DiscoverE
Aviary Architect
Groups of two to four work collaboratively to engineer a birdhouse that will stay cool in the summer heat. Teams examine several different-colored roofs, testing the efficiency of each with a heat lamp. Then, groups sketch their ideas,...
Curated OER
Adobe
In this adobe worksheet, students read about adobe soil and how it was used for building because of its insulating properties. Students complete 3 short answer questions.
Rochester Institute of Technology
Electrical Energy
My friend told me how electricity is measured and I was like Watt! In the hands-on activity, learners explore electricity by building circuits, both parallel and series. They also determine how increasing the number of light bulbs and...
Curated OER
Heat of Vaporization of Liquid Nitrogen
Students determine the heat energy needed to vaporize (boil) one gram of liquid nitrogen.
Curated OER
Solar Energy: Become a Sun Chef!
Students design and construct a solar cooker. They use the Internet to research solar collectors and the process of changing light energy into heat energy.
Curated OER
Keep It Cool
Students complete a science experiment to study insulation, heat transfer, and permafrost. In this permafrost study lesson, students design and test a soda insulator. Students graph their class data and discuss the results. Students...
Curated OER
Sustainable Choices
Students examine energy use and the different construction materials used in their home. In this sustainable choices lesson students study different materials and what a sound environmental choice would be.
Curated OER
What’s That, I Can’t Hear You?
Young scholars investigate forms of energy as well as light and sound. In this science lesson, students participate in hands-on activities that require them to evaluate how sound affects astronauts in flight. A video of this lesson being...
Curated OER
Sun Friendly Homes
Students design and build a model solar energy home. In this technology instructional activity, students test the efficiency of their model houses by measuring temperature at regular intervals. They analyze data and share results with...
Curated OER
Saving Energy Through Ecological Landscape Design
Students are able to transcribe to scale the plant features of a common landscape. They determine true north and south and collect and record data on a table. Students calculate a rating for and describe a definition of insulation and...
Curated OER
Heat And Heat Transfer
Students role play molecules in a container as the container is heated to develop a definition of heat and temperature. They also observe demonstrations of conduction, convection, radiation, and phase transfer. Using these observations...
Curated OER
Solar Power
Learners discover how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings. They investigate the thermal properties of different materials. They evaluate the usefulness of each material.
Curated OER
Solar Water Heater Kit
In this earth science worksheet, students identify and experiment how hot water gets in a solar water heater. Then they respond to four short answer questions that follow related to the experiment.
Curated OER
Heat Capacity Problem Set
In this heat capacity worksheet, students calculate the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a certain mass a determined amount of degrees. This worksheet has 4 problems to solve.
Curated OER
Capturing the Sun's Warmth
Students explore the variety of ways to use solar energy. They investigate the thermal energy storage capacities of different test materials to determine which to use in passive solar building design. They explain how passive solar...
Curated OER
Make a Refrigerator
Third graders explore the concept of heat transfer as experienced in wearing winter clothing and analyzing the refrigerator.
Curated OER
Melt Away
Students explore objects before and after heating using their senses. In this matter and energy lesson, students experiment with a variety of objects and use their senses (except taste) to make predictions and record observations about...
Polar Trec
Staying Warm in Antarctica!
Has your class ever wondered how animals and scientists stay warm in the Polar Regions? Kids will investigate to understand the three types of heat transfer and how heat transfer affects those trying to stay toasty in sub-zero...
Teach Engineering
Capturing the Sun's Warmth
Passive solar heating is a technology that's been in use for thousands of years. Here, elementary schoolers are exposed to this type of heating, the materials that are used in passive solar heating, and they study how engineers design...
California Academy of Science
Greening Your Middle School
Middle schoolers redesign their school to make it more energy efficient, and create a model of their design. Learners get together in groups of 5, and they take on the task of making their school more energy efficient. To do this, they...
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
Solar Cooking
Students experiment with a virtual solar cooker to discover the mathematical relationship among reflection, transmission and absorption. Then they actually build and test a solar cooker of their own invention.
Teach Engineering
How Hot is Hot?
Elementary schoolers identify the three methods of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation. The lesson is mostly lecture-based. When the teacher has finished the presentation, groups of pupils get into teams and they must...
Polar Trec
South Pole Ice Cream!
How can you turn an ice cream activity into a scientific investigation? It's easy if you know ionic compounds, heat transfer, and the exothermic and endothermic process. Learners will explore the science behind freezing, insulation, and...