Lesson 3: Heat Moves
Overview
Students design and carry out an investigation to monitor the temperature of water when equal volumes of hot and cold water are mixed.
Key Ideas
- Heat can be transferred from one place, object, or system to another.
- Mixing water of two different temperatures results in a sample of water with an intermediate temperature that is predictable given the starting and ending temperatures.
Lesson Goals
Students will:
- explain resulting temperatures in terms of the change in thermal energy.
- describe how heat spreads from one place to another including how cooler materials can become warmer and vice versa.
Lesson Resources
Download Lesson Plan (10 pages, 776 KB)
Student Handout 3.1: Mixing Water Class Data
(524 KB)
Online Extensions
Try a virtual mixing experiment developed by the Concord Consortium. View Activity 126: Temperature of Mixing Water.
Connection to Maine Agencies
A Maine Energy Education Program (MEEP) representative and will come to interested schools, free of charge, to guide and support the concepts in lesson.
For schools in Aroostook County, a Maine Public Service (MPS) representative will come to interested schools, free of charge, to guide and support concepts developed in this lesson.
