ALEX Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] PS8 (8) 15 :

15 ) Analyze and interpret data from experiments to determine how various factors affect energy transfer as measured by temperature (e.g., comparing final water temperatures after different masses of ice melt in the same volume of water with the same initial temperature, observing the temperature change of samples of different materials with the same mass and the same material with different masses when adding a specific amount of energy).

This activity can be used at the beginning of a lesson on thermal energy or energy transfer. The teacher will conduct a demonstration involving two balloons (one only filled with air, the other filled with air and water) and place them over a flame.  The students will then make predictions, observations, and provide explanations based on the demonstration.

This activity was developed during the ALEX Resource Development Summit

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] PS8 (8) 14 :

14 ) Use models to construct an explanation of how a system of objects may contain varying types and amounts of potential energy (e.g., observing the movement of a roller coaster cart at various inclines, changing the tension in a rubber band, varying the number of batteries connected in a series, observing a balloon with static electrical charge being brought closer to a classmate's hair).

[SC2015] PS8 (8) 15 :

15 ) Analyze and interpret data from experiments to determine how various factors affect energy transfer as measured by temperature (e.g., comparing final water temperatures after different masses of ice melt in the same volume of water with the same initial temperature, observing the temperature change of samples of different materials with the same mass and the same material with different masses when adding a specific amount of energy).

In this lesson, students will gain a better understanding of what energy is, how it can be changed into other forms of energy, and how physical and chemical processes contribute to these processes. They also will learn what happens to energy when materials are heated in a combustion system, as in an auto gasoline-powered engine. Prior to beginning this lesson, students should be able to define atoms and molecules in simple terms. They also should understand that atoms and molecules are always moving and that adding heat increases the speed at which they move.