marshmallow, and explain and discuss how calories are directly related to the amount of...
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Earth Systems
Ninth graders investigate biological systems. They summarize relationships between systems. Students determine how systems relate within the biosphere. They analyze the carbon cycle.
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When You're Hot, You're Hot!
Eighth graders examine the development of the different temperature scales. They experiment with hot and cold temperatures.
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Ocean Layers
Students investigate how temperature and salinity causes ocean layering. In this ecology lesson, students observe and sketch their experimental result. They report their findings in class.
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Ice Ain't Easy
Students are introduced to the laws of thermodynamics. The 1st law of thermodynamics states that the energy must be conserved when two objects of different temperatures come in contact. If one object gains energy, the other object must...
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Sunlight and Warm Air
Students discuss radiant energy from the sun, performing a simple experiment with sun glasses and bright light to demonstrate the concept. Students further participate in simple in-class experiments to demonstrate: air density as it...
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Experimenting with Yeast Metabolism
Ninth graders determine the rate of respiration by yeast and which sugars can be used as a food source by yeast using a CO2 gas sensor and computer software. This instructional activity is for an honors Biology class.
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Bing! Bang! Boom!
Sixth graders investigate heat energy, conduction, convection, and radiation.
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Endothermic or Exothermic That Is the Question
Students conduct an experiment to determine what happens to heat energy during a chemical reaction. They examine an endothermic reaction by observing a chemical reactions.
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What Is the Freezing Point?
Students remove heat energy and determine how it causes a phase change.