This unit on thermal energy transfer begins with students testing whether a new plastic cup sold by a store keeps a drink colder for longer than the regular plastic cup that comes free with the drink.

Through a series of lab investigations and simulations, students find two ways to transfer energy into the drink: (1) the absorption of light and (2) thermal energy from the warmer air around the drink. They are then challenged to design their own drink container that can perform as well as the store-bought container, following a set of design criteria and constraints.

Unit Summary
This unit on thermal energy transfer begins with students testing whether a new plastic cup sold by a store keeps a drink colder for longer compared to the regular plastic cup that comes free with the drink. Students find that the drink in the regular cup warms up more than the drink in the special cup. This prompts students to identify features of the cups that are different, such as the lid, walls, and hole for the straw, that might explain why one drink warms up more than the other. 
Students investigate the different cup features they conjecture are important to explaining the phenomenon, starting with the lid. They model how matter can enter or exit the cup via evaporation However, they find that in a completely closed system, the liquid inside the cup still changes temperature. This motivates the need to trace the transfer of energy into the drink as it warms up. Through a series of lab investigations and simulations, students find that there are two ways to transfer energy into the drink: (1) the absorption of light and (2) thermal energy from the warmer air around the drink. They are then challenged to design their own drink container that can perform as well as the store-bought container, following a set of design criteria and constraints.
This unit builds toward the following NGSS Performance Expectations (PEs) as described in the OpenSciEd Scope & Sequence: MS-PS1-4*, MS-PS3-3, MS-PS3-4, MS-PS3-5, MS-PS4-2*, MS-ETS1-4. The OpenSciEd units are designed for hands-on learning and therefore materials are necessary to teach the unit. These materials can be purchased as science kits or assembled using the kit material list.

With the help of simple, teacher-led demonstration activities, students learn the basic concepts of heat transfer by means of conduction, convection, and radiation. Students then apply these concepts as they work in teams to solve two problems. One problem requires that they maintain the warm temperature of one soda can filled with water at approximately body temperature, and the other problem is to cause an identical soda can of warm water to cool as much as possible during the same thirty-minute time interval. Students design their solutions using only common, everyday materials. They record the water temperatures in their two soda cans every five minutes, and prepare line graphs in order to visually compare their results to the temperature of an unaltered control can of water.

Student groups are given a set of materials: cardboard, insulating materials, aluminum foil and Plexiglas, and challenged to build solar ovens. The ovens must collect and store as much of the sun's energy as possible. Students experiment with heat transfer through conduction by how well the oven is insulated and radiation by how well it absorbs solar radiation. They test the effectiveness of their designs qualitatively by baking something and quantitatively by taking periodic temperature measurements and plotting temperature vs. time graphs. To conclude, students think like engineers and analyze the solar oven's strengths and weaknesses compared to conventional ovens.

Students use a watt meter to measure energy input into a hot plate or hot pot used to heat water. The theoretical amount of energy required to raise the water by the measure temperature change is calculated and compared to the electrical energy input to calculate efficiency.

Members of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have designed a suite of atmospheric science learning modules for middle school students. The curriculum, which implements a flipped-classroom model, is cross-referenced with Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. It introduces students to topics such as temperature, pressure, severe weather safety, climate change, and air pollution through short instructional videos and critical thinking activities. A goal of this project is to provide middle school science educators with resources to teach while fostering early development of math and science literacy. The work is funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER award. For a complete list of learning modules and to learn more about the curriculum, visit https://www.atmos.illinois.edu/~nriemer/education.html

Students apply the concepts of conduction, convection and radiation as they work in teams to solve two challenges. One problem requires that they maintain the warm temperature of one soda can filled with water at approximately human body temperature, and the other problem is to cause an identical soda can of warm water to cool as much as possible during the same 30-minute time period. Students design their engineering solutions using only common everyday materials, and test their devices by recording the water temperatures in their two soda cans every five minutes.

With the assistance of a few teacher demonstrations (online animation, using a radiometer and rubbing hands), students review the concept of heat transfer through convection, conduction and radiation. Then they apply an understanding of these ideas as they use wireless temperature probes to investigate the heating capacity of different materials sand and water under heat lamps (or outside in full sunshine). The experiment models how radiant energy drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, thus producing winds and weather conditions, while giving students the hands-on opportunity to understand the value of remote-sensing capabilities designed by engineers. Students collect and record temperature data on how fast sand and water heat and cool. Then they create multi-line graphs to display and compare their data, and discuss the need for efficient and reliable engineer-designed tools like wireless sensors in real-world applications.

This resource is a phenomenon-based adaption to the Smithsonian's STCMS Matter and Its Interactions kit. The anchoring phenomenon event features a railroad tanker that collapses due to the phase changes of water that was used to clean it. Students will investigate what causes phase changes, energy transfer, thermal energy, the law of conservation of mass, and atoms and molecules throughout the three week unit.

Monitor the temperature of a melting ice cube and use temperature probes to electronically plot the data on graphs. Investigate what temperature the ice is as it melts in addition to monitoring the temperature of liquid the ice is submerged in.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students engage in activities and experiments to explore the concept of physical changes, and apply their learning to understand climate change-induced sea level rise.

SCIENTIST NOTES: The lesson introduces students to the physical changes of state from solid-liquid-gaseous phase. All materials, including artcicles and simulations, are well-sourced and relevant to improve students' ability in understanding the impact of physical changes in ice caps and its ambient environment and how they could take action to limit these changes. This lesson has passed our science credibility process and is recommended for teaching.

Positive

-Students work collaboratively in groups and with partners to share diverse ideas and perspectives.
-Students participate in hands-on learning to aid in understanding and participation.
-Students learn through a variety of pathways including kinesthetic, auditory, visual, etc. to engage with different learning.
-Students are given a variety of optional extensions to create the most meaningful change in their communities.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-It is recommended that teachers use this as a multi-day lesson in 5 parts. Use the Multi-Day Schedule Visual to determine appropriate stopping points for each day.
-Materials needed for the Physical Change Activity include the following:
-Ice
-Cup
-Playdough (one container per group)
-Different shaped cookie cutters (two per group)
-Materials needed for each group for the Investigate section experiment include the following:
-Two identical, clear, plastic containers (e.g., 6x6 inches)
-Clay, playdough, or small rocks
-Tray of ice cubes
-Ruler
-Cold water
-Piece of paper
-Permanent marker (optional)
-Materials may be substituted as necessary
-Students must create free accounts on the CK-12 website to participate in the simulations.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-All activities, experiments, and simulations can be completed in differentiated groups or as demonstrations at the discretion of the teacher.
-The article may be read aloud in groups or as a class to aid in understanding at the discretion of the teacher.
-Student Document questions may be completed individually, in mixed ability groups, or as a whole group led by the teacher.
-Videos may be paused and discussed in short segments.
-As noted in the TED video, the economic influences on climate change cannot be ignored. An extension to this lesson may be to include a social studies educator to teach students about the local economic elements and issues that contribute to climate change.

This resource is developed for the purpose of giving detailed information on the topic of "Sources and Effects of Heat". Firstly, the unit attempts to describe the various sources of heat. further the expansion and contraction of solid, and liquids is discussed in detail. this unit also talks about daily life example to help students understand the basic phenomena of contraction and expansion taking place in their surroundings. This source is compiled from the original source eLearn.Punjab.

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What does kinetic energy have to do with the Space Shuttle? Find out from NASA Astronaut Ricky Arnold.

Preventing loss of bone density in microgravity will continue to be a challenge for astronauts in the future as they spend longer durations in space. Try out this activity to learn more.

With the help of simple, teacher-led demonstration activities, students learn the basic physics of heat transfer by means of conduction, convection, and radiation. They also learn about examples of heating and cooling devices, from stove tops to car radiators, that they encounter everyday in their homes, schools, and modes of transportation. Since in our everyday lives there are many times that we want to prevent heat transfer, students also consider ways that conduction, convection, and radiation can be reduced or prevented from occurring.