Virginia Department of Education
Heat Loss from a Fur-Insulated Animal
How do animals adapt to weather changes? Provide your class with the ability to understand adaptations and body temperature as they participate in this hands on experiment, using fake fur and hot water. Pupils collect data and analyze...
Oceanic Research Group
Heat Transfer and Cooling
Astronauts train underwater to simulate the change in gravity. An out-of-this-world unit includes three hands-on activities, one teacher demonstration, and a discussion related to some of the challenges astronauts face. Scholars apply...
Curated OER
Be "Sun-sible" about Heating Water
Students create a solar water heater. In this solar energy instructional activity, students conduct an experiment to determine which colors absorb more radiant heat. Students investigate the relationship of heat loss to insulation....
Curated OER
Heating and Cooling a Really Large Lizard
Remind your middle school scientists how fox ear size varies depending on the climate they live in; large ears allow heat loss while small ears keep heat in. Discuss how a cold-blooded animal might try to regulate body temperature. Then...
Curated OER
Keeping Warm
Learners experiment with thermal insulators. In this heat transfer lesson, students predict and then measure heat loss from a cup of water using different materials as insulators. Learners complete a line graph to display their results.
Curated OER
Heat Conductors
Students explore heat conductors. In this lesson on heat, students examine how heat passes through different conductors and how different materials contain heat.
Curated OER
Rate of Cooling Experiment
Ninth graders measure the insulation properties of different fabrics by immersing cans of water covered with fabric "socks" in an ice bath and measuring temperature changes. They then calculate heat loss and graph the data individually.
Curated OER
The Great Heat Escape
Students observe a demonstration on the role of thermal conductivity in heat transfer. In this thermal conductivity lesson plan, students design and conduct an experiment to compare the thermal conductivity of four substances. Lesson...
Curated OER
Preventing Hypothermia
Students identify the causes of hypothermia. In this biology lesson, students investigate the different types of heat transfer and heat loss. They discuss several practical measures to avoid hypothermia.
Curated OER
Heat Loss and Gain in Physical Changes and Chemical Reactions
Students compare and contrast exothermic and endothermic reactions. For this chemistry lesson, students perform experiments to determine whether heat was released or absorbed in a reaction. They share their observations in class.
Teach Engineering
Insulation Materials Investigation
Don't melt away! Pairs investigate different insulation materials to determine which one is better than the others. Using a low-temp heat plate, the teams insulate an ice cube from the heat source with a variety of substances. They...
Curated OER
HYPOTHESIZE THIS!
Students predict, measure, collect, and analyze data to investigate heat loss in water and in air.
Curated OER
Warm and Toasty
Learners are introduced to the concepts of specific heat and heat capacity. In groups, they design an experiment to test these two topics on various fabrics. They compare and contrast the amount of heat loss on the different materials...
Curated OER
Maintaining Body Heat
Learners observe and compare heat loss in various objects with surface area-to-volume ratios and transfer this comparison to the physical characteristics of animals in their environment. In small groups they conduct an experiment...
Curated OER
Inquiry into Heat Loss and Insulation
Students design an experiment to test the problem of the porridge in Baby Bear's bowl as being just right while the other porridge was either too hot or too cold. They explain the steps of their experiment and record their observations...
Curated OER
Polystyrene Containers
Students conduct experiments to determine the effectiveness of polystyrene containers at preventing heat loss. For this polymers lesson, students design an experiment to determine how effective Styrofoam burger containers are at...
Curated OER
Why Don't Whales Have Legs?
Students are given a variety of materials and are asked to design a heat loss experiment that results in a reasonable explanation of "Why don't whales have legs?" students work with the theory of natural selection.
Curated OER
Pressure Effects
Students, in groups, create experiments to predict and prove what a change in pressure can do to objects exposed to the change. They use AppleWorks to write their hypotheses and the steps they need to conduct the experiment.
Curated OER
Go With the Flow!
Students experiment with heat transfer in a countercurrent system and describe the importance of conduction in heat-energy transfer.
Curated OER
Draft-o-Meter
Students conduct an experiment to measure the location and amount of air drafts present in their homes. They discuss the effects of drafts on healing and cooling efficiency in their homes.
Curated OER
Hypothesize This!
Students role play scientists to prove a hypotheses. They determine whether or not walruses stay warmer in water or in air. Students also determine in which environment they lose more body heat.
Curated OER
The Shape of Things
Sixth graders read and discuss information regarding the shape and attributes of an eggshell. In this shape of things lesson, 6th graders gather relevant information that pertains to the incubation and formation of an eggshell. Students...
Curated OER
The Shape of Things
Students study the natural incubation of hens and the important characteristics of the egg shell. They perform experiments to test the strength of the dome shape of an egg and prove that an eggshell has pores to allow air to pass. ...
Curated OER
Colored H2 Balloon Explosions
Students perform an experiment in which they put different types of salts in a balloon, fill it with hydrogen gas, and ignite it. The electrons in the salt molecules are excited by the heat and release energy in the form of light. ...